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T H E 

V 

J 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



ENCYCLOP/EDIA 



OF 



PENNSYLVANIA 



OF 



THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 




"V 



PHILADELPHIA: 

GALAXY PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

1874. 



\ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 

MeNAIR & ROBSON, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



t-'"^ 



^y^ 



Preface. 




JISTORY is at the best difficult and slow of compilation. So much research is needed, 
so much time and care have to be expended on the examination, comparison and 
weighing of various statements, that the historian can only progress painfully and 
slowly if he would avoid error. And if this be true of history, it is peculiarly so 
of biography, which lies at the foundation of all history. The difficulties encountered by 
the historian are few in comparison with those experienced by the biographer. If he would 
well and truly present the history of an epoch in the biography of its prominent men, he 
undertakes an onerous task indeed. Obstacles meet him on every hand, especially should 
he essay contemporary biography. Prejudices, indifference, inaccuracy and imperfect records 
have to be contended against. Much material it is exceedingly difficult to obtain ; some is 
only found impossible of obtainment when considerable time and labor have been wasted 
upon the endeavor. This will explain the apparent delay in the issue of " The Biographical 
Encyclopajdia of Pennsylvania of the Nineteenth Century." A great task was assumed in 
the announcement of such a work. The publishers have earnestly striven to perform it 
satisfactorily. To make the book complete has been their especial aim. That it is absolutely 
so, they do not profess. But as far as the limits within which the book had to be confined 
would allow, they have spared no effort to render it complete. Fully conscious that the 
Encyclopaedia is not perfect, they present it in the confident anticipation that the 
public will recognize in it an earnest and honest endeavor to supply reliable biography of 
the men who have contributed most largely to the progress of Pennsylvania during the 
present century. 

Philadelphia, 

October. 1874. 




o^. y^ ^'!^hf^c^^^>^. 



THE 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA 



OF 



PENNSYLVANIA. 




^ UWE, Rt. Rev. MARK ANTONY DE WOLFE, 
first Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese 
of Central Pennsylvania, was the only child of 
John and Louisa (Smith) Howe. John Howe, 
whose mother was of the De Wolfe family, long 
known in Rhode Island, was a graduate of 
Brown University in 1805. He studied law with Judge 
Bourne, and soon after established himself in Bristol, 
Rhode Island. Mrs. Howe was a daughter of Stephen 
Smith, Esq., and sister to Bishop Smith, of Kentucky, 
now Presiding Bishop of the American Church. Mark 
Antony de Wolfe was born in Bristol, on the 5th of April, 
1809. John Howe was a member of the congregation of 
St. Michael's Church, Bristol, and his son was there bap- 
tized by Bishop Griswold, then Rector of that church as 
well as Bishop of the Eastern Diocese. Mr. Howe was 
able to give his son the best educational advantages that 
the country then afforded, and the lad was sent, when 
eleven years old, to the celebrated Phillips Academy, at 
Andover, Massachusetts. He entered college in 1824, at 
Middlebury, Vermont, where his uncle (afterwards Bishop) 
Smith was at that period Rector of a church. He re- 
mained at Middlebury only during the Freshman and 
Sophomore years, and was then transferred to Brown 
University. He matriculated at Brown at the same time 
that the Presidency of that Institution was assumed by 
the Rev. Dr. Wayland, and two years later graduated 
with high distinction, becoming by virtue of his rank in 
his class a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and 
by virtue of his scholarship, a successful candid.ate subse- 
quently for a classical tutorship in Brown. Meantime he 
began the study of law in the office of his father. But 
another career was awaiting him of still greater usefulness 



and dignity. His scholarship and literary abilities were 
to be employed in the sacred offices of the Gospel minis- 
try. Through the suggestion of a classmate he was invited 
to take the position of Usher in the Adams Grammar 
School, Boston. Here he continued for eleven months, 
and was then appointed Master of the Hawes Grammar 
School. While there he had under his charge two depart- 
ments, male and female, including two hundred scholars, 
and was w-ithout assistance, except that derived from the 
service of the elder pupils as monitors. So successful 
was he in maintaining discipline and in drilling the moni- 
tors in their duties that, on several occasions, when he 
was detained at home by illness, the routine of the school 
went on as usual. While Master of the Hawes Grammar 
School, Mr. Howe was a regular attendant on St. Matthew's 
Church, South Boston, and was there confirmed by Bishop 
Griswold. From that time he turned his attention to the 
Ministiy, and began to prepare himself for its duties. 
He was admitted as a candidate for Holy Orders in 1830. 
After holding for fifteen months the position of Master in 
the above-named school, he was elected, through the in- 
fluence of Dr. Wayland, Classical Tutor in Brown Univer- 
sity. At this time he was in receipt of a salary of $1500 
per annum, and the compensation offered him in Provi- 
dence did not exceed i?400. But the opportunities for 
pursuing his studies over-balanced, in his judgment, other 
considerations, and he accepted the position. During his 
residence in Providence he was nominated (although but 
twenty-three years of age) for the Mastership of the 
Boston Latin School, and failed of an election by only 
one vote. In Januaiy, 1832, he was ordained Deacon by 
Bishop Griswold in St. Michael's, Bristol. He still con- 
tinued the duties of his Tutorship at Brown, but in July 

5 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



of ihat year the students were dispersed by a sudden 
panic caused by the Cholera. He was not left, however, 
without employment. The pulpit of St. Matthew's Church, 
Boston, being vacant, he was invited to supply it. He 
was called soon after to the Rectorship, and entered upon 
his duties in the autumn of 1832. Remaining in that 
position only a short time, he became Rector of St. James' 
Church, Roxbury. The congregation was then woi-ship- 
ping in a hall ; but active measures were in progress for 
the erection of a church edifice. Under his ministry the 
congregation increased and the church was consecrated 
in 1834. The same year he resigned his Rectorship to 
accept the position of Associate Editor of The Christian 
Witness, his colleague being the Rev. Dr. Stone, Rector 
of St. P.aul's Church, Boston. lie continued to reside at 
Roxbury, and employed his Sundays in supplying vacant 
puipits. Me was ordained to the Priesthood in February, 
1833, in St. Paul's, Boston, by Bishop Griswold. In 1835, 
he was called to the Rectorship of Christ Church, Cam- 
bridge. He accepted the position, still retaining for some 
lime the editorship of The Christian IVitiiess. In 1836, 
he was recalled to Si. James' Church, Roxbury, his former 
parish, under circumstances, indicating such unanimity 
and personal regard, Ihat rendered him unwilling to 
decline. In a brief period the debt of the church was 
reduced from 524,000' to 53000, and, in 1839, a Missionary 
enterprise was begun at Jamaica Plain, which resulted in 
the formation of the parish now known as St. John's 
Church. During the period of his Rectorship at St. James' 
he was engaged in a discussion with the eminent Horace 
Mann. During his sojourn on the continent, Mr. Mann 
had made himself thoroughly acquainted with the Prussian 
school system, and, on his return to America, in 1S45, he 
began to publish strictures on the schools of the United 
States in general and philippics against the Boston school- 
masters in particular. The Rector of St. James' had been 
a Boston schoolmaster, and was still editor of The Chris- 
tian Witness. He stood forth as the advocate of his 
former co-laborers, and the great champion discovered 
that he had called into motion a sling, from which the 
pebbles came smoothly and with an accuracy of aim and 
force of concussion less agreeable than striking. The 
controversy was waged until the eoup de grace came in the 
shape of a jamphlet from Mr. Howe, which silenced his 
adversaries and decided public opinion in favor of the 
American school system for America, and the thirty-one 
Boston schoolmasters for Boston. In the same ye.ir (1845) 
he was called to St. Paul's Church, Louisville, Kentucky, 
which invitation he declined. Early in ihe following year 
he was elected Rector of St. Luke's, Philadelphia, and 
assumed the Rectorship in the spring. The church had 
been built in 1840, and the Rev. W. W. Spear, its first 
Rector, had held that position until .September, 1845. In 
1847, he was elected a member of the Standing Committee 
of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and served that body for 



many years as Secretary. In 1848, he received from 
Brown University the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 
1850, he took his seat in the General Convention as a 
delegate, and was at once elected to the position of Secre- 
tary, which he filled with distinguished ability for the 
period of twelve years, when he declined a re-election. 
Under his Rectorship at St. Luke's various missionary 
and benevolent enterprises were inaugurated. Of these 
the first was the establishment of a night-school for young 
men. Soon after was founded St. Luke's Church Home 
for Aged Women. Then a Sunday-school for colored 
children. This was followed by the inauguration of a 
system of missionary work in the south-western part of the 
city. A hall was engaged, centrally situated in the neigh- 
borhood from which the congregation was to be gathered 
in. A Sunday-school, Sewing-school, Night-school, and the 
usual machinery of Mission work were put into active opera- 
tion, which resulted in the purchase of the neighboring 
Church of the Ascension, which for five years was con 
nected with St. Luke's as its Mission chapel, and after- 
wards became an independent church. On the election 
of Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania, in 1S5S, in conse- 
quence of the failing strength of Bishop Alonzo Potter, 
the name of Dr. Howe came prominently before the Con- 
vention. On the death of Bishop Bowman, a few yeai-s 
later, he was again placed in nomination, but withdrew in 
favor of the Rev. Dr. Stevens. In 1865, he was elected 
Missionary Bishop of Nevada, an ecclesiastical jurisdiction 
including Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. After long 
deliberation he felt it his duty to decline the responsibility. 
The House of Bishops was at once convened, and, on Dr. 
Howe's views of the state of affairs in the proposed 
Diocese being laid before them, they reversed and altered 
their entire plan, making a new division of the field of 
Episcopal Missionary labor. In May, 1S70, the Conven- 
tion of the Diocese of Pennsylvania decided upon a 
division of the Diocese, subject to the approval of the 
General Convention. The Diocese, which it was proposed 
to erect in the Diocese of Pennsylvania, was to consist 
of that part of the Diocese outside of the counties of 
Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, and Bucks. 
This division would leave thirty-seven counties in the new 
Diocese. This division was consented to and ratified by 
the General Convention in October, 1S71. The primary 
Convention assembled at Harrisburg on the 8th of the next 
month, and at the first day's session the new Diocese was 
named The Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. At the 
second day's session the Rev. Dr. Howe was elected 
Bishop, by the following vote : Clerical, 30 to 27 for all 
others ; Lay, 39 affirmative to 32 negative. The consecr.a- 
tion took place in St. Luke's Church, Philadelphia, on 
Thursday, December 28, 187 1. The Bishop's first Epis- 
copal dut)' in his Diocese was performed in Trinity Church, 
Easton, on the 14th of Januai-y, 1S72, and in the following 
June he took up his residence in the City of Reading. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.liDIA. 




AYRE, ROBERT HEYSHAM, General Super- 
intendent of Lehigh Valley Railroad, and Civil 
Engineer, second son of William H. and Eliza- 
beth K. Sayre, was born in Columbia county, Pa., 
October 13th, 1824. His father was born at Bor- 
dentown in 1794, and died in 1872, after forty 
years connection with the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com- 
pany, at Bethlehem. His grandfather, Francis B., was a 
distinguished Philadelphia physician, born in 1766, and 
died a victim to overwork during an epidemic. He was 
one of the founders of the New Jersey Medical Society. 

In 1829, William H. Sayre removed to Mauch Chunk, 
where Robert was educated by James Nowlin, an able 
mathematician. He was reared in the Episcopal Church, 
to which his parents belonged. After service under E. A. 
Douglas, civil engineer, in 1S40-41, enlarging the Morris 
Canal and repairing the Lehigh Company's Works, he was 
employed by the latter, promoted rapidly, detailed to sur- 
vey and build the Back Track and the Panther Creek Val- 
ley Railroads, to open several mines, and finally to erect the 
works for preparing and transporting coal, and the wonder- 
ful machinery of the planes. Judge Packer, then contem- 
plating a railroad between Easton and Mauch Chunk, was 
led by his knowledge of Mr. Sayre to select him for Chief 
Engineer of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, when but twenty- 
eight years old, and after eleven years' service with the 
Navigation Company. In 1855, he became General Super- 
intendent in addition, and has retained both positions to 
this day. 

The leading position Mr. Sayre had in locating and 
building this railroad, he has retained in its development 
and control. He became Chief Engineer of the Pennsyl- 
vania and New York Canal and Railroad Company as the 
Lehigh Valley progressed to the Sus'piehanna, and to a 
connection with the Erie, and was chosen President in 
1870. He accepted the post of Chief Engineer of the 
Easton and Amboy Road when the Lehigh sought a port 
for its coal, and is now constructing this. He is also Presi- 
dent of the .Schrader Mining and Manufacturing Company. 
He was one of the original founders, and is now a director 
of the Bethlehem Iron Company, and is a director of the 
Abbott Iron Company of Baltimore ; of the Luzerne Coal 
and Iron Company ; and the South Bethlehem Gas and 
Water Company. He is a director in the Nescopeck Coal 
Company ; Upper Lehigh Company ; Northampton Iron 
Company ; Easton and Amboy Railroad Company. He is 
a trustee and member of the executive committee of Bishop 
Thorpe School for young ladies ; and a trustee and member of 
the executive committee of the Lehigh University. To the 
value of his services to this latter institution. Bishop Stevens 
on university day, June 24th, 1869, made this valuable and 
graceful testimony : 

" I must mention one name deserving on this occasion 
special commemoration. I mean Robert H. Sayre. 

" Next to Judge Packer, the University is indebted to him, 



not only for his deep and thoughtful interest in the Institu- 
tion, but for the gift to it of one of the essential elements 
of its instruction and success ; the Astronomical Observa- 
tory. This building was erected at the sole expense of Mr. 
Sayre, and contains an Equatorial, a Zenith Sector, an 
Astronomical clock, a Meridian circle, a Prismatic Sextant, 
and other needed instruments constituting an important 
addition to the practical teaching of Astronomy and Geodesy 
The gift reflects special credit upon the large-minded and 
liberal donor, whose name it will bear as the ' Sayre Obser- 
vatoiy ' as long as the University itself shall stand, and of 
that we say, Esto perpetun." 

Mr. Sayre's reputation is closely connected with the his- 
tory of the improvement and development of the Lehigh 
Valley, with which he has had the closest relations since 
1853. Working in concert with Judge Packer, modern 
inventions and the last practical discoveries in science have 
been employed, and so sagaciously employed, as to advance 
the coal and iron interests of that rich section beyond the 
dreams of the most sanguine. The pioneers Hauto, White 
and Plazard had no visions when they opened the valley 
in 1822, of any such accomplishment as is now made 
annually. Nor could this have been reached had Mr. 
Sayre not enjoyed a long and special training ; been en- 
dowed with the peculiar combination of qualities needed, 
and aided by men of equal knowledge, energy and wealth. 
He has always been fortunate in the assistance rendered by 
those whom he employed, on account of his genial man 
ners and care for their success. His great skill as an engi- 
neer is shown in his works. His gov»ernment of men is 
evidenced in the sympathy and achievements of those whom 
he employs, and in their great interest in the works on 
which they are engaged, as well as in their personal 
attachment to their chief. His own conscientious devotion 
to duty, and determination to succeed, infuse all coming 
within his magnetic range, and they have maintained him 
not only in the confidence of great corporations, but as 
well in that of the greater public, who make and unmake 
corporations. Mr. Sayre's manners and character have en- 
deared him among those who cannot appreciate his techni- 
cal abilities, and the whole have in a brief period placed 
him in the front rank of those who have made and are 
making Eastern Pennsylvania a great fact in all the great- 
ness to which it belongs. In the very meridian of life ; 
universally trusted, as much for capacity as for conduct, 
the community and his friends have a right to expect still 
greater performances from Mr. Sayre ; and they are not 
likely to be disappointed. 

Mr. Sayre was married in April, 1846, to Miss Mary E. 
Smith, by whom he had nine children, five of whom — one 
son and four daughters — are living. The son, R. H. Sayre, 
Jr., is now in the employ of the Bethlehem Iron Company. 
His second wife was Mrs. Mary B., widow of Senator 
Broadhead, who brought him two sons, children bv her first 
marriage. 



Iil(X;RAriIl("AL ENCVCLOP/EniA. 




hlORTRIDGE, NATHAN PARKER, Merchant, 
of Philadelphia, was born in Portsnioiilh, New 
Hampshire, November 28, 1829. His father, 
Jolin H. Shorlridge, and his mother, Margaret 
(Tredick), had long lived in that city, where the 
former was engaged in mercantile punsuits. 
Their son was educated at Dover Academy, where he 
ranked high as an apt scholar. When sixteen years of 
age, he came to Philadelphia and entered the Dry Goods 
Commission House of D. S. Brown & Co., at first as an 
office and errand boy. Ambitious of success, and clearly 
recognizing that the right road to it is in unceasing labor 
and undeviating integrity, he rose from his humble position 
to the responsible one of head salesman to the house. 
Twelve years of service had been required to accomplish 
this, and he had reasonable hopes that the next change 
would place him a partner in the firm. The house, how- 
ever, dissolved, and he became associated with one of its 
members, G. F. Peabody, who conducted the same busi- 
ness under a new style (1858). They were eminently 
successful, so much so, that the senior partner was enabled 
to retire in 1863, leaving the concern in the hands of his 
junior. The latter conlinued with his wonted energy, at 
first as the firm of Harris, Shortridge & Co., later as Short- 
ridge, Borden & Co., under which style it is now conducted. 
Beyond the limits of his special business he has an estab- 
lished reputation as a gentleman of uncommon financial 
insight, and integrity. He has been for years a Director 
of the Philadelphia Bank ; is a Director of the American 
Steamship Company. ; and is a member of the Finance 
Committee of the Centenni.il Celebration. In 1853, he 
married Elizabeth J. Rundlett, of Philadelphia. 



MITH, J. WHEATON, D. D., Clergyman, was 
born June 26, 1823, in Providence, Rhode 
Island. His maternal grandfather was James 
Wheaton, a near relative of the celebrated 
author of Wheaton on International La7u, and 
The History of the North Men. Hon. Noah 
Smith, his father, passed most of his life in Maine, where 
he served the State in both branches of the Legislature ; 
as a member of the Governor's Council ; and as State 
Secretary, lie closed his life as Chief Legislative Clerk 
of the United States Scn.ite (1867). While in Maine, he 
lived at Calais, and there it was his son passed his boyhood 
and e.irly years, aiding his father in the lumber business, 
and passing much of his time in the primeval forests 
superintending the workmen. The love of wild nature, 
and the pleasures it offers implanted thus early, have re- 
mained with him ever since, and with his rod and gun he 
has explored almost every hunting and fishing ground from 
the Rocky Mountains to the coasts of Nova Scotia. The 
family attended the Baptist Church, and early in life the 




convictions of religious truth took such firm hold of his 
mind that at the age of twenty he determined to devote 
himself to the ministry. He passed through Brown Uni- 
versity with signal distinction (1844-48), and entered the 
Newton Theological Seminary, where hi completed his 
studies in 1851. His first pa.storate was that of the North- 
ern Street Church, Lowell, Massachusetts, which he entered 
upon before his graduation, and where he continued until 
1853. Early in that year he received a call to the Spruce 
Street Baptist Church, Philadelphia. After some hesita- 
tion, he accepted. He found a feeble community of one 
hundred and thirty members, a debt of §12,000, a pew 
rental of S 1400, and a languishing attendance. In a few 
years the fruits of his labors were seen in a membership 
of over five hundred souls, a complete freedom from debt, 
a pew rental of $5500, and such a demand for larger 
church accommodations that the spacious and handsome 
edifice at the corner of Broad and Spruce streets was 
erected. In this new location he continues with sustained 
zeal the important work to which he has devoted his life. 
Besides the special labors of his pastorate he has held the 
posts of member of the Executive Committee of the Bible 
and Publication Society ; member of the Board of Foreign 
Missions, of the Boards of Trustees of the Crozer Theo- 
logical Seminaiy, and of the Lewisburg University, and 
Corresponding Secrelarj' of the Pennsylvania General 
Baptist Association. He has been active in the estab- 
lishment and extension of the Young Men's Christian 
Association, and was largely instrumental in the founding 
upon a sure basis of the famous noon-day prayer meeting. 
On the outbreak of the war he was among the first clergy- 
men in the city to take decided ground in favor of the 
Union. Sympathy with the South was the dominant feel- 
ing among his congregation, and indeed in the convention 
of which he was a member. His stand at once decided 
matters in the church, and his efforts contributed materially 
to a similar result in the convention. During the whole 
course of the conflict he was a leading spirit in the Christian 
Commission, a thorough going Union man in word and act, 
and personally aided the wounded in the field during the 
battle of the Wilderness. As an author he hxs published 
the Life of fohn P. Crozer, of Upland, and a reply to the 
Rev. Dr. Barnes' e.ssay, Exclusiveism, which was directed 
against the close communion of the Baptist denomination. 
His love of travel and primitive nature have led him to visit 
the I'ur West, where among other feats of mountain climbing 
he ascended alone and unaided Gray's Pe.ak ( 14,251 feet in 
height); to follow the mountain streams of the Adirondac 
regions, St. Croix, and Nova Scotia; and to visit Egypt, 
Palestine, and Syria. Doubtless he has felt the truth of 
the German jroet's words : 

" And this undetermined roving, 

Brings delight, and brings good heed 
That our Striving be with Living, 
And our Living be in Peed." 




Bui- Co ?h:. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




; INGHAM, HENRY H., General, Soldier, and 
Politician, was born in the Ninth Ward of the 
City of Philadelphia, in 1841, his father being Mr. 
James Bingham, of the well-known forwarding 
firm of Bingham & Dock. In 1858, he entered 
Jefferson College at Cannonsburg, where he re- 
mained four years, graduating with high honors in August, 
1862, and receiving the degree of Master of Arts a few years 
subsequent. At the era of his graduation the country was in 
the throes of civil war, and a company of infantry was enrol- 
ling in and around the College. A first lieutenancy in this 
was offered Mr. Bingham, which he accepted. Next month 
he was chosen captain, and his company was attached to the 
140 Reg. Pa. Vol. Inf. On the 26th April, 1863, he was re- 
lieved from duty with his companj, and appointed Judge 
Advocate of the First Division, 2nd Army Corps, then at 
Falmouth, Va., and on the nth of the following June he 
was chosen Judge Advocate of the Corps. In September 

1864, General Hancock, to whose staff he was attached, 
a.sked that he should be appointed Judge Advocate with the 
rank of Major, which w.is granted, this being one of only 
twenty-two commissions in all conferred during the war on 
cfficei's in that department. The reasons assigned in this 
instance are higlily creditable to the subject of this sketch. 
They were "for good conduct and conspicuous gallantry, es- 
pecially at the Wilderness, May 6th, 1864, where he col- 
lected a considerable party of stragglers, and led them against 
the enemy with marked bravery; and at Spottsylvania, May 
I2th, wliere he volunt.irily took part with his regiment in the 
assault and was wounded. He was also wounded at Get- 
tysburg." His abilities and skill were so well dis])layed in 
this staff position that he was rapidly promoted until in April, 

1865, he received the rank of Brevet Brigadier General and 
Judge Advocate of the Middle Military Department, embrac- 
ing the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West 
Virginia, and DL'laware, and finally was honorably discharged 
the service in July 1S66. Durin;^ his life as a soldier Gen. 
Bingham saw a full share of military encounters, was 
wounded at Gettysburg, Spottsylvania and Farmville, and 
was once taken prisoner, but succeeded in m.iking his 
escape. 

After the war Gen. Bingham w.as appointed Chief Clerk 
in the Philailelphia Post Office, Nov. 1S66, and in the fol- 
lowing March was appointed Postmaster. To this office he 
was reappointed by President Grant in 1869 at the request of 
both Senators from this State and the United Congressional 
Delegation from Philadelphia. He was also Treasurer of 
the Republican .State Central Committee in 1869-70-71—72, 
Delegate at large to the National Republican Convention 
from the State of Pennsylvania, in 1872, and Permanent 
Secretary of that body. He resigned the Postmastership of 
Philadelphia Dec. 1st, 1S72, to take possession of the office 
of Clerk of the Courts of Oyer and Terminer, and Quarter 
Sessions of the County of Philadelphia, to which he had 
been elected October 1872. 
9 



In person. Gen. Bingham is of medium height, spare and 
nervous, with penetrating blue eyes, and quick motions. 




COSTA, JACOB M., Physician and Author, was' 
born in the Island of St. Thomas, W. I., Feb. 
7th, 1833. In early life he received a liberal 
education in Europe, acquiring the leading modern 
languages by residing in the countries where they 
are spoken. Returning to the United Slates he 
selected the profession of medicine, and entered the office 
of Prof. Mutter, M. D., of the Jefferson Medical College, 
Philadelphia. ; He received his diploma at this institution 
in 1852, and returned to Europe to prosecute his studies in 
the great hospitals of Paris and Vieima. In 1854 he opened 
an office in Philadelphia, where his skill soon commanded 
attention. He was elected attending physician first at the 
Episcopal Hospital, and sul>sequently at the Philadelphia 
and Pennsylvania Hospitals. Devoting especial attention 
to Practical Medicine and particularly to diseases of the 
heart and lungs, he conducted for a number of years pri- 
vate courses of lectures to medical students on these branches, 
which were highly appreciated and well attended. In 1864 
he was apiiointed Lecturer orf Clinical Medicine at tlie Jef- 
ferson Medical College, and in the spring of 1S72 was 
chosen by the trustees of' that institution to fill the chair of 
Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine, left vacant 
by the death of Prof. Dickson, M. D. This position he 
fills with the utmost benefit to the college and the profession. 
In i860 he married Sarah, second daughter of the late 
George Brinton of Philadelphia. 

As a lecturer, Dr. Da Costa is remarkable for the lucidity 
of his expositions of disease, the fluency and accuracy of his 
language, and the interest which he knows how to throw 
about the dry details of science. As a diagnostician he 
probably has no superior in the United States. 

His contributions to medical literature have been varied, 
and important. The most extended of these is his Medical 
Diagnosis wilh special Reference to Practical Medicine, first 
published in 1864, of which three editions have been sold. 
His first contribution to medical science was a monograph, 
On Epithelial Tninors and Cancer of the Skin, 1852. To 
this followed. An Inquiry, into the Pathological Anatomy 
of Acute' Pneumonia, iS^^; On Cancer of the Pancreas, 
1858; On Serous Apoplexy, 1S59; Inhalation in the Treat- 
ment of Diseases of the Respiratory Passages, 1 867; The 
Physicians of the last Century, 1857; numerous articles in 
the Pennsylvania Hospital Reports ; in the American Jour- 
nal of Medical Science ; and a long series of Clinical Lec- 
tures on Medicine, which have appeared in the Medical and 
Surgical Reporter and Philadelphia Medical Times for a 
number of years. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.'EDIA. 



iNIGHT, EDWARD C, President of the Ameri- 
can Steamship Company, Merchant and Impor- 
ter, was born in Gloucester, now Camden, county. 
New Jersey, December 8th, 1813. He came 
of a family intimately associated with the early 
history of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His 
ancestor, Giles Kni^jht, of Gloucestershire, England, came 
over in the ship " Welcome," with William Penn, sailing 
from England on September 30th, 1682. He settled in 
Byberry, and did in 1726; Mary, his wife, died in 1732. 
Their son, Thom^is Knight, then lived in New Jersey, on a 
place belonging to Titian Leeds, the Almanac maker. 
The parents of E. C. Knight, Jonathan and Rebecca 
Knight, were members of the Society of Friends, to whose 
tenets he himself still adheres. His father was a farmer, 
and died in 1S23. He worked on a farm until 1S30, 
when he obtained a situ.ilion in a country store at Kaighn's 
Point, New Jersey. In that occup.-ition he continued until 
September, 1832, when he engaged as clerk in the grocery 
store of Atkinson & Cu'.hbert, South Street Wharf, Phila- 
delphia, on the river Delaware. At this period, while 
quite young, an incident occurred which indicated the 
character of the future man. He was receiving but four 
dollars per week, when, engaged in his duties, he observed 
a man being carried down the Delaware upon the ice. 
He labored to persuade several men, who were standing 
near, to attempt his rescue. Their reply was, " He will 
be no loss to the community. Let him go." Offering out 
of his own little purse, a dollar apiece to two men, if they 
would rescue him, they succeeded in saving him from his 
perilous position, and placing him upon dry ground. The 
moral was not lost on the preserver. He reasoned that 
if a man's life were worth two dollars, it would be well to 
have that amount always in his pocket for emergencies. 
In May, 1836, he established himself in the grocery 
business on Second street, in the same city, giving his 
mother an interest in the concern. The firm was suf- 
ficiently prosperous to enable them, in 1844, to appropriate 
a sum large enough to pay the balance due by the estate 
of his father, which proved after his death to be deficient 
about twenty per cent. About this time he became in- 
terested in the importing business, acquiring a share in the 
ownership of the schooner " B.altimorc," which was at once 
placed in the San Domingo trade, making regular trips 
between Cape Ilaytien and Philadelphia, freighted princi- 
pally with coffee. In September, 1846, he removed to the 
southeast corner of Water and Chestimt streets, and for 
twenly-scvcn years has been engaged, at first alone and 
then as the principal partner of the firm of E. C. Knight & 
Co., in the wholesale grocer)', commission, importing, and 
sugar refining business. In 1849, this house becime, and 
thereafter continued to be, interested to a considerable 
extent in the California trade; it sent out the first ^leamcr 
that ever plied on the Waters above Sacramento City. The 
business al present is principally that of sugar refining, for 



which purpose the firm occupies two large houses at Bain- 
bridge Street Wharf on the Delaware, and that of import- 
ing molasses and sugar from Cuba, together with teas from 
China. As affording some idea of the close attention 
Mr. Knight has always paid to business, it may be men- 
tioned that during thirty-seven years no one but himself 
has ever signed a note for the firm, and for years he 
worked sixteen hours per day. During the last twenty- 
seven years he has embarked in many enterprizes, and 
discharged the duties of many positions outside of his 
ordinary business. He was President of the Luzerne Coal 
and Iron Company; was a Director in the Lackawanna 
and Bloomsburg Railroad Company ; Director of the 
Southwark Bank, in 1840, and for several years thereafter, 
also the Bank of Conmierce and the Com Exchange 
Bank, and a member of the Board of Trade ; was ap- 
pointed by the City as one of the Trustees of City Ice 
Boats and ser\'ed for twenty years; also a Director in 
ihe Girard Life Insurance and Annuity Trust Company ; 
and, in 1S59, he made several inventions in sleeping cars, 
put them into operation, and subsequently sold his interests 
in the patents to incorporated comjianies. He also served 
as President of the Coastwise .Steamship Company, that 
built in Philadelphia the vessels " John Gibson " and " E. C. 
Knight." He is at present a Director in the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, the North Pennsylvania, the Trenton and West 
Jersey, and other roads. He is also a Director in the 
Guarantee, Fidelity, and Trust Company, Union League, 
Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, Mer- 
chant's Fund. He was also Chairman, for seven years, 
of a Committee of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company 
to assist in establishing a line of American Steamships 
between Philadelphia and Europe. Of the company which 
has grown out of that movement he was first Presitlent. 
This company contracted with Cramp & Sons for four 
ships of over three thousand tons each. All of them are 
now in service — the " pjnnsylvania," the "Ohio," the 
" Indiana," and the " Illinois,'' and have proved first- 
class vessels. This enterprise promises to confer marked 
adv.mt.ages upon Philadelphia, and E. C. Knight's efforts 
in bringing mallei's to their present salisfacloi"y condition 
meet with high appreciation at the hands pf the mercantile 
community, and of all who are concerned for the material 
prosperity of the city of Philadelphia. In politics also he 
has been prominent, acting latterly with the Republican 
party. In 1S56, he was nominated by the American, 
Whig, and Reform parties for Congress in the First Dis- 
trict of Pennsylvania. He was an elector from the same 
district on the Presidential ticket, when Abraham Lincoln 
was first elected President. He is a member of the Con- 
vention (1873) assembled for the purpose of revising the 
Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania, in which his 
long and varied business experience has rendered his ad- 
vice much sought and his influence potent for good. His 
name is a synonym for integrity and honor. 



\ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



(AGE, COL. JAMES, Lawyer and Politician, son of 
Stephen and Mary Page, was born in Philadelphia, 
March 8th, 1795. Except a few years in early 
childhood, the entire life of Colonel Page has been 
passed in the city of his birth, with many of whose 
most prominent interests lie has long been identi- 
fied, ^fter receiving a plain English education he entered 
at the age of fourteen the office of Peter A. Browne, Esq.," at 
that time a successful member of the Philadelphia baV. He 
was admitted to practice March 16th, 1816, and prosecuted 
his profession with activity. From early manhood he tool< 
an honorable and jiatriotic interest in political questions, and 
soon became a recognized leader of the Democratic party, 
and occupied many offices of trust and honor in both the 
municipal and general governments. He has been member 
and President of Common Council, member of Select Coun- 
cil, County Treasurer, Solicitor of the Board of Heallli and 
County Commissioners, Democratic Nominee for Mayor, Pre- 
sident of the State Democratic Association, and one of the 
Commissioners for the erection of the new Public Buildings. 
During the administrations of Presidents Jackson and Van 
Bureii he was Postmaster of Philadelphia, and under Post- 
mxster General Amos Kendall he had for a time the general 
control of the New York Post Office. Under President 
Polk he was appointed Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, 
and under President Jackson held the position of Commis- 
sioner of Bankruptcy. 

His military career has been equally varied and honorable. 
He began as a private in the State Fencibles, an organization 
raised in 1813 during the war with Great Britain under the 
command of Captain (afterwards Colonel) C. C. Biddle. 
It w.as mustered into the U. S. Service in 1SJ4, and the sub- 
ject of our sketch was in the field at Camp BToomfield, 
Brandywine, Dupont, and other ]5laces, remaining witli his 
command until it was mustered out of service Jan., 3, 1815. 
Shortly after the close of the war he was elected' Captain, 
and retained the rank until April 26th, 1861, almost h.alf a 
century, shortly after which date the corps was disbanded by 
the Act of Assembly of May nth, 1S64. In thi&])eidod h.e 
led his men in all the services they rendered — in the Buck- 
shot war, and the riots of 1S44 in Kensington and in South- 
w.ir'k, where several of his men were killed in repelling an 
assault. On this trying occasion Capt.iin Page was publicly 
complimented by the commanding officer for his bravery 
and discretion. In 1823 he was elected Major, and soon 
afterwards Colonel of the Second Reg. Pa. Vol. Inf.,t!ie 128th 
of the line, and has also held the position of Colonel of the 
First Reg. Pa. Vol. Inf., the lo8th of the line; .and is now 
(1872) President of the civil organization of the State Fen- 
cibles, now re-established as a volunteer corps, and Com- 
mander of its Old Guard. 

Col. Page is also widely known as a Mason. His career 
began in Rising Star Lodge No. 2, in 1822. In 1825 he 
was elected to the Supreme Degree of R. A. M. in Jerusa- 
lem II. R. A. C, and in 1848 was elected for the sixth time 




\V. M. of Lodge 126. He was chosen S. G. W. of the 
State of Pennsylvania in 1843, and •" 1845 and 1847 R. W. 
G. M. He has long been Chairman of the Committee on 
Appeals, and has coutriliuted much to define and estal)lish 
Masonic jurisprudence in the State. He is Chairman of 
the Trustees of the Building Fund for the new Masonic 
Building on Broad street, and was Chairman of the Building 
Committee for the Hall on Chestnut street. His social posi- 
tion has always been commensurate with the many respon- 
sible and important posts he has filled. 



lOMPSON, HON. JAMES, Lawyer and Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, was 
born in Butler Co. 1806. He received an academic 
education at Butler, Pa., and first commenced 
business as a printer. He removed to Kittanning 
and entered the office of Thomas Blair, Esq., 
to stud;- bw, whence he was admitted to the bar in 1829. 
He settled in Franklin, Veningo County. Being a terse 
and vigorous writer, and debater, he' soon acquired a large 
practice, and, in 1S32, 1S33, 1834, and 1835, he was elected 
Democratic Member of .\ssembly, from the district com- 
posed of Venango and Warren counties. In the last men- 
tioned year he was chosen Speaker of the House, al- 
though one of tfie youngest members of that body, and his 
decisions on' parliamentary questions were not overruled 
in a single instance. Resuming the practice of his pro- 
fession at the close of his legisfative career, he was ap- 
pointed, in 1839, by Gov. Porter, District Judge in the Sixth 
Judicial District, which position he occupied with uniform 
credit till 1844, at which date he was elected to Congress by 
the Democrats of Erie, Warren, Potter, Elk, Jefferson, and 
Clarion, after a close contest. .'\ re-election in 1S46, and a 
second one in l848,,gavg him six years on the floor of Con- 
gress. During this residence at the National Capitol he 
took an active share in the many important debates which 
occurred at this epoch of our history, especially those relat- 
fng to the admission of Texas and the Mexican war, and 
during his last term was chairman of the Judiciary Com- 
mittee. On March 4th, 1851, he retired, declining a re- 
nf>mination, and returned to his profession. At the general 
election in 1855 he was chosen, contrary to his wishes, 
as the Democratic candidate to represent his district in the 
House of Rejjresentatives of Pa. at Harrisburg. After the 
close of his term he was renominated both for this position 
and for Congress, but declined both honors. He preferred 
to give his whole time in futine to the calls of his profession, 
and soon attracted general attention by his able arguments 
especially in the " Erie Railroad Cases," in which the most 
eminent legal talent of the .State was engaged. In 1857 
he was elected to the Supreme Bench of the State, and served 
until 1866 as Justice, and after that date as Chief Justice. 
In his speeches he is terse and pointed, and is imp.-Ttient 



mOGRAl'HICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA 




of tedious and irrelevant argument in others. His social 
qualities have gained him a large share of personal popular- 
ity, and as a gentleman of high character and standing he is 
well known beyond the limits of his native State. 



I HILI.DIN, ALEXANDER, Merchant, senior part- 
ner of one of the oldest and most respected mer- 
cantile houses in Philadelphia, was horn in that 
city, Jan. 28, 1808. His father. Captain Daniel 
Whilldin, was a well-known shipm.ister in the 
present century, and resided in early life at Cape 
May, N. J. In 1812, Captain Whilldin sailed from a French 
port and was lost, it is supposed, at sea, as tlie vessel was 
never heard from. His widow, after waiting vainly for tid- 
ings, returned to the old homestead at Cape May, taking with 
her her little boy, the subject of this sketch, and his two 
sisters. Here he remained until he was sixteen years of 
age, helping his mother to man.ige the farm and take care 
of her slender resources. At that age (1824) he obtained 
occupation in a store in Phil.adelphia as junior apprentice, 
part of whose humble duties in those days was to build the 
fire and sweep the floor each morning. His unswerving de- 
votion to business, his entire integrity and his willingness to 
work soon gained for him the confidence not merely of his 
cm]iloyers but of all who knew him. In 1832 he com- 
menced on his own account, and since that time he has not 
been out of business a day, and now conducts a large 
commission house in wool, cottons, and yarns in Front street, 
within a stone's throw of where he first set u]> his sign nigh 
forty years ago. But one other firm — that of David S. Brown 
— remains of those who, at that time, were his neighbors and 
competitors. 

Trom early years Mr. Whilldin has been a devoted and 
prominent member of the Presbyterian Church, and has been 
.1 Presiding Elder in it for more than thirty years. He has 
also lon^ been identified with numerous charitable and be- 
nevolent institutions. Of many such positions he has held, 
we may mention his directorship in the .American .Sunday 
School Union, the Philadelphia Tract Society, the Presbyte- 
rian Hospital, the Presbyterian Board of Publication, the 
Union Temporary Home for Children, etc., etc. For fifteen 
years he has been President of the American Life Insurance 
Co., from its feeble commencement to its present position 
of strength; and also, for many years, Vice-President of 
the Ci>ni Exchange Hank. W^ithin the last few years 
Mr. Whilldin's three sons h.ive become .associated with him 
in his l>usiness, and the leisure thus obt lined he has devoted 
to the iihilanthropic interests which have always been so 
much in his thoughts, and also to a somewhat extended tour 
in Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land. As a model merchant 
of the old school, and an upright Christian gentleman, Mr. 
Whilldin may justly bL- pronounced one of the first examples 
in our Commonwealth. 




E>n;XT, WILLIAM BARXES, was born May 
loih, 1 81 7, in Bradford, Merrimac county, N. H.; 
a town not remote from the capital. He was the 
son of Samuel Bement, who combined the callings 
of smith and farmer, as was not unusual to the more 
enterprising men of that time. In accordance 
with the good New England course, by which so many able 
men have sprung from narrow means, he attended the dis- 
trict school in winter ; and working on the foundation thus 
laid, educated himself by assiduous study and self-culture. 
He commenced life by assisting his father and brother, and 
while attending school during the day I.ibored far into night, 
thus laying deep and strong the foundation on which he has 
1 since built. At the early age of seventeen he left home and 
was apprenticed to the machine business at Peterlrarougli, 
New Hampshire, to serve three years. At the expiration of 
two, his progress had been such that he was taken into the 
j firm ; his brother purchasing an interest for him. Tlie firm 
I of Moore & Colby then became Moore & Bement. Hii 
' brother remained in it one year, when William took his in- 
terest. The business was exceedingly dull at this period, 
and in 1837 to 1839, he was intereste<l in making cotton 
and woollen machinery. In 1840, he married Miss Emily 
Russell, of Royalton, Vermont, and the same fall removed 
to Manchester, and was connected with the Amoskeag 
Machine shops, whose reputation is now so widely extended, 
in manufacturing the same class of goods. In 1S42, he re- 
moved with his family to Mishawaka, Indiana, to superin- 
tend some woollen machinery shops; but the works being 
destroyed by fire just before his arrival West, he was sud- 
denly thrown out of employment with but ten dollars in the 
world. His energy and skill, however, soon brought hiin 
out of his troubles, and in a short time he built up quite a 
flourishing business as gunsmith. The enter])rise he here 
displayed, led to his engagement as superintendent of the .St. 
Joseiih Iron Company's machine shop. It was there that he 
designed and manufactured an engine lathe, an extr.aordinary 
fe.at, considering that he had to make the necessary tools for 
the purpose. Fire again demolished his employer's works, 
but they were soon rebuilt, and he was again at work in his 
element. During the three years here engaged, he invented 
and constructed a variety of machines and tools, one of 
which, a gear cutting machine, w.as the first ever manufac- 
tured in the West. With an enviable reputation, he returned 
East in 1847, and at once undertook contracts to build 
cotton and woollen machinery for the Lowell Machine shops, 
and ultimately .assumed management of the p.itlern and de- 
signing departments. Full scope w.as here afforded to his 
genius as inventor, designer, an<l draftsman. For six years 
he was connected with this concern, and the importance of 
that connection to his employers was attested by a rapid en- 
hancement in the reputation and popularity of the goods 
m.ade. In 1851, acconip.anied by his nephew, G. A. Colby, 
he came to this city, and the two associated themselves with 
Mr. E. D. Marshall, who was then owner of the machine 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



13 




shop from which the present works sprung. For about 
tliree years the Ijusiness continued in their hands, and in 
1854, Mr. James Dougherty, a practical and thorough iron 
founder, became a partner. In 1S70, Mr. Dougherty retired, 
and Mr. Bement then gave his son Clarence S., an interest, 
the style of the firm now (1S72) being William B. Bement 
& Son. 



i|EA, HENRY CHARLE.S, Publisher and Author, 
was born in Philadelphia, September 19, 1825. 
His ancestors were members of the Society of 
Friends, and were descendants of John Lea, a 
distinguished " preacher" who came to the Colony 
in 1700. Mr. Isaac Lea, father of the subject 
of this sketch, married in 1S21 Frances, d.iughter of Matthew 
Carey, at that time head of one of the. oldest pul)lishing 
houses in America, and entered the firm with his father-in- 
law. The membership of the firm underwent various changes 
until the business passed entirely into the hands of Mr. 
Henry C. Lea. In former years its pulilications were varied, 
embracing the writings of Scott, Irving, Cooper, Dickens, 
etc., but at present Mr. Lea engages exclusively in medical 
and scientific works, of which he publislies the largest 
variety of any American house. 

Mr. Lea's education was conducted under private tutors, 
among others the eminent mathematician Eugenius Nulty. 
' He commenced his business career in 1843, ^' ^ clerk in 
his father's store, and became junior partner in 1S51. While 
he has long been regarded as one of Pliiladelphia's soundest 
and most successful business men, Mr. Lea enjoys also a 
merited reputation for profound and solid scholarship, and 
has contributed to the highest class of historical literature 
several works which have given him an enduring reputation 
among scholars both at home and abroad. The earliest of 
these was a volume published in 1866, entitled Superstition 
and Force, containing several articles which originally ap- 
peared in the North American Review upon " The Wager 
of Battle," "The Wager of Law," "The Ordeal," and 
" Torture." This work received the highest encomiums from 
both the English and American press, lieing described by 
the London Athenecum as " one of the most remarkable 
books we have met with." He followed it the next year 
with a volume entitled Sacerdotal Celibacy in the Christian 
Church, and still later, in 1870, with his Studies in Church 
History. Of these latter works Dean Milman, the historian 
of Latin Christianity remarked : " The United States may be 
proud of one who combines German industry with strong 
pr.actical English good sense, justice and honesty." Such 
results are the more astonishing, as Mr. Lea's studies were in 
early manhood several times interrupted by protracted ill- 
ness, while during the civil war his attention was largely 
claimed by the distracted condition of the country. He 
became a member of the Union League from its organiza- 



tion, and held appointments on its Board of Directors, and 
also on its Military Committee, and Committee of Publica- 
tion. In this latter capacity he wrote many of tlie pamphlets 
and addresses issued by the League. Among the numerous 
products of his pen at this time we give the titles of the fol- 
lowing: in 1S62, The First Duty of the Citizen; 1863, A 
Few Words for honest Pennsylvania Democrats; Bible View 
of Polygamy; Democratic Opinions on Slavery; in 1864, 
Abraham Lincoln; The Will of the People; A Demo- 
cratic Peace offered for the Acceptance of Pennsylvania 
Voters ; To the Soldiers of the Union ; The Democratic 
Times ; The Great Northern Conspiracy ; Memorial to Con- 
gress on the Subject of Bounties to Volunteers ; in 1865, 
The Record of the Democratic Party; in 1866, Address of 
the Union League to the Citizens of Pennsylvania ; in 

1867, The Crisis; in 186S, Democratic Frauds; How the 
Democrats carried Pennsylvania in 1867; Repudiation; in 

1868, The New Rebellion; Address of the Union League. 
Frequent articles in the Koi-th American Review, the New 
York Nation, and other leading periodicals of the d.iy, also 
flowed from Mr. Lea's fertile pen during these years. Nor 
did his activity confine itself to writing merely. At a time 
when the drafting of citizens for soldiers caused great agita- 
tion in the puljlic mind, Mr. Lea organized and carried out 
the system of offering bounties to volunteers, which was sub- 
sequently generally adopted. After the war he interested 
himself with equal ardor in the political questions of the day, 
and wrote forcibly in support of the first legislative efforts for 
reform in the civil service. His labors in the field of social 
improvement led to his election as a member and shortly after- 
wards as President of tlie Pliiladelpliia branch of the .American 
.Social Science Association. As a member of the Industrial 
League, organized in 1868, he has given much attention to 
the complicated questions of tariff and protection, throwing 
his influence in favor of a thoroughly protective policy on 
the part of the Government. With the aid of a few fellow- 
workers, he organized, in 1871, the Citizer.F' Municipal 
Reform Association of Philadelphia, the aim of which is and 
has been to secure a reform of the extravagance, incapacity, 
and disregard of right principles which has so long charac- 
terized certain departments of the city government. He still 
gives to this important subject a large share of attention, and 
the results already achieved speak much for the tact and 
energy with which it has been managed. Few men of the 
day can be found who have prosecuted such numerous and 
divergent lines of activity as Mr. Lea, and none who have 
gained higher credit in all of them, yet such has been the 
direction of his energies th.it he is least known to his fellow- 
citizens for that for which he is most admired abroad. 

The studies to which he has devoted so much research 
demand a knowledge of mediaeval dialects rarely found 
even in those who are students only ; and the subjects upon 
which he has sought to throw the light of clear historic in- 
vestigations are essentially those which most intimately con- 
cern the dignity and social progress of the race. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCI OP.^DIA. 



cPPLIER, CHARLES ANTHONY, retired mer- 
chant, was born in Philadelphia, March 25th, 
1804. His mother, Catharine AUgaicr, was a 
native of Philadelphia ; his father came from 
Strasburg, Alsace. Both parents always mani- 
fested a natural pride in being able to trace their 
ancestry back for centuries, and particularly in the fact that 
their old blood had always flowed in Catholic veins. Dur- 
ing his infancy his parents removed to Reading. There 
he remained until early manhood, and receive<l a common 
school education. On leaving school he was placed by his 
father in the counting-house of an old friend, a French 
importer in New York. Here his persevering industry, 
strict integrity, and business abilities soon won the full 
confidence of his employer, and the respect and esteem of his 
associates. Here also he imbibed many lessons of practical 
wisdom and experience that largely contributed to his 
after success. During his ten years' service in this house 
he made frequent voyages, as Sujicrcargo, to New Orleans 
and the West Indies. This w.is ultim.itely the cause of 
his return to Philadelphia. He found that the climate of 
the tropics was gradually undermining his health ; so he 
abandoned the position and came to Philadelphia. In this 
city he associated himself as senior partner with his two 
brothers in the coal business. That interesf ^vas then but 
in its infancy, and many adverse circumstances tended 
greatly to check the enterprise of timid and hesitating 
capitalists. The Repplier Brothers united with courage 
and determination, rare judgment and foresight. Looking 
forward they grasped the great importance of the coal 
production of the country, and they at once adopted a 
course so decided and successful that their name soon 
assumed a ruling influence in the trade. This influence 
the house has retained unimpaired almost to the present 
day. The brothers had vicissitudes, but never succumbed 
in any degree to them ; difficulties were bravely met, and, 
by careful consideration and sturdy effort, surmounted. 
These sterling qualities combined with boldness in business 
operations brought to them wealth before they attained 
the meridian of life. Such a combination is comparatively 
rare, but when it exists success is assured to the possessor. 
In 183S, the subject of this sketch, who had previously 
taken no prominent position in politics, contenting himself 
with the intelligent discharge of his duties as a citizen, 
was solicited by the residents of North Mulberry Ward to 
represent them in Councils. He consented and was 
elected on the old Whig ticket. At the expiration of his 
term he was re-elected, and served until the riots occurred 
in 1844. Then, disgusted with the brutal excesses of Law- 
breakers and the criminal passiveness of nilers, he with- 
drew for life from all active participation in politics. 
During the period of his public life he served with dis- 
tinction as one of the Girard Commissioners, then engaged 
in the erection of the noble college buildings that have 



phia. He retired from active business, in 1852, with a 
satisfactory competence. In the summer of the same year 
he sailed for Europe, and joined in Paris his only daughter, 
the late wife of Judge Bolivar D. Danels, of Baltimore, 
whom he had sent there to be educated. With her he 
made an extended tour through France, Germany, and 
Italy, visiting nearly all the scenes of historic interest in 
those lands. During his stay in Rome he formed an 
intimate friendship with the celebrated Dr. Kirby, Presi- 
dent of the Irish College, and on several occasions had 
the honor of a private interview with the Pope. On his 
return to Philadelphia he purchased the old Cntholic 
Herald, and published it for several years. During 1855 
he .wrote for it a series of letters, forty in number, chiefly 
descriptive of Catholic art, religious institutions, churches, 
etc., in Continental Europe. They attracted much atten- 
tion and admiration, and were widely copied in both 
secular and religious papti^s throughout the country. The 
beauty and originality of expression, the acute observation 
and judicious criticism, the poetic fervor and profound 
religious feeling they displayed, commanded at once the 
interest and approval of the lettered, while former business 
associates were surprised to find in the shrewd, hard-work- 
ing merchant an art critic of consummate ability. During 
his absence in Europe he was elected President of the 
Beneficial Saving Fund. He accepted the position and 
still holds it. To its management he brought long and 
varied business experience, and his wise and able adminis- 
tration of its afliairs has raised it from a small beginning 
in a private house on Thirteenth street to a place among 
the most succrssful institutions of the kind in the city. 
For more than forty years he has been intim.itely connected 
with all contemporary Catholic movements, and their records 
give convincing evidence of the deep interest he has 
always manifested in their welfare. He was one of the 
principal projectors of St. John's Orphan Asylum, an institu- 
tion in which he occupied a prominent office until a very 
recent period. He has been one of the warmest patrons of 
St. Joseph's Hospital since the time of its organization, and 
has been its Treasurer for the last twenty-three yearx. In 
the building of the Cathedral he displayed an earnest 
interest, and has always promoted to the best of his ability 
the welfare of St. Charles' Seminary, of which he is 
Trustee and Secretary at the present time. With the 
church dignitaries of the diocese he has always enjoyed 
the most intimate and friendly relations ; by Archbishops 
Kendrick and Hughes he was m.ade the recipient of 
especial confidence. Shortly after settling in Philadelphia 
he married Eliz.ibeth Myers Rees, daughter of George 
and Elizabeth Rees, of the same city. The many posi- 
tions of honor and trust conferred upon him, without 
solicitation, afford the strongest testimony that could be 
given as to his public character and sterling worth as si 
private citizen. Whether as merchant, journalist, or gentle. 



since added so much to the beauty and fame of Philadel- 1 man, his record is wholly honniable. 




<2<) V^4^ |.-.^XX 




^e^^^^L^^^ ^^^r^ 



C<..<l<U,/t,-&yt'-e^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




'5 



'USGRAVE, REV. GEORGE W., D. D., LL. D., 
Clergyman, was bom in Philadelpliia, October 
19th, 1804. His falhev, Josepli, immisjraled from 
the noith of Ireland in boyhood; and his 
mother, Catharine Schaumensepsel, was born in 
Philadelphia. As his father died in the son's 
infancy, his education was devolved upon his mother. 
He was chiefly taught at the Classical Academy, by Rev. 
Samuel B. Wylie, D. D., and was fitted to enter the 
Junior Class, at Princeton, when his health failed and he 
continued his studies at home. The parents were members 
of the Second Presbyterian Church, and their son was 
under the catechetical tuition of Rev. Drs. Ashbel Green 
and J. J. Janeway, until, after his father's death, with his 
mother, he joined the church at Second and Coates (Rev. 
James Patterson). He then studied for the ministry in 
Princeton Theological Seminary, and was licensed by the 
Baltimore Presbytery in the fall of 1S2S; ordained and 
installed over the Third Presbyterian Church of that city, 
in July, 1S30. Side by side with Rev. Dr. Wdliam Nevins 
and Rev. R. J. Breckinridge, D. D., LL. D., he labored 
for twenty-two years, and with remarkable success. Three 
times his church was enlarged to accommodate the ever- 
enlarging congregations attracted by liis piely anil power. 
His influence extended beyond his congregation, and' iii 
all the Presbyteries and Synods he came to be the recog- 
nized Icider of orthodoxy and Presbyterianism. His de- 
nominational sermons were mixed with history, argument, 
and philosophy, and were not only published at the request 
of those who heard them, but also republished by the 
Presbyterian Board. Elected a Director of the Princeton 
Theological Seminary in 1S36, he has been uninterruptedly 
re-elected since. He received the degree of D. D. from 
the College of New Jersey, in 1845. He was made a 
Trustee of the college in 1S59, and retains the office. The 
University of Indiana gave him the degree of Legiim 
Doitor;m 1862. lie accepted the post of Corresponding 
Secrelaiy of the Presbyterian Board of Publication, in 
1852, and left Baltimore. The next year he was chosen 
Corresponding Secretary of the Board of Domestic Mis- 
sions, and retained it until failing vision compelled him to 
resign, in 1861. Recovering from the worst symptoms, he 
became Pastor of the North Tenth Street Church, Phila- 
delphia; and though burdened by increasing infirmities, 
labored with his usual energy and success to the fall of 
1868. lie was again made Corresponding Secretary of 
Domestic Missions; and during his tenure of ofSce, 
51,048,237 were received into the treasury and very many 
more missionaries were aided. He showed great adminis- 
trative abilities, as well as much zeal and energy. The 
first movements to heal the rupture of 1S37, between the 
Old and New School branches of the Church, were vigor- 
ously seconded by Dr. Musgrave. In the remarkalile 
gathering of representatives of all schools and standings, 



convened in Philadelphia, in the Presbyterian National 
Union Convention, of November, 1867, he was a lead- 
ing spirit and director and counsellor. He first proposed 

the basis of reunion, in the precise form adopted " the 

doctrinal and ecclesiastical basis of our common stand- 
ards," accompanied by the "Concurrent declarations." 
This plan was issued in a circular to the Presbyterians of 
the Central Presbytery of Philadelphia. Chosen Moderator 
of the General Assembly, at ."Mbany, New York, May, 
1868, and member and Chairman of its Committee on 
Reunion, the next November, the basis having been 
approved by more than the necessary two-thirds Presby- 
teries, he saw the great Union perfected at Pittsburgh at 
the adjourned meeting. lie was at once made Chairman 
of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ; and the plan 
he reporte'd to the first re-united General Assembly, in 
Philadelphia, May, 1870, was adopted. Since then, he 
has been engaged upon Assemblies, Synods, and Presby- 
teries, Boards and Committees, and, known and esteemed 
everywhere", has received all of the "honors" he could 
accept. The Cincinnali Herald atid Presbyler said 
of him : ? The only honorary degree possessed by his 
brethren generally, to which he has not attained, is that 
of ' husband of one wife ' " — he never married ; — " but, 
notwithstanding, as in the case of a more eminent ser\ant 
of the Church, he has not been a whit behind the cliiefest 
modern apostle." His commanding influence is found in 
his sincere piety, power in conversation, preaching, and 
prayer; devotion to pure Calvinispi; thorough, yet catholic 
Presbyterianism ; full knowledge of ecclesiastical law 
and practice ; faultless logical proce.sses ; mastery of 
parliamentary law and usage ; indomitable energy, that 
has for years enabled him to triumph over partial blind- 
ness and other infirmities; and, more than all, powers of 
debate, rarely equalled and never excelled, of which Dr. 
John Hall said, at Chicago, " we are all proud of them." 
Since 1862, he has resided in Philadelphia, and been 
active and useful in the Church. He was chosen Presi- 
dent of the Philadelphia Presbyterian Alliance, for evan- 
gelistic work in the city, that was formed in 1869, and 
retains the post. That organization originated the Pres- 
byterian Hospital, chartered in 1871, and opened July 
1st, 1872. He is President of its Board of Trustees, 
and in that capacity helped to secure the princely dona- 
tion of 1(300,000 from John A. Brown, that assured its 
success. It cannot be said that " his sight is not dim;" 
but, "his n.itural force is not ab.ited." His counsel is 
now more sought than ever by the lowest and the highest 
in the Presbyterian denomination. There Is no branch 
to which this djes not apply ; none that is not bene- 
fited by it. Surrounded and revered by a host of warm 
friends, it is earnestly hoped by thousands that he may 
be spared to the community for many years of continuing 
usefulness. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.'EDIA. 



_^ANK, J. RINALDO, President of ihe Tobacco 
^\f* Trade of Philadelphia, was born in Anne Arun- 
del county, Marj'land, on the 14th of November, 
181 7. His education was received in the City 
of Baltimore, chiefly at the Classical and Mathe- 
matical Academy, under the superintendence of 
John P. Brice, that being one of the best private schools in 
the State. His mercantile career commenced in 1834, at 
the age of seventeen, as a clerk in the flour and produce 
business, at which period, as no railroads were then known, 
all produce from the West was brought into the city by 
wagons, returning loaded with groceries, dry goods, and 
other necessaries, thus creating much animation in the busi- 
ness streets. He did not, however, lemain long after this in 
his native State, but removed to Philadelphia, where he 
entered the house of Pope & Aspinwall, a branch of the 
firm of Howland & Aspinwall, of New York, in which 
house he acted in the capacity of clerk, during the winter 
of 1835-6. This kind of business not being suitable to 
his tastes, he engaged as clerk in the house of Heald, 
Woodward & Co., then the leading firm in the tobacco 
commission business. Here he acquired the knowledge 
which enabled him, a few years later, to embark in the 
same line on his own account, and in 1S46, he formed a 
partnership with Cli.arles R. D.inenhower with the style 
of Charles R. Danenhower & Co., thus commencing a 
trade with which he has been, for over a third of a century, 
identified. After the dissolution of this firm, in 1848, he 
associated himself with the late Henry Sailor, doing busi- 
ness as Sailor & Sank, continuing thus till January I, 1858, 
when the present firm of J. Rinaldo Sank & Co., was 
inaugurated, the members of it being the subject of this 
sketch, Wm. M. Abbey, and Josei>h Brooke. Although, 
during the first twelve years of his mercantile life, his 
name occupied the jiosition of that of a junior partner, he 
W.VS in reality the chief, as the management and conduct 
of the business devolved entirely on him, rendering him 
virtually the head of the house since its foundation, twenty- 
six years ago. During this lapse of time, all the old 
tobacco comiTiission houses then existent have disappeared, 
most of their members sleeping in their graves; the present 
flourishing houses of Dohan & Taitt, M. E. McDowell & 
Co., and many others all being of later date. For several 
years previous to the organization called The Tobacco 
Trade of Philadelphia, the formation of such a body had 
been contemplated, but was deferred until the passage by 
the National Legislature of certain laws, which in their 
execution would materially militate against the interests 
of the trade. Then it w.as that the merchants and manu- 
facturers were awakened to the urgency of uniting, with 
the view of protecting themselves against the action of 
badly advised and negligently constructed enactments. 
The "trade" of other cities was already represented by 
eagucs, l>oards, or associations, and Philadelphia also 
lesolved to follow their example. On the 23d of May, 



1868, a number of the houses interested in the tobacco 
trade met by convention and decided on forming an asso- 
ciation, for their mutual benefit. At this meeting the. 
then new. Internal Revenue Bill was discussed, its stringent 
provisions astonishing most of those ])resent, and giving rise 
to an animated debate which led to measures being taken 
to have the law shorn of some of its most objectional 
features. At the next meeting (June I, 186S,) a constitu 
tion and by-laws were adopted and officers elected, as 
follows : President, D. C. McCammon ; Vice-President, 
W. H. Fuguet; Secretary, Wm. M. Abbey; and Treasurer, 
George W. Bremer, with ten directors, representing the 
different interests of the trade. Soon, as many as seventy 
firms having joined the a.ssociation, it was deemed advis- 
able to establish a daily exchange, for which purpose the 
commodious premises at 129 and 131 North Front street 
were enga'ged and handsomely fitted up, their inaugura- 
tion, in .-Vpril, 1869, being the occasion of a grand banquet, 
given to a numerous company of members and guests. 
At the first annual meeting of this body, on June 7, 1869, 
the following ofiicers, who still hold their respective posi- 
tions, were elected : President, J. Rinaldo Sank ; Vice- 
President, A. R. Fougeray ; Treasurer, G. W. Bremer ; 
Secretary, B. A. Van Schaick. Although the establish- 
ment of a daily exchange appeared in the eyes o( the 
leaders of this movement most beneficial to the interests 
of the trade, the majority of the members failed to be con- 
vinced and the rooms were consequently abandoned, at 
the close of the year 1870, the subsequent meetings of the 
directors being held at the office of the president. No. 31 
North Water street. The wisdom of maintaining such an 
organization is apparent, aiding, as it does, the prompt 
action of its members in cases of emergency, and the asso- 
ciation has b;cii eminently fortunate in its selection of a 
president. On the 4th of March, 1873, a new bank went 
into operation, at the corner of Market and Strawberry 
streets, the directors of which are some of the most in- 
fluential citizens, one of their number being the subject 
of this notice, who may always be found at his post at the 
board. We are plexsed to hear that the affairs of this 
bank have thus far been so prosperous as to warrant the 
erection of a new and handsome edifice, bearing on its 
front the title of the State Bank. In politics, he has 
through life consistently adhered to the Democratic party, 
whose estimation of his merits and influence has been 
fittingly evinced by his election to the office of President 
of the Central Association of Pennsylvania Democrats, a 
position not unlikely to prove the stepping-stone to one of 
much greater imjmrtance. Though thoroughly loyal to 
his party and belief, his extreme amiability of disposition, 
sound judgment, and vast experience in life, never induce 
him to restrain the expression of his opinions when proper 
occasions require, though never oflensively or unnecessarily 
obtruding them. He is one of the representatives of the 
old school of merchants. 




•.^■rubCc ?h,-.. 



^^^yJZ 






UKKJRAPHICAL 

;ING, HON. HENRV, Lawyer and Legislator, 
late of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was born in 
Massachusetts, in the town of Palmer, July 6, 
1790. He received his early education in the 
local schools, and at the age of twenty com- 
menced the study of law in the office of Wm. 
H. Brainerd, of New London, Connecticut. The war 
with Great Britain which commenced soon afterwards 
4tisturbed the quiet of that sea-port so much, that he re- 
moved to Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, in order to pursue 
his studies without interruption. He there entered the 
office of the Hon. Garrick Malkry, and was admitted to 
the bar in April, 1812. He immediately removed to Allen- 
town, where, for several years, he was the only representative 
of his profession. His ability soon rendered him promi- 
nent among the lawyers of that judicial district. In 1825, 
and again in 1829, he was elected to the Senate of the 
State, and in 1830, was chosen as Representative in 
Congress, which position he filled until 1834. During 
this period of his life his devotion to the interests of his 
State is abundantly testified by the official reports. As 
Chairman of the Judiciaiy Committee, of the Committee 
on Corporations, and of the Committee to remodel the 
Penitentiary system, he carried through some of the most 
important reforms of the day. The last mentioned^ubject 
— that of the discipline of convicts — excited his most 
earnest attention. Adopting the views of the Prison Dis- 
cipline Society of Philadelphia, he urged their measures 
in opposition to the plans advocated by Judge King, of 
Philadelphia, and others, who preferred the New York 
system. He succeeded, and the plans now in force were 
adopted, and with such general satisfaction, that the Com- 
mittee sent to this country by the King of Prussia to 
examine this subject, visited Allentown on purpose to learn 
from Mr. King the details of the system. The statutes 
of the State owe to him some of their wisest provisions, 
for instance, the acts for recording releases, for payment 
of legacies, for preserving the lien of first mortgages, for 
distributing the proceeds of Sheriff's sales, for the system 
of judgment and mortgage indexes, and for the preserva- 
tion of Court records. From the outset, he took a decided 
stand in favor of protective tariffs, and opposed all at- 
tempted reductions of that passed in 1832. While in Con- 
gress he was the first to call attention to the large excess 
of Southern militaiy students, in West Point, and by per- 
sistent efforts succeeded in establishing the present rule 
under which the cadets are selected from all the Congres- 
sional districts in the Union. Throughout his public 
career he was distinguished by enlarged views of states- 
manship, unswerving integrity of purpose, and untiring 
energy in combating schemes of personal aggrandizement. 
At the bar, he was uniformly courteous and dignified, 
and in private life kindly and helpful. His death occurred 
in Allentown, July 13, 1S61, in the seventy-first year of 
his age. 

"3 



<7 




ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

/ 
HANDLER, JOSEPH R., Editor and Philanthro- 
pist, was born in Kingston, Plymouth county, 
Massachusetts, in the year 1792. Circumstances 
compelled him to labor for his own living at an 
early age, and his education was chiefly self- 
acquired. By diligence and perseverance, aided 
by large natural abilities and a retentive memorj', he fitted 
himself for teaching, and opened a seminary for young 
ladies in Philadelphia. This occurred upwards of fifty 
years ago, and for many years he carried on the enterprize 
with marked success. While so engaged he became 
editor of the United States Gazette, now known as the 
North Amarican. From salaried editor, he after some 
}%^ passed to the proprietorship of the paper, and con- 
tinued to conduct it for a long period, increasing greatly 
its influence and substantial prosperity. He showed him- 
self a powerful and keen political writer, and wielded 
through his journal no small power in relation to public 
affairs. At the same time he increased the interest of the 
Gazette to general readers, by contributing to its columns 
brilliaiit essays and charming domestic tales, which met 
with* high appreciation and were widely reproduced by 
contemporary journals in this country and in Europe. 
But he manifested a deep interest in public affairs beyond 
the limits of journalism, and his superior abilities, com- 
bined with his high character, led to his election to many 
positions of honor and trust. He was a memlier of the 
Council of the old city of Philadelphia, for fifteen years. 
In the''conventioii assembled, in 1837, for the revision and 
amendment of the State Constitution, he held a seat, and 
displayed remarkable talent, and advanced liberalism. 
His votes recorded in that body show him even at that 
early day to have been a zealous advocate of principles 
which more recently thousands of lives and millions of 
treasure have been expended to establish. On the first 
organization of the Board of Directors of Girard College 
he was chosen President, and held that position for many 
years. In 1848, he was elected member of Congress from 
Philadelphia, and received the honor of re-election for two 
succeeding terms. In 1858, he was sent as United States 
Minister to Naples, where he represented his countiy for 
three years, during the stormy times previous to and accom- 
panying the changes in the government of that Kingdom. 
After his return home he became interested in works of 
charity and in a variety of philanthrophic enterprises. 
Especially he devoted himself to the reform of inmates 
of the Philadelphia County Prison, and to the alleviation 
of unnecessary suffering in the jails and penitentiaries of 
the city. In pursuance of the first-named object his visits 
on the average amount to six hundred every year. In 
promotion of the latter he has always lauuied in connec- 
tion with the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the 
Miseries of Public Prisons. In this association he has 
always held a prominent position ; at present he is its 
Vice-President, and also a member of the Editorial board 



i8 



BlUCJKAl'llICAL KNCVCLOl'yliDIA. 



apiKiinted to lake charge of its journals, papers, and 
annual reports. Early in ■ 1872, this society was invited 
to send a representative to the London International Con- 
gress, held in July of that year. Alive to the wants of 
the world in the matter of prison administration the society 
decided to appoint a delegate, and the eminent services 
of Mr. Chandler singled him out as of all men the most 
qualified to represent the association. He was accordingly 
elected, and duly charged to bear with him the opinions 
and views of the society, to advance them by every means 
in his power, and he was also authorized to visit and 
report upon various penal institutions in Great Britain and 
on the Continent. This mission he fulfilled with an ability 
and tact reflecting the highest credit upon himself and the 
society he represented, and securing the high respect of all 
with whom he came in contact. His report upon the 
labors of the Convention, and the British and Continental 
penal establishments, was published among the Transactions 
of the society, and has justly attracted very general com- 
mendation. In character it is very comprehensive. With- 
in a space of a hundred pages he reviews with all the skill 
of a practised writer the objects and deliberations of the 
International Convention, accompanying his summary of 
the proceedings with a series of sounil and discriminating 
criticisms and explanatory remarks of the highest value, 
as conducing not only to a cle.ar conception of the subjects 
under consideration, but to an intelligent estimate of the 
relative value of rcfomialory suggestions in connection 
therewith. During his stay in Europe, he visited numer- 
ous penal establishments in England and France, including 
Newgate and Coldbath-fields prisons, and the Tottingham 
Westminster Female prison, in London, the Borough 
prison, in Liverpool, Ship and other reformatories in Eng- 
land, the Refuge and Night -Asylum for Destitute I lome- 
less Boys, in Liverpool, the Roquette and De La Sante 
prisons, in Paris. Through one and all of these he pro- 
ceeded in the most systematic manner, his previous ex- 
perience enabling him to obtain just the information he 
desired and to make his investigations complete and 
thorough. In reporting he throws up into a strong light 
all the favorable features, and shows how they may be 
introduced into our own prisons ; all abuses on the other 
hand he unsparingly exposes and denounces. The entire 
document has singidar value for all interested in the ques- 
tion of prison discipline, while evidencing in a marked 
degree the sterling philanthropy and sound judgment, the 
rare scholarship and literary taste of the author. As an 
orator he has always been highly esteemed. Some years 
ago he would frecpiently appear before the iiublic in that 
capacity, and he never failed to ilceply impress and please 
his audience. Some of his speeches in connection with 
his services in Congress and with the Masonic fraternity, 
have been preserved in permanent form, and well deserve 
the honor. That delivered in the House of Representa- 
tives, in 1852, on the Collins Line of American Steamei-s, 



is an especially strong presentment of the advantages to 
be deriveil from an American Atlantic steam service, and 
a splendid illustration of oratory. His Masonic addresses 
compelled compilation and publication, not alone because 
of their literary excellence, but because of the historical 
facts with which they were thickly studded ; their charac- 
ter is very varied, and in book fomi they make a valuable 
addition to Masonic literature. The oration which he 
delivered in 1855, on the fourth commemoration of the 
landing of the pilgrims of Maryland, has also been pre- 
served in book form, and may be found in all public 
libraries; it is rich in historical value. He has always 
been an earnest practical Christian, and stands high in the 
Catholic Church, holding among other positions that of 
President of the Particular Council of the Society of St 
Vincent de Paul. Although now at the advanced age of 
eighty-one, he still continues a ])ersistent zealous laborer in 
all religious and truly philanthropic undertakings. Not 
only is he a profound scholar and thinker, but a practical 
man of the most advanced type. His fame as a political 
and masonic writer is not confined to this countiy, but 
extends over Europe. Unfortunately the elegant and highly 
moral fugitive pieces upon which he considers his literary 
reputation is based are lost to the community, never having 
been collected fur publication. 




/ 



KWIS, WILLIAM DAVID, Banker and Mer- 
chant, was born in the village of Christiana, 
Delaware, September 22d, 1792. He was of 
Welsh descent through both parents, his grand- 
father, David Lewis, having emigrated to this 
country from Wales early in the last century. 
With others from the same portion of the mother country, 
he took up and occupied what is still known as the Welsh 
Tract, in New Castle county, Delaware. His father, Joel 
Lewis, born 1750, passed his whole life on and near the 
ancestral farm. His mother's family, whose surname was 
Hughes, were Welsh Friends, who had early settled in the 
Great Valley in Chester county. His father, although by 
education a Friend and hence opposed to war, felt it his 
duty to take up arms in the revolutionary struggle, and for 
this reason was ruled out of meeting. In iSoi, he was 
ajipointed United States Marshal for the district of Dela- 
ware, which office he held until '.he close of Jefferson's 
second presidential term, in 1S09. His education was 
obtained at the best schools then in the State, and included 
besides the English branches, a competent knowle<lge of 
Latin and French. When seventeen he commenced his 
mercantile career in the house of Samuel Archer & Co., 
then largely engaged in the Ea,st India trade. With them 
he remained until 1814, when his eldest brother, who had 
settled in St. Petersburg for the transaction of the American 
commission business, urged him to join him. At that time 



M 













"^^^i^Xcu^ Zi^^ ^ , ^J^^tL- ^^ . ■^- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



'9 



the war with England was in progress and the passage was 
by no means secure. Fortunately for Mr. Lewis, he 
obtained the appointment of private secretary to a com- 
mission created to treat with England on neutral territory 
at St. Petersburg. They sailed from New York, February 
27, 1814, and after a tempestuous voyage reached Gotten- 
burg, April 14. Thence they crossed the Gulf of Bothnia 
on the ice, and travelled post through Finland to St. 
Petersburg, at that time full of excitement at the news 
that the allies had triumphed over Napoleon. He at once 
devoted himself to the acquisition of the Russian tongue, 
and for that purpose spent some time in Moscow and Iver 
on the Volga, being hospitably received by the best society 
in those cities. He then entered his brother's house, and 
except one year passed in making the tour of Western 
Europe, and two business visits to the United States, con- 
tinued a resident of the Russian capital until August, 1824, 
when he returned peiTOanently to his native land. As a 
literary record of his sojourn in Russia he subsequently 
published a small volume of metrical translations from 
the Russian poets, entitled The Bnchesarian Fountain, 
being the first translation from that tongue ever published 
by an AmeriUn. On his return he engaged in the im- 
porting and commission business, in which he continued 
until 1832, when he was elected cashier of the Girard 
Bank, which position he retained until it went into liquida- 
tion, in 1842. The railroad system early attracted his 
attention. He was a director in the New Castle and French- 
town Railroad, built in 1831-2, believed to be the second 
road on which locomotives were employed to carry pas- 
sengers. The engines were built by Stephenson & Co., 
in England, none at that time being constructed in this 
country. He was also one of the first directors of the 
Philadelphia, Germantown and Nonistown Railroad, and 
of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. 
As a director of the Philadelphia Exchange Company he 
took a prominent part in the erection of the Merchant's 
Exchange building ; and for ten years, commencing in 1829, 
was a director in the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, 
one of the earliest institutions of the kind in this coimtry. 
He was also director of the Academy of Fine Arts, and 
for a short time its President; and subsequently (1854) 
President of the Catawissa Railroad Company, and Treas- 
urer of the Williamsport and Elmira Railroad Company. 
In May, 1849, he was appointed by President Taylor, 
Collector of Customs for the Port of Philadelphia, which 
he retained until the administration of President Pierce, 
in March, 1853. About 1S55, he retired from active busi- 
ness pursuits, but did not forfeit his interest in the public 
prosperity. During the war of the Rebellion he was a 
prominent member of the Union League, and dedicated 
his only son to his country's sei-vice. Colonel Lewis went 
out in command of the iSth Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
under the first call of the President, and subsequently of 
the 1 10th Pennsylvania Volunteers. He distinguished him- 




self at the head of his command in the battle at Win- 
chester, and numerous others. For these services he was 
brevetted Brigadier-General. His arduous duties and con- 
stant devotion undermined his health, and after long strug- 
gling with the debility induced by his campaigns, he finally 
yielded to them, in 1872. Mr. Lewis married, in 1825, 
Sarah Claypoole, the daughter of Abraham G. Claypoole, 
a gallant soldier of the Revolution, who had served upon 
the staft' of General Washington. After forty-five years 
of married life she died in 1870, leaving the son whose 
career we have just sketched, and four daughters. At a 
ripe old age he now lives in retirement at his country-seat 
near Florence, New Jersey. 



TLEE, WASHINGTON LIGHT, Physician, bom 
at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Februaiy 22, 1808, 
was the youngest son of William Pitt Atlee, 
and grandson of the Hon. William Augustus 
Atlee, one of the early judges of the Supreme 
Court of Pennsylvania, his term extending from 
'777 to '793- His maternal grandfather was Major John 
Light, an officer in the Revolutionary war. As early a^ 
fourteen years of age he was placed in a dry goods store, 
but dissatisfied with the prospect of a commercial life, he 
entered after eighteen months the office of his brother, 
Dr. John L. Atlee, of Lancaster. He there devoted his 
time to the study of the classics, natural sciences, and the 
preliminaries of his profession. He received his diploma 
in 1829, from the Jefi'erson Medical College, Philadelphia, 
in which city he was a private pupil in the office of Geoi^ 
McClellan, M. D., Professor of Surgery. Soon after 
graduation he married Miss Ann Eliza Hoff, of Lancaster, 
and settled in the village of Mount Joy. Here he organ- 
ized a temperance society, delivered lectures on various 
scientific topics, and pursued the study of botany. In the 
autumn of 1834, he returned to his native city, and for ten 
years devoted himself with ardor and success to the prac- 
tice of his profession and the pursuit of some of its higher 
and more abstract departments. Among the latter should 
be mentioned the remarkable series of experiments carried 
out at his suggestion on the body of an executed criminal, 
named Thoselman, reported in the American yournat of 
Medical Science, for 1 840. An invitation to fill the chair 
of Medical Chemisti7 in the Medical Department of Penn- 
sylvania College, at Philadelphia, led to his removal to 
that city, in 1845. He soon became engaged in an exten- 
sive private practice, which increased so rapidly that, in 
1853, he resigned the professorship, and since that time, 
has given his whole attention to the demands of his 
patients. This has not prevented him, however, from 
taking a wami interest in the general welfare of the pro- 
fession, and he is well-known as an active member of the 
county and state medical societies, and the American 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



Medical Association. A biilliant extempore speaker and 
an able debater, his weight lias always been cast in favor 
of a higher medical education and a broad and liberal con- 
struction of the rights and duties of medical life. As a 
practitioner, he is most famous for his advocacy of our 
striking success in the difficult operation of ovariotomy. 
Commencing its performance and defending its propriety 
at a period when hardly another surgeon in the land dared 
support him, he has triumphantly vindicated its merits by 
the statistics of nearly two hundred and fifty cases in his 
own hands, a large part of them successful in all respects. 
But one other operator in the world has surpassed him in 
the experience of such cases, and now all enlightened 
surgeons recognize it as an invaluable resort in the despe- 
rate cases to which it is applicable. As an author he has 
contributed numerous scientific articles to the American 
Journal of Science and Ar/s, the American Journal of 
Medical Sciences, the Medical and Surgical Reporter, and 
the Transactions of various medical associations ; the 
Prize Essays of the American Medical Association, in 
1853, included one written by him; and quite recently 
(1872) he has summed up his extended experience in a 
volume on Ovariotomy. 

V ""^^ 

JmITH, henry II., M. D., Emeritus Professor 
of Surgery in the Medical department of the 
University of Pennsylvania, was born in Phila- 
delphia, December 10, 1815. His father, James 
S., was one of six brothers, all of whom lived 
beyond eighty years, and was distinguished as a 
Henry was educated in Wylie and Engles' well- 
known Classical Academy ; graduated from the Collegiate 
department of the University of Pennsylvania, in 1834; 
studied medicine with Professor William E. Homer, and 
was graduated in medicine from the University, in 1837. 
He was Resident Surgeon of the Pennsylvania Hospital 
two yeai-s, under Thomas Harris Randoljih, and then, 
leaving this country on professional ends, visited the 
London and Paris Hospitals, in 1839; spent eighteen 
months in various European institutions, and on his return, 
in 1 841, commenced instructing private classes in Surgery 
and delivering lectures on surgical and medical topics. 
In October, 1843, he was married to Mary Edmunds, 
oldest child of Professor William E. Homer, by whom 
he has four sons and a daughter. He is especially dis- 
tinguished as an author and critic in medical literature. 
He commenced this career in 1841, with the translation 
of a Treatise on the Medical and Prophylactic trtatment 
0/ Stone and Gravel, by the distinguished French Surgeon, 
Civiale, D. M. P. In 1843, he published an Anatomical 
Atlas, to illustrate Horner's Special Anatomy, and the next 
year a treatise on Minor Surgery, that hxs been reiiiiblished 
in 1846, 1850, and 1859. His System of Operative Surgery, 




lawyer. 



with a very extended and admirable bibliographical index 
to the writings and operations of American Surgeons for 
a term of two hundred and thirty-four years, w.is fii-st issued 
in 1852, and re-issued in 1S59. In. 1855, he gave the 
profession an essay On the Treatment of Disunit'd Frac- 
tures by means of Artificial Limbs ; and followed it the 
next year with the Practice of Surgery, in two octavo 
volumes. He also published in these and subsequent 
years, numerous surgical articles in the American Journal 
of the Medical Sciences, and other leading professional 
periodicals. Chosen one of the Surgeons of the St. Joseph's 
Hospital, Philadelphia, in 1849, and Surgeon of the Epis- 
copal Hosjiital soon after, he was elected one of the 
Surgical staff of the Blockley Almshouse Hospital, 1854; 
and having been for several years Assistant Lecturer on 
Clinical Surgery in the University of Pennsylvania, he 
was chosen Professor of Surgery there in May, 1855. In 
all of these various positions he was constantly engaged 
in perfomiing the most important and often capital opera- 
tions; while a large private practice enable many to profit 
by the fruits of a singularly extended and well-grounded 
experience. At the commencement of the rebellion he 
was selected by the Governor of the Commonwealth to 
organize the Hospital Department of Pennsylvania that 
had been authorized by the Legislature. And at the same 
time. Governor Curtin appointed him Surgeon-General 
of Pennsylvania, with the same military rank held by the 
Surgeon-General of the United States— Colonel. He 
contributed much to the efficiency of the medical seri'ice 
of the Pennsylvania Reserves and other .State regiments 
in this capacity. He inaugurated the plan of removing 
the wounded from the battle-field to large hospitals, after 
the first battle at Winchester, between General Shields 
and "Stonewall" Jackson, sending many to Philadelphia, 
Reading, Harrisburg, and other places. He won the 
warmest thanks of uncounted relatives, by inaugurating 
the system of embalming the dead at nearly the same time. 
No act in the medical and hospital department of the amiy 
won more praise than was at the time and has since been 
awarded to this. He also organized and directed a corps 
of Surgeons under Pennsylvania authority, at the siege 
of Yorktown, with steamei-s as floating hospitals. They 
were furnished with .stores by private contriliutions. He 
assisted Dr. Tripler and the General Government with 
advice in furnishing similar hospitals. He participated 
in the surgery following the battles of Williamsburg, West 
Point, Fair Oaks, and Coal Harbor, and rendered the 
greatest service in directing and aiding after the bloody bat- 
tle of Antietam. Having seen the department thoroughly 
organized and efficient, he was constrained to heed the 
calls of private practice, and resigned his commission as 
Surgeon-General, in October, 1862, and has since been 
actively employed in ordinary professional duty. He re- 
signed the professorate of Surgery in the University, in 
March, 1S71, after thirty years tenure, and was elected 




'"■^■^5 .■;iiTh\7jtd''T:''' 



4/^ 




Z^^i5^<^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.-EDIA. 



Professor Emeritus. As a lecturer he is styled " excellent 
and unexceptionable in his style of speaking — quiet, fluent, 
self-possessed, systematic, and thorough." As a surgeon 
he is very considerate of final results, and so, successful. 
He apparently has years of usefulness before him, and 
devotes himself to surgery with all the zeal of youth and 
wisdom of age. 



*RYSDALE, THOMAS M., Physician, the sixth 
son of William Diysdale, was born in Philadel- 
phia, August 31st, 1831. His ancestors were 
Scotch Covenanters, his uncle, the Rev. Alex- 
ander Duff, being the distinguished missionary 
of the Scotch Presbyterian Church. He re- 
ceived his preliminary education at the schools of lhe.Jiev. 
Joseph P. Engles, and the Rev. Samuel Crawford, under 
whose tuition he was prepared for the University of Penn- 
sylvania. Failing health, however, prevented the com- 
pletion of his studies, and he was sent by his physician, 
Dr. James Rush, to the country, where he remained until 
his health was re-established. At the age of seventeen he 
became a member of the Presbyterian Church, in West 
Philadelphia, of which his brother, the Rev. Walter^^rysy 
dale, was pastor. Early in life he had determined to 
devote himself to the study of medicine, and,'eaicouraged 
by an improved state of health, he accepted a position in 
a drug store in order to become familiar with the.scjfence 
of Pharmacy. Soon after he entered upon'a course of" 
medical instruction in the office of Dr. Washington' L. 
Atlee, who, at that time, occupied the Chair of Cheriiistry, 
in the Pennsylvania Medical College. In connection with 
the office instruction under this distinguished surgeon, he 
attended lectures at the college, and became the assistant 
of his preceptor in his laboratory, of which he had full 
charge during the last two years of his college life. He 
graduated in 1S52, making the subject of his thesis Liebig's 
theory of Animal Heat, which he supported and proved 
to be correct by a carefully conducted series of experi- 
ments made upon himself with nitrogenous and non- 
nitrogenous articles of food. After graduating, his health 
again failing, he made a pedestrian tour of his native State 
in company with a professional friend. This proved of 
great service, and he returned, invigorated, to pursue with 
increased ardor the studies connected with his profession. 
In 1853, Dr. Drysdale became associated with Dr. A. 
Owen Stille and Dr. W. Kent Gilbert in the examination 
of students ; subsequently he united with Dr. Wm. Gobrecht, 
now Professor of Anatomy in the Medical College of Ohio, 
and Dr. J. Aiken Meigs, now Professor of Physiology in 
the Jefferson Medical College, and engaged in the examin- 
ation of students connected not only with the Pennsylvania 
Medical College but with other similar institutions. In 
1855, he was elected to fill the chair of Chemistry in the 
Wagner Institute of Science, made vacant by the resigna- 



tion of Professor Rand. Here he attracted large audiences, 
but was compelled to resign the position and devote him- 
self Exclusively to the duties of a rapidly increasing prac- 
tice. In 1861, he performed successfully his first operation 
of Ovariotomy, an operation which, at that time, was re- 
garded with disfavor by the medical profession. In 1S62, 
he delivered a course of lectures on the Microscope at the 
Franklin Institute, which reflected much credit on his 
abilities as a lecturer and a microscopist. The study of 
the microscope had early claimed his careful attention, 
and notwithstanding the variety of professional duties 
which crowded upon him, he continued to pursue micro- 
scopical investigations, especially of the fluids of dropsies, 
adding important facts t^the knowledge of the profession 
upon subtle points in discussion among physicians. Of 
the valuable papers contributed by him to the various 
medical journals of the day, the most important has been 
a monograph upon Dropsical Fluids embodying the results 
of the chemical and microscopical examination of several 
hundred "specimens. He is a deep thinker and an earnest 
worker in his profession ; exact as a microscopist; skilful 
as a surgeon, and able as a writer; yet it is his medical 
tact, his readiness and exactness in diagnosis, and his skill 
in selectingihiiremedies that have won him his wide repu- 
tation>,Dr. Drjrsdale is.of slight build. light hair, and fair 
complexibh; his 'manner is. eminently calculated to please 
in the sick' room, where his ready sympathies and prompt 
attention have won him hosts of life-long friends. Dr. 
JJrysdale married Miss Mary L. Atlee, second daughter 
of his preceptor, in October, 1857. 



LANDERS, HENRY, Author and Admiralty Law- 
yer, of Philadelphia, was born Plainfield, Sulli- 
van county. New Hampshire, Februaiy 13, 1826. 
His father, Charles Flanders, Esq., graduated 
at Harvard College, in the class of 1808. After 
leaving college he prepared himself for the pro- 
fession of the law, and, as is stated in the Necrology of 
Alumni of that institution, he soon rose to distinction, 
and for nearly fifty years was distinguished as an honored 
member of the New Hampshire bar, as an able lawyer, a 
safe counsellor, and an honest man. Mr. Flanders, the 
subject of our sketch, was educated at home, at Kimball's 
Academy, and at the Seminary in Newbury, Vermont. 
The latter institution was at the time under the charge of 
Professor (afterwards Bishop) Baker, and Professors Good- 
ale and Hinman. His studies for his profession were 
pursued chiefly in the office of his father. Before his ad- 
mission to practice, he passed one or two years in the South. 
In 1850, he removed to Philadelphia, where he has since 
continued to reside. As an Admiralty lawyer he occupies 
an elevated rank, the profession esteeming him one of the 
ablest in the countiy. He has found time, amid ih.e 




BIOGRAl'HICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




pressure of his business, to devote attention to authorship. 
The following is a list of his published works, viz. : 
I. A Treatise on Mariliine Law, Boston, 1852; 2. A 
Treatise on the Law of Shipping, Philadelphia, 1853; 3. 
A Treatise on the Principles of Lnsurance, Philadelphia, 
187 1. These works, written with great ability and in a 
lucid and graceful style, have taken their places as acknowl- 
edged authorities on the subjects of which they treat, and 
have received the hi'jhcst ecomiums from the legal press. 
In 1855 and 1858, he published in two .series. The Lives 
and Times of the Chief Justices of the United States, from 
Jay to Marshall. It is written with singular beauty, and, 
besides containing a faithful record of the lives of its illus- 
trious subjects, it is interspersed' with many stirring inci- 
dents which contribute to render it an extremely fascinating 
work. In 1856, he published Memoirs of Cumberland, 
and in i860, an Exposition of the Constitution of the United 
Stales. 



'AREY, HENRY C, Political Economist, was 
born 15th of December, 1793, in the city of 
Philadelphia. In 1819, he became a partner in 
the book-publishing business with his father, 
Matthew Carey, and, in 1821, his successor; 
continuing the pursuit as leading partner, first in 
the firm of Carey & Lea, and subsequently, in that of 
Carey, Lea, & Carey, until the year 1838. In 1824, he 
initiated the system of periodical trade sales, now an es- 
tablished method of exchange between publishers. In- 
heriting an inclination to investigations in political economy, 
and occupied with business congenial to his favorite study, 
he commenced his long career of discovery and of author- 
ship by the publication, in 1835, of an Essay on the Kate 
of Wages, with an Examination of the Differences in the 
Condition of the Laboring Population throughout the 
World. This work was substantially absorbed and ex- 
panded in his Principles of Political Economy, of three 
octavo volumes, published successively in 1S37, 1838, and 
1840, and subsequently republished in Italian, at Turin, 
and in Swedish at Upsal. The central and pivotal propo- 
sition of this work, to be known thereafter as Carey's Law 
of Distribution, surprised European economists not more 
by its novelty than by the force of its demonstration. 
Twelve yeai-s later, the distinguished French economist, 
Ered. Bastiat, in his Harmonies Economiques, adopted the 
Principles of Carey — as Professor Ferrara, of the Univer- 
sity of Turin, expressed the coincidence — "in theory, 
idexs, order, reasoning and even in figures." In the dis- 
cussions that since have followed, its fundamental principle 
is known to the readers of his work as his theory of 
" Labor value." Marking as it does a grand epoch in the 
history of the science, it is entitled to the following con- 
densed expressions : 



" 1st, Labor gains increased productiveness in the pro- 
]rartion that capital contributes to its efficiency. 

" 2d, Every improvement in the efficiency of labor, so 
gained by the aid of capital, gives so much increased 
facility of accumulation. 

" 3d, Increased power of production lessens the value 
in labor of capital already existing ; bringing it more easily 
within the purchase of present labor, for the reason that 
value can not exceed the cost of re-production. These 
simple, self-proving propositions were felt to have the 
power of revolutionizing the science of political economy, 
by taking from it the dismal prediction of a constant ten- 
dency in the distribution of wealth, under a law of neces- 
sity, toward greater destitution of labor, and correspond- 
ingly enormous increase in the power of capital. This law 
of labor value was, however, destined to obtain a still 
wider and grander application — its fundamental principle 
an universal range. The commonly accepted doctrine that 
men, in the settlement of land, choose the best soils first, 
and, acccording to Ricardo's theory, are empowered by 
such priority of possession to charge, as rent, the diflTerencc 
between the productiveness of the last and lowest grade 
that comes into occupancy and that of those previously in 
use, was full of despair to the on-coming generations of 
men. Of what avail to humanity was the beneficent law 
of distribution governing the joint products of labor and 
capital if the law governing the occupation of land were 
really at war with it ? " 

Confronted with this apparent contradiction in the system 
of Providence, M. C. Carey challenged the facts on which 
it had been supposed to rest, the results of his inquiry 
having been given to the world, in 1848, in a volume en- 
titled. The Past, the Present, and the Future, which must 
be regarded as the most rigid and exhaustive instance of 
application of the inductive method to be found in the 
whole range of economic literature. As early as 183S, he 
published his work on Tlu Credit System in France, Great 
Britain, and the United States, and in 1851, The Harmony 
of Interests, recommended to all who wish to investigate 
the causes of the progress or decline of industrial com- 
munities. In 1853, a]>peared The Slave- Trade, Domestic 
and Foreign : Why it Exists ; and Ho^u it may be Extin- 
guished. Concurrently with these systcnialic treatises in 
book form, his ))en was busy with pamphlets and news- 
p.aper contributions, applying his doctrines to exigencies 
of the passing time. They covered every topic of the 
times in any way related to the philosophy of business, 
currency, politics, internal and international affaii-s, the 
subjects of his studies for nearly half a century. In 1S57, 
he digested the doctrines of his previous productions into 
a single work of three volumes, octavo, entitled Principles 
of Social Science, — published 1858-59 — which was under 
his own suiiervision, condensed into a Manual of Social 
.Science, by Miss McKean ; .and in an intnuluction to one 
of the ('lernian editions of this l.iller, wliiih he entitled 



UIUGKAl'HICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



23 




Rtiiji-iv of the Decade, 1S57-67, he gave a most remarkable 
vindication of its leading doctrines. The principal and 
some of the minor works here named were translated and 
published in one or other, and some of them in several of 
the following languages : Italian, French, German, Swe- 
dish, Russian, and Hungarian. In Germany particularly, 
they were frequently re])rinted. Enjoying an enviable 
popularity, surrounded by the most charming domestic 
influences, and having earned, Ijy years of public service, 
the confidence of every one that knows him, his power for 
good is wide-reaching and acknowledged. 



■fORNEY, COL. JOHN W., Editor, Author, and 
Politician, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 
September 30th, 181 7. His parents possessed 
neither wealth nor social position, but his mother 
^^^^ was a lady of nature's own forming. He received 
no more than an ordinary common school educa- 
tion. At the age of thirteen he engaged as a shop-boy, 
but in a shoit time, following his natural inclinations, he 
entered, as an apprentice, the office of the Lancaster jfoui'- 
nal, then one of the most influential papers in the State ; 
here he remained until his twentieth year, when he pur- 
chased the Lancaster Intelligencer, a strong Democratic 
sheet, with which, a few years after, he consolidated the 
Journal and, by his energy and ability, soon made the 
new paper one of the most powerful in Pennsylvania. He 
was appointed Prothonotary of the Court of Common 
Pleas, of Lancaster county, in 1839, but held the position 
for a short time only. Returning to his editorial duties 
he remained absorbed therein until 1845, when he removed 
to Philadelphia, on receiving from President Polk the ap- 
pointment of Deputy Surveyor of that port. Unable to 
resist his enthusiasm for journalism, he, the same year, 
purchased one-half interest in the Pennsyhmnian, the 
leading Democratic organ of the State. With lliis paper 
he was connected until 1853. In December, 1851, he was 
elected Clerk of the House of Representatives, and, re- 
moving to Washington, there remained for several years, 
discharging the duties of his office, under many trying and 
exciting circumstances, to the entire satisfaction of all 
with whom he was brought in contact. Joining the Wash- 
ington Union as one of its editors, he remained in that 
position until the nomination of James Buchanan, in 1856, 
for the Presidency. He was then elected Chairman of the 
Democratic State Central Committee of Pennsylvania. 
Naturally sagacious, his schooling among the leading 
political minds of the country had developed his genius 
as a politician, and at this time, John W. Forney was ac- 
knowledge<l as ranking with the shrewdest of the shrewd. 
His voice and pen were all-powerful in behalf of the 
Democratic nominee, and it is generally admitted that to 
him, more than to any other one man, James Buchanan 



owed his elevatipn to the Presidential chair. In 1S57, 
Col. Forney was nominated by the Democratic members 
of the State Legislature as their candidate for the United 
States Senate. He was defeated by Simon Cameror.. 
Circumstances causing a rupture in the friendly relations 
between Mr. Buchanan and Col. Forney, and the public 
actions of the then President not meeting his approval, he 
joined the opposition, where his caustic pen and wonder- 
ful vigor made him a welcome ally. He was, in Decem- 
ber, 1S59, a second time elected Clerk of the House of 
Representatives, but, uneasy out of the editorial chair, he 
started a weekly paper, called the Sunday Morning 
Chronicle ; this was soon turned into a daily, and was one 
of the most successful journals ever published in Washing- 
ton. Fully identified and in sympathy with the Republican 
party, but few ever rendered more effective and enthusiastic 
support to the government during the rebellion. He had 
been, in 1861, elected Secretary of the United States 
Senate, which position he held for several years; and 
never was it more ably filled. During all this time he 
continued lo edit and publish the Washington Chronicle and 
the Philadelphia Press, which he had established in these 
cities, and which, from the date of their first publication, 
exerted a powerful influence. Upon the death of President 
Lincoln, Col. Forney continued to give his support to his 
successor, Mr. Johnson; but it appearing to him that the 
new Executive was swerving from the principles of the 
party to which he owed his election, the editor's batteries 
were turned upon him with their usual damaging effect. 
A few months after his return from Europe he resigned 
the Secretaryship of the Senate and returned to Philadel- 
phia. In March, 1871, he accepted the position of Collec- 
tor of the Port of Philadelphia, tendered by President 
Grant. His administration was a marked success; but 
the chair of the editor possessed more charms for him 
than the post of Collector, and in March, 1872, he re- 
signed, and again resumed active labors on the Press. Col. 
Forney was, at the conception of the scheme, appointed one 
of the Directors of the Southern Pacific Railroad, his influ- 
ence and energy being invaluable in successfully caiTying out 
great enterprises. After leaving Washington he travelled 
much, and with his eyes open. The published letters of his 
observations, in our own country and Europe, are delight- 
ful reading, and exhibit the cultivated discernment, talent 
and native elegance of thought and feeling, marking a 
poetic yet practical mind ; on old and much trodden 
ground he contrives to be original, giving his own impres- 
sions, not those of others ; what he felt, not what he ought 
to have felt. As a newspaper writer, few men ever penned 
more readable or, when he pleased, more scathing articles. 
The writings of his later years, less pungent, possess a 
deeper human wisdom and a sunnier glow of benevolence, 
making them equally enjoyable and much more welcome 
to the community at large. Col. Forney, throughout his 
public life, has ever received his full share, if not more, of 



24 



UIUGRAI'inCAL KNCVCLOP/EDIA. 




abuse, but has always lived it down. In 1872, he seemed 
to take a fresh political start, from a new stand-point : to 
refuse obedience to the tyranny of authority, to abandon 
the beaten paths of the past, and to recognize the public 
good, as he understood it, to be paramount to party. 



fLAGHORX, JAMES LAWRENCE, Banker, was 
born in Philadeljihia, July 5th, 1817. He is the 
second son of John \V. Claghorn, of the late 
firm of Myers & Claghorn, auctioneers and 
commission merchants. He received a sound 
education in the schools of his native city. In 
the fourteenth year of his age he entered the store of 
Jennings, Thomas Gill & Co., auctioneers, as clerk. After 
a time the firm became, through the death of Mr. Jennings, 
Thomas Gill & Co. In December, 1836, Mr. John B. 
Myers and John \V. Claghorn withdrew from the house 
and formed the firm of Myers & Claghorn. James L. 
Claghorn joined the new firm, continuing as clerk, until 
its dissolution, December 31st, 1840, by the retirement of 
his father. A new firm, consisting of Mr. Myers, James 
L. Claghorn, and Samuel T. Altemus, was formally or- 
ganized to carry on the business. It continued in existence, 
though with various changes in partners and interests, until 
December 31st, 1S61, when James L. retired. During 
these twenty-one years his absences from business were 
so inconsiderable that every entry in the ledger of the fimi 
was made by him. During this period he had the entire 
management of the financial department of business. In 
the following year his senior and much respected partner, 
Mr. Myers, died, nominating him as one of his executors. 
On the commencement of the national troubles his sym- 
pathies were enlisted on behalf of the cause of the Union, 
and until the close of the war his strenuous efforts were 
put forth to promote the success of the Union arms. He 
served the United States tlovernment during this period 
in various capacities, always with zeal and fidelity. His 
only child shouldered a musket, fought gallantly in the 
ranks of the Union anny, and came out of the contest 
unscathed. After the close of the war he visited Europe, 
Asia, and Africa, remaining abroad during the greater 
portion of 1865, and during 1866 and 1867. Shortly after 
his return home, in March, 1868, he accepted the Presi- 
dency of the Commercial National Bank, of Pennsylvania, 
a position for which his financial ability .and business ex- 
perience pre-eminently fitted him. He still continues to 
manage the affairs of the institution. He was among the 
earliest members of the Union League, of Philadelphia, 
and has always taken a prominent part in its management. 
He has also been, for many years, a generous patron of the 
fine arts, and the interest manifested by him in art matters 
led to his election of the Pennsylvania .Academy of Fine 
Arts. Since the sale of the old building and site of the 




Acailemy, he has been making strong efforts to give the 
fine arts a new and worthy local habitation, and success 
is now well assured. He has himself expended large 
sums in securing an extensive and fine gallery of paintings, 
drawings, engravings, and sculpture. In it both the old 
and modern masters are represented, and American artists 
hold a proud position. He is a very public-spirited man, 
and stands ever ready to promote any project having for 
its object the advancement, political or social, of the com- 
munity. As a member of the Board of City Trusts he 
has rendered good ser%'ice. 



REXEL, FRANCIS MARTIN, was born in the 
Austrian Tyrol, in 1792; educated in Switzer- 
land and studied art in Milan. When Napoleon 
invaded Austria, he emigrated to the United 
States, where he intended to pursue the occupa- 
tion of a portrait painter. His expectations 
were justified by the results. His talents and knowledge 
were quickly appreciated, and secured a revenue that justi- 
fied marriage. He married a lady belonging to one of the 
most respectable families in Philadelphia, and resided on 
the site now occupied by the Public Ledger building, at the 
corner of Chestnut and Sixth streets. His studio was here 
for some years, and until he learned that South America 
promised ample returns to any young artist of ability. 
So soon as he ascertained this, he sailed for Valparaiso, 
and after establishing himself, spent his leisure in acquiring 
the Spanish language. He found remunerative employ- 
ment in painting altar pieces, portraits, and other works, 
and visited Quito, Lima, and other cities professionally. 
He was, of course, as an artist, thrown into intercourse 
with the most distinguished men of these countries; and 
contracted a friendship with General Bolivar that lasted 
during the life of the latter. He painted a portrait of 
I the General that attracted great attention and elicited 
distinguished praise. It was subse<iucntly engraved in 
this country. When he returned, he brought to Philadel- 
phia a fine collection of South American curiosities, with 
which he enriched Peale's Museum, then in the State 
House. After two years' residence at home, he was re- 
called to South America, and took with him the engraved 
portrait of General Bolivar and renewed the pleasant 
intercourse he bad formerly enjoyed with that distinguished 
republican chieftain. Many of the pictures he completed 
still adorn the churches of Chili, Peru, Granada, Ecuador, 
and Brazil. Returning home, he next visited Mexico, in 
1830, and then continued the successful art career he had 
commenced in North and South America. Having ac- 
cumulated some capital, he decided, in 1S37, to become a 
broker in order to open a career for his sons. Acting under 
the advice of a friend he had met in Mexico, he established 
himself in Ix>uisville, Kentucky. His success here did 



A 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



25 



not prevent his wife's desire to return to Philadelphia ; 
agd, therefore, he opened an office on Third street, below 
Marliet, January i, 1838. Alexander Benson, Solomon 
Allen, Thomas Biddle & Co., and Robert T. Bickel, were the 
leading brokers then. Enoch Clarke had begun business 
the year previous. Mr. Drexel, essentially an artist, lacked 
Mr. Clarke's training, though quite equal in business ca- 
pacity and energy. With all the minutijE lo learn experi- 
mentally, with a financial disaster at hand, he nevertheless 
by strict integrity won confidence, and by untiring industry 
extended his connections. The first year was made hard 
by failures and worthless bank currency, that demanded 
incessant vigilance for security. The United States Bank 
failed in 1S41, and stagnation followed. But his manage- 
ment accumulated money, even during such times. He 
had advantageous transactions in Spanish money, then in 
demand ; and in bills of exchange on Germany and Ire- 
land, then first sought. He left the home office to his sons, 
and often travelled to get foreign gold and silver of in- 
terior banks in redemption of accumul.ated notes. He 
went to California in 1850, and, entering the firm of 
Drexel, Sather & Church, continued the business to 1857. 
He then travelled in the State, returned to San Krancisco, 
found the business flourishing, and withdrew from it on 
his return to Philadelphia. Mr. Drexel was as much re- 
spected in private as in business circles. He was a gener- 
ous member of the Roman Catholic communion ; accessible 
to all, and his manners had the natural refinement gained 
only from early associations. He w.as a man of note both 
as an artist and a financier. 



IF 



10THERMEL, PETER F., Artist and Painter, 
was born on the banks of the Susquehanna, in 
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, opposite Berwick, 
on the 8th of July, 1817. His father destined 
him for a land surveyor, and commenced his 
education with that aim, but at the age of twenty, 
the family having removed to Philadelphia, Mr. Rothermel 
determined to devote himself to portrait painting, and 
conmienced lessons under Bass Otis, at that day a well- 
known teacher of painting and color. After a few years 
of earnest study be opened a studio in Philadelphia. His 
unusual talents were soon recognized and led him gradu- 
ally to essay loftier attempts in art. His first large picture 
was *' Columbus before the Queen." But that which laid 
the foundation of his reputation was " De Soto crossing 
the Mississippi." This work secured the highest ecomiums 
from art critics. Mr. Rothermel is a rapid worker, and a 
complete list of his paintings would be almost impossible 
to obtain. Among his earlier productions may be men- 
tioned, as one of unusual merit, " Corlez haranguing his 
troops within sight of Mexico," inspired by the perusal 
of Prescott's Conquest of Mexico ; this was followed by 

4 



four others, all representing scenes from that most romantic 
episode of American history ; " Cromwell ordering Hitch 
out of the Pulpit," full of fire and vigor ; " Ruth and 
Naomi ; " " Shylock and Portia ; " " Labor's Vision of the 
Future," a profound and suggestive design; and "Mur- 
ray's Defence of Toleration," a large canvass (SX7j ft.), 
representing a striking incident in the life of Mary Queen 
of Scots. The most famous of Rothermel's pictures, how- 
ever, is lliat of "The Battle of Gettysburg." This is the 
largest battle-picture with, perhaps, one exception, in the 
world, being 16x32 ft. in size. It was ordered by a Com- 
mission of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, in 1866, and 
is now in the Capitol Building at Harrisburg. The scene 
represented occurred on the third day of the conflict, and 
was " the pinch of the fight." The locality is drawn with 
the greatest accuracy, and most of the numerous faces 
represented are portraits. For this painting the State paid 
$25,000. In appearance Mr. Rothermel is tall and spare, 
with marked features and keen, blue eyes. His carriage 
is erect and his manner unconstrai*ned. 



'cDEVITT, DANIEL, Commission Merchant for 
the sale of cotton and woollen yarns and domes- 
tic goods, was Ijorn in Glasgow, Scotland, May 
3d, 1819. His parents, Daniel and Rebecca 
McDe\itt, are both Irish, but at the time of his 
birth were making a brief sojourn in Scotland. 
The McDevitts are an old and well-known family, resid- 
ing for many generations in Innishowen, in the north of 
Ireland, and are a branch of the ancient family of the 
O'Dohertys. On his mother's side he is connected with 
the Leiper family of Scotch descent, living on the banks 
the Finn river. He received his education in the village 
of Ballylofey, in the county Donegal, Ireland. At the 
age of fifteen he was placed in a grocery store to learn the 
business, which not proving congenial to his taste, he was 
led to contemplate emigrating to the United States, where 
he hoped to find a wider field for his energies. Having 
obtained the consent of his parents, he sailed from Lon- 
donderry in the ship *' Prudence," and landed in Phila- 
delphia, in July, 1835. Two days after his arrival he 
entered, in the capacity of clerk, the wholesale trimming 
and notion store of John McDevitt, in Third street 
above Market. At the end of two years, having won 
the entire confidence of his employers, he was entrusted 
with the charge of a branch house just established in 
Baltimore, Maryland. To this place he removed early 
in 1837, but the new enterprise proved to have been in- 
augurated at a most inopportune season. The terrible 
financial crisis that swept over the whole land in that 
memorable year, caused an utter prostration of business 
throughout the counti-y, and he was obliged to return to 
Philadelphia, where he re-entered the service of his em- 




26 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.IiDIA. 



ployer, who hail just engaged in a new business — the 
manufacture of woollen goods, his mill being situated near 
Bustleton, Philadelphia. This enterprise was, however, 
far from prosperous, and in 1839 failed altogether, involv- 
ing the loss to Mr. McDevitt of his entire savings to 
that time — some eight hundred dollars. Soon after this 
misfortune he entered the dry goods store of P. Mead, 
whose establishment was situated in Second street above 
Market. Here he remained until 1840, when he accepted 
the position of book-keeper in the wholesale trimming 
and hosiery store of James McDevitt in Second street 
above Chestnut. By this time too close an application to 
business had impaired his health to such a degree that a 
period of relaxation was deemed necessary, and he decided 
to visit his parents In the old home in Ireland. In March, 
1 841, he sailed from New York in the good ship " Oxford," 
returning in July of the same year, sufficiently restored in 
health to resume his duties in the counting-house of James 
McDevitt. In 1842, a position was offered him in the 
cotton and woollen yarn and domestic goods commission 
house of Isaac C. Field, in Front street below Market. 
In 1846, the place of business was removed to No. 120 
Market street, and, in 1848, he became a partner in the 
concern, which, however, continued in operation but two 
years after he entered the firm. In 1S50, by the death of 
Mr. Field, the co-partnership was dissolved, and Mr. 
McDevitt continued the business alone. In November 
of the same year he formed a co-partnership with the late 
William Hay under the firm name of Hay & McDevitt. 
For a period of twenty years this firm continued to carry 
on successfully the business of selling cotton yarns and 
wool on commission, at 120 Market street, their business 
steadily increasing year by year, until, by the death of Mr. 
Hay, in August, 1870, the partnership was dissolved. 
Since that time Mr. McDevitt has carried on the business 
alone, and maintains one of the most extensive establish- 
ments in his line in Philadelphia. He is a prominent mem- 
ber of the Roman Catholic church, and is devotedly attached 
to its principles. He is deeply interested in all things 
pertaining to its welfare, and all its benevolent enterprises 
find in him the most cordial sympathy and generous sup- 
port. For many years he was a most efficient manager 
of St. Joseph's Hospital, and is now a director of the St. 
Joseph's Orphan Asylum. He is a Trustee of the Semi- 
nary of St. Charles Borromco ; also a Director of the 
Beneficial Saving Fund Society. He is likewise a Direc- 
tor of the Girard National Bank. For several years he 
was a Director of the Ocean .Steam Navigation Company, 
and it was chiefly through his efforts that in the winding up 
of the affairs of the concern the stockholders were saved 
from heavy loss. Mr. McDevitt has proved in his eventful 
career the power of energy. Possessing a high degree of 
business tact and ability, he has attained an enviable 
position in the mercantile community, of which he is a 
valued and esteemed member. Socially, he is genial. 




cordial, and always agreeable. Much given to hospitality, 
his elegant home is the centre of a most refined and culti- 
vated circle of warmly attached friends. Unassuming, 
modest, unostentatious, his benevolence finds many a silent 
outlet that the world may never know. 



UI-I-OCK, GEORGE, Manufacturer, was born 
in Philadelphia, March 9th, 1830. His father 
came from England. He was educated in 
Philadelphia. On leaving school he went into 
his father's counting-house, and started in a 
small speculation on his own account, in 1845. 
This resulted so well that by the time he had reached his 
majority he had made and saved by his operations eight 
thousand dollars. With thus sum he obtained an interest, 
in 1851, in his father's business, and he continued with 
him until his death, in 1859. In his will his father re- 
quested that the business should be continued in his name, 
as that of Benjamin Bullock's Sons, and appointed the 
subject of this sketch and his two brothers as executors. 
Mr. George Bullock then took charge as manager. On the 
breaking out of the war, in 1861, the firm went into the 
manufacturing business, and contracted largely with the 
government for supplies, such as army clothing, etc. The 
operations under these contracts, which extended over the 
whole period of the war, were of a most extensive charac- 
ter, amounting in money value to many millions, at least, 
a hundred million dollars. And the contracts were always 
honestly and faithfully carried out, proving eminently 
satisfactory to the government. In May, 1 87 1, our subject 
left the firm of Benjamin Bullock & Sons with his youngest 
brother James, and established the house of George and 
James M. Bullock, for the purpose of manufacturing cloths, 
doeskins, and other fine woollen goods. At the time of 
the dissolution of the co-partnership of Benjamin Bullock's 
Sons, the brothers George and James did not wholly sever 
their connection with the concern, becoming special part- 
ners. The house of George and James M. Bullock is the 
only one now in the State of Pennsylvania that manufactures 
cloths and doeskins. Their returns amount to a million and 
a half dollars annually. In politics Mr. Bullock is a Repub- 
lican, and has always adhered strictly to the principles of 
that party. He has, however, never held office, nor sought 
it. In October, 186+, just previous to the re-election of Mr. 
Lincoln, at the solicitation of the President, he consented to 
be nominated for Congressman, but he was defeated. In 
the fall of 1872, he was tendered the nomination for mem- 
ber of Congress, by delegates from Montgomery and 
Lehigh counties, but declined. Had he accepted the 
nomination he would have been elected by, at least, four 
thousand majority, the Republican ticket being overwhelm- 
ingly successful, ^ith the solitary exception of the occa- 
sion in 1865, when he felt it a duly to comply with Mr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



27 




Lincoln's request, he has consistently refused any political 
preferment. By appointment of Governor Hartranft he 
is a member of the Board of Public Charities for five 
years. He married, in October, 1851, Josephine, the 
daughter of Samuel Wright, of the firm of Wright, Bros., 
& Co., Philadelphia. As a thoroughly successful man, 
whuse success has been won by energy and enterprise, 
whose career has been wholly honorable, as a citizen of 
public spirit and eminent usefulness, and as a gentleman 
of high and generous impulses, Mr. Bullock is especially 
deserving of the respect and esteem in which he is held 
in both mercantile and social circles. 



j^ILNES, JOHN, Coal Merchant, was born in Potts- 
ville, Pennsylvania, on the 1st day of December, 
A. D. 1832. His parents were natives of Eng- 
land, and came to America in 1829. Upon their 
arrival here his father was compelled to seek 
employment in the coal mines, and for that pur- 
pose walked all the way to Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The 
same energy that had characterized him in this matter con- 
stituted a power that impelled him onward and upward, 
until he was enabled to engage in business on .his own 
account, when he formed a co-partnership with a man 
named Haywood, of Pottsville. His industry and in- 
domitable energy guaranteed to this enterprising, firm a 
signal and marked success. Naturally, such a man appre- 
ciated the value of our American educational institutions, 
and gave to his son abundant opportunities to lay up a 
store of intellectual wealth, that should yield the highest 
rates of interest in after life. Therefore, after attending 
the schools of his native place, and there receiving the 
necessary preparation, the subject of this sketch entered 
Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Immediately 
after leaving college the coal trade attracted his attention ; 
accordingly, he sought and obtained employment with 
the firm of Snyder & Milnes. He remained with them 
but one year, when he engaged as a clerk with Richard 
Jones, and here continued until 1854. He then became 
the head salesman with William H. Johns. In every 
instance he displayed not only the greatest fidelity and the 
strictest integrity, but a high degree, of business capacity 
and executive ability. It naturally followed that each 
employer appreciated and highly valued such service. But 
as an employee he failed to find full scope for the exercise 
of his talents, and he determined to engage in business 
for himself. Accordingly, in 1855, he invested his earn- 
ings in a company composed of his father, brother, James 
Neill, and himself, who were all well-known to the coal 
trade. The firm controlled and successfully operated the 
Hickory and Diamond Collieries. In 1865, he disposed 
of his interest in that company, and invested in an Iron 
property in Virginia, from the results of which speculation 



he realized a handsome profit. In 1870, he disposed of 
his iron interest, and again engaged in the coal trade, 
which he still continues with his usual business tact and 
successful results. The educational interests of Philadel- 
phia find in him a warm friend and advocate, and his 
views upon all such subjects are advanced and liberal. 
As a School Director he has rendered efficient service to 
advance the interests of the cause. He is a prominent 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a liberal 
contributor to its support, as well as to every benevolent 
object that commends itself to his judgment. He is the 
Treasurer of the Missionary Society of the Philadelphia 
Conference -.of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Though 
his skill fn business matters makes him a valuable coun- 
sellor in all that pertains to the temporal prosperity of the 
church, he is so unassuming and modest that it is some- 
times difficult to enlist him in the enterprises which would 
necessarily bring him into public notice, and give to him 
that prominence from which he shrinks. Affiible and 
courteous, his presence brings sunshine into the social 
circle ; frank and generous, he enjoys the esteem and the 
admiration of his associates. 



MEJISON, GOUVERNEUR, M. D., Physician 
and Author, was born in Kent county, Dela- 
ware. . He -received an excellent education, 
and, making choice of the medical profession, 
he studied at the Univei-sity of Pennsylvania. 
From that institution he graduated with distinc- 
tion, and settled down to the practice of medicine in 
Philadelphia, in the year 1820. While he continued in 
the active duties of his profession, he enjoyed a large share 
of the public confidence, his judgment and skill as a prac- 
titioner being acknowledged on all hands. For some 
years, however, he has been living in comparative retire- 
ment, giving much attention to farming, availing himself 
of all modern improvements. All through his career he 
has manifested decided literary tastes, and many valuable 
contributions have been made by him to the literature of 
the period. His writings have Ijeen principally upon 
scientific, statisticsil, and agricultural subjects. To medical 
literature he has added largely, chiefly through the medium 
of the professional journals, and the American JoHrnal 
of the Medical Sciences in particular. Of these literary 
and scientific labors the most remarkable were a series 
of tables exhibiting the rates of mortality in Philadelphia, 
from each and all causes, and of the sexes at all ages, 
during thirty years, from 1807, when the first official bill 
of mortality was issued. Among the results developed by 
his investigations were the following : — the great healthful- 
ness of the city proper, in which the annual proportion 
of deaths to the population was only i in every 56 ; the 
excessive mortality in the colored population, and the 




28 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



subsequent improvement in their condition as indicated l>y 
a reduction of mortality; the' excessive mortality of chil- 
dren ill the wami months, and demonstration of the fact 
that the deleterious operations of heat are almost entirely 
confined to the first months of life, the influence of the 
seasons upon infantile mortality being scarcely perce|)tible 
after the fir»it year of life has passed; the excessive mortal- 
ity of male over that of female children in the first stages 
of infancy, and demonstration that this is not owing, as 
commonly supposed, to greater exposure of male children 
to accidents, but to diseases anti physiological causes 
peculiar to each sex; the seasons when most births take 
place, and the influence exerted through epidemic cholera 
and other depressing agencies, tending to reduce the pre- 
ponderance of male births. These tables have always been 
recognized as possessing great value; and as late as 1S69, 
they were referred to during the proceedings of the Amer- 
ican Philosophical Society. They were originally pub- 
lished in the Aiiiericnn Joiimal of the Medical Sciences, 
at intervals from 1827 until 1848. Among his contribu- 
tions to the literature of Agriculture, the most important is 
the Farmers' and Planters' Encyclopicdia of Rural Affairs, 
an octavo of thirteen hundred pages. The volume is 
replete with information of the greatest value to the rural 
classes, for whose use it was designed, and long since has 
attained the rank of a standard work. Dr. Emerson has 
not simply theorized upon the subject of agriculture, but he 
has followed it out practically, and on an extensive scale, 
demonstrating the truths promulg.ited through the scientific 
investigations of Baron Liebig, and many other eminent 
scientists, who have been engaged in the rapid develop- 
ment of agricultural knowledge. He w.xs the first to intro- 
duce the use of Peruvian guano into the Atlantic Slates, 
and to recognize the great advantages of the phosph.itic 
and other concentrated fertilizers, by their efiects upon his 
extensive farms in the State of Delaware. His latest 
literary work is a translation from the French of Le Play's 
remarkable treatise on The Organization of Labor, a pro- 
duction of profound interest. The translation is preceded 
by a highly appreciative preface, in which a critical esti- 
mate is afforded of the author, while a rapid and brilliant 
sketch is drawn of the position he .assumes, acconijianied 
by explanations and comments, greatly enhancing the 
value of the work itself. Dr. Emerson is a very clear, 
easy, elegant, and impressive writer, who succeeds in 
rendering interesting every subject that he handles. 
Although now somewhat advanced in years, he presen'es 
wonderful vigor of mind and body. The translation just 
alluded to furnishes ample evidence that he has lost none 
of his power and fascination as an author. He is a mem- 
ber of many literary and scientific societies, among which 
arc the American Philosophical Society, the Academy of 
Natural Sciences, the United Stales Agricultural Society, 
the Philadelphia Horticultural Society, ihe United States 
Pomological Society, the Franklin Institute, the Pennsyl- 




vania Agricultural Society, and several other less promi- 
nent associations. 



HERRERD, WILLIAM D., Insurance Brokei 
and Average Stater, was born in Philadelphia, 
April nth, 1816. He received a good scholastic 
education, and at the age of sixteen entered the 
counting house of ihe late Stephen Baldwin. 
His first connection with the insurance business 
commenced in 1837, with occasional employment by the 
old Atlantic Insurance Company, of which his brother, 
Henry D. Sherrerd, was Secretary. In June, 1838, he 
entered regularly into the business as book-keeper and 
general clerk for the Agency of the Delaware County In- 
surance Company, now the Delaware Mutual Safety 
Insurance Company. He continued in the employment 
of this company until after the removal of their main office 
to Philadelphia; and upon the reorganization of the insti- 
tution, undfr the supplement to its charter in 1843, ^*'^s 
elected Secretary. This position he occupied until Janu- 
ary, 1846, when he resigned, and commenced business as a 
commercial agent and insurance broker. While engaged 
in this occupation, he acted for one ye.ir, that of 1850, as 
Secretary of the late Mercantile Mutual Insurance Com- 
pany, and later was for a year and a half, in 1852 and 
1853, Secretary and Vice-President of the late Philadelphia 
Insurance Company. He was specially employed by the 
last mentioned company as an expert to methodize its 
business. Upon accomplishing this diflicult and responsi- 
ble task, he resigned. During the year 1840, he com- 
menced the adjustment of averages and the sellleinent of 
diflicult cases of marine insurance. So careful and so 
invariably accurate did he prove himself in the conduct of 
this very intricate and irksome business, th.it he soon 
established a high reputation ; and for many years hardly a 
troublesome case in either department was settled without 
the assistance of his valuable services. He took a deep 
interest in the insurance business, and was thoroughly 
informed in all its branches. And he did not limit his 
attention to the mere routine of any, or even all of these 
branches. He sought to place insurance upon a broader 
aod sounder foundation than he found it, and his efibrts 
tended very materially in that direction. Among his other 
public spirited labors may be mentioned those in connec- 
tion with the introduction of the steam fire engine into 
Philadelphia. He may, in fact, be truly said to have been 
its introducer, inasmuch as he devoted his most .strenuous 
exertions towards accomplishing the refoim. At the time 
prejudice was very great against the apparatus; but he felt 
confident of its success, and gave praclic.il proof of his 
confidence by advancing money to pay the contract entered 
into. These advances he reimbursed to himself out of 
collections undertaken by him, and which afforded him 
facilities in the division of risks. He died June 13th, iS6<>. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



29 




During his lifetime, he rendered many services to the 
public, and among them will always be remembered grate- 
fully his efforts for the introduction of the steam fire engine 
into Philadelphia. 

^..^ V 

" " cCLURE, COLONEL ALEXANDER KELLY, 

Lawyer and Politician, born in Perry county, 
Pennsylvania, January 9th, 1828, of Scotch-Irish 
descent. He is emphatically self-educated. 
When fifteen years of age, he was apprenticed 
to the tanning trade; in three years, his term 
of indenture having expired, he commenced life as a 
journeyman, and, in the pursuit of his calling, during the 
year 1846, he travelled through Pennsylvania, New York 
and New England, adding to his store of learning. The 
world was his teacher, and so apt was he to receive its 
lessons, that in the fall of the same year he returned to his 
native county, and boldly embarked in the avocation of 
newspaper publisher. He established, at Mifflin, the 
funiata Sentinel, and, while devoting his mental abilities 
to its editorial management, he also practised and mastered 
the mysteries of the printer's art, and in one year jjecame 
so conversant with the practical working of the composing 
room, as to be able to turn out a paper — the work of his 
own brains and hands. Thus, before reaching his twentieth 
year, he had learned two practfcal trades,' and y/as an 
editor well versed in local politics. Upon his tw^ty-fijst 
birthday, he received a commission as Aid, from the then 
Governor Wm. F. Johnston, with the rank '"ifftd title of 
Colonel. He was appointed, in 1850, Deputy United 
.States Marshal for Juniata county. In 1S52, he became 
the proprietor and publisher of the Chambeisbitrg Reposi- 
tory, which he enlarged and improved, greatly increasing 
its circulation, and making it one of the most influential 
journals in the State. In 1853, being then but twenty-five 
years of age, he was nominated by the Whig party for the 
office of Auditor-General, but was defeated. By Governor 
Pollock, in 1855, he was appointed Superintendent of 
Public Printing; but, after holding the position for eight 
months, he resigned, and the same year was admitted to 
the bar, and commenced the practice of law in Chambers- 
burg, entering into partnerehip with his former preceptor, 
William McLellan. In 1856, he received, from Governor 
Pollock, the appointment of Superintendent of the Erie 
& Northeast Railroad, troubles in connection with this 
road having caused several riots and much mischief for a 
year previous, in the city of Erie. He directed his energies 
to the settlement of these difficulties, and finally succeeded 
in adjusting affairs to the Satisfaction of all concerned. 
The same year he served as a Delegate to the National 
Republican Convention, and canvassed the State in behalf 
of its nominees, Fremont and Dayton. He was one of the 
few Republicans elected to the Legislature in 1857; the 
district which he represented had previously invariably 



given a majority against his party. As a representative, he 
was prominent, and exerted his influence in favor of the 
sale of the public works, and in aiding the construction of 
the Erie Railroad. He was re-elected in 1858, and in 
1859, after a most exciting contest, he succeeded, as State 
Senator, an opponent who was deemed invulnerable. In 
i860, he was appointed Chairman of the Republican State 
Central Committee, and arranged a complete organization 
in every county, township and precinct in the State. At 
that time, he was prominently mentioned for United States 
Senator, but declined to be a candidate. During the war, 
as Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, while 
in the St.ate Senate, he was most earnest in his support to 
the National and State Governments. From his place in 
the Senate House, he introduced war measures of substan- 
tial importance. In 1862, he was commissioned an Assist- 
ant Adjuta'ni-General of the United States Army, in order 
to qualify, him for the military duty of enforcing the draft 
in Pennsylvania. After making the draft, thereby placing 
seventeen regiments in the field, he resigned his commis- 
sion. ' This service he performed at the special request of 
President ' Lincoln and Secretai-y of War, Stanton. He 
declined, in 1863, the Chairmanship of the Republican 
.State Central Committee, but exerted his best efforts during 
the camfaign to secure the re-election of Governor Curtin. 
A delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1864, 
he was formally tendered, by three-fourths of the delegates, 
th6 Ch.airmanship'of the State Committee; but this he de- 
clinecf, in order to accept the nomination for the Legisla- 
ture from a new, and strongly Democratic, district. He 
wai> elected by four hundred majority. In October of the 
sariie year, at the request of President Lincoln, he actively 
engaged in perfecting ihe political organization of the State 
for the following November's Presidential election. The 
July previous, the Southern army under Lee, in its inva- 
sion of Penn.sylvania, had entirely destroyed all his 
property near Chambersburg, inflicting a loss of ^75,000. 
The summer of 1867, for the benefit of the health of his 
wife and son, he spent in the Rocky Mountains. Upon 
his return he published, in book form, his impressions of 
the new Territories. He then decided to reside perma- 
nently in Philadelphia, and resumed the practice of the 
law. He was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Delegation 
in the National Republican Convention that nominated 
General Grant for President, and strongly pressed the 
claims of Governor Curtin for the Vice-Presidency. His 
labors in behalf of the Republican nominees were exten- 
sive and valuable during that campaign ; he thoroughly 
canvassed the States of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode 
Island and Ma.ssachusetts. After the Presidential contest 
of 1S68, in order to recruit both his health and finances, 
which had suffered much during his ten years of incessant 
political labor, he decided to withdraw from active partici- 
pation in party affairs, and to devote his attention to his 
profession. In 1872, however, he was again called to the 



3° 



BIOGRAPHICAL KNCVCLOP^-DIA. 



front, and as ihc candidate ol the Independent Reform 
party was elected to the State Senate from the Fourth Dis- 
trict of Philadelphia. He was excluded from his seat by 
false returns, but he contested the matter with his usual 
energy and success, obtaining on March 27th a decision 
in his favor. He was Chairman of the Pennsylvania 
Delegation at the Cincinnati Convention, which nominated 
Greeley and Brown, and was also Chairman of the Liberal 
Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania during the 
Presidential contest of 1872. He was married February 
loth, 1852, to Miss Matilda S. Grey. His record is indeed 
that of a busy life, in which the characteristics of the 
Scotch-Irish blood may be readily traced. Hard work, 
hard words or self-sacrifices have never daunted him. An 
acknowledged leader, he has ever been found at the front. 
As a public speaker, lecturer, or legal advocate, he can at 
all limes command the attention of an audience, and he is 
strong in his power to convince. His prepared speeches, 
carefully digested, have always been remarkable for the 
soun<lncss of their arguments, and the power of eloquence 
and earnestness with which they have been delivered. He 
is a ready and able debater, never failing to impress his 
hearers. Intimate with, and his valuable services acknow- 
ledged by, men high in power, he could have held many 
offices of great emolument had he sought them ; but he has 
never permitted his name to be used in connection with 
any such position, his only desire in obtaining and retaining 
office seeming to be to secure the " greatest good for the 
greatest number." 

-^-7^ v' 
(^*||iAINDRIM, JAMES HAMILTON, Architect, was 

born in Philadelphia, July 4th, 1840. He comes 
of Scotch-Irish parentage. He received his edu- 
cation in the Girard College, from which he 
graduated in 1856. Having always manifested a 
great taste for drawing, and a great desire to 
become an architect, he was placed in the office of John 
Nolman, architect, with whom he studied for three years. 
Enfeebled health then necessitated a change from office 
duties to out-door employment. Seeking a business akin 
to his profession, he engaged with Thomas Bateman, a car- 
penter and builder in West Chester, Chester county, Penn- 
sylvania. On his return to Philadelphia, he entered into 
another engagement with Mr. Notman, in the shop of 
Archibald Catanach, builder, then erecting the Church of 
the Holy Trinity, of which Mr. Nolman was the architect. 
In these two List mentioned positions, he acquired a know- 
ledge of the details of the building business, that has veiy 
materially assisted him in his profession, and that has 
cn.-tbled him to efficiently guard the interests of his clients. 
Upon leaving Mr. Notm-in, he obtained charge of the 
ercct'on of the Hospital of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
Philadelphia, as superintending architect. Then his ser- 
vices were secured by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 




and he was stationed at Pittsburgh as their architect. 
Eventually he surrendered this position, in order to com- 
mence the private practitre of his profession. This wa.' 
inaugurated by an engagement as architect of the country 
seat of Jay Cooke, at Chcllon Hills. Since then his ser- 
vices have been in constant requisition, and he now enjoys a 
reputation second to that of no architect in Philadelphia. 
Among the more important buildings in Philadelphia for 
which he furnished the designs, may be mentioned the 
following : The College of Physicians ; the banking houses 
of the Fidelity Safe Deposit Company ; the National Bank 
of the Northern Liberties, and the Tradesmen's National 
Bank ; the new offices of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- 
pany; the new Masonic Temple; the Messchert stores; 
the dry goods house of Hood; Bonbright & Co.; also, the 
residences of John Rice, John Baird, and E. C. Knight. 
These structures are among the noblest and most imposing 
specimens of architecture that the city can boast. He pos 
sesses large artistic taste, and manifests no little originality 
in his designs. Personally, he is a cultivated and genial 
gentleman. For so young a man, he has attained a 
remarkable position. 



TETSON, D. S., Sea Captain and Merchant, was 
bom in Bath, Maine, in the year 1819. In 1833, 
being then but fourteen years of age, and having 
determined to adopt a sea-faring life, he went as 
cabin boy in the ship " New England," bound 
from Bath for New Orleans, thence to Havre, 
In 1837, at the age of eighteen, he was made 
first officer of the ship " Manco," of Bath, and this same 
year visited Philadelphia for the first time. He continued 
with this vessel for three years, and during that time traded 
principally between the South Atlantic and Gulf ports of 
the United States and Europe. In 1840, when but little 
over twenty-one years of age, he was given command of the 
brig " Maria," of Philadelphia, engaged in the West India 
trade, and retained the position for four years. In 1844, 
he built the brig " Jas. A. Marple," which soon after was 
wrecked on the Bahama Islands. He immediately built 
the brig " Ida," and continued the West India trade until 
1847, when, having married a Philadelphia lady the previ- 
ous year, he concluded to retire from sea life, and accord- 
ingly resigned command of the vessel. He then engaged 
in the ship chandleiy business, in company with J. Baker, 
under the firm name of Baker & Stetson, the business 
place being on Delaware avenue above Arch street. In 
1856, Mr. Baker withdrew from the firm, and Mr. Stetson 
formed another co-partnership, changing the character of 
the business to that of shipping and commission, which 
was conducted under the title of D. S. Stetson & Co. Soon 
after the establishment of this house, the panic of 1857 
burst upon the financial world, carrying in its train wide- 
spread ruin and disaster. At one time the existence of the 




France. 




uAiaxv Eiib .^Jo. Phiied* 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



3> 




new house of D. S. ^tetson & Co. was seriously threatened, 
l)ut by judicious management it was enabled to weather 
the storm. Every obligation was met as it matured, though 
with the loss of a considerable portion of its capital, as was 
the case with all houses that boldly faced the tempest, Mr. 
Stetson has since continued in the uninterrupted prosecu- 
tion of the shipping and commission business, building, 
owning, and managing a large number of vessels, engaged 
in the Southern, West Indies, South American, Pacific and 
European trades. He is a man of fine, commanding 
appearance, and with a manner the most affable and polite. 
The deep, hearty tones of his voice indicate a soul actuated 
by the most generous impulses, and his success in life, and 
the esteem in which he is held, is undoubtedly due as 
much to his liberal spirit as to his earnest devotion to busi- 
ness, and skilful management of his affairs. '^ 



IDGWAV, JOHN J., Jr., Lawyer, was bom in 
Philadelphia, on the 22d of October, 1843..; 
His father, Thomas Ridgway, whose career is 
sketched elsewhere in this volume, is a'S\'ell- 
known Philadelphia merchant, and ' has beeiii 
President of the Girard Life Insurance, Annuity 
and Trust Company since 1850. " His mother,- whose 
maiden name was Sarah Pancoast, was a sister of the emi- 
nent surgeon. Professor Pancoast, of the Jeflerson*Medical 
College of Philadelphia. After receiving an excellent 
preparatoi-y education, the subject of this "Sketch studied 
law in the office of Morton P. Heniy, and was admitted to 
the b.ir on May 29th, 1S65. After devoting a year to 
European travel, he entered upon the practice of his pro- 
fession. In 1871, having in the meantime achieved an 
honorable standing at the bar, he was brought prominently 
before the public, in connection with the prosecutions of 
certain city and court officials of Philadelphia for the exac- 
tion of illegal fees. The great abuses of the system of 
extortion in vogue had assumed such alarming .and harass- 
ing proportions, that the Philadelphia Bar Association 
determined to put an end to them, and with that object in 
view employed a Solicitor, whose duty it w.as made to. 
prosecute in the courts every case of the kind brought 
before him, free of charge to the complainant. He was 
selected for this delicate and -responsible position; and, 
despite the manifold difficulties in the, way, the threats 
that were resorted to for the. purpose of intimidatiii'g him, 
and the general prophecy of ultimate failure, he entered 
upon his task with great determination. He began hy- 
notifying all the public officials of the city of his appoint- 
ment, and of his pui-pose to secure the enforcement of the 
laws which they had so long defied. With much labor, he 
prepared and published in pamphlet form a list of the legal 
fees, arranged alphabetically, and under proper headings. 
Previously lo this publication, it had been impossible for 



even a lawyer to ascertain what were the legal fees in any 
case, without the labor of searching the statute books 
through which they were scattered ; but in his pamphlet, 
which covered eighty pages, he so completely systema- 
tized the whole subject, that any one could readily ascertain 
the legal fees, and be prepared to resist the extortion of the 
officials. The latter, however, continued in their old course 
after the warning had been given ; consequently he caused 
a deputy-sheriff to be arrested. Every effort was made 
to avert the conviction and punishment of this officer, who 
secured the services of two eminent lawyers for his de- 
fence. But conviction and sentence followed, although, 
when the officer had been only ten days in prison, he was 
pardoned out by the Governor. Not deterred by this un- 
looked-for reverse, he instituted a number of suits for $50 
penalty, as provided by law, against the offending officials, 
aild in ^very case recovered the money. His energetic 
and successful action encouraged citizens who had been 
victiifijzed, to resort to the free services tendered them by 
the" Bar " Association, through its Solicitor; and a very 
marked aiid ' Satisfactory change in the bearing of the city 
officials -Was the- speedy result. In the same year in 
whiiSi he commenced his proceedings against the public 
offi5trs who hiid been habitually guilty of extortion, a 
gerieraKreform moveme'nt was inaugurated in Philadelphia 
through the agency, of- the Citizens' Municipal Reform 
Associa'tion, and the subject of our sketch was placed upon 
the Reform ticket, and presented by it to the voters of the 
city, foi- the position of Prothonotary of the Court of Common 
■pieSs.- The Association" entered upon the campaign only 
six weeks before its close, but its ticket polled over three 
thousand -votes. He has since continued an active mem- 
ber of the Reform Association, and has taken a promi- 
nent part in subsequent campaigns. During the memora- 
ble contest of 1872, in which such determined efforts to 
defeat the reform candidates for city offices were made by 
mingling national with local issues, he spoke constantly at 
political meetings on municipal issues, and contributed 
largely towards swelling the reform vote of that year to 
over thirteen thousand. He .again occupied a place on the 
Reform ticket, as candidate for the Legislature in the Sixth 
Representative District, and diverted a large vote from 
the ',' regulaj' "■ nominees. He has always been a very- 
earnest abolitionist, and is how a firm adherent of the 
Republican pai;ty ; but, Ke is equally earnest in his opposi- 
tion to the introduction.of p^tional politics into the govern- 
ment of the Qity — the most glaring abuse of our political 
system. During the progress of the civil war, he was a 
steadfast supporter of the Government, and when the 
militia of the State was called out, in 1862 and again in 
1863, he shouldered his musket as a member of the Grey 
Reserves. He was on the field at Antietam, and al 
H.agerstown, when Lee crossed the Potomac, after the 
Battle of Gettysburg. His strong public spirit and 
refined taste are shown by the active part he has taken in 



32 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



furthering the movement lor forming in Philadelphia a 
Zoological Garden, modelled after the famous one in Lon- 
don. He is one of the Directors of the Society which has 
been organized for accomplishing that object, and to which 
the Commissioners of Fairmount Park have granted thirty 
acres, beautifully situated on the Schuylkill, near Girard 
Avenue Bridge. A large amount of money has been sub- 
scribed towards the undertaking, which promises to be a 
great success. An article from his fluent pen was pub- 
lished in Lifpincvtfi Afn^'dzittf for May, 1873, in which 
the project was elaborately and attractively discussed. 
On November 14th, 1867, he married Elizabeth Kry, 
daughter of the late Joseph R. Fry, of Philadelphia, by 
whom he has one child. He has a cousin of his own 
name — a son of Jacob Ridgway, a prominent merchant of 
Philadelphia in the early part of the century, who long 
ranke'd with Stephen Girard as one of the two rich men of 
the city. This John J. Ridgway has lived in Paris for the 
past twenty years, but has large interests in Philadelphia. 
The subject of our sketch has been so frequently written to 
and called upon by mistake for his wealthy namesake, that 
he was obliged to add "junior" to his name, to save 
annoyance. He possesses a pleasing address, a ready 
tongue and pen, and indomitable energy; and the large 
pr.aclice which he has already built up at the bar of Phila- 
delphia, stam|j> him as one of its rising members. 



C^- 'LLIS, CHARLK 

f^ I r ' ''"^ *""" "'^ Chai 
VnII Druggists and M 
) Xi ' in Lycoming cc 



6- 



'LLIS, CHARLES, of Philadelphia, formerly of 
Charles Ellis, Son & Co., Wholesale 
Manufacturing Chemists, was born 
Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, in the year 
1800. His father, William Ellis, whose ancestors 
came from Wales, settled in Lycoming county 
previous to the close of the last century, and was an exten- 
sive land owner. He was a prominent member of the 
Society of Friends. The subject of this sketch was sent to 
a school on Manhattan Island, New York, to be educated, 
where he remained until his sixtfcnth year. In 1817, 
he came to Philadelphia, and was regularly entered as 
an apprentice to Miss Elizabeth Marshall, to learn the 
art and mystery of an Apothecary. Her establishment 
was on Chestnut street, between Second and Third streets, 
south side, (old number) 56. This store enjoyed a well 
deserved reputation, and at that period was regarded as the 
most complete and important establishment of the kind in 
the city. It had been founded about the year 1740, by 
Christopher Marshall, Sr., a name well known to Phila- 
delphians, as the author of the Remembrancer, being 
a detail of events which occurred in Philadelphia in the 
" limes which tried men's souls." The date when his 
son, Charles M.-irshall, succeeded his father in the busi- 
ness, is not material ; but he continued the general man- 
agement of all pertaining to his calling, until advancing 



years and an enfeebled frame warned him that he must 
give place to a successor, in the person of his daughter, 
and the business was thereafter continued under the firm 
name of E. Marshall. Into this interesting family, young 
Ellis was received, and found an abiding pUice during 
his term of service. He had for his companions such 
well-known names as Frederick Brown, Sr., Samuel P. 
Griffitts, son of Dr. Griffitts, Isaac P. Morris, Joseph Morris, 
Casper Morris, etc., all of whom have pa.ssed away, except- 
ing the latter, who resides, at the present writing (1873), 
in the State of Maryland. Mr. Ellis served a faithful 
apprenticeship, and when he had attained his majority 
was employed by Miss Marshall as one of her assistants, 
to carry on the business, in which position he remained 
for several years, to her entire satisfaction. In the year 
1826, he associated himself with Mr. Isaac P. Morris, and 
purchased the entire establishment, thus becoming the part 
owner of the store where he had passed so many years. 
The firm of Ellis & Morris at once look a front rank in the 
drug business, which now, without being exclusively retail, 
gradually developed into the wholesale line. After some 
years of successful management and increasing prosperity, 
Mr. Morris withdrew from the concern, and subsequently 
founded the extensive and well-known ** Port Richmond 
Iron Works." In the year 1S37, Mr. Ellis admitted his 
nephew, William Ellis, into the firm, which became known 
as Charles Ellis & Co. ; and subsequently his son, Evan T. 
Ellis, was added to the business, without any change in 
the name of the house. These three gentlemen continued 
to give matters their constant and undivided attention. In 
1857, they removed to Market street, near Eighth, where, 
in larger quarters, they were enabled to afford belter 
accommodations to their great force of operatives, and 
increasing number of patrons. In 1863, Mr. William Ellis 
retired from the firm. After the close of the war, the city 
took a new lease of life, as is well known, and business 
of all kinds prospered. In like manner, the firm, the name 
of which had been changed to Chas. Ellis, Son & Co., 
the son-in-law of the senior p.irtner, Wm. AL Ellicott, Jr., 
having entered it in 1863 (he retired in 1872), was con- 
stantly increasing in importance; and in 1S68, they took 
possession of their large warehouse, at the Southwest corner 
of Market and Tenth streets, built for the purpose, in which 
they carried on one of the most extensive Wholesale Drug 
Establishments in the city of l'hil.idcl|)hia. In the year 
1871, Charles Ellis withdrew from the firm, and has not 
since been a partner in the house. His lime and attention, 
when in the city, are much given to various charitable and 
other institutions, with which he has been connected for a 
considerable period of his life. For a long time he has 
been interested in the success of the Philadelphia College 
of Pharmacy, of which he w.as the President for nearly 
twenty years, being on his resignation succeeded by Dill- 
wyn Parrish. He has also been a Manager of the Friends' 
Asylum for the Insane, located at Frankford, Pennsylvania, 





'' ^c.^-.^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 




and of the House of Refuge, for the refoniiation of the 
vatjrant youth of both sexes. In Vjoth of these institu- 
tions he has manifested a deep interest. The Ortho- 
pcedic Hospital and Infirmary for the cure of Nervous 
L)iseases numbers him among its earliest trustees and 
advisers. Like his father, Mr. Ellis is a prominent member 
of the Society of Friends, and has held many very impor- 
tant trusts for the Meeting, all of which he has discharged 
to the satisfaction and credit of that important body. Not- 
withstanding his advanced age, owing to his regular and 
steady mode of life, he is in the enjoyment of good 
health. The business is continued at the old stand by his 
son, Evan T. Ellis, who has a.ssociated with him W. II. 
Boyle, long connected with the establishment, under the 
firm name of Charles Ellis's Son & Co. 



f ELVIN, S. IL, Physician, Merchant, and Banker, 
was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, 
April 22d, 1S29. When five years of age, his 
father removed to Steubenville, Ohio, where he 
was educated, and at the usual age enfwed the 
office of Dr. Sinclair, to study mediciq^es»- He 
w.as qualified for practice; but his tastes fading him to 
mercantile pursuits, he engaged in the wholesale drug 
business, which he prosecuted with success in .Steubenville, 
until 1859. He then removed to Springfield, Illinois, anJ 
siion was at the head of the leading drug house in Central 
Illinois. Early in 1S67, the Springfield Savings Bank was 
incorporated, and Dr. Melvin elected President, a position 
he still retains. The eminent skill and high business talent 
manifested in the management of this institution can best 
be shown by the fact, that although the most recently 
organized but one of any banking institution in that city, it 
has at once the most numerous depositors, and the heaviest 
deposits of all. So much of this success was owing to the 
subject of our sketch, that in 1S69, when the merchants 
of Springfield formed a Board of Trade, he was at once 
elected its President, and continues in that position to-day. 
The same year he was chosen President of the Gilman, 
Clinton & Springfield Railroad Company. This corpora- 
tion, at its outset, met with so much opposition and so 
many reverses, that its officers despaired of its successful 
completion, and were ready to renounce it. The Presiclent 
alone refused to yield to these timorous counsels, and went 
to work, we may say, single-handed, with such determina- 
tion and tact, that he engaged in its completion the 
immense resources of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 
and with such immediate effect, that in less than a year 
the whole line of no miles was graded, equipped, and 
running on regular time ! This, however, was but a part 
of his plan. The direct connection of Chicago and .St. 
Louiion this line was what he aimed for. So in 1S70, he 




was elected President of a coi-poration entitled the 
.Sjjringfield & St. Louis Railroad Company, and he is now 
engaged in urging this road to its completion, with the 
same well-directed ardor which has char.acterized his pre- 
vious efforts. In 1863, Dr. Melvin married the daughter 
of Samuel Slemmons, of Cadiz, Ohio, and is the parent of 
an interesting and happy family. In early life, he united 
himself to the Presbyterian Church, and has always taken a 
deep interest in schemes of practical benevolence. During 
the Rebellion, he was a staunch Union man, and a warm 
personal friend of President Lincoln. Appreciating his 
sterling qualities, the latter offered him any position in his 
gift, but the offer was declined, for personal reasons. The 
General Assembly of" Illinois in that tr)'ing period organ- 
ized a Home for the Friendless in Springfield, and Dr. 
Melvin was at once elected its President. This excellent 
institution has sheltered over a thousand applicants, and 
continues to be conducted with most gratifying results 
under his watchful care. 



EIGLER, GEORGE K., Merchant, and Presi- 
j dent of the National Bank of Commerce, 
Philadelphia, was born in this city on the 
1st of Ngi'ember, 1822, of German parentage. 
He received a- good education in his native city, and 
in his fifteenth year entered upon a long and successful 
business career. .This was in 1S37, in which year he 
entered .the establishment of Bohlen & Co., one of the 
oldest commercial houses in the city, as a clerk. This 
house manufactures in Holland, and imports for sale here 
the celebrated Bohlen gin, which brings a higher price 
than any other brand of this article in the market. He 
was steadily promoted, and is now (1873) ^^^ senior mem- 
ber of the firm. For several years, a large share of his 
time was occupied in settling important and responsible 
trusts relating to the Bohlen estate. Pie has also held 
responsible positions in several beneficial and similar insti- 
tutions, being at present the President of the German 
Society of Philadelphia, which was established many years 
ago for the relief of distressed Germans in the Slate of 
Pennsylvania, and is the oldest society of the kind in the 
United States. Since March, i860, he has held the posi- 
tion of President of the National Bank of Commerce, and 
is also at present a Director of the Insurance Comjiany of 
the State of Pennsylvania. For many years, he acted as 
Consul for the Netherlands, for the States of Pennsylvania 
and Delaware, which is one of the oldest consulates in the 
United States, and was held for a long time by former 
members of the firm of Bohlen & Co. A business man 
of marked ability and unquestioned integrity, a public- 
spirited citizen, and genial in private life, he is deservedly 
popular in business and social circles. 



1 



34 

f 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EUIA. 



HII.DS, GEORGE W., Merchant and rul)lisher, 
was Ixirn in baltimore, Manlnnd, May I2lh, 
1829. At the age of thirlccn, he entered the 
United States Navy, but after sjiendin^ fifteen 
months in the service, he removed to Philadel- 
phia, and oiitained employment in a book store. 
The leisure which this position afforded him, he passed in 
studying the standard works of literature and the general 
l)rinciples of commerce. When but eighteen years of age, 
he invested his savings — a few hundred dollars — in busi- 
ness for himself, and succeeded so well, that two years 
later he w.-is offered a partnership in the established firm 
of R. E. Peterson S: Co., subsequently better known under 
the name of Childs & Pelei-son. This house, during his 
connection with it, which continued until i860, published 
some of the most valuable contributions to the literature 
of this country. Prominent among these works may be 
menlioned Kane's work on Arctic Exploration, Bouvier's 
Law Diclionmy, Judge Sharswood's edition of Black- 
stone's Commenlctry, Peterson's J-'nmiliai SiUnce, and Dr. 
Allibone's DUtionaiy of Authors. Some of these works 
attained a .sale at that lime unexampled in the history of 
the trade. In i860, on the retirement of Mr. Peterson 
from the 6rm, he formed a partnership wilh J. B. Lippin- 
colt, which endured, however, but one year, when he 
resumed business by himself. In 1 863, he purchased the 
Publishers' Circular, a moribund periodical, devoted to the 
interests of the trade. This he remodelled, and changing 
its title to the American Literary Gazette and J'ul'lishers' 
Circular, edited it wilh such ability, care and enterprise, 
as lo render it eminently acceptable, and indeed necessary 
to the trade. Previously to his proprietorship, the Circular 
had been published in New York, About the same time, 
lie also actiuiied 'J/te American Almanac, which had 
greatly declined in puVdic favor; and re-naming it The 
Aatioual Almanac, conducted it wilh such marked judg- 
ment anil appreciation of the best popular taste, that in two 
years it reached an annual sale of thirty thousand co|iies. 
Some little time afterwards, he undertook the publication 
of Krownlow's famous book, paying the impecunious, even 
homeless, author lifletn thousand dollars fur the copyright, 
a sum which served lo completely re-establish him. About 
this time an opjwrlunily offered that he had always hoped 
would come, and that in his Ixiyhood he had determined 
should liiul him prepared. His ambition had been to be- 
come proprietor of the Public Ledger, a newspaiier which 
for many yeare had been the favorite organ of the citizens 
of Philadelphia ; but which, for some lime before 1S64, had, 
from various causes, seriously fallen in value. This cir- 
cumstance paved the w.iy for negotiations which resulted 
in the retirement of William M. Swain, for thirty years the 
guiding spirit of the paper, and the purchase of the enlire 
esiablishiuent by Mr. Childs. Admirable as for the most 
part had been the organization of the office, and the char 



quick perception of the true conditions of journalistic suc- 
cess suggested a variety of new features. In the reorganiza- 
tion of the journal upon its present eminently saiislactory 
basis, and in its subsequent management, he displayed the 
same energy and tact that had marked his earlier business 
ventures. The fruits of his able direction were not long 
delayed. He soon had the gratification of seeing • the 
journal enter upon that career of prosperity which has 
made it the leading paper of the city, as it is in some 
respects unsurpassed in the world. To accommodate its 
rapidly increasing business, he, in 1867, erected the pub- 
lication office at the corner of Sixth and Chestnut streets, 
which, in its interior arrangements, and in the elegance of 
its architecture, is probably unequalled by any other estab 
lishment either in Europe or America. The attention and 
thought that its proprietor has bestowed upon the various 
enterprises in which he has been engaged, display them- 
selves alfo in his consideration for those whom he has 
employed in the numerous departments of his business. 
He has secured for each a policy of life insurance, and 
has endowed the Philadelphia Typographical Society wilh 
an extensive and beautiful burial place, known as ihe 
Printers' Cemetery, at Woodland. In works of charily, 
and in those which have for their aim the benefit of the 
city of his adoption, his name is always conspicuous as that 
of an earnest worker and generous sujiporter. High as his 
business ability ranks in the special branch of industry 
with which he has been so long connected, it stands not 
higher than his personal character in the eslimation of a 
large circle of acquaintance at home and abroad, and of 
the community generally. In the numerous publications 
of the book and periodical cl.iss with which his name has 
been as.sociated, he has invariably insisted on a tone of 
purity and morality, while he has never condescended, 
either in the advertising or editorial columns of his journal, 
to permit the insertion of any of those harmful or even 
questionable mailers that mar the general tone of so many 
newspapers in the United Stales. He ha.s always striven 
to favor movements of reform, and to .assist in the adminis- 
tration of justice. Especially has the Public L.edger be- 
come known in Philadelphia as fearless and outspoken on 
all matters pertaining to municipal welfare, and as care- 
fully avoiding all topics of personal scandal and partizan 
favoritism. Hence the tribute which Chief Justice Lewis 
once paid to him in an address at the dedication of the 
Printers' Cemeleiy is eminently descr^■ed : — " Mr. Childs 
has planted himself on Ihe affections of the human heart. 
He has laid the founilation of his monument upon universal 
benevolence. Its superstructure is composed of good and 
noble deeds. Its spire is the love of God, which ascends 
to heaven." Many places of political preferment have 
been offered him, but he h.-is uniformly declined such dis- 
tinctions, believing th.it by diligently caring for the exten- 
sive enterprises under his control, he can better serve the 



acter of the paper itself, his keen business judgment and [ public than by the occupancy of a political office. 



lilOGRAl'lIlCAL EiN'CVCLUr.EDIA. 



35 




OFF.MAN, CHRISTIAN J., Merchant, was boin 
in Lewistown, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, 
November iSth, 1819. His education, up to the 
age of sixteen, was acquired at the schools of his 
native place. In 1S35, he entered a printing 
ollice in Lewistown, with a view to learning the 
trade, and for two years pursued the vcoation, which, how- 
ever, was not found suited to his tast-es. In 1837, he 
abandoned the idea of making printing his life work, and 
turned his attention to commercial pursuits. Locating 
himself in Philadelphia, he entered the counting-house of 
Carlisle & Humijhrys, afterwards Humphrys, Dutith & 
Co., commission merchants. Early in 1847, I'e Som 
menced the Flour and Grain business on his own account, 
and two years hater he became associated with the late 
Colonel James P. Perot, the firm being Perot & Hoffman, 
commission merchants, for the sale of Flour, Grain, etc. 
Tlie firm was located on Delaware avenue, below Race 
street. Afterwards it was known under the title of Huni- 
plnys, Hoffman & Kores, and later still, it was changed 
to Humphrys, Hoffman & Wright. In 1S65, Henry C. 
Kennedy became a partner, and the title was again changed 
to Hoffman & Kennedy. In 1872, the firm assumed its 
present title of C. J. Hoffman & Co., Robeson _ Lea and 
Joseph J. Wright being the junior members of the firm. 
Mr. Hoffman has attained great success in business, rising 
hy dint of industry, perseverance and intelligence,. fronVd 
small beginning to the foremost rank -among the men 
engaged in the same branch of trade. In 1852, he was 
elected member of the City Council, and filled the position 
one year after the consolidation of the city. In 1861, he 
was elected President of the Corn Exchange Association, 
and actively promoted the enlistment of the Commercial 
Exchange Regiment (No. 118). He has been an active 
member of the Union League from its incipiency, and for 
the past six years a member of the Board of Directors of 
Girard College. He is a man of varied information, lib- 
eral heart, and pleasing manners. He has but one child — 
Washington Allee Hoffman, M. D., who is Port Physician 
of Philadelphia, having been appointed to that office by 
Governor Hartranft in the fall of 1S72. 



EWKIRK, MATTHEW, Merchant, of Philadel- 
phia, was of a Huguenot family, from the south 
of Holland, the ancient form of the name being 
Van Nieukierck. The family emigrated to this 
country about the middle of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, and settled in New Jersey. His birth took 
place May 3t5t, 1794, in Pittsgrove, Salem county, in that 
State. Here he received the limited education at that day 
to be obtained in a country school, and at the age of six- 
. teen came to Philadelphia, to acquaint himself with mer- 
cantile pursuits. At first he acted as store boy with J. & 
C. Cooper, wholesale di-y goods merchants on Front street. 




and subsequently rose to be their clerk and salesman. At 
this period, the city was threatened by an English fleet, and 
the " Washington Guards " were enrolled for its defence. 
To them he attached himself, and went into camp near 
Wilmington, Delaware (1815). After the restoration of 
peace, in April, 1S16, he began a small retail dry goods 
store, in partnership with his sister, on Second street. 
After her marriage, he continued it on his own accourtt. 
and from this humble beginning soon succeeded in building 
up a considerable wholesale trade. Various business con- 
nections were formed from time to time until his retirement 
from active mercantile life, in 1839. Although controlling 
large resources at this date, his active and enterprising 
mind would not permit him to rest in idleness. Indeed, 
those extended operations which brought him most promi- 
nently, to the noti(* of his fellow-citizens were nearly all 
of later date. He had already acted as Director of the 
United Stales Bank with his friend, the Hon. Nicholas 
Biddle, and entered with the most earnest zeal into the 
construction of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore 
Railroad, the first President of which he was, and which 
may almost be said to owe to him its very existence, cer- 
tainl)- its completion, at that early day. A marble monu- 
ment, erected in teslimcmy to his success in this work, may 
still be seen on the line-of the road at Gray's F"eri-y, on ilie 
west bank of the Schuylkill, below Philadelphia. To Ins 
careful study of the equipment of this road, is due several 
now familiar improvements in the comfort of travellers. 
One of these is the system of "checking" personal bag- 
gage, which was an original suggestion of his; another was 
the adoi)tion of the form of the American passenger car 
with eight w-heels, instead of the English four-wheeled 
coup^. The coal and iron interests of Pennsylvania at- 
tracted his attention quite early, and the Little Schuylkill 
Navigation Railroad & Coal Company owes much of its 
present prosperous condition to his energy and perseverance. 
About the year 1854, he became interested in the Cambria 
Iron Works, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania; and although 
then three score years of age, he did not shrink from the 
vast labor and great outlay of capital requisite in order to 
secure their success. The severe financial crisis of 1858 
found him in the midst of this arduous undertaking, and 
obliged him, in order to protect those to whom he was in- 
debted, to place much of his property temporarily under 
the control of others. It was always his conviction that 
real estate is the safest investment, and at one time he 
owned more dwelling houses in Philadelphia than any 
other citizen, and land in no less than eleven States of the 
Union. His interest in projects of social and religious 
improvement equalled that 'in plans of industrial progress. 
For forty years of his life he gave his cordial support to the 
cause of temperance, and was at one time President of the 
State Temperance Society. At his elegant entertainments, 
he permitted no kind of intoxicant, an example few were 
equally conscientiois a~ tn adopt. For years he acted as 



SG 



BIOGRArmCAI. ENCYCLOP.IiDIA. 



President of Ihe Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, 
and always advocated the complete medical education of 
women. The Polytechnic College of the State of Penn- 
sylvania almost owes its existence to his liberality and 
energy. I'"or ihirtyfo.ur years he was an active Trustee 
of the College of New Jersey, at Princeton. Especially 
interesting in the midst of his active life was the consistent 
(Christianity which he early, and always cherished. In 
1832, he united himself to the Central Presbyterian 
Church, of which he was for m.any years a Ruling Elder, 
a Deacon, and a Trustee, as well as General Superinten- 
dent of the Sabbath School. He was also Trustee to the 
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and for 
twelve years its Treasurer. Official trusts in the Boards 
of Publication, Education and Domestic Missions, were 
also confided to him, and the Pennsj^ania Stale Sabbath 
School Association elected him its President. His mar- 
riages were in M.iy, 1817, to Jane Reese Stroud, who 
lived but twenty-one months; in July, 1821, to Margaret, 
daughter of George Heberton, by whom he had eight 
children, only one of whom survived him ; and in July, 
1846, to Hetty M., daughter of Edward Smith, of Phila- 
delphia. A firm faith, the memory o) a well-spent life, 
and a conscience at peace with itself, sustained him to the 
last moment of a life which closed' on his sevcntyfourth 
birthday, May 31st, 1868. 



^' REWSTER, I;ENJAMIN HARRIS, I..iwyer, 
only .son of Francis E. Brewster and Maria 
Hampton Brewster, was born October 13th, 
1816, in Salem county, New Jersey. His family 
connections in New Jersey were of the oldest 
landed interest. His grandfathers, Brewster 
and Hampton, both surgeons in the Revolutionary army, 
and his kinsmen, the Carrols, Harris', Duvals, Newcombs, 
Wescotls, Carpenters and Elmers, even to remote branches, 
were men of estates, professional men, and men holding 
positions under the crown. The Brewstcrs are also a 
direct branch of the older Brewsters of Plymouth Colony 
stock, and the Hamptons are a branch of the South Caro- 
lina Hamptons. He graduated at the College of New 
Jersey, Princeton, in the cl.ass of 1834, receiving the degree 
of A. B., A. M. and LL. D. In the same year, he entered 
the office of Eli K. Price, of Philadelphia, as student of 
law, anil w.xs udmiltcd to the bar in 1838. In 1846, he 
was ap|>ointed by President Polk xs commissioner to adju- 
<licate the claims of the Cherokee Indians against the 
United States Government. This appointment, conferred 
upon one so young in the profession, was a high mark of 
distinction, as well as a recognition of his ability and keen 
intelligence. Although ever a welcome guest in society, 
which his brilliancy anil courtesy adorn, his life h.is never- 
theless been occupied with the pr.ictice of the l.iw, and 




devoted to literary pursuits. Among his many efforts pub- 
lished from time to time, the most conspicuous are his 
lecture upon "Frederick the Great," delivered in 1S72; 
"Address lieforc the American Whig Cliosophic Societies," 
in 1853; "Speech delivered at the Cooper Institute," in 
1S68; also " Review of Milton's Select Prose Works," for 
the Boston Quarterly of July, 1842 ; " Review of Talfourd's 
Life," and "Writings of Charles Lamb," 1841 ; "Address 
before the Law Academy of Philadelphia," in 1857 — as 
well as his memorable argument before the Supreme Court 
of Pennsylvania, of Sharpless, Hebler vs. the Mayor, 
Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia. In 1861, on the 
breaking out of the Rebellion, he was most zealous in 
support of the Government, and did good service on the 
rostrum. In 1857, he married Elizabeth Von Myrbacke 
de Kcinfeldls, a Prussian lady, who died in 1868. In 
1867, Governor John W. Geary appointed him Attorney- 
General of Pennsylvania, and during his career he closely 
watched the interest of the State, and with untiring energy 
strangled the Gettystnirg Lottery, which he deemed a 
scheme to rob the public, under the pretext of helping the 
orphans. He also corrected the abuse of remitting the 
sentences in the Criminal Court of this county, an infringe- 
ment upon the pardoning power, by means of which, 
unknown to the people, Ihe convicts were let loose from 
their cells. From the office of Attorney-General of Penn- 
sylvania, he retired in 1869. In the summer of 1870, he 
married Mary, eldest daughter of Robert J. Walker, a lady 
ilislinguished for her beauty and refinement. A son, the 
offspring of this marriage, is his only child. He has 
been a close student of belles lettres, is a versatile and 
brilliant assayist, a correct, original, and profound thinker, 
a graceful, eloquent and folVible speaker. He is noted for 
his high sense of profcssion.il dignity, and unbending 
hostility to trickery and jobbery. Last, although by no 
means least, he is known in piivate as a man charitable in 
speech, and as a true friend. 



NOWDEN, JAMES ioSS, LL. D., Lawyer and 
Author, was born in Chester, Delaware county, 
Pennsylvania, in 1810. He comes from one 
of the oldest families in Philailelphia, his gre.it 
grandfather, John Snowden, having reached 
Philadelphia in 1685. lie was employed in 
various public offices, and in 1715 w.is appointed one of 
the Judges of the Court of Common Ple.is of Bucks counlv. 
It is believed th.it he was the first ordained elder in the 
Presbyterian Church in the Colonies. He held that office 
in (he old Market Street Presbyterian Church, and was 
elected and ordained in 1 704. This church is now the 
First Presbyterian Church, located on Washington Square. 
Isaac Snowden, son of Ihe above named John Snowden, 
was born in Philadelphia, in 1732. He w.is an active and 





?---.xy ?jl). r-,1. Philnda. 



Ctt^i't.i^ 




^Ox.i^'^i^'^z^fn^ , 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOr^DIA. 



37 



useful citizen, a member of the City Councils, and a county 
commissioner during the Revolutionary war, in which also 
he acted as a commissary for supplying the army. After 
the war he was for many years Treasurer of tlie city and 
county of Philadelphia, and a member of the Select Council, 
a trustee of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), an elder 
in the Second Presbyterian Church, a member of the Com- 
mittee, presided over by Dr. Witherspoon, that prepared 
the Form of Government of the Presbyterian Church in the' 
United St,ates, and the incumbent of various other positions 
in the State, as well as in the Church. Rev. Nathaniel 
Randolph Snowden, son of Isaac, was born in Philadelphia, 
in 1770, graduated at Princeton College in 17S7, was an 
excellent schoLar, and had charge of several collegiate and 
classical institutions in Pennsylvania. It was under his 
instruction chiefly that his son, whose career is about to 
engage our attention, received his education. He was, 
however, for some time a student at Dickinson College, at 
Carlisle, before that institution passed into the hands of the 
M. E. Church. The advantages thus given him were well 
improved, and he became in early life an excellent 
scholar, with a decided taste for science and literature, 
which has been indulged, notwithstanding the absorbing 
duties of his profession, and that of the various public 
offices which he has accepted. Turning his attention to 
the study of law, he was called to the bar early, and com- 
menced the practice of his profession in Franklin, Venango 
county, Pennsylvania. Soon after his admission, he was 
appointed Deputy Attorney-General ; and subsequently, 
and on repealed occasions, was elected to the Legislature 
of Pennsylvania. In 1842 and 1844, he was elected 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is a singular 
mark of the ability with which he discharged his duties, 
that no appeal, during the three sessions he presided, was 
ever taken from his decisions. The votes of thanks on 
these several occasions were unanimous, and were offered 
by Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, a member from Adams county, 
who stated, with great emphasis, that the Speaker had the 
highest characteristics of a good presiding officer, prominent 
among which was " his full and entire impartiality." In 
1845, he was named by his friends for the office of United 
States Senator; and in the preliminary meeting of the 
members of the Legislature, he had on the first ballot the 
highest number of votes^ but not a majority : this was sub- 
sequently cast for another citizen. But such was the 
estimation in which he was held, that at the meeting of the 
members to nominate a State Treasurer, he was, although 
no candidate for that office, nominated by a large majority, 
on the first ballot. He was subsequently elected, and re- 
elected, and for two years discharged the duties of the 
office to the highest satisfaction of the public; and by his 
energetic measures, the credit of the Commonwealth, before 
that time tarnished by non-payment of the interest on the 
public debt, was restored and maintained. A reference to 
the newspapers and periodicals of that period will show 



the important work which he performed in maintaining the 
credit of the Commonwealth, and restoring her ancient 
teputation for integrity and faithful performance of her 
obligations. After the surrender of the office of State 
Treasurer to his successor, he was appointed Treasurer of 
the United States Mint, and Assistant Treasurer of the 
United States, at Philadelphia; this was in 1847. These 
offices he held for several years; and in 1853, he was 
appointed, on the death of Judge Pettit, who held the office 
for a brief period. Director of the Mints of the United 
States, and held that important office until 1S61. When 
Ex-Governor Pollock was appointed to that office in May 
of that year, there being a vacancy in the office of Pro- 
thonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, he was 
unanimously elected to that position by the Judges of the 
Supreme Court. This office he has held by successive 
re-appointments, until the present time. He gives place, 
however, to his successor on the 1st of September, when 
he will, W'e understand, resume the practice of his pro- 
fession in this city as a lawyer. During these active 
duties, Mr. Snowden has found time to cultivate his taste 
for literature and science. Besides taking a prominent 
part in historical and other kindred societies, he has pre- 
pared and published several works, evincing peculiar 
learning and research. In i860, he published a Descrip- 
tion of Ancient and Modern Coins in the Cabinet Collec- 
tion of the United States Mint ; a new edition of the same, 
with plates, was issued in 1869. Another of his works, 
which called forth commendatory notices from the most 
critical reviewers, was a Description of the Medals of Wash- 
in^ton ; of National and Miscellaneous Afedals^ and of 
oilier objects of Interest in the Miiseii?n of the Mint, with 
Fac-Simile Engravings and Biographical Notices of Direc- 
tors of the Mint, from 1792 to 1S61. He also published, 
in 1864, The Coins of the Bible, and its Money Terms ; 
and in 1867, The Cornplanter's Memorial, an Historical 
Sketch of GyAnt-Wa-Chia, the Cornplanter, and of the 
Six Nations of Indians, with the Report of Samuel P. 
Johnson, on the erection of the monument at Jennesdaga, 
to the memory of Cornplanter. One thousand copies of 
this work were published by order of the Legislature of 
Pennsylvania. In 1 868, he contributed the articles on 
Coins of the United States to Bouvier's Law Dictionary. 
He has also, at different times, published addresses, pam- 
phlets on currency, coinage, and other subjects; seven 
annual Reports of the Mint, and numerous papers in 
periodicals. His works have been upon a subject which 
kvi men could undertake. Apart from their value to the 
numismatist, they are beautiful specimens of the printers' 
and engravers' art, and are universally acknowledged to 
be valuable additions to the scientific literature of America 
and, indeed, the civilized world. There is one pamphlet 
from his pen which possesses peculiar interest in view of 
the subsequent action of the General Government on the 
subject. It is entilled, .-/ Measure to secure to the Teople a 



38 



BIOGRArUICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



Safe Trtasury and a Sound Currency (published by Ben- 
jamin F. MilTlin, 1857). Among the suggestions in this 
paiiiphlet was one adopted by the United States Govern- 
ment, in 1864, providing for the issuing of Coin Certificates. 
Mr. Suowden's proposition was to issue certihcatcs on the 
deposit of gold bullion, as well as of coin. When specie 
payments are resumed, the policy of extending the certifi- 
cites to the dejwsits of bullion will, he believes, be 
apparent, and that measure will then receive a favorable 
consideration. He has always manifested a deep interest 
in the subject of international coinage, has published 
several papers on the subject, and some years since carried 
on a very remarkable correspondence with Lord Montcagle, 
formerly Chancellor of the British Exchequer, in reference 
to the decimalization of the British coinage. His plan for 
assimilating the British and American coinage, as simple 
as efTectual, was subsequently taken into consideration by a 
British International Commission. Notwithstanding his 
taste and profession were in a different direction, yet he 
early manifested an interest in military affairs. Soon after 
his admission to the bar, at Franklin, Venango county, he 
organized a company of volunteer infantry, of which he 
was Cajitain ; and subsequently, on the formation of a regi- 
ment, he was elected Colonel. He presided at the State 
Military Convention, which met at Harrisburg, in 1845; 
and was the writer of several papers and memorials, 
showing the necessity of a more efficient military organiza- 
tion than did then exist. During the late rebellion he was 
the Lieutenant-Colonel, and usually the commanding 
officer, of the Fir.st Regiment of the Infantry of the Phila- 
delphia Home Guards. The regiment was offered for 
active duly in the field, but their services were not accepted 
by the Government. In 1845, he received the degree of 
A. M. from Jefferson College; and in 1872, the Trustees 
of \Va.shington and Jefferson Colleges conferred on him 
the honorar)' degree of Doctor of Laws. He has recently 
prepared a work, not yet published, proving the truth of 
the .Scripture testimony by the coins and money terms of 
the Bible, and by other ancient coins. Portions of this 
work appear in a series of articles which are published in 
the A'cw York Observer. He married a daughter of the 
well known and distinguished Philadelphian, Major-Gen- 
eral Patterson. 



'UMMINS, DANIEL B., President of Girard 
fj)|| National Bank, w.xs born in Kent county, Dela- 
y«l ware, of highly respectable parents. Early in 
^^M' life, he came to Philadelphia, bec.ime a wholesale 
dry goods merchant, and acquired a handsome 
fortune. For many years he was a Director of 
the State Bank of Camden, New Jersey; and in 1858 
became President of the Girard Bank, a position he still 
occupies. When he w.is first called to the man.agement 
of this bank, he found its affairs in a very precarious 




and embarrassed condition, but with his indefatigable 
energy and financial skill, he soon succeeded in restoring 
it to a healthy condition ; and at this d.ay it holds a 
deservedly high position among the leading moneyed insti- 
tutions of Philadelphia. This important change was chiefly 
due to the prudence and good management of its President, 
and reflects the greatest credit uiKin him. He is among 
the active oM Directors of the Western Saving Fund 
Association, one of the most prosperous institutions of the 
kind in Philadelphia. He is also a Director in the Amer- 
ican Steamship Company, an enterprise in which he has 
taken an earnest and lively interest from its inception. 
The line of steamers owned by this Company is the onty 
one now crossing the Atlantic flying the American Flag. 
As a prosperous citizen, intrusted with im)iortant interests, 
he has always been ready to encourage and lend his 
assistance to all measures and enterprises tending to the 
public good. Added to his other merits, it deserves to be 
mentioned that he has assisted, by advice and loans of 
money, many young men commencing business, and others 
who had been unfortunate in their first efforts. In making 
loans to these, he always exacted a promise from them that 
all their personal expenses should be paid in cash, com- 
pliance with which rule, he regarded as affording a good 
security for repayment. He has been heard to say that he 
had never lost a dollar of loans made under such condi- 
tions, and that the borrowers had always been successful in 
business. He was an ardent and effective sujiporler of the 
Government in the late rebellion ; and in the darkest 
financial period, whilst most of the individual capitalists in 
the countr)' hesitated to invest largely in Government 
Securities, he united with those at the head of other bank- 
ing institutions in Philadelphia, New York and Boston, in 
taking Government Bonds to an extent which exceeded the 
amount of their combined capital. In bringing about this 
well-timed support of the Government finances, he was 
veiy active. He is widely and very favorably known as 
an upright, skilful, and intelligent banker, .and a gentleman 
possessing those social and moral qualities which render 
intercoui-se with him agreeable, and friendship desirable. 



E\VIS, ELLIS, Judge and Lawyer, was born M.ay 
l6lh, 1798, in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, a town 
named in honor of his father, Eli Lewis. This 
gentleman, who was a person of means, influ- 
ence and literary tastes, died when the subject 
of this sketch was four years of age. During 
a long minority his inheritance w.as dissipated by misman- 
agement, and he was early thrown upon his own re- 
sources. He became a good practical printer and editor, 
studied law, an<l w.as admitted to the l>ar at twenty-four 
years of age. At this time he married Miss Josephine 
Wallis, daughter of Joseph Wallis. Two years later he w.as 



I 




BIOGRAnilCAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



39 



appointed Deputy Altorney-Gcneral for Lycoming county, 
Pennsylvania. In 1832, he was elected to the Legislature 
of Pennsylvania, where, his conspicuous talents attracting 
the attention of Governor Wolfe, he became Attorney- 
General for the State in 1S33, and later in the same year 
was appointed President Judge of the Eighth District. In 
1S43, he became President Judge of the Second District, 
composed of Lancaster county. In 1851, he was elected 
Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and in 1855 
became its Chief Justice. In 1857, he declined the unani- 
mous nomination of the Democratic Convention for re- 
election to the Supreme Court, and retired to private life. 
In 1S58, he was chosen one of three commissioners to 
revise the criminal code of Pennsylvania. Outside o|k«^ 
judicial labors, which are a valuable legacy to the-lega4 
profession. Judge Lewis published a volume entitled, An 
Abridgement of the Criniinnl Law of the United States. 
The honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred 
on him because of his knowledge of Medical Jurisprtidence, 
and he received from two universities the degree of Doctor 
of Laws. He was a ripe scholar, a profound thinker, and 
a public-spirited and benevolent man. He died Mai'ch 
19th, 1S71. " ^ 



INNOTT, JOSEPH FRANCIS, Merehant^.was 
born in Killybegs, county Donegal,f'jrelan'd, 
Februai-y 14th, 1838. He is the son of John 
and Mai-y Sinnott, whose ancestofs came from 
Normandy, France, and settled' in' the eoimfy 
Wexford, Ireland, at the time' of '\\^iam the 
Conqueror. He received his education at tha schooIs--of 
Gweedore, a few miles from his native place. In July, 
1S54, at the early age of sixteen, he embarked from Lon- 
donderiy, Ireland, and arrived in Philadelphia the follow- 
ing month. Here he engaged with Watkins & Weaver, 
Custom House Brokers, and remained with them, at a 
salaiy of one hundred and fifty dollars a year, until 1856. 
In January of this year, he entered the office of John 
Gibson, Sons & Co., Distillers, as assistant book-keeper, 
receiving two hundred and fifty dollars per annum for his 
services, which salary was gradually increased until April, 
1 86 r, when he enlisted as a private in the Washingtrjn 
(ireys Company, Philadelphia. After three months of active 
service in Western Virginia, under General Paflersony he 
returned to Philadelphia, and in Atrgust, 1861, was sent to 
Boston by the firm of Gibson, Sons & Co., to establish an 
agency there. He had advanced very rapidly in his 
knowledge of commercial business, and in the establish- 
ment of the branch house in Boston displayed remarkable 
practical talent, which, with his close application and rigid 
integrity, won for him the entire confidence of his employ- 
ers. Ilis successful management of the business attained 
for him a partnership in the Boston house, and in 1866 he 
returned to Philadelphia, and became a partner in the 





entire business of the firm, which is the most extensive in 
the United States. In April, 1863, he married a Philadel- 
phia lady of great refinement and intelligence, and h.is an 
interesting family of children. He has been Manager of 
the St. John's Orphan Asylum, and a Director of the 
Beneficial Savings Fund for the past three years. His 
whole career since boyhood has been marked by activity, 
integrity, enterprise and liberality. Generosity is one of 
his most conspicuous traits ; and, perhaps, his success in 
life is due as much to his broad liberality as to his skilful 
management and strict devotion to business. His dona- 
tions to the Catholic Church, and his aid in the erection 
and •support of new churches, have advanced materially 
the cq,use of religion in Phila<lelphia. A rea.sonable por- 
lioh of the ample means he has accumulated, he has con- 
ceived it his duty to appropriate to religious, benevolent, 
and other institutions. Personally, he is a quiet, unas- 
suming ^gentleman, distinguished for his geniality and 
hospitality) a steadfast friend, and a highly esteemed 
citizen.-* 

'^ ARM AN, HENRY M., Professor of Ancient Lan- 
guftges and Literature in Dickinson College, was 
bqrn in Anne Arundel county, Maiyland, March 
r 22d, 1822. The benefit of early scholastic train- 
ingAvaS in great measure denied him, and it was 
not-untirth& ag«r6f twenty-three that he found 
himself enableU to enter the Freshman Class at Dickinson 
College. - At thfe encljaf'the first session, he was advanced 
to the S3j5Homor?.CIass, And graduated in 1848, supporting 
himself by teaching wiiile he prosecuted his studies. After 
graduation, he taught school in Maryland, where for two 
years he was Professor in the Baltimore Female College, 
and for ten years was associated with Dr. Morgan, in a 
Mathematical and Classical School in Baltimore. The 
University of West Virginia then gave him a call to a pro- 
fessional chair, which he accepted, but resigned at the end 
of a year, in order to make a tour through Europe, Egypt, 
and the Holy Land. The observations he made on this 
journey were subsequently (1872) published in book form, 
in a volume entitled, A Journey to Egypt and the Holy 
Land in 1869-70, which has been received with much 
favor by the- piiliiic. His professorship in Dickinson Col- 
lege was^conferred upon- him soon after his return, and he 
fills the chair with marked ability. His intimate acquaint- 
ance with Biblical and classical languages and literature, 
has been repeatedly displayed in articles contributed, at 
various times in the last twenty years, to the Methodist 
Quarterly Review, and other periodicals. One of the larire 
publishing houses of our country has secured his services 
to prepare an exhaustive Introditetion to the Old and New 
Testament, a labor of vast extent, and which now occupies 
much of his attention. In 1S43, ^^ was licensed to preach 
in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is now a member 



40 



BioGRAriiiCAi. i:Ncvci,or.i:i)iA. 




of ihe Baltimore Conference. Ills language in the pulpit 
is simple and forcible, and li's sermons abound with prac- 
tical applications of the truths of religion to the daily life 
of his hearers. This practicality, indeed, is a conspicuous 
trait in his acquirements, as he is not merely a theological 
critic and teacher, but a skilful surveyor and astronomer as 
well. His marriage took place in 1872, and his residence 
is now pcnnanently located in Carlisle. The title of Doctor 
of Divinity has been, with great propriety, conferred upon 
him, and he ranks among the most prominent men in the 
clergy of the Methodist Episcopal Church of rcnnsylvaiiia. 



lORTER, DAVID RITTENIIOUSE, Manufac- 
turer, and Governor of Pennsylvania, was bom 
October 31st, 178S, in Montgonieiy county, Penn- 
sylvania. General Andrew Porter, his father, 
was a distinguished soldier of. the Revolution, 
and subsequently the first Surveyor General of 
the Commonwealth, a branch of -science in which he had 
been the pupil of the eminent David Rittenhouse, after 
whom he named this son, whom he early;destines} for the 
oar. The confinement of legal sludieSj.ho\yever,' under- 
mined his health, and consequently,^.Ke «Fno's? the ftiore 
active pursuit of an iron manufacturer, and. fjif tfe-it purpose 
removed to Huntingdon county. Herejhe ga\'fe close 
attention to the most improved m^hods of reducing and 
refining ore. In 1821, he was. elected a member of the 
House of Represent.itlves of the'State, and subsequently of 
the State Senate. His speeches in, these bodies, al\y.ays 
brief but full of point, of jjractical wisdom, and sound 
information, soon attracted the general attention of»lhe 
community. In 1838, he was elected Governor of the 
State, an honor he wore with such general satisfaction 
that again, in 1841, he was called to the chair, and this 
time with a majority nearly four times as large as at his 
first election. No stronger testimony could be given of the 
confidence and esteem which his course of policy had in- 
spired. His insight of men and me.-usurcs has rarely been 
surpassed. His appointments of Judges (then not elected 
as now) have, without exception, given entire satisfaction; 
while his appreciation of Ihe great industrial discoveries 
of that d.iy surpassed that of nearly all his contemporaries. 
In one of his early messages, he predicted that men then 
livijig would see a continuous line of railroad from Phila- 
delphia to St. Louis, a prediction ridiculed a.<. the time as 
chimerical in the highest degree. To his financial integ- 
rity and sense of justice in reference to the State debt, 
Pennsylvania owes much of her present high character in 
the European money markets; and his personal courage 
and decision were so fully attested at the period of the 
Philadelphia riots (1844), that both branches of City Coun- 
cils publicly thanked him. After the completion of his 
term, he resumed, in 1845, the manufacture of iron, direct- 



ing at Harrisburg the first anthracite furnace built in that 
portion of the St.atc. His success was commensurate with 
the enlightened intelligence he devoted to this leading 
branch of industry; but in the severe financial reverses of 
1857, he shared heavily in the misfortunes which pros- 
trated all industrial pursuits. They were borne, however, 
with a dignity and fortitude which corresponded to his 
firmness of character, and though well advanced in years, 
he did not yield to discouragement. The war of the 
Rebellion interested his sympathies strongly on the side of 
the Union, and he rejoiced that one of his sons. General 
Horace Porter, h.id been able to take part in so many of 
its conflicts. He lived to witness the success of the Union 
cause, though in declining health. He died on the 6th of 
August, 1867, in the composed certainty of a Christian's 
departure, and surrounded by the sorrowing members of a 
devoted family. 



c^?r 



IDGWAY, THOMAS, Merchant, was bom in 
., Mopmouth county, New Jersey, May 5th, 1797. 
His father, John Ridgway, an elder brother of 
, the late distinguished merchant, Jacob Ridgway, 

Q'^Y was engaged in agricidtural pursuits, and after 
3, long life of* usefulness, died in 1845, at the 
advanced.age of eighty-nine years. He was much esteemed 
and lrelov£d by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. 
It may not be inappropriate to mention here that Jacob 
Ridgway was born in 1768, and removed from New Jersey 
to Philacfelphia at the age of sixteen. The small capit.il 
left him bjj his father he rapidly increased by merchan- 
dising. He was most successful as a shipping merchant, 
and; lived abroad many years for the protection of his 
interests in 'tifat line. While in Europe, he constantly 
remitted sums to be invested in real estate in Philadelphia, 
and on his return to this country he devoted himself exclu- 
sively to the management of his property. Eventu.illy the 
rise in these investments made him enormously wealthy, 
and when he died, in 1843, he was justly accounted a 
millionaire. Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was edu- 
cated at schools in the country, and at Friends' West-town 
Boarding School, until the age of thirteen, when he was 
placed by his father in a commission house, on the wharf 
below Chestnut street. There he remained till 1S16, when 
he entered into the flour and grain commission business 
with his brother Jacob, under the firm of J. & T. Ridgway. 
The senior partner retired in 1S21, when Thom.as took 
into p:irtnership his cousin, Benjamin Ridgway, and the 
business was conducted under the firm of Thomas & Ben- 
jamin Ridgway. In 1S23, Mr. Benjamin Ridgway retired, 
when a co-partnei^^hip was formed with .Mr. John Linzey. 
In 1825, this firm was in full and successful operation, 
when many business men, who have since become promi- 
nent, were just making their way into active life. In 



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41 





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BIOGRAPHICAL 

January, 1S36, Mr. Linzey retired, and the firm of Ridg- 
way & Budd was immediately formed. The circle of their 
business was greatly enlarged, and continued to increase 
yearly. Just after the great conflagration of the 9th of 
July, 1850, the firm dissolved, and the style of the house 
was changed to Budd & Comly, Mr. Ridgway retiring, the 
latter being now Collector of the Port. In July, 1 85 1, the 
office of President of the Girard Life Insurance, Annuity 
and Trust Company became vacant, by the death of 
Hon. B. W. Richards, and he was unanimously chosen 
by the Directors his successor. He still continues to pre- 
side over that substantial and prosperous institution, the 
office of which is now located at 633 and 635 Chestnut 
street. This insurance company was chartered in 1 836, 
and is, therefore, with one exception, the oldest in the 
State. From the day this institution went into operation, 
it has always enjoyed, and justly so, the confidence of the 
public; but under the skilful and prudent management 
of its present President, assisted by the accomplished 
Actuary, John F. James, (now Wm. H. Stoever, Treas- 
urer, and Chas. O. Groome, Actuary,) and an able Board 
of Directors, it has gained the front rank among life insur- 
ance companies. Mr. RidgWay, an earnest advocate for the 
common school system, held for several years the office of 
School Director, the only office he could ever- be induced 
to accept from the public. He has been, for years,' a' lib- 
eral contributor to the various public libraries' of Phfladel- 
phia, in several of which he has taken an active' interest,, 
serving as manager, treasurer, etc. Within "a few -'years, 
past, he has also been one of the visitors to the convicts of 
the Eastern Penitentiai-y. During the alarming ravages 
of the yellow fever in 1820, and of the cholera in 1832, 
with a devotion to duty characteristic of the man, he 
remained, while others were flying in fear and dismay 
from the infected city, faithfully attending not only to his 
daily business as a merchant, but exerting himself to calm 
the fears of the panic-stricken, and ministering, so far as 
he was able, to the relief of the suffering and the destitute. 
In politics, he is a decided Republican, having sympa- 
thized with that party through all the exciting events 
which culminated in the war of the Rebellion. In religion, 
he inclines to the Hicksites branch of the Society of Friends, 
the members of which have always enjoyed power and 
wealth in Philadelphia. At the first settlement of this city, 
" the people called Quakers " were at the head of the com- 
munity, and they have retained a considerable portion of 
this ancient prominence up to the present time. They 
have given to the place many of its peculiar features ; the 
name of " Quaker City " is a testimonial of their influence, 
which is as widely known as Philadelphia itself. His 
character is a marked one, and his acquaintances can never 
misunderstand his peculiarities. When engaged in any 
transaction, he unites every energy of his mind upon the 
single object before him, and holds fast to it until his object 
:s thoroughly secured. 
6 




ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 41 

HAMBERS, REV. JOHN, Independent Presby- 
terian Clergyman, was bom December 19th, 
1797, in county Tyrone, Ireland. When but a 
few months old, his parents removed to this 
country, and settled in Jefferson county, Ohio. 
Successful in their pursuits, their son was placed 
at school in Baltimore in 1S13, with the Rev. James Grey, 
D. D. Feeling himself called to the ministry of the Pres- 
byterian Church, he commenced his studies under the 
Rev. John Duncan, D. D., and was licensed to preach by 
the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia in the year 1825. 
In May of that year he received a call to the Ninth 
Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, at that time a feeble 
congregation, with but seventy or eighty communicants. 
The determined stand which he took in favor of the tem- 
perance movement greatly dissatisfied some of the members 
of his congregation. He also opposed, with equal earnest- 
ness, the habit of theatre-going, and insisted that such 
conduct is inconsistent with true Christian life. In spite 
of the opposition these views encountered, he succeeded in 
carrying out a salutary reform in both these respects. 
When he appeared for ordination in that year, he declined, 
from 'Conscientious motives, to subscribe to the Westmin- 
ster Confession of Faith. His congregation supported him 
in this' position, and he was ordained by the Society of 
Congregational Ministers of the Western District of New 
Haven county, Connecticut. This difficulty overcome, he 
commenced and maintained a successful career as a pulpit 
orator and a public-spirited citizen. Vehement and elo- 
quent, he has allowed no consideration to obscure his sense 
of duty, and has advocated, with unsparing vigor, all re- 
forms which have appeared to him salutary. As early as 
1840, he organized a Youth's Temperance Society. Since 
the establishment of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, he has rendered it the most efficient service. The 
Bethany Mission, a useful and religious enterprise in this 
city, owes to him its origin and influence; and no scheme 
of general beneficence for his people and the public in this 
city, during his residence here, has appealed to him for aid 
to which he has not been always ready to extend prompt 
and valuable assistance. As a pulpit orator, he is eloquent, 
pointed and vehement, and many anecdotes are mentioned 
of the power of his language over his auditors. The most 
convincing proof of this, however, is his unusual and 
striking success throughout his ministerial career, from its 
commencement, nigh half a century ago, to the present 
day. His temperance sermons are considered among the 
most effective ever delivered in Philadelphia, and he has 
rendered great service to this and other good causes by 
addresses to public assemblages outside the pale of his own 
congregation. The ardor with which he combats vice in 
all its forms, and his unsparing earnestness in denouncing 
evil-doers, have naturally, at times, excited the hostility of 
those who prefer wrong to right, and even occasionally 
have been misunderstood by those who sympathized in 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CYCLOP.EDIA. 



Christian work ; but the rule and object of his actions 
cannot miss a correct interpretation from those who study 
his life ; and none will question the truth of what he once 
said of himself in a Thanksgiving Sermon, in the following 
words : " For myself, I can say my single end and purpose 
is to devote all the energies of my nature, both mind and 
body, to the advancement of ihe kingdom of the Prince 
of Peace in the salvation of men. This, and this alone, is 
my specific business in the world ; and I am bound, as a 
minister of the Gospel, to know nothing among men but 
Christ and Him crucified. As ambassador for Christ, we 
must adhere strictly to the rules of His embasj^e, other- 
wise the whole government of God's world would be 
thrown into confusion." The force of this strong sense of 
personal allegiance to the demands of duty is strikingly 
exemplified in his career. To it he has bent the energies 
of a long life; and to fulfil it perfectly, he has spared ho 
labor. As a scholar he ranks high, and the. degree of 
Doctor of Divinity has been conferred upon him by one 
of our institutions of learning. 



Vi^ATTERSON, GENERAL ROBERT,, of -Phila- 
cSt^ I delphia, was born in the county (jf Tyroi\g, lt,C- 
Y* I land, in 1792. He is the; son of »Francis 
fe/; T^ Patterson, a respect.ible farirfcr, who, having 
•^^'^ taken part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, deemed 
it prudent to emigrate to the United States, ^lle, 
located in Delaware county, PennsyJvaiiia, whwerhe pur- 
sued his occupation of agriculturist. His'son received a 
good English education, and being inclined to airicrcantile 
career, was placed in the counting house of Edward 
Thompson, at that period one of the leading merchants 
of Philadelphia. From his earliest youth, he was fond of 
military mailers. It was, therefore, an event not unex- 
pected by his relatives and friends, when ihe war of 1812 
broke out, that he should ask employment in the mililary 
service of his country. At the commencement of the war, 
when only nineteen years of age, he was commissioned 
Lieutenant of Infantry in the Regular Army, and subse- 
quently was promoted to a Captaincy. Though so young, 
he was already regarded as a brave and competent officer, 
and possesswl the entire confi<Icnce of his sui:)eriors in com- 
mand, and of his companions in the field. When peace 
was declared in 1815, he returned to mercantile pursuits; 
but continued, however, to take a deep interest in military 
affairs, and mainly contributed to the efiicient military 
organization of the volunteer service which the city of 
Philadelphia for many years possessed. Passing through 
the subordinate grades, he became the Major-General of the 
First Division in 1828, which rank he held for more than 
forty years. In the violent political disturbances which 
took place in December, 1838, in obedience to a requisi- 
tion from the Governor of Pennsylvania, he repaired to 



Harrisburg with his division ; and, by his prompt, ener- 
getic and soldierly deportment, allayed the unhappy excite- 
ment which then prevailed at the Capital, and which, but 
for his forbearance and good conduct, might have pro- 
duced the most disastrous consequences to the Common- 
wealth. In 1844, he rendered important military service 
in suppressing the disgraceful riots of that period, when a 
mad fanaticism seemed, for a time, to lake possession of no 
inconsiderable portion of the people. When the war wilh 
Mexico broke out, in 1846, he was selected by the United 
States Government for a high command. The regular 
army was composed of but a few thousand men, yet, on the 
call for volunteers, thousands of additional troops ranged 
th<;msclves under the fl.ig of their country. At the first 
call, on)y_0ne regiment was asked for from Pennsylvania, 
but. Governor Shunk transmitted to the War Department 
offers sufficient to fill ninf regiments. Finally, two regi- 
ments were accepted from ibis Slate. General Patterson 
was jppointed Major-General in the army, and was selected 
by the Government at Washington to command the troops 
destined for Vera Cruz, thence to march upon the City of 
^Ijxico. Subsequently, however. General Scott was sent 
•OUti/oPiJiis purpose, and he became the second in com- 
■fnand, ' When he fii-st repaired to the field. General Taylor 
ia^igned Jiim to the duly of disciplining the new recruits 
that>wcre -assembled on the Rio Grande; and when that 
was'w^l done, he took command of the expedition against 
Taiupico, marching to that place via Sanlander, Sola La 
Morena, and Victoria, over four hundred miles. His 
division bore its full share in the siege and capture of Vera 
Gruz, and also of the hard fighting at Cerro Gordo. To 
assume, the command at this latter locality, he was obliged 
to be lifted from a sick bed into the saddle, and for his 
conduct on that occasion, received the commendations of 
the General-in-Chief. By the subsequent reduction of the 
army, he was relieved from command, and made a brief 
visit home, returning, however, to Mexico in time to lake 
part in the closing scenes of the camp.aign. When General 
Scott was relieved from command, he look his place as 
Military Chief of the army, his headquarters being in the 
City of Mexico. When peace was declared, he withdrew 
the troops from that country, and on his return to the 
United .Slates once more resumed the occupations of civil 
life. .Slill retaining his command as Major-General of the 
First Division of Pennsylvania. Volunteers, when the great 
war of the Rebellion broke out, he was called again into 
actual service. On the I5lh of April, 1861, the President 
of ihe United States issued a requisition for 75,000 men 
for three months, of which the quota assigned to Pennsyl- 
vania was sixteen regiments. On the i6th of the same 
month, the Governor of Pennsylvania assigned to him the 
command of the troops. He immediately commenced the 
organization of the men for service in the field, rclijiquish- 
ing, at great pecuniary loss, the large commercial business 
in which he was engaged. While thus employed, he was. 




(^(QjjbUfu 



Qyd 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



43 



by order of the Secretary of War, placed in command of 
the " Department of Washinglon," which embraced the 
States of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maiyland, and the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, his headquarters being at Philadelphia. 
Here he organized an army, and regarding the route via 
Annapolis as the only tenable one, through which to com- 
municate with the Seat of Government, he caused that place 
to be seized and held by our troops, and afterwards suc- 
ceeded in re-opening communication with the Capital. 
He subsequently ordered the First Regiment of Pennsyl- 
vania Artillery, with Sherman's Batteiy, all under the 
command of his son — the late General Frank E. Patterson 
— to open the route through Baltimore, which had been 
closed since the attack on the Massachusetts Regiment. 
At this most perilous juncture he comprehended the wants 
of the Government, and took the responsibility (April 25th, 
1861,) of making a requisition on the Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, to direct the organization, in that State, of twenty- 
five regiments of volunteers, in addition to those called for 
by the Secretary of War. The Governor promptly re- 
sponded ; but the Sccretaiy of War — even when the term 
of the "three months' men " was half exhausted — declined 
to receive any more regiments. Governor Curtin, however, 
subsequently induced the Legislature to organize the 
twenty-five regiments. This was the origin of that fine 
body of soldiers, known as the ** Pennsylvania Reserves," 
who were gladly accepted by the Secretaiy of War after 
the disastrous battle of Bull Run, and who, hastening to 
Washington, were mainly instrumental in preventing the 
Capital from falling into the hands of the rebels. General 
Patterson personally took command June 3d, 1 86 1, at 
Chanibersburgh, Pennsylvania. His troops consisted chiefly 
of Pennsylvanians, who had promptly responded to the call 
of President Lincoln. Here he organized his forces, and 
proposed, as the first measure, an attack on the insurgents 
at ^L^ryland Heights, near Hai"per's Ferry. This recom- 
mendation, though approved at first by General Scott, yet 
on the eve of its being attempted, was countermanded by 
that officer, with directions to await reinforcements. Some 
while after, and as soon as permitted, he advanced with 
less than 11,000 men, and although delayed for a time by 
contradictory orders from Washington, he compelled Gen- 
eral Johnston, by a flank movement, to evacuate Harper's 
Ferry, and then gallantly encountering the enemy under 
General T. J. (" Stonewall ") Jackson, just beyond Falling 
Waters, routed them, after a sharp conflict, in which they 
lost sixty killed and a large number wouncted, and drove 
them several miles. Subsequent operations of the Union 
forces, upon much grander scales, have caused this brilliant 
little affair to be forgotten. At the time, however, being 
the first instance that any number of our troops had been 
under fire, their gallant behaviour in resisting an attack led 
by so able a commander as *' Stonewall " Jackson, was a 
matter of very general congratulation and natural pride. 
His subsequent strategy, though severely censured (when 



the countiy was smarting under the humiliation of the dis- 
aster at Bull Run), has been vindicated by time, and is 
now admitted by the ablest military critics to have been all 
that could possibly be required of a faithful and competent 
officer. When the facts and orders of this campaign were 
presented to President Lincoln, the latter said, " General 
Pattei^son, I have never found fault with or censured you ; 
I have never been able to see that you could have done 
anything else than you did do. Your hands were tied ; 
you obeyed orders, and did your duty, and I am satisfied 
with your conduct." As this part of his career has been 
the subject of misapprehension and misrepresentation, 
justice requires this statement. He has, of late years, 
published a narrative of his Campaign in the Valley of the 
Shenandoah, which gives full details on this subject. At 
the close of his term of service, he received an honorable 
discharge, and retired to private life. Although he has 
entered his 82d year, he is full of strength and vigor ; and 
directs his extensive mercantile and manufacturing business 
with his accustomed skill and enterprise. He is noted as 
well for military knowledge, and success as an enterprising 
merchant, as also for his correct deportment as a citizen, 
and for the elegant and liberal hospitality he dispenses to 
an extended circle of friends, which his long career in 
public and private life has gathered around him. He is a 
member of the Tenth Presbyterian (Rev. Dr. Boardman's) 
Church ; and has been for a long series of years President 
of the Hibernia Society of Philadelphia. 



USHONG, HENRY, Banker and Manufacturer, 
was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, 
March 25th, 1826. He is the second son of 
Philip Bushong, of Lebanon county. He was 
educated at the Litiz Academy, where he re- 
mained till the age of twelve years, when he 
began to work. He entered his father's distillery, in 1846, 
obtaining an interest in the business, in which he remained 
till 1863, when he abandoned it on account of the law con- 
trolling the manufacture of liquors, which made it impossible 
for an honest man to carry it on, with profit to himself. 
He then embarked in the banking business, establishing, in 
partnership with his brother Jacob, the house of Bushong 
Bros., of Reading, so widely known throughout the State 
and elsewhere. This bank was commenced on a small 
scale, and more as a matter of pastime than profit ; but, the 
manner adopted by the firm of transacting their business, 
was such as to rapidly increase it so that when the panic 
of 1873 overspread the country, they had in their possession 
$2,100,000, or more than all the other banks in the city 
combined, while the increase in their deposits was 8300,000. 
Their system has liberalized the banking business in that 
section of the State, and changed the old aristocratic plan 
to a new and popular method, much to the benefit and 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



salisfaclion of the community. It has given a strong 
impetus to the rapid and sul)stantial development of the 
weaUh, and to the steady growlh^of the city and its sur- 
roundings. As the authors of these desirable results, the 
brothers are deservedly popular, their large establishment 
being in the most flourishing condition, with every prospect 
of remaining so. In 1868, he engaged heavily in the manu- 
facture of pig-iron— as a member of the firm of Bushong & 
Co.— and, in 187 1, became extensively interested in a paper 
mill, investing a large amount of capital in that enterprise. 
His business liberality and heavy investments in commer- 
cial and industrial establishments, have rendered him one 
of the most prominent among the representative men of the 
State. He w.-is married, in 1844, to Miss IleifTer, of 
Re.-iding, by whom he has one daui;hter. He is one of the 
originators and promoters, and is the President, of the Berks 
County Railroad. 



at Vicksburg were invaluable. For forty days and nights, 
he bombarded this stronghold, co-operating with General 
Grant, and contributing to its surrender, July 4, 1863, on 
which day he was created Rear- Admiral. In the same year, 
he cleared the Yazoo river of torpedoes, and blockaded 
eleven Confederate steamers on White river. In 1864, he 
rendered valuable, though fruitless, assistance to General 
Banks' memorable Red river expedition, and extricated his 
fleet, April, 1S64, when the water had fallen, by damming 
the river at the falls. He was next ordered to command 
the "North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and January I5lh, 
1865, captured Fort Fisher, being aided by 8500 troo|>s led 
by Major- General Terry. He was commissioned Vice- 
Admiral, July 25th, 1866, and appointed Superintendent of 
the Naval Academy. On the death of Admh-al Farragut, 
.\ugust 14th, 1870, he was promoted to the highest rank — 
Admiral of the Navy. 




I ORTER, D.VVID D., Admiral of the United States 
Navy, was born in rhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 
in 1814, and is a son of the late Commodore 
Porter. While a child, he .accompanied his 
father in his cruise against the West India pirates, 
in 1823-25. He received his warrant as Mid- 
shipman, February 2d, 1S29; as Passed-Midshipman, June 
4th, 1836, and was commissioned Lieutenant, February, 
1841. He spent nine years on the Mediterranean Station, 
and about five on the Coast Survey. Subsequently he was 
attached to the Nav.il Observatory at W'ashington, and later 
to the Home Squadron. During the Mexican W.ir,he was 
present at the attacks on Vera Cruz, Tuspan, Tobasco, and 
participated in the land fi„'hts at Tamultec and Chiflon. 
Afterwards, until the close of 1S49, he served on the Coast 
Survey. From 1 85 1 to 1853, he commanded the Pacific 
Mail Steamer " Georgia ; " and in 1853, while in command 
of the steamer " Crescent City," and during the excitement 
between Spain and the United States relative to the " Black 
W.irrior," he ran under the shotted guns of " Moro Castle " 
at Havana, and landed the United States mail at that city. 
In l855-'57, he commanded the Store-ship " Supply," and 
from 1858 to l85o, was attached to the Navy Yard at 
Kittery, Maine. He was made Commander, April 22d, 1 861, 
and ordered to command the steam sloop " Powhatan," in 
which he proceeded to the relief of Fort Pickens. He next 
commanded the Mortar Fleet, and co-operated with Flag- 
Ofhccr Farragut in his operations below New Orleans. 
Having reduced Forts Jackson .and St. Philip by bombard- 
ment, the commanders of which surrendereil to him, he 
adv.anced up the Mississippi, and harassed the enemy at all 
l>oinls. In October, 1S62, he was appointed to command 
the Gun Boat Flotilla of 125 vessels, improvised from river 
steamers, and had to train its 1300 men. In January, 1 863, 
the fleet captured Arkans.as Port, and in the following May 
destroyed the rebel bnllciies at Grand Gulf. His services 




^SaVIS, EDWARD M., Merchant and Philanthro- 
pist, was born in one of the old mansions in Arch 
street, Philadelphia, in 181 1, of parents, descend- 
ants of Welsh Quakers. His father, though 
brought up in the doctrine of non-resistance, 
enlisted as a soldier, and fought under General 
Jackson in the war of 181 2, for which he was dismissed from 
the Society of Friends. Both parents dying while he was 
but a child, his guardian placed him at the well-known 
Friends' Boarding School at West-town, where he became a 
firm adherent to the doctrine of an " Inner Light." By the 
advice of his friends, he chose the business of an importer 
of silk goods, in conducting which he visited Europe fre- 
quently, and traversed nearly all parts of his native country. 
In May, 1838, he crossed the Atlantic, in the " Sirius," the 
first steamship which ever made the passage, deemed at that 
time a perilous experiment. He was not slow to appreciate 
the benefits of steam transportation, and for two years was a 
Director of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in its early history. 
In these business pursuits, however, he met with more than 
usual opposition from the tenacity with which he followed 
his convictions, and the hearty support he often gave to 
unpopular reforms. As early as 1834, lie att.ached himself 
to the American Anti-Slavery Society, and remained an 
enthusiastic member until he witnessed the triumph over 
the evil which it opposed. Often his goods lay untouched 
on his shelves, until sold at auction, because his customers 
feared to offend Southern sentiment, by dealing with an 
" Abolitionist." No consideration deflected him from his 
determination to release the slave. On his fiftieth birthday 
he started with General Fremont to St. Louis, less as an 
ai.l on his staff than .as a personal adviser and friend, 
with a view to the overthrow of slavery in the country. 
This the members of the Society of Friends construed 
as military service, and ruled him out of the meeting, 
"but their action .lid not shake the livily of his purpose. 




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LIOGRAI'IIICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



45 



A similar inflexible honesty marked his business proceed- 
ings. In the crash of 1858, his firm failed, with so many 
other mercantile houses ; and not only did he insist on 
assuming the whole indebtedness himself, his partners 
being young men, but when he could have been relieved 
of this load by legal process, he declined to take such an 
advantage, and paid off, by degrees, more than a hundred 
thousand dollars of debt. His progressive views and 
strong conviction led to his election to the Presidency of 
the Radical Club, an association which meets weekly to 
discuss on the broadest basis the live issues of the day, and 
also to the same office in the Citizens' Suffrage Association, 
which has for its object the securing of the rights of voting 
to all adults, irrespective of sex or color. He is also 
President of the Barclay Coal Company, and various other 
business corporations. In October, 1836, he married 
Maria, second daughter of James and the celebrated Lucre- 
lia Mott, to whose prudent management and kindly sympa- 
thy he attributes a large share of his prosperity and 
happiness. Their three children have reached adult years, 
and have been to them a source of imalloyed pleasure. 
The family has often enjoyed personal intercourse and 
friendly visits from the most eminent philanthr^iSfs^nd 
reformers of the day, not a few of whom h*v'e left tokefis 
of remembrance of the pleasant hours thus'passofl. " 



;ANDY, EDWARD SMITH, retired -^Merchani, 
was born at Snow Hill, Worcester county, Mar}'- 
land, January 5th, 1813. He is a son of Isaac 
Penrose Smith, who married Margaret Martin 
Handy, and is one of the ten children bom to 
them. Of the five daughters, one died early in 
life, one became the wife of Charles C. Carroll, a promi- 
nent lawyer of Maryland, one married George H. Martin, 
a merchant of Philadelphia, another married Hon. Daniel 
M. Bates, Chancellor of the State of Delaware, and the 
only one now (1873) living, married Governor Saulsbury, 
of Delaware. Of the five sons, two died young, and the 
remaining three, Edward Smith Handy, Isaac Smith Handy, 
and Dr. A. Hamilton Smith, reside in Philadelphia. The 
father of this numerous family was a prosperous merchant 
at Snow Hill, and was widely known in Philadelphia. 
He died in 1847, leaving his son Edward his executor and 
trustee for each of his daughters. All the early educational 
advantages received by the subject of this sketch were 
furnished by the Snow Hill Academy, an average country 
school, usually in the care of a graduate of Princeton. In 
his sixteenth year his father took him from school to aid 
him in the store, and at the age of eighteen he gave him an 
interest in the business. Twice a year he came to Phila- 
delphia, to purchase goods for their country store, and in 
June, 1834, though still retaining his interest at Snow Hill, 
he engaged in the hardware business on Market street, in 




Philadelphia. In those days when the old Columbia, with 
its inclined plane and horse-power, was the only railroad 
coming into Philadelphia, the general order of business 
was veiy unlike that of later years. In winter, all goods 
for the West had to be transported by wagons to Pittsburg, 
or by " Hand's Line " of sailing packets to New Orleans, 
and from thence up the Mississippi by steamboats ; and he 
well remembers the array of Conestoga wagons in front of 
General Robt. Patterson's grocery store loading for Pitts- 
burg. In the summer, goods were sent by railroad to 
Columbia, and thence by canal to Pittsburg. In November, 
1834, the greater portion of the town of Snow Hill was 
destroyed by fire, and his earnings for three years were lost. 
Soon after settling in Philadelphia, he secured the passage 
of an act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, authorizing 
hinf-<b'add his mother's maiden name to his own, this 
becoming necessary to avoid the confusion to his corres- 
pondence, arising from the fact that several other persons 
in, the city were known as Edward Smith ; and his course 
in this matter has never given him cause for regret, either 
as to its convenience or propriety. When, in 1837, the 
great finfmcial crisis swept over the whole country, and 
many .of th«4)est houses went down, and some of the oldest 
:f*>iJ*strongest were badly crippled, his house stood fimi. 
He' htid wisely refrained from venturesome transactions 
during the preceding year of unusual prosperity, and was, 
thdi'efore, the better prepared to weather the storm. In 
January, 1S38, he and his uncle, George Handy, purchased 
the lai-ge hardware store of Henry Bird & Co., on Market 
sfreet, between Third and Fourth. Business slightly im- 
proved until 1842, when there was another prostration, 
and merchants began to fail. In this year he purchased 
his uncle's interest, and continued the business as the 
firm of Edward S. Handy & Co. For two years the de- 
pression was so great that all business enterprises scarcely 
paid expenses; but in 1S44, there was a marked revival, 
and matters improved greatly thereafter. During these ten 
years, Mr. Handy had spent almost every winter in travel- 
ling on horseback through the West and Southwest, the 
only other mode of travel being by stages and wagons, and 
in this way he has traversed nearly all the Western and 
Southwestern States. In April, 1846, he sailed for Liver- 
pool, in the old packet-ship, " Susquehanna " (Cope's Line), 
to purchase goods for his house, and recruit his health ; 
and after a somewhat extended tour on the Continent, he 
returned in the fall, in the " Cambria," by way of Boston, 
to which port all the Cunard Steamers of that day went. 
Among his fellow-passengers on the homeward voyage, 
was Washington Irving, who had been resicMng for some 
time at Madrid, as American Minister. He was at this 
time grieving over the contemplated desecration of his 
dearly loved home, Sunnyside. The route for the Hudson 
River Railroad had been surveyed through the place, and 
he well remembers the pain and sorrow this great man felt 
and expressed, that the spot where he hoped to end his 



46 



mOGRAPHICAI, ENCYCLOP.€DIA. 



days should be invaded in this way. In 1848, he sold out 
the slock of his establishment to Martin & Smith, but still 
retained an interest in the business as special partner. In 
1849, he married Virginia, daughter of Hon. Henry Hunter 
iirynn, of Montgomery county, Tennessee, who had repre- 
sented his district in Congress for several years, while two 
of his brothers were at the same time represent,ilivcs of 
North Carolina districts, of which State he was also a 
native. It is rare that three brothers serve in our National 
Legislature at the same time, and this was probably the 
first instance in the history of our country. Four children 
were the fruits of this marriage : Virginia Smith, Alice Smith, 
Edward Smith, and Harry Hunter Smith. In 1855, he en- 
gaged in business with John G. Brenner, as Handy & Bren- 
ner, at the corner of Commerce and Fifth streets. In 1857, 
there came another financial crisis, less destructive than that 
of 1837, but sufficient tocarrydown a large number of busi- 
ness firm;; 1S61 following so soon, many other firms were 
ruined, but his house weathered the storm. From 1S62 to 
1873, when he retired from business, the firm was Handy, 
Brenner & Co. Through this long business career of forty 
years, which was then terminated, he had been able to 
maintain the highest credit and the most unimpeachable 
standing. He has not engaged extensively in politics. 
For two or three years he represented, in the City Councils, 
the Twenty-third Ward, in which his country residence, 
known as " Digby," is situated. He served on the Finance 
Commillee, as the colleague of such men as Wm. Neal, 
Algernon S. Roberts, George Williams, Thos. I'uiter, 
Chas. V. Hagner, W. Hayward Drayton, and Alfred Day. 
Earnest efforts were made by them to reduce the expenses 
of the City Government, and, judging from the subsequent 
increase of expenses and debt, they were very successful in 
their endeavors. During the term of his service on the 
Committee, he discovered that the accounts of the Receiver 
of Taxes had not been audited since the consolidation of 
the city; that that official did not make his itemized daily 
returns to the City Treasurer and Controller, an.i that the 
City Commissioners did not place duplicate copies of the 
tax books in the hands of the City Controller. He imme- 
diately set to work to remedy these violations of the law, 
but .soon after he had succeeded, his term in Councils 
expired. The next Finance Committee was made up of 
almost entirely new men, and the Tax Receiver went back 
into his old ways. Matters continued to go on in this way 
until February, 1872, when, xs a member of the Committee 
of Thirty of the Citizens' Municipal Reform Association, 
and of the sub-committee on Tax and Treasury Depart- 
ment, they obtained, from Chief Justice Thompson, a man- 
damus, compelling the Receiver of Taxes to make the 
daily itemized returns recpiired by law, and also requiring 
the Board of Revision to place in the hands of the City 
Controller duplicates of the tax books. The terms of the 
law arc still enforced, and now, for the first time in nine- 
teen years, the accounts of the Tax Department can be 



fairly audited. He is one of the few men, in a population 
of 750,000 souls, who feel sufficient interest in the affairs 
of the City Government to use his influence to correct such 
loose and dangerous modes of conducting the public busi- 
ness. He was for many years an active manager of the 
Philadelphia Exchange Company, and during the latter 
part of his service became its President. He has been, 
since its organization, a Director of the Frankford & South- 
wark City Passenger Railway Company, and a member of 
its Committee on Accounts and Finance. He has been for 
many years a Director of the Girard National Bank ; and 
after the death of Mr. Boker, the former President, he took 
a very active part in securing the services of Mr. D. B. 
Cummins, the present efficient President of that institution. 
He is a Director of the Philadelphia Trust, Safe Deposit 
and Insurance Company, and takes an active part in the 
management of this corporation, acting as Chairman of the 
Finance Committee. He also shares in the direction and 
management of other corporations of less importance, and 
has refused positions in many others, being unwilling to 
a.ssunie responsibilities without being able to devote the 
necessary time to them. It is worthy of note that so many 
of Philadelphia's eminent business men have been furnished 
by his native county in Maryland. The venerable Ambrose 
White was a contemporary of his father in Snow Hill, 
before he extended his business relations to Philadelphia. 
Thomas Robins, President of the Philadelphia National Bank, 
John Richardson, former President of the Bank of North 
America, the elder Fassitts, George Handy, George H. Mar- 
tin, Moses Johnson, and many others, came from his native 
county in Maryland. 



MBRIE, DE LORMA, Lawyer, was born in Co- 
lumbiana county, Ohio, March 4th, 1827. He is 
the son of John and Mary C. (Rankin) Imbrie, 
the former a native of .Scotland, and of Old Cove- 
nanter descent, while the latter was of Scotch- 
Irish lineage. While yet young, his parents re- 
moved to the adjoining State, and settled in Beaver, Penn- 
sylvania, where he grew up, surrounded by the liberal 
influences of a Western civilization. At an early age he 
was admitted into the D.irlington Academy, where he sub- 
sequently completed his education with great credit to 
himself, as also to his instructors. Having chosen the 
profession of the law as his future field of labor, he entered 
the office of Judge Thomas Cunningham, where he ])ursued 
the necessary studies; and having passed an examination 
with honor to himself and his preceptor, was admitted, in 
1854, to practice .it the bar. He had, at this time, become 
deeply interested in the political questions of the hour, and 
was elected, in 1S56, by his constituents, their Representa- 
tive in the Legislature, and again in 1857 and 1858. His 
ability and integrity were so marked and satisfactory, that 
he was complimented with the nomination of Senator, in 



BIOGRArHICAL 

iSoo, and was chosen by a. largely increased majority. 
After iiis senatorial term of three years had expired, he was 
absorbed in the active duties of his profession, having a 
large and lucrative practice ; nor did he again accept office 
until the winter of 1S72, when he was chosen by the Con- 
stitutional Convention, then assembled in Ilarrisburg, to 
become their chief clerk, which position he accepted. It 
was an office of great responsibility, and requiring much 
executive ability. All the minor officers of this organization 
were selected by him, and during the time it was in session, 
comprising one month in Ilarrisburg, and eight months in 
Philadelphia, the work which devolved upon him was 
immense. How well he performed it, was recorded on the 
journal of the Convention at its close, by the unanimous 
vote which marked the appreciation of his services by the 
members of that body. Previous to his becoming identified 
with this Convention, he had been for some years editor 
and proprietor of the Beaver Argus. Personally, he is tall 
and dignified in appearance, with a most agreeable and 
intelligent countenance. He possesses a wonderful talent 
for detail. He was married, in 1S52, to Maggie Carman, 
of Wilmington, Ohio, and has a family of four children, 
three daugliters and a son. 



' ' .UETTER, HENRY GOTTLIEB, was born in 
Saxony, Germany, June 2ist, 1797. lie emi- 
grated to the United States^ his twentieth year, 
and settled in business in Bethlehem, in 1S16. 
Here, governed by a fine and disciplined musical 
ability, he commenced the manufacture of musical 
instruments, and giving musical education. His consider- 
able success induced him to remove to New York, where 
he remained in the same line of business for several years. 
At the close of this period he returned to Bethlehem ; re- 
opened his former connections, and added the coal and 
lumber trade to his employments. He attained a very 
remarkable success in the importation and sale of musical 
instruments. Their reputation gave them a demand from, 
and caused shipment to, all parts of the country ; so that at 
the time of his death, their manufacturer was the wealthiest 
citizen of Bethlehem. While conveying his oldest daughter 
to the Moravian School at Litiz, in the winter of 1847, his 
horses ran away, and he sustained internal injuries that 
proved fatal. He had the rare union of fine musical attain- 
ments and extraordinary business capacities ; and wisely 
employed the former to feed the latter. He married 
Frederica lirunner, of Nazareth, who, with four daughters, 
still survives. The eldest daughter, Louise, was married to 
C. M. Knauss, of Bethlehem; Henrietta married Charles 
Cleve, of the well known firm of James, Kent, .Santee & Co., 
in Philadelphia; Ellen was married to H. W. Rupp, also 
of Philadelphia, and Caroline to Abraham Schropp, of 
Bethlehem. 



47 





ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

■iREBLE, JOHN T., Soldier, First Lieutenant 
Second Artillery, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel 
United States Army, was born January 19th, 
1834, in Philadelphia. He was the eldest son 
of Edwin and Susan V. Greble. The ancestors 
of the Greble family were Germans ; the great- 
grandfather, Andrew Greble, emigrated to this country in 
1742, and settled in Philadelphia. The ancestors on the 
mother's side were from Wales ; they were Quakers ; they 
came to America in 1681, and settled in Chester county, 
Pennsylvania. The male members of both families look 
an active part in the revolutionary war. At an early age 
young Greble showed a fondness for study and military 
displays; at the age of eight years he entered the Ringgold 
Grammar School, where he remained four years ; from there 
he went to the Central High School, where he devoted four 
years of close application to study. He graduated high in 
his class, and had conferred on him the degree of Bachelor 
of Arts, and in 1854, that of Master of Arts. At the age of 
sixteen he received the appointment of Cadet to West Point. 
In June, 1850, he entered the Academy, and graduated in 
1854 as Second Lieutenant of Artillery; was ordered to 
Newport Barracks, and thence to Florida, where he re- 
mained until the autumn of 1856, actively engaged in 
exploring the lakes and swamps and fighting the Seminoles. 
At the request of the Professors at West Point Academy, 
he was detailed there by the Secretary of War as Assistant 
Professor of Ethics and English Studies. Desiring a more 
active life, he twice .applied to be relieved and join his 
regiment ; this was refused, and he remained at the Academy 
for the expiration of his term of four years. March 3d, 
1859, he was promoted to a First Lieutenancy. August 
4th, 1858, was married to Sarah B. French, daughter of the 
Rev. John W. French, Chaplain of the Post and Professor 
of Ethics. In October, i860, he joined his company, then 
on duty at Fortress Monroe. In the early part of 1861, 
was ordered to Newport News to construct batteries and 
instruct the volunteers in artillery practice. On Sunday, 
June 9th, General Butler ordered an attack to be made on 
the enemy's forces at Big Bethel. General Pierce had 
command ; Lieuteuant Greble was ordered to accompany it 
with his artilleiy. Receiving his instructions, he said to 
the officer who bore them, " This is an ill advised and 
badly arranged movement, and no good will come from it." 
Taking with him two cannon and ten United States 
artillerymen, he started on this ill-fated expedition. The 
attack was made and our forces driven back ; a retreat was 
the result. Lieutenant Greble, seeing the danger of the 
retreat being cut off, placed his guns in the open road, and 
by rapid discharges of grape deterred the enemy from 
pursuing them, thereby saving many lives at the .sacrifice 
of his own. To an officer who advised him to retreat, or 
at least dodge the balls, he replied, " I never dodge, and 
when the retreat is sounded I will leave, and not before." 
The order to retreat was given, and he was about willuhawing 



48 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




his command, when he was struck a glancing blow on the 
right temple by an exj)lo<le<i shell ; he survived but a few 
minutes. Thus perished, in the twenty -seventh year of his 
age, a brave and accomplished officer and Christian gen- 
tleman ; one who bid fair to stand at the head of his 
profession. He left a widow and two interesting children 
— a son and daughter. 



1 AKER, CHARLES HENRY, Merchant, born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 20th, 1793. 
His father, John R. Baker, was at that date 
engaged in the importation of German, French 
and English merchandise, in partnership with 
his brother, the firm being Godfrey Baker & Co. 
He himself received an education at the Academy of 
Dr. James Abercrombie. After graduating with honor, 
and receiving his diploma, his energetic disposition would 
not permit him to remain idle, and he immediately turned 
his attention to commerce, entering the counting-house of 
Messrs. Eyre & Massey, shipping merchants. Soon estab- 
lishing himself in the confidence of his employers, he was 
entrusted with many duties of importance. Between the 
years 181 1 and 1813, he made voyages to Canton and other 
foreign ports in the interests of that firm. This sea-going 
and foreign experience was precisely adapted to nurture 
and bring into a vigorous and comprehensive development 
all the desirable qualities and attainments of mind of one 
destined to act a conspicuously useful part among his 
fellow citizens. About 1814, he entered into a partnership 
with his father, which continued until the death of his 
parent, in 1829, after which date Mr. Baker gradually 
withdrew from commercial pursuits and devoted his time, 
energy and experience in forwarding the interests of the 
banking and other public business institutions of his native 
city. He was for a number of years one of the Managers 
of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, also a Director in 
the old Bank of North America, and, at a much later period, 
a Director in the Commercial National Bank. In 1832, 
he was elected a Director in the old-established and well- 
known Philadelphia Marine Insurance Company, for many 
years located at Second and Walnut streets. In 1836, he 
was chosen to be its President, which office he filled with 
honor to himself and advantage to the stockholders until 
1845, when the business of the Company was relinquished 
and the capital stock, largely augmented in value, was 
returned. to the owners; the President receiving the public 
acknowledgements of the Board of Directors for the able 
manner in which he had discharged his duties. The 
character of Mr. Baker was peculiarly invitatory of confi- 
dence ; the trusts placed in his hands were numerous and 
of great value. From a very early age, even before his 
entrance into business for himself, and up to the time of his 
death, there had been confided to his care and man.agement 
estates and business affairs, not only for members of his 




own family, but for others^ His conscientious exactness 
caused him ever to give perfect satisfaction to those over 
whose interests he was guardian, while his business experi- 
ence and judgment enabled him greatly to increase the value 
of their properly whilst in his hands. Mr. Baker died 
September 21st, 1872. 

MITH, FRANCIS GURNEY, Physician, of Phil- 
adelphia, born March 8th, 1818; the fifth son of 
Francis G. Smith, a prominent merchant of that 
city. He received both his academic and medical 
education at the University of Pennsylvania, 
taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1837, 
and that of Master of Arts and of Doctor of Medicine in 
1840. For about a year after receiving his diploma he was 
one of the physicians of the Pennsylvania Hospital, giving 
special .attention to the Department for the Insane. In 
1842, he wa.s elected Lecturer on Physiology by the Phila- 
delphia Medical Association ; ten years later Professor of 
the same branch in the Pennsylvania Medical College; and 
in 1S63, Professor of the Institutes of Medicine in the 
Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania. 
For six years, commencing in 1859, he was one of the 
attending physicians at the Pennsylvania Hospital. Since 
the organization of the National Insurance Company he has 
been its Medical Director, and at one period was Vice- 
President of the American Medical Association. As a 
lecturer on the vampus branches of medical science in 
'vhich he h.as given instruction, he is characterized by 
fluency and exactness, and succeeds in the often difficult 
art of interesting his hearers in their studies. He is well 
known in professional literature as one of the compilers of 
the veiy popular text-book, the Compfndiiim of Medicine, 
which has passed through numerous editions ; for nine years 
as one of the editors of the Philadelphia Medical Exam- 
iner ; as the author of frequent contributions to medical 
periodical literature, and as the editor of American editions 
of Carpenter's and Marshall's works on physiology, and 
other scientific productions, as well as the first American 
translation of Barth and Rogers' Manual of Auscullation 
and Percussion. He married, in 1844, Catherine Madeline, 
only child of Edmund T. Dutilh, a well-known merchant 
of Philadelphia. 



EX, CHARLES E., Lawyer, was born in Phila- 
delphia in 1812. After receiving a first-class 
school education he became a student in the 
University of Pennsylvania, from which he 
graduated with high honors. Choosing the law 
as his profession, he entered the office of Hon. 
Joseph R. IngersoU as a student, and, in 1834, was admit- 
ted to the bar of Philadelphia. His great natural talents 
and indefatigable application enabled him to rise rapidly. 




BIOGRArillCAL ENCVCLOIVEDIA. 



and liefoi-e many years lo reach the front rank in a profes- 
sion for wliicli his nice discrimination and accurate attain- 
ments so eminently fitted him. This prominent position 
he maintained to the close of his life. He made the law 
of banking a specialty, and in all matters peitaining to this 
branch became an acknowledged authority. The reputation 
thus acquired gained him the position of solicitor to many 
of the principal city banks, as also to the Fire Association. 
He was a man of large public spirit, and his character for 
strict integrity caused his election to many positions of 
trust and honor. For many years he was a member of the 
Board of Trustees in the University of Pennsylvania, where 
he was distinguished for his energy and business talent. 
He was, before that institution passed into the control of 
the Board of City Trusts, President of the Board of 
Directors of Girard College ; contributing materially to the 
wise management of i,ts affairs. For several years he repre- 
sented the Tenth Ward in .Select Council, and for one 
term, with credit to himself and benefit to the city, he held 
the office of City .Solicitor. As a lawyer he stood forth a 
man faithful to the best interests of his clients, and at the 
same time careful that no injustice should be done to his 
opponents. When he made a statement in Court, every 
Judge on the bench and every bystander at the bar felt 
assured of its truth, while his excellent memory anO legal 
erudition give his name a conspicuous place in the list of 
those departed ones who secured lo our bar whatever of 
fair fame it possesses. As a philanthropist his record is a 
brilliant one, comprising labors in variou'^capacities for the 
advancement of many benevolent and charitable institu- 
tions, as well as private benefactions to an e.xtent that will 
never be fully known. He was especially prominent as 
Vice-President of the Lincoln Institution, and as one of the 
Managers of the Institution for the Blind, bringing to these 
ofl"ices the warm interest of his generous spirit. To young 
men struggling to make their way in the world he was a 
kind and judicious friend, e.vtending to them not only 
advice, but practical assistance. Many young and rising 
members of the bar are indebted to him for opportunities 
of free study in his office, for guidance and counsel both 
before and after being called, his experience and knowledge 
always being at their di.sposal in all cases which their 
inexperience found difficult. In the Episcopal Church he 
for many years held the position of Secretary of the Standing 
Committee of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and was re- 
pealedly a delegate to the Diocesan Convention, in which 
cap.acity he was serving at the time of his death. But his 
principal work in the church was performed as a Bible- 
class teacher. He founded his class in early life, and 
always continued lo give it his most devoted care, wie'ldin- 
ll.rough it a great power for good among young men" 
IiHleed, his success in this direction has seldom been 
eiiualled. It is estimated that over two thousand persons 
came under his influence, who are now distributed through 
the length and breadth of ihe land, many of them in their 
7 




49 

turn having become centres of usefulness. Noted for his 
researches in antiquarian lore, and into the history of 
ancient religious rites, his learning always secured the 
interests of his hearers, more especially as he possessed Ihe 
happy faculty of imparting the treasures of his well-stored 
mind in an attractive manner; his teaching being argu- 
mentative rather than diy or dogmatic, and rich with 
illustrations. He died at his residence in Philadelphia on 
May 1 6th, 1S72. 

ipT4(%OOD, RICHARD D., Merchant and Manufac 
lurer (cotton and iron), was born in Greenw^ich, 
Cumberland county. New Jersey, March 29th, 
1799. His ancestors, who came from Glouces- 
tershire, England, were among the original 
settlers of Philadelphia ; one of them, Richard 
Wood, arriving in this country with some of the eailiest 
Quaker emigrants, in the latter part of the seventeenth 
century, here located, while his grandson, also named 
Richard, moved to Cumberland county. New Jersey, of 
which he became one of the Judges and a Justice of the 
Peace in the reign of George II. He also represented his 
county in the Legislature of the State, as did also some of 
his descendants, who were men of marked intelligence 
and influence. Passing through the limited course of 
instruction of the country schools of that period, he acquired 
a fair degree of elementary education. For some years 
after leaving school he was employed as an assistant in his 
father's store, where the town library was kept, and this 
being placed under his care, gave him the opportunity of 
indulging in reading of a varied character. Of the advan- 
tage here afforded him he diligently availed himself, thus 
gratifying his taste and fostering the habit of continually 
adding to his store of information by constant and judicious 
reading, which, even in the press and manifold occupations 
of his after life, he always preserved. A little before 
attaining his legal majority he left his native place to begin 
the battle of life at Salem, New Jersey. A successful 
career of two years in that place enabled him to establish 
himself in Philadelphia, where his capacities for business 
and untiring energy found a more filling scope. To this 
city he removed in 1S23, and uniting with Mr. William L. 
A)bott and S. C. Wood, under the firm of Wood, Abbott 
& Wood, he started in life as a city merchant at what is 
now No. 309 Market street. With this house, under all its 
various changes of title, he remained connected to the day 
of his death. Commencing with but limited means, in 
competition with established houses of large capital and 
unlimited credit, who had been accustomed to extend long 
credits to their customers, with correspondingly large 
profits, the firm of Wood & Abbott inaugurated a system 
of selling for cash and at only five per cent, advance on 
cost, under which, by rapidity of sales and a frequent 
turning of ihe capital they possessed, ihe new house 



5" 



mOGRAPinCAL ENCVCLOP.-EDIA. 



succcLilfd in equalizing profits wilh their more powerful 
competitors. I->om thai time forward the labors and 
influence of Mr. Wood were fell in almost every under- 
taking having for its object the advanccnK-nt of the material 
prosperity of Philadelphia, lie was the first to introduce 
the bleaching and dyeing of cotton goods on a large scale 
for this market, in com|)etition with the established and 
powerful cor)>oralions of New England. Even while 
carrying on this extensive business he found time to embark 
in other enterprises. The advance of the town of Millvillc, 
in New Jersey, is due to his far-sighted sagacity ; about the 
ycar.lS5i, he became actively interested in that place, and 
establishing there a large cotton factory, bleaching and dye 
works, as also extensive iron works, he gradually built up 
the town to a manufacturing de| Ot of importance. The 
lirst to appreciate the fact that southern New Jersey woukl 
bear the extension of railroad improvement, he built the 
Millville and Olassboro' Railroad, and afterwards exerted 
a powerful influence in the building of the Cape May Road, 
wilh the various branches that contribute to the usefulness 
of that line and the convenience of its passengers and 
freight patrons. About iS;i, he also starte<l the manufac- 
ture of cast-iron gas and w.iier pipe, under the firm of R. 
D. Wood & Co., whose products have entered a large 
proportion of the cities of the Union. He was the owner 
of the original tract upon which is built the town of Vine- 
land, New Jersey, and it is owing to the generous and 
liberal terms with which he treated the founder of that 
thriving place, that the project was cdrried out. About 
1867, he erected large factories at May's Landing, New 
Jersey, anil also constructed a mammoth dam on the 
Maurice River, at Millville. He was also, al critical 
periods in their history, a powerful supporter, at one time, 
of the .Schuylkill Navigation Company, promoting confi- 
dence in it by liberal subscriptions to its stock and loans 
when Ihcy were looked upon with suspicion and doubt ; 
and,al another lime, of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, 
when it was of the most critical importance th.it its then 
President (Samuel V. Merrick) should be seconded, as he 
was, in his eflbrls to carry forward to completion that great 
undertaking, by men in its directoi-ship of just such per- 
sonal influence, fertility of resource and force of character 
as Mr. Wood. In fact, he was one of the projectors of this 
great railroad, as well as one of the reorganizers and 
largest owners of the Cambria Iron Works, at Johnstown, 
Pennsylvania. He was long a Director of the Philadelphia 
Bank ; was one of the founders of the Union Benevolent 
Association of Philadelphia, and held directorships in 
numerous other railroads, corporations and public institu- 
tions. Mr. Wood's talent and goodness of heart alike 
were proved by his conspicuous ability in the power of 
moulding persons who at din"erent times joined his enter- 
prises as assistants. He rarely se|.arated from those men, 
but developed and applied their powers until they became- 
useful members of his difl'erent firms, or sometimes left 



him, upon the completion of their business education, for 
the creation of individual fortunes. From the laboring 
man to the possessor of business talent, he perceived the 
qualification of every applicant, and constituted himself the 
life-long friend of all who were suited to aid him; so 
powerful was his influence and disposition to promote the 
advancement of enterprising and deserving young men, 
that possibly a hundred of Philadelphia's wealthy and 
honored citizens owe their first success in business to a 
partnership in one of the various enterprises inauguraterl 
and prosecuted by Mr. Wood. His agreeable relations in 
society depended largely upon his even and pleasant tem- 
per, conversational powers, ready and well-stored memory, 
and natural urbanity. Educated with the Society of Friends, 
of which he was a life-long, though not active member, he 
ever displayed the sobriety and justice of apprehension 
common to that sect. Of his religious character, it may 
be said that he felt far more than he showed, having a 
dislike to formality and bigotry ^ite equal to his love for 
true heartfelt Christianity. He died .April 1st, 1869. Out 
of his fortune of several millions, he devised numerous 
bequests to charitable objects and public institutions, among 
which were S50CO to Haverford College, $500 to the 
Union Benevolent Association of Philadelphia, and J500 
to the Shelter for Colored Orphans. He was a benefactor 
not only to the community in which he lived, but to the 
entire country; and benefits of his enterjjrise and example 
will be strong in their influence for good in generations 
yet to come. 




ERKINS, SAMUEL C, Lawyer, was born in 
Philadelphia, November 14th, 1828. His father, 
Samuel H. Perkins, was a native of Windham, 
Connecticut, and his mother, formcHy Mary F. 
Donnell, of Woodbury, New Jersey. His pri- 
mary education he received at the best schools in 
Philadelphia; subsequently he became a student at Yale 
College, and graduated in the cl.ass of 1848; three years 
later, he received his A. M. degree, and in the following 
year that of LL. B., from the University of Pennsylvania. 
He studied law in the office of his father, in Philadelphia, 
and was admitted to the bar in July, 1851. He has con- 
tinued in practice ever since, and his great ability and 
attention to the interests of his clients have won him a high 
position and reputation. He was married on April I2lh, 
1855, to Mary IL, daughter of Frederick A. P.nckard, of 
Philadelphia. He has no children living. In April, 1S61, 
in consequence of the outbreak of the war, he joined Com- 
pany A, First Regiment of Artillery, Home Guard. He 
was promoted to be First Sergeant in March, 1S62, and 
served in that capacity until September, 1862, when he was 
elected First Lieutenant. He was in service with the 
Company at Harrisburg and Chaml crsburg, when called 
out for the emergency in September, 1862. On June 24lh, 



BIOGRAPHICAL EXCVCLOP^EDIA. 



51 



1S63, he was mustered into the United States service for 
the emergency with the Company, which became known 
as Captain Landis' Light Battery, and proceeded to Harris- 
burg. There he was on duty on the fortifications on the 
west side of the Susquehanna till June 30th, when, in 
command of a section of the battery, he proceeded to 
Sporting Hill, about three miles west, and participated in 
an affair with an attacking force of rebels, which was 
repulsed with loss. On J'lly ist, he marched, with the 
remainder of the battery and the division of infantry under 
the command of General Crouch, to Carlisle. The same 
night the town wa.s attacked and shelled by a rebel force, 
and the battery lost several horses, besides having a num- 
ber of men wounded. He remained in camp at Carlisle 
till July 4th, when the division moved southward, and the 
bnitei-y marched for some three weeks through Waynes- 
burg, Boonsboro', and Hagerstown, returning through 
Greencaslle to Chambersburg. After being in camp about 
a week, they received transportation by rail to Philadel 
phia, and were mustered out of the service July 30th, 1863. 
From an early period of his life, he has manifested a warm 
interest in public affairs; and his proved ability, in connec- 
tion with his unquestioned integrity, has led to his selection 
for several positions of trust and honor. In 1S57, he was 
elected to Common Council from the Seventh Ward, and 
served one term. On December 14th, 1868, he was 
. chosen Director of the Union League, and Chairman of the 
Library Committee, positions which he still holds. He 
was named as one of the Commissioners for the erection 
of new public buildings in Philadelphia, by the act of the 
Legislature, approved August 5th, 1S70, and was elected 
I'resident of the Commissioners April 17th, 1872. This 
responsible office, the duties of which he has discharged 
with signal ability and fidelity, he still occupies. He has 
for many years held veiy prominent positions in the 
Masonic Fraternity. He was Grand Scribe of the Grand 
H. R. A., Chapter of Pennsylvania, from December, 1S61, 
to the close of 1863; Grand King from Decemljer, 1863, 
to the close of 1865; Grand High Priest from December' 
1865, until the end of 1S67. For one year, from Decem- 
ber, 1S66, he served as Junior Grand Warden of the Grand 
Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania; for 
two years, from December, 1867, as Senior Grand Warden; 
for two years, from December, 1869, as Deputy Grand 
Master. In December, 1871, he was elected Grand Master; 
was re-elected in December, 1872, and still discharges the 
duty of the high and honorable office. On June 27th, 
1868, he was elected Chairman of the Building Committee 
of the new Masonic Temple, and still continues to have 
charge of the important work, at this writing so nearly 
completed, and that already is the noblest architectural 
pile in the city. He is a man of decided religious views. 
At an early age he became a member of the Presbyterian 
Church, and has been honored with many marks of the 
confidence "and esteem of its supporters. From May, 1856, 




to May, 1870, he was Trustee of the First Presbyterian 
Church of Phil.-idelphia. He has been Elder of the same 
church from March 2Ist, 1870, until the present time. He 
served as a member of the Presbyterian Publication Com- 
mittee from September 20th, 1858, until June 30th, 1870. 
From May, 1S70, he has been a member of the Presbyterian 
Board of Publication, and from June of the same year 
President of the Trustees of the same body. In 1S71, he 
was sent as a delegate to the General Assembly of the 
Presbyterian Church. In May, 1873, he was elected a 
manager of the American Sunday School Union. Learned 
and reliable as a lawyer, upright and public-spirited as a 
citizen, a kindly and courteous gentleman, he is one of the 
most deservedly prominent men of Philadelphia. 

ARDING, WILLIAM W., Newspaper Proprietor, 
Publisher, and Manufacturer, was born in Phila- 
delphia, November 1st, 1S30. His father was 
K^i, the late Jesper Harding, who, for many years, 
^ occujiied the foremost rank among the publishers 
of Philadelphia, and conducted, with marked 
ability, during a period of thirty years, the Peimsyhaiiia 
Inquirer. William White Harding is a namesake of the 
eminent divine Bishop William White, who was an intimate 
personal friend of his father. He attended the Northwest 
Grammar School, where he proved to be an apt and indus- 
trious scholar, but he only laid the foundations broad and 
deep here, and left school to complete his education amid 
the realities and practical duties of business life. He be- 
came a clerk and salesman in the store of George S. 
Appleton, a book publisher, located at the corner of 
Seventh and Chestnut streets, and now a member of the 
extensive book firm of D. Appleton & Co., of New York. 
He spent several years in this store, and acquired, by 
the strictest attention to his duties, and close observation 
of what was going on around him, a complete knowledge 
of all the branches of the book publishing business. After 
careful preliminary- training, he became associated with his 
father, in the publication of the Inquirer, and of Bibles, in 
the fall of 1855. The firm of Jesper Harding & Son con- 
tinued until October, 1S59, when the partnership was dis- 
solved, by the withdrawal of Jesper Harding, and his son 
became the sole publisher. As .soon as he became inter- 
ested in the publication of the paper and Bibles, the influ- 
ence of his activity and energy began to be felt in the 
rapidly increasing circulation of both. About this time the 
subject of City Passenger Railways began to attract atten- 
tion ; and although the popular .s*itiment did not seem to 
be in favor of superseding the old omnibus, he, with a 
keen foresight, saw that if they could once be introduced, 
these railways would be immensely popular, and a great 
public benefit. He at once threw his weight and influence 
into the scale in their favor, and soon found himself a 



52 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXVCLOr^EDIA. 



prominent leader in the niovinicnt. The project proved 
successful in a high degree; and having been identified 
with several of the leading railways of the city, he did not 
fail to reap the rich pecuniary reward due to his enterprise 
and sagacity. He then turned his attention to the im- 
provement of his paper. Up to the time that he assumed 
the control, the Inquirer had been conducted on the old 
lime business |>rinciples. The subscription price was 
eight dollars per annum, and the paper, though an excel- 
lent one, being slow and undemonstrative, was very little 
read except by the yearly subscribers. Incited by the 
marked success of the cheap newspapers that were spring- 
ing up, and were being conducted on a cash basis, instead 
of the old credit system, he determined upon a radical 
change in the form and character of his journal, with a 
localization of its title. On the 2d of April, iS6o, there 
appeared, instead of the old " blanket sheet " of the Penn- 
sylvania Inquirer, the neat and convenient PhilaJelphia 
Inquirer, with its eight p.iges of six columns each, making 
the first quarto newspaper in successful operation in Phila- 
delphia. The old system of yearly subscriptions was aban- 
doned, the price reduced to two cents per copy, and 
canvassers sent out to establish routes for its daily deliveiy. 
It was also placed in the hands of the newsboys, and 
found a ready sale upon the street. Local matters received 
much greater attention ; the editorials were written in a 
more attractive style, and generally devoted exclusively to 
passing events. Advantage was taken of the increased 
facilities for obtaining telegraphic news, and general litera- 
ture found a prominent place in its columns. Supplements 
were frequently issued ; and on the occasion of the visit 
of the Japanese Embassy to Philadelphia, in May, lS6o, two 
were issued, of four pages each, containing elaborate illus- 
trations. Thus energetically managed, the paper rapidly 
acquired a large circulation. During the war especial 
enteiprise was manifested by the Inquirer, and no expense 
was spared in obtaining the news from the armies and the 
Seat of Government. Immense sums were expended for 
special corres|K)ndence, and it became the journal most 
sought after, not only among the citizens of Philadelphia and 
vicinity, but in the army, where it outsold all the other 
newspapers. So considerable indeed was the demand from 
all quarters, that it became necess.iry to eng.nge, for a time, 
the presses of its contemporaries, to assist in printing the large 
editions required. The Government evidenced its appre- 
ciation of this popularity by frequently ordering a special 
edition for gratuitous distribution by the proprietor's agents, 
when it was desired that the steps being taken in the con- 
duct of the war shouhl become widely known in both 
armies. It warmly sup||^rted the Administration through- 
out the w.ar, and its services were gr.icefully acknowleilged 
by Hon. IMwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, at that 
trying period. 

The following letter was written by Mr. Stanton, in 
reply to a telegiam from .\li. I lanling, congratulating the 



former upon his triumph over President Johnson, in the 
War Department Struggle in lS68 : 

War Dki'artment, 
Wttshinglou City, January \^lh, 1868. 
Please accept my thanks for your friendly telegram just 
received. I a))preciate your kindness highly. From no 
one have I received, in my official laliors, more disinterested 
and highly prized support than from yourself. Its remem- 
brance will always be cherished with pleasure. Wishing 
you every success in life, I am. and shall ever be. 
Truly yours, 

Edwin M. Stanton. 
To William W. Harding, Esq. 

In the latter part of 1861, the greatly increased cir- 
culation compelled the purchase of a six cylinder Hoe 
Rotary Press, and on the 26th of April, 1S62, the In- 
quirer was first printed from stereotype plates — being 
one of the first newspapers in the United States to adopt 
this process. In December, 1862, the Inquirer was re- 
duced in size to six pages, on account of the increase in 
the cost of paper; but after three months it resumed, on the 
25th of March, 1863, its eight pages, but reduced its size 
to five columns. He introduced paper folders at an early 
date; and soon after his removal to his present location, in 
April, 1S63, he introduced a Bullock Press — the first ever 
put into successful operation. To this he subse«(ucntly 
added two others — one of double size — but these have 
since been replaced by two of Hoe's six cylinder Rotary 
Presses, at a cost of over fifty thousand dollars. Beside all 
these improvements to the Inquirer, he increa-sed his facili- 
ties for publishing Hanling's editions of the Bible, and 
added to his establishment the necessary fixtures for the 
m.inufacture of Photograph Albums, of which he has 
produced some of the finest specimens. In 1864, he 
established a paper mill at Manayunk, which has since 
supplied the paper for his different publications; and he 
has more recently entered into the manufacture of wood 
paper, having purchased for a large amount the right 
from its inventors. His mills are now capable of pro- 
ducing eight thousand pounds a day, wood and straw 
both being employed in its manufacture. On the 29th 
of August, 1864, the price of the Inquirer was increased 
to three cents a copy, or fifteen cents a week, but this 
was reduced to two cents on the 2d of January following. 
In December, 1S69, the present size was re-adop!ed, of 
forty-eight columns, double sheet. He is above the 
medium height, of attractive appearance, and pleasant 
manners. In his habits he is simple and unostentatious. 
Tobacco and spirits he has always eschewed. Each day 
he spends from twelve to fifteen hours in persistent atten- 
tion to business, for which he seems to possess an un- 
limited capacity of endurance. In the intricate details of 
his numerous undertakings he is never embarrassed even 
for a moment. To this easy command of niinutia;, scarcely 
less than to his energy and enterprise, is his great success 
in life to be altriliiited. 







^^^^ ./nr^-^^y^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.-EDIA. 



53 



OBLIT, DELL, Jr., Mcvchant, Manufacturer, and 
Bank President, was born September 2lst, 1825, 
in Wilmington, Delaware, of which place his 
father is an old, well-known and influential 
citizen. At an early age he evinced a preference 
for mercantile life, and was placed as a clerk in 
a dry goods store in his native place, where he remained a 
year and a half, preparing himself practically for business 
on a larger scale. When he had attained his nineteenth 
year, and the expiration of his novitiate, he found himself 
ready to enter a wider field of enterprise, which he sougfTt 
in Philadelphia, where the extensive business connection 
of his father procured for him an advantageous position 
with the firm of Finley & Co. Here he became thoroughly', 
conversant with the business of Furnishing, his income 
steadily increasing until it attained a respectable figure,^ 



and his position in the trade becoming assured. In 1849', S^.^oo.ooo, anct the surplus fund to $200,000. Than these 




he engaged in business on his own account, at No..<S3 
South Second street, where he embarked on a most pr-os: 
perous career, receiving among his first orders one front" 
the well-known and highly respected Captt.in LopFr, for 
the complete equipment, with all essentials, in -hrs tiiic, of 
several ocean steamers, then in proces^^of constnfetion. « {* 
This order he carried out to the entir^satisfacftori of the 
owners, and from that time onward -his s^ccfess as "a mer- 
chant was assured. His business increefted'^wfmo.Wfroul 
the beginning with a rapidity which cofepelled him'Jp seek_ 
a partner, whom he found in his brother, John 'Nobljt, thej: 
association proving for both a judicioiis measure, and 
peculiarly fortunate in its results. Soon after the fonna- 
tion of the partnership, their attention was called to the 
weaving of Hair Cloth as a branch of their business, which 
promised to become of the first importance. At that time, 
although an immense quantity of Hair Cloth was used in 
America, vei"y little of it was of home production, the 
market being supplied chiefly from Germany and England. 
D. & J. Noblit, for such was the firm name, believing that 
it could be made in Philadelphia, commenced its manufac- 
ture by hand ; but their resources were soon drawn ujion 
to so great an extent by the rapidly increasing demand, 
that they began to consider the necessity of Jiaving recourse 



their building, at Jefferson and Randolph sfreets, erected 



facture of Hair Cloth was begun, and conducted on an 
extensive scale-#a manufacture that has ever since held its 
place in the American market. In the management of 
their large store on Second street, south of Dock, thev 
found it necessai-y to h.tve a partner, and associated with 
them in that portion of their business Willard .S. Brown, 
under the firm name of Noblit, Brown & Noblit, the factory 
remaining as before, under the control of D. & J. Noblit. 
The senior partner's well earned reputation for integrity 
and ability among the merchants of Philadelphia, combined 
with his high personal character, qualified him peculiarly 



for any position of trust and responsibility in which there 
might be need of superior talent — a fact too obvious to 
escape the notice of his fellow citizens. When, therefore, 
the Corn Exchange Bank became a chartered institution, 
he was chosen a member of the first Board of Directors, 
then presided over by Hon. A. G. Cattell. On that gen- 
tleman retiring from active duty early in 1S70, the adminis- 
tration of the affairs of the Bank was intrusted to him, and 
on Mr. Cattell's formal resignation of the office of President 
M^lhe^end of that year, he was unanimously elected to 
succeed Ifim. ' His efficiency in that position is demon- 
strated by the idllowing brief statement of the affairs of the 
Corn Exchar^e' National Bank. It was opened in 1859, 
wtthja capitaTstock of g 1 28,000, and deposits amounting 
to Sro2,ooo. ■'In 1871, the capital stock was increased 

to $500,006/' and now (1S73) ^^^ deposits amount to 
■s7 -*>.* .t . 



^"ur'es tliere could be no more elocpient testimony to the 
ability wirtr'which he has filled the position of President. 



UDLOW, JAME5;^Lawyer,and Judge of Court 
of^ommon Plea=;, Philadelphia, was born at 
Albany, New York, May 3d, 1825. He is a son 
of Rev. John Ludlow, D. D., LL.D., for nearly 
twmtyjyca^'s Provost of the University of Penn- 
sylvania. He was educated at the University 
<^. , 'f -^ ^ 

of Pennsvlvania, from which institution he graduated, with 

afkl^nclioh, I'll July, 1843. Having made choice of the 
legal profession, he entered in the same month the office 
of Hon. Wm. M. Meredith, President of the Constitutional 
Convention of Pennsylvania of 1873, and for many years 
the leading lawyer in the State. He was admitted to the 
bar in June, 1846, and for eleven years engaged in a general 
practice. During this time he manifested an active interest 
in politics, acting with, and occupying a prominent po.sition 
in, the old Democratic party of the city. At one time he 
was Chairman of its Executive Committee, and was a dele- 
gate to the State Conventions. In October, 1857, he was 
elected a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the 



to steam. In 1856, a site for a factory was secured j^nf.couytj^of Philadelphia.^ 'T^is court has an extensive juris 



diction.^ The members of its bench are ex-officio Judges 



Fifty looms were put into the new building, andjie-nrailll- -sf-The" OrpTTaTTS*-Court, Register's Court, the Quarter Ses- 
sions, and the Oyer & Temiiner of the city. It also has 
general jurisdiction in equity. As a civil Judge, he has 
decided a number of important cases in Equity, in the 
Orphans' Court, and in contested elections. These cases 
are reported in the books. Among them may be mentioned 
that of the Chestnut and Walnut Street Railroad, in which 
a motion was made for an injunction, and more lecently 
the well-known St. Clement's Church case, in which 
certain members of the congregation were in litigation 
with the rector, Dr. Batterson ; also the contested election 
cases of Ewing vs. Thompson, and the celebrated contests 



54 



KIOGRArillCAL ENCVCLOr.EDIA. 



of 1868. These are but illustrations of the important issues 
in which he has been called upon to pronounce judgment, 
and which cover a wide range of law. In Ihe criminal 
court, with his colleague. Judge Allison, lie has tried 
almost every murder cxsc of note coming before the courts 
during the Ixst fifteen years, including those of Herger, 
TwitchcU, Gottlieb Williams, Kalon and llanlon. lie 
sentenced to death Williams and llanlon, both of whom 
were executed, lie also tried Mara and Dougherty, ihe 
would-be assa-ssins of Uctcctive Brooks, amid difikulties 
of a serious nature, and fulfilled his duty in a manner that 
gave the liveliest satisfaction to all the law-abiding citizens 
of Philadelphia. In all, he has administered the law in 
over six thousand cases. His whole career is singu- 
larly honorable. Since his elevation to the bench, nearly 
sixteen years ago, his course has been such as to reflect not 
only the highest credit upon himself, but lustre upon a 
judiciary, whose record no State in the Union can excel, 
lie has always shown himself a learned jurist and an in- 
corruptible judge. Bringing to the consideration of every 
case a mind stored with legal knowledge, unquestionable 
impartiality, an inflexible determination to execute the law 
and to uphold its majesty, his decisions have ever been 
received with the greatest consideration, both by the bar 
and by the community generally. Gifted with nice dis- 
crimination, and a man of scrupulous conscientiousness, he 
has always striven his utmost to discover and dcfencl the 
right in civil suits — some of his written opinions being, 
thrrefure, models of judicial acumen and carefulness. In 
criminal jurisdiction he h.TS alw.iys manifested marked 
judgment, being stem and severe in his sentences when 
he deemed the convict's crimes and the public welfare 
demanded sternness and severity, and merciful toward 
the erring whom there was hope of reclaiming. In his 
private relations, he is highly esteemed as a gcnllcinan 
of wide culture and true refinement. Simple and unosten- 
tatious in his life, he yet exerts a large influence for good, 
and is an earnest supporter of all schemes for the social 
advancement of the community. 



>T<1ALMER, GIDEON W., Farmer and Politician, 
was born in the town of Mopkinlon, Rhode 
Island, April iSth, 1818, of Gideon Palmer and 
Clarissa Watkins, the former of English, the 
latter of Welsh descent. In 1836, he removed 
to Pennsylvania, where, for a while, he followed 
leaching; but as his tastes led him rather to agricultural 
pursuits, he subsequently gave his attention to farming, in 
l.uzerne county, Pennsylvania, actively interesting himself 
meanwhile in the various political questions of the day. 
The measures of the old Whig party were those which 
received his support; and he soon manifested such an 
influence in the councils of thai organization, that various 




offices were entrusted to him. From constable, in 1846, 
he became Justice of the Pcice in 1850, and later, for 
three years, Sherifl' of Luzerne county. As an " Old line 
Henry Clay Whig," he was subsecpicntly elected a member 
of the State Legislature. When Ihe Rebellion broke out, 
he sided ardently with the suppejrters of the Union, and 
for several years occupied the rcs|X)nsibIe post of P.iy- 
niasler of the United States Anny, in the performance of the 
duties of which office he traversed the whole country, 
from Maine to Mexico. Although residing in a Demo- 
cratic district, he always polled heavy Republican majori- 
ties. In 1872, when delegates were 10 be chosen for the 
Constitutional Convention of the State, he was nominated 
as a " Liberal Republican " on the Democratic ticket, 
while his son was nominated as delegate from the same 
district on the regular Republican ticket. Both were 
elected, and both have contributed materially to the delib- 
erations of the body of which they are highly honored 
members. In 1838, he married Elizabeth Burdick, and 
of Ihe union five children survive, two sons and three 
daughters. The family are att.tched to Ihe Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 



UANE, WILLIAM J., Lawyer, was bom on 
May 9th, 1780, at Clonmcl, in the county of 
Tippcrar)-, Ireland. He was the eldest son of 
W'illiam and Catherine Duane. The earliest 
event his memory could recall was the Par- 
liamentary election of May, 1784, held at Covent 
Garden, to which he was taken by his father, and there 
placed upon the pedestal of a column, from which he 
viewed the scene, that owing lo the warmth of the con- 
test wxs rather hot, and that ended in the defeat of Fox, 
the stormy debate of which is memorable in history. Twc 
years subsequently, his father accepted a position to gc 
to Calcutta, lo undertake the publication of a newspaper, 
and his family returned to Clonmel, to await the success 
or non-success of the enterprise, which was to determine 
their removal to India. While at Clonmel, the subject of 
our sketch was placed for fifteen months under the tuition 
of the Rev. Dr. Carey, which proved, owing to circum- 
stances, to be the only schooling he received; but an 
enquiring mind, coupled with an ardent desire to leam in 
after years, fully supplied ihe deficiencies of his early 
educilion. His father, after a brief success, was sud- 
denly arrested in Calcutta, on account of an article 
which appeared in his paper, oflensive to the Government; 
and after a short detention at Fort William, was sent back 
to England, his entire property in India being confiscated. 
He then became Parliamentary reporter for a newspaper 
called the Genera/ Advertiser, now the world-renowned 
Times; and his son frequently accompanied him lo the 
gallery of the House of Commons, and up lo Ihe day of 
his death spoke glowingly of Ihe intellectual treat afforded 




BIOGRArillCAL EXCVCLOP.EDIA. 



5S 



by the debates, and of the great orators, Pitt, Fox, Burke, 
and Sheridan, it had been his privilege to listen to and 
whose eloquence has never been equalled. It was not 
until the year 1796, that he concluded to return to 
his native country, and having settled in Philadelphia 
he became the editor of a newspaper, entitled the True 
American. During the year 1798 Mrs. Duane died, but 
not of the yellow fever, then the scourge of the city, 
and by which both father and son were attacked. In 
September of the same year, Benjamin Franklin Bache, 
the first publisher of the Aurora newspaper, died of the 
f'ver, and William Duane became the editor, with his son as 
c'erk in the office, which led to the latter's marriage on the 
•^ist day of December, 1805, with Deborah Bache, sixth 
child of Richard and Sarah Bache, the daughter of Benja- 
min Franklin. This union was in all respects a happy one, 
an I terminated by her death, in February, 1863. Shortly 
after his marriage he entered into partnership with William 
Levis, a paper merchant. While engaged in this business 
his name was forged to the amount of seven hundred dol- 
lars, but although the offender was detected, he preferred 
to bear the loss raiher than to deliver him to justice, which 
act of mercy was followed by the reformation of the man, 
who in time restored the sum in full. In the year 
1809, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Repre- 
sentatives upon the Republican ticket, afterwards called 
the Democratic. Then in his thirtieth year, and only be- 
ginning his legislative career, he yet became so prominent 
as to be chosen Chairman of the Committee of the Roads 
and Inland Navigation, and of the large Committee 
raised to consider that part of the Governor's message 
relating to the case of " Gideon Olmstead," then an 
exciting question before the Legislature. He also in 
this same year wrote a work called the Law of Nations 
Investigated in a Popular Manner, addressed to the Far- 
mers of the United States. About this time the schism 
in the Republican party commenced, which divided it into 
two sections, the Old and New School Democrats, and at 
the election which followed in 1810, his name for the 
Assembly was defeated by a majority of several hundred. 
He then published in one work his letters upon Internal 
Improvement of the Commonwealth. In the war of 1812, 
he was Adjutant of a militaiy body called the State Fenci- 
ble Legion, afterwards Captain of the Republican Greens. 
The decease of Richard Bache, in 181 1, having brought 
Mrs. Duane an inheritance, her husband relinquished 
business and devoted himself to the law, the study of 
which he commenced in the office of Joseph Hopkinson, 
afterwards known as Judge of the United States District 
Court. In 1S13, he was re-elected to the Legislature, and 
in June, 1815, was admitted to the bar. His system of 
practice by some few meinbers was considered unpro- 
fessional, but the carpers were in the minority and by no 
means of the highest grade, and it is an undisputed fact that 
said system won for him the wide-spread reputation for in- 



tegrity and honesty of purpose. After his admission to the 
bar he became Solicitor for the Guardians of the Poor, the 
Female Hospital Society, and the Carpenters' Company of 
Philadelphia, also in later years Counsellor of the Hiber- 
nian .Society. In 1816, he again took a part in politics, 
but as his party was in point of numbers the weakest he 
was defeated. In 1819, he became Secretary of the Board 
of School Directors, and in the autuirin of the same year was 
placed on the ticket for the Assembly and elected by a vote 
which attested the confidence of the people. In Decem- 
ber, he was appointed Chairman of the Committee of the 
House of Representatives on Banks, followed by the 
Chairmanship of a Select Committee relating to Domestic 
Economy and General Stagnation of Business. During 
Joseph Pliester's term as Governor of Pennsylvania, he 
filled the office of Attorney of the Mayor's Court of the 
City of Philadelphia, and held the same for three years. 
In 1824, he was nominated for Congress, but declined. 
The care of a large family induced him to withdraw from 
the political arena; but, in 1828, he again became in- 
terested in politics, and was earnest in his support of Jack- 
son, whose entire ticket having been elected, the Mayoralty 
was tendered to him, as in some measure a recognition 
of his valuable services, but it was firmly declined, 
and Mr. Dallas, being elected Mayor, appointed him 
City Solicitor, but although much gratified he refused. 
In 1S29, he was chosen member of the Select Council of 
Philadelphia, and, in 1831, nominated Commissioner, 
under the Treaty with Denmark. In the same year Mr. 
Girard died, and having been his Solicitor, he wrote the 
will and was named in the will as one of the five Execu- 
tors. Director ofc the Bank of the United States, he, in 
1832, accepted the appointment of Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, which office he held until the fall of 1833, when he 
was dismissed and Roder B. Taney, then Attorney-General 
of the United States, appointed. His removal from office 
was consequent upon certain contentions and differences 
of opinion. Against all attacks he was vindicated, it 
being clearly proven that his unwillingness to place his 
conscience and will beneath the feet of the President in- 
censed one party, while the other antagonized him because 
he was opposed to the Bank of the Uilited States upon 
constitutional grounds. After his return from Washington 
he did not entirely resume his profession, only appearing in 
the Orphans' Court occasionally for some old client. The 
last office of a public character held by him was that of 
Chairman of the Girard College Committee. For many 
years prior to his death he suffered with an internal com- 
plaint of a most painful nature. During the last year of 
his life lie left his house but once, and then to register his 
vote at the Presidential election of 1864. He expired on 
the 26th day of September, 1865, having reached his 
eighty-fifth year, and was interred in North Laurel Hill 
Cemeter}'. Of his personal character little need be said, 
as the distinction shown him among men is sufficient pioof 



S6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOPyEDIA. 




of the hiyh esliination accorded liim by the public. He 
was a liearly advocate of virtue, upholding by his life and 
doctrines morality and truth. Both in public and private 
be wj^ accordeil the esteem and alTecliun due a just man. 



'RAIG, HUGH, Grain Dealer, was boni in Colc- 
raine, Ireland, June Ijlh, lSl6. His father was 
devoted to agricultural pursuits, but the son was 
|K>ssesscd of more ambitious views, and having 
acquired a liberal education at one of the town 
schools, determined to seek his fortune in the 
New World. In 1833, on the day after -he landed in 
Philadelphia, he entered the store of Robert J'leming, 
dealer in flour and grain, at Market and . Seventeenth 
streets, and literally began at the foot of the ladder, with 
the firm determination to reach the topmost round. His 
opportunities of learning the business in all its details 
could not have been better than this establislunenf afforded, 
as his patron's trade was very extensive, the latter event- 
ually retiring from mercantile pursuits with a fortune of a 
million and a half. In 1S36, before attaining his majority, 
he embarked in business on his own account, with Thomas 
Bellas as his partner, under the name and style of Craig, 
Bellas, & C>i., their warehouse being located at the North- 
west corner of Broad and Cherry streets,* In 1845, the 
firm was changed to Craig & Bellas. Tli(»prosperlty of these 
firms was chiefly due to the untiring industry and practical 
talents of the senior partner. He established his reputa- 
tion among business men, and preserved it unsullied dur- 
ing many severe ordeals, and no inan,4n this branch of 
trade, has risen more rapidly or deservedly. In 1846, a 
fire destroyed, among several others, the warehouse of the 
firm, and a large amount of properly w.-is consumed. 
Consignoi-s of produce had nu legal claim against the 
loss, but nevertheless they acted, on this occasion, in a 
highly liberal and honorable manner. They immediately 
issued a circular inviting " all those who had claims 
against the firm for produce destroyed by the late fire, to 
j>resent the same at once for payment." This was no vain 
offer. Every dollar of the claims was promptly paid on 
demand. This honorable proceeding proved, as it de- 
served, of invaluable benefit to the firm, and ensured to 
it a future career of increased patronage and prosperity. 
Such a course demonstrated the entire soundness and in- 
tegrity of the house, and inspired the business community 
with the greatest confidence in its operations. Their 
conduct presented a •lery bold contrast to the line 
of policy pursued under similar circumstances by other 
produce houses, who refused to acknowle<lgc the claims 
of consignors ; litigation followed, and as a conse- 
quence their business was very much diminished. The 
energy of the firm was now displayed by the immediate 
erection of the most spacious warehouses of which the 



city could then boxst. These are still (1S73) standing 
at the corner of Broad and Cherry streets. The structure 
has three fronts, and it is here that the immense business 
of the firm is transacted : the most precise order and 
thorough system prevail in all the interior arrangements. 
The warehouses are the property of the senior member 
of the firm. In 1S62, the style of the house was changed 
to Hugh Craig & Co., and on March nth, 1866, Hugh 
Craig, Jr., — the son of the subject of this sketch, — was 
admitted as a partner, he having on that day attained his 
sixteenth year. On May 1st, 1S73, his father retired from 
the active business life he had pursued for thirty-seven 
years, leaving his son to manage affairs, who promises 
most amply to sustain his father's reputation for ability 
and activity. Having commenced his mcrc.intile career at 
so early and unusual an age, he has enjoyed the benefit 
of his father's experience, and inheriting all his energy 
and clearness of perception, will certainly achieve success. 
The style of the house is now Hugh Craig's Son. Its 
founder has never taken any active part in politics, nor 
wciuld he ever accept of any public office, excepting that 
he has/^t various times, been elected by Councils a Direc- 
tor of the Pennsylvania Railroad, to represent the interest 
of the City of Phil.idelphia in that corporation. In 1S39, 
he w.-is elected a Director of the Delaware Mutual Insur- 
ance Company, and h,is held this position ever since that 
date. He w.-is one of the originators of the Corn Exchange 
National Bank, and has been, for many yeare, a member of 
its Board of Directors. He is also a prominent member 
of the Ilibernia Society. In all the positions he has filled, 
as well as during the whole course of his mercantile 
career, he has ever displayed activity, intelligence, energy, 
and perseverance ; while his clear and practical judgment 
has not only contributed to his success, but his advice is 
regarded, by those who have consulted him, as being 
exceedingly valuable, and of great weight in the several 
financial institutions with which he is connected. He is 
enterprising, public-spirited, and ever ready to lend a 
helping hand to those needing it. Large heartedness — so 
proverbial with his nationality — is a prominent trait in his 
character, and his generosity does not wait for, but seeks 
opportunities for displaying itself. These qualities, and 
the most sterling integrity of character, have won for him 
the affection and esteem of all who enjoy the pleasure of 
his acquaintance. 

X*^ \/ 

IPPINCOTT, JOSHUA B., Publisher, was born 
in Burlington county. New Jersey. His ances. 
tors were members of the Society of Friends". 
Between the years 1827 and 1830, he came to 
Philadelphia, and at a veiy early age olitained a 
situation in a small bookstore. Not many years 
afterwards he commenced business on his own account, 
and purchased the property at the Southwest comer of 




ii 



il 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



57 



Fourth and Race streets, which he still owns. There he 
continued until 1850, and by his genius and energy 
made a fortune ; but instead of retiring from business he 
had the enterprise to purchase the stock and goodwill of 
Grigg, Elliott, & Co., at that time the largest book jobbing 
house in the countiy, then occupying premises in Fourth 
street, above Market. At this location, under the firm name 
of J. B. Lippincott & Co., he remained until 1863. From 
the time when the establishment passed into the hands 
of its new owner, very important changes were intro- 
duced into its management ; the list of publications issued 
from it was largely increased, the standard of excellence 
greatly improved, and as a consequence its previous pros- 
perity was considerably extended and strengthened. About 
1859 or i860, foreseeing from certain indications a re- 
moval of the location of the great mercantile houses, he 
purchased a large lot on Market street, above Seventh, 
running through to Filbert, for the firm's future premises. 
In 1862, during the darkest period of the Rebellion, in 
pecuniary matters at least, the very commodious and hand- 
some store in which the business is now carried on was 
built. Those who remember with distinctness the dis- 
astrous condition of commercial affairs at this time, the 
great and imminent peril of the nation, will recognize and 
appreciate the enterprise that could contemplate, and the 
courage that could carry forward to completion, the erec- 
tion of so costly a pile. This was the commencement of 
that movement which has caused the neighborhood to 
become the centre of the jobbing trade of the city. The 
firm having passed successfully through the trying period 
of depression consequent upon the outbreak of the war, 
in which its losses were enonnous, removed, in 1863, to 
the new building, which they still occupy. Ever vigilant 
in the interests of the concern, his wise foresight in pro- 
viding such ample facilities for its operations has been 
abundantly demonstrated in its vastly increased and ever- 
increasing business. In 1871, the large building fronting 
on Filbert street was erected for the manufacturing depart- 
ments of the house ; and with its erection was completed 
his plan of concentrating all its branches substantially 
under one roof. As now existing the establishment — which 
is one of the largest in the country, is complete in all its 
appointments, and possesses a trade that extends to every 
State in the Union — illustrates how much may be accom- 
plished in the lifetime of one man by enterprise and 
energy, and presents a striking contrast to the modest 
beginning made at Fourth and Race streets. Its history 
is full of inspiration for young men. Its founder has 
been highly favored by nature, however, being endowed 
with an active and comprehensive mind, singularly keen 
perception, and the most untiring energy. Through many 
disastrous crises he has guided the financial affairs of the 
house with such wisdom and prudence as to prevent the 
slightest derangement of its credit, his principle having 
always been that the surest way to preserve credit is not 



to use it, and in accordance therewith he has consistently 
met such ordeals by drawing on his own resources. These 
are sterling qualities to have in the man at the helm at 
such times. Many of the publications emanating from the 
establishment, such as. The Biographical Dictionary, The 
Gazetteer of the World, Allidoiie's Dictionary of Authors, 
and the re-issue of Chatnbers' Encyclopaniia, have been 
large enterprises, requiring years of preparation and large 
outlay of capital before any return has been obtained. The 
Biographical Dictionary occupied over twenty years of 
steady labor, and a moderate fortune was spent upon it be- 
fore a dollar was realized from its sales. Among other works 
from their press may be mentioned elegant editions of the 
writings of Prescott, Irving, Scott, Dickens, Bulwer, 
Thackeray, Macaulay, Addison, and other famous authors, 
while six monthly magazines and over two thousand other 
publications bear the imprint of the firm. He has always 
manifested a deep interest in the welfare of the city, and 
his business policy has always comprehended a strenuous 
endeavor, by his enterprises, to attract trade to Philadelphia, 
and to retain it. In the same spirit he has liberally invested 
his capital in whatever schemes promised to assist in the 
development of its resources and prosperity. He has been 
for a number of years director in many of our largest in- 
stitutions, and takes a warm and active personal concern 
in their operations. He is skilful in argument, holds decided 
opinions about men and things, which he does not hesitate 
to express, though always with courtesy, and is very ear- 
nest and determined in following the judgment based upon 
his convictions. His presence is genial, his manners are 
frank and simple, at once inspiring the stranger with con- 
fidence ; while his animated conversation impresses one 
with the live and deep interest he takes in the affairs of 
his time. 



AILEY, JOSEPH T., Jeweler, was born at 
Poughkeepsie, New York, December i6th, i8o6. 
He was of English ancestry ; the founders of the 
American family came from England prior to the 
Revolution, and settled in Danbuiy, Connecticut. 
In that place their descendants have continued 
to live and die since 1697. He was educated in his native 
place, and at the age of sixteen was apprenticed to Peter P. 
Hages, a silversmith. When he had completed his term 
of apprenticeship, he removed to Philadelphia. That was 
in the year 1S27. He procured employment in the store 
of Thibault & Brother, at the corner of Fifth and Chestnut 
streets. Five years later he entered into a co-partnership 
under the title of Bailey & Kitchen, and carried on busi- 
ness in a store located on the site whereon the present 
Post-Oflice stands. There he continued in business until 
his dealli, which occurred in Matanzas, Cuba, on March 
I2th, 1S54. He was a very successful business man, and 
established the flourishing concern now known as the house 




58 



lilOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOP.tDlA. 



of Hailey & Co., and which occupies the magnificent 
marble structure at the southeast comer of Twelfth and 
Chestnut streets. The store is one of the most extensive in 
the cily, and the firm deal in jewelry and articles of rertu 
on a scale of magnitude scarcely surpassed in the country. 
A large proiwrtion of their goods are manufactured by 
themselves, others are bought in the American market, and 
the remainder are imported from abroad. This remainder 
is considerable enough to give the house prominence as 
importers. The success of the founder of this establish- 
ment was owing entirely to his unblemished integrity, un- 
tiring energy, and liberal enterprize. He had no capital 
of his own, and he received no assistance in the way of 
capital from any one. He was literally a self-made man. 
A reference to the original books of Bailey & Co., in the 
year of their commencement, 1832, will disclose entries 
showing that his entire capital on entering "biisiness con- 
sisted of tools valued at twenty-eight dollars and a half, and 
the small sum of fifty dollars in money. He was a man of 
very strict habits. He never smoked, nor drank a drdp of 
intoxicating liquor, and was singularly domestic in his dis- 
])osition. Economical and saving in his early days,' enter- 
prizing yet prudent in his ventures as he advanced in pros- 
perity, and always close in his application to whatever he 
undertook, his progress was steady and uninterrupted from 
the beginning; of his career. 




[URROUGHS, HORATIO NELSON, Merchant 
and Banker, was born^at Washington's Cross- 
ing, New Jersey, on' the Delaware River. His 
father, John Burroiighs, was an extensive and 
highly respected farmer; his mother's maiden 
name was Mary Howell. His early educa- 
tional facilities were limited, his time, in his youth.-being 
divided between labor on his fathar's farm in summer and 
a brief attendance at the old-fashioned and not very thor- 
ough pay schools of New Jersey ; but he was fortunately 
enabled to pxss some lime at the Pennington (New Jer- 
sey) Academy, at which his education was completed. Soon 
after leaving school, he entered the employ of M.-ihlon K. 
Taylor, who kept a country store, and with whom he re- 
mained several months. He then abandoned the countr)', 
and came to Philadelphia in search of a more profitable 
situation. This he found in the establishment of I. V. 
Willi.-imson, at No. 9 North Second Street. With him he 
remained until 1833, when, having completed his twenty- 
first year, he received an interest in the business, which 
thenceforth prospered greatly. Mr. I. V. Williamson re- 
tired from the firm in 1836, and in January of the ensuing 
year a new co-partnership was formed between Mr. Bur- 
roughs, a younger brother of his former employer and part- 
ner, and others, under the style of Williamson, Burroughs 
& Clark, the place of business being removed to a more 
eligible location on Market street alwve Second. Ten 



years later, in 1847, he retired from active memlwrship in 
the firm, but slill retained an interest in the business which 
he had contributed so largely to build up, and furnished, 
as special partner, sufficient capital to ensure its continued 
success. In 1849, he finally withdrew from the firm, and 
abandoned mercantile pursuits. But he only forsook one 
field of activity to enter upon another, and turned his ener- 
gies to the manufacture of iron, in the Portage Iron Works, 
near Hollidaysburgh, Pennsylvania. His interest in this 
extensive concern he sold out in 1864. Some years liefore 
he had purchased large tracts of anthracite coal land near 
Wilkesbarre, I-uzerne County, and had also made invest- 
ments in the bituminous regions of the State. These kinds 
he worked with great success. For some time he acted as 
T'resident of the Kittanning Coal Company, a highly pros- 
perous corporation, managed its affairs with signal ability, 
and on vacating the Presidency still continued to serve as a 
director. In 1872, his high reputation in financial circles 
brought him the offer of election to the Presidency of the 
Commonwealth National Bank, of Philadelphia; at the 
earnest 'solicitation of the stockholders, he consented to ac- 
cept the' position, and since assuming its duties he h.Ts done 
much t,d consolidate and extend the prosperity of the insti- 
tution.- He is also a Trustee of the Girard Life Insurance, 
JVrinuity and Trust Company, and holds a position as Di- 
rector in several other important corporations. Both as a 
private citizen and as a man of business, he occupies a de- 
servedly high position ; his character is irreproach.ible, his 
influence large and wholesome, and his personal popularity 
universal. 

l(^iiILPIN, HENRY D., Lawyer, was descended from 
J* an English family of that name, who at a very 
early period had settled at Kentmore, in the 
County of Westmoreland, England. His ances- 
tors came to this country in 1696, and settled on 
the borders of the counties of Chester and Dela- 
ware, on the banks of the Brandywine. Joshua Gilpin, his 
father, was a highly respectable merchant of Philadelphia ; 
his mother a native of Lanca.ster, England. At this latter 
city Henry D. Gilpin was born, April I4lh, 1801. In 
early infancy he was brought to the United Slates with the 
family, which remained here till 1811. -Ml reluincd to 
England. He was placed at a school at Heniel-lUnip- 
stead, kept by Dr. Hamilton, a well known teacher, under 
whose efficient instruction he remained four years. In 
1816, he returned with the family to Philadelphia, which 
cily became his permanent residence. He passed through 
an academic course at the University of Pennsylvania with 
distinguished honor, and was admitted to the practice of 
the law in 1 822. Before this date, while slill a student and 
under age, he had filled with credit the post of Secretary of 
the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company, of which he 
afterwards became one of the Directors. His diligence 
and mlents gradually incrcrvsed his reputation at the bar 




il' 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



59 



until the year 1S30, when the successful management of a 
case involving the official standing of two Portuguese minis- 
ters, each accredited to the United States by a claimant to 
sovereign power, secured him the high regard of President 
Andrew Jackson and the confidence of the Supreme Court. 
In the following year he was appointed to succeed Mr. 
Dallas as District Attorney of the United States at Phila- 
delphia. This office he held for more than five years, dis- 
charging its duties with great ability. During part of the 
time he was also one of the Government Directors of the 
Bank of the United States, a trying position, which brought 
him into conflict with many local interests, but in which he 
assisted General Jackson with unbending perseverance in 
his efforts to suppress that-moneyed monopoly. The Presi- 
dent appointed him a second time as Director and also as 
Governor of Michigan, but the Senate refused to confirm 
these appointments, being bitterly opposed to him in con- 
sequence of his attitude toward the bank and his strong 
Democratic principles. Nevertheless, that body, a short 
time afterwards, unanimously confirmed his re-appointment 
to the District Attorneyship of Pennsylvania. In May, 
1837, Mr. Van Buren, then President, offered him the of- 
fice of Solicitor of the Treasury, which he accepted, and 
removed to Washington. One year later he was appointed 
Attorney General of the United .States, attaining that ele- 
vated position when not yet forty years of age. In this 
capacity a large number of cases demanded his attention, 
many of them involving profound points of law, in all of 
which he acquitted himself with distinguished ability. One 
of the most celebrated of these cases was that of Grover vs. 
Slaughter, involving the prohibition of the importation of 
slaves into Mississippi. In this professional conflict there 
were on the side of the Government two Pennsylvanians, 
Heni-y D. Gilpin and Robert J. Walker, pitted against 
Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. At the close of President 
Van Buren's terms, he retired from political life; and having 
already laid the foundation for an ample competency from 
his professional successes, especially as the advocate of 
large claims before the Commissioners under the Mexican 
Treaty, he devoted much of the remainder of his days to a 
broad study of literature and art, and to the fulfilment of 
offices of social and municipal trust. He was for a con- 
siderable length of time Director, and afterwards President, 
of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts ; a Director 
and Vice President of the Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
vania ; a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania from 
1852 to 1858; and a Director of Gir.ard College from 1856 
to 185S. A taste for art, history, and general literature 
characterized him from early life. In 1826, he completed 
the Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, and soon after prepared a new edition of it with an 
original preface and many additions. The American Quar- 
terly Review, the Democratic Revie^o, and the North Ameri- 
can Review received frequent contributions Irom his pen. 
He was authorized to superintend the publication, under 



the auspices of Congress, of the Madison Papers, which he 
did with great skill and fidelity, in three volumes, 8vo, 1840. 
Other works which he edited or prepared were : Opinions 
of the Attorneys- General of the United States, 1841 ; A 
Northern Tmir, being a Guide to Saratoga, Lake George, 
etc., 1825 ; an Autobiography of Walter Scott, compiled from 
passages in his writings, 1831 ; a translation of Chaptal's 
Essays on Import Duties and Prohibitions, 1821 ; Life of 
Martin Van Buren, 1844; besides numerous published ad- 
dresses, speeches and reviews. Of these the following 
have been preserved : 1826, November 29th, Annual Dis- 
course before the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts ; 
1836, January 8th, Speech at the Union and Harmony 
Celebration by Democratic Citizens of Philadelphia; 1836, 
July 4th, Speech at the Democratic Celebration of the Sec- 
ond Congressional District; 1845, May 23d, Address t>fi" 
fore the Philomathean Society of the University of Penn- 
sylvania; 1847, November 22nd, Eulogy on Silas Wright 
before the Young Men's Democratic Association; 1851, 
June 2d, Address before the Academy of the Fine Arts ; 
1851, November 13th, Address before the Society of the 
Alumni, on the occasion of their Annual Celebration at the 
University; 1856, October 13th, On the American Mis- 
sions in Greece, at St. Luke's Church; 1856, December 
4th, Address on the Character of Franklin, before the 
Franklin Institute. In the latter part of his life, he took 
an extended tour of Europe, Egypt, and the East, and en- 
joyed the friendship of many eminent scholars of England 
and the Continent. He married, in 1835, Eliza Johnston, 
the widow of the Hon. J. S. Johnston, of the Senate, from 
Louisiana, a union productive of unalloyed happiness. His 
death occurred January 29th, i860, in his fifty-ninth year. 
The ample fortune which he had accumulated he directed 
to be divided ultimately between the Historical Societies 
of Pennsylvania and Chicago and the Academy of the Fine 
Arts, and he bequeathed his magnificent library to the sec- 
ond named of these institutions. After the death of Mrs. 
Gilpin, his family will be liberally provided for. In his 
manners, he was amiable and accomplished. In his 
knowledge, he was well read and diversified, kindly in 
his feelings, a fine writer and an eloquent speaker, courte- 
ous in all the relations of life, firm and gentle, just and 
honorable in his dealings, a ripe scholar and an accom- 
plished gentleman. He was widely respected and esteemed. 



ERBYSHIRE, ALEXANDER J., Merchant, was 
born in Philadelphia, December 29th, 1808. 
His parents were Quakers. He received a good 
plain education at the Friends' School on Fourth 
street, below Chestnut. On July 29th, 1824, 
being then in his sixteenth year, he entered the 
office of Timothy Paxson & Son, commission merchants, 
No. 15 North Water street, old number, as an apprentice. 




to 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



This concern was the oldest flour house in Philadelphia. 
In 1780, it was conducted by Samuel Smith. Two years 
later Timothy Paxson took it and continued at the same 
place for forty-seven years. With this firm the subject 
of this sketch served as an apprentice until he attained 
the age of tweiity-on^ years. Subsequently he remained 
in its employment for seven years as clerk. He soon 
manifested great shrewdness and business capacity, qual- 
ities which his employers recognized and appreciated by 
promoting him from one position to another, until he oc- 
cupied the res|>onsible post of book-keeper, for which his 
systematic habits and scrupulous accuracy esDucialTy fitted 
him. In 1836, Mr. Paxson retired from the business with 
a fortune of eighty thousand dollars, antj, bis son having 
died some time previously, it jvas> qarried on , by Mr. 
Derbyshire, who, for the purpqse.jntergd.into-ipjrlDershijj 
with Watson Jenks. For ten years.thisj c<3fparlnership 
was maintained, and proved -.yfiry jji;ospcro«s.. It was 
dissolved on January 1st, 1846.- aafl M4^..IJerl>yshirc for 
some yeai-s went on alone. •■; Uniting >itl6 a thorough 
knowledge of the flour trade, .'in active, sijifjt and large 
enterprize, he enlarged the - business, fri^},^(^r to year,' 
his tact and judgment in the market, .mi^ lyja/onmuiie 
ventures gaining him a high repplatiou^ju^tfj (^^'oBilS 
him with considerable influence lio^t^Cy^coipgierciiil, and 
financial world. In January, Jlj50;^ieJ|Ook in hisjjpi^ipj 
John Derbyshire, as partnej^^he^itle of the fijjj^lhen 
becoming A. J. Derby«'r: ' ( 'o. ^ AboiitJIt^S iperiod 
he erected two very sp:i lianj^ome varehotises, 

pt Nos. 108 and lio North D'- mie. .ij^nie while 

subsequently the house,~jnt!_ , oflthe. .^loguljii 

business, turned their attenlion-»lo4hc„ devglopjjveiM fit the 
railroad and mining interests of Pennsylvania anjl, olh.er 
States. For some time prior to this, the senior partner had 
been an active member of the Board of Trade, and had 
been instrumental in securing various improvements in its 
organization. This position enabled him to be of great 
service to the Pennsylvania Central Railroad scheme, of 
which he was an earnest promoter, and towards the com- 
pletion and success of which he contributed very mate- 
rially. Seeing how great an jmpetus the proposed railroad 
would give to the trade of the city, he warmly ad»;ocated 
its construction before the Board of ^radc, ahd did good 
service in collecting subscriptions for the purpose. In re- 
cognition of his valuable assistance, he was elected one of 
the Directors of the road, and served for two years. He 
also interested himself in other beneficial railroad enter- 
prises, and has been a Director of the Mine Hill Railroad, 
and President of the Little Schuylkill Railroad Company. 
In public affairs, he has always taken a deep and intelli- 
gent interest. For three years he held a scat in City Coun- 
cils, where he manifested an eye single to the public good, 
and proved a consistent advocate of city improvements and 
of true economy. He accepted the position of Secretary 
of the Humane Society, a philanthropic institution which 



engaged his warmest sympathies ; when it was merged into 
the Pennsylvania Hospital, he became a Director of that 
noble charity. But though a public spirited citizen, he 
has never been in any sense a [wlitician. Personally, he 
is a man of plain and modest appearance. In speak- 
ing and writing, he adheres to the style of the Friends, 
of which Society he is a strict member. His face is elo- 
quent of thoughtfulness, shrewdness, and indomitable en- 
ergy. His business powers, unimpeachable integrity, great 
benevolence, and kindliness have won general respect and 
esteem. 



(^j|O0RE, WILLIAM HILL, of Philadelphia, was 
born in Trenton, New Jersey, July 15, 1804. 
His father was of Scotch descent, his mother of 
^ English. His maternal grandfather held a com- 
^^^Cj ,raissign under the British government, until the 
"" , J Declaration of Independence, in 1776. From 
his fourteenth year he hxs been dependent solely upon his 
tj>vn>exertions, for money for any purpose. In his fifteenth 
ypar-^shortly before the death of his father — he resolved to 
q^rp^ own support. He came to Philadelphia, in April, 
I^ig.^n^ with his little bundle, containing all his worldly 
goo^ beneath his arm, walked the streets of Philadelphia 
secjdng._ empl(jyment. In his first situation — that in the 
Philadelphia Cabinet Works — his compensation consisted 
"f^his^oard and working clothes, but he was allowed to 
{lQ.over\\orkj;i(Order to earn money for the purchase of 
his^unday,suit. His employer furnished the coffins, and 
h^l the ^ntract for the burial of the dead among the 
Ijpor of. several districts, during the prevalence of the 
yellow fever, in 1819-20. He was one of four boys, 
who attended to the burying of the victims of this terrible 
scourge. It required just such intrepid courage as he 
possessed to expose himself to all the forms of this dread 
disease, as well as no little self-denial, accompanied as the 
work was by severe and protracted labor, for all who fell 
a prey to the ravages of the fever were required to be 
interred between 10 p. M. and sunrise. His labor and 
Sacrifice were not unappreciated, and he received many 
evidences of the grateful remembrance of his services, 
from the relatives and friends of the deceased. Having 
passed unscathed through the dangers and exposures of 
this period, he felt that, for the future, he need feel no 
timidity in coming in contact with any contagious disease. 
This assurance has enabled him, for fifty years, to encounter, 
with calmness, the perils of every form of epidemic. His 
regular and careful habits of living, and his total abstinence 
from every kind of stimulant, as well as from the use of 
tobacco, have contributed to give him a vigor attained by 
few. When he was eighteen years of age, having pur- 
chased the balance of his time from his master, he ac- 
cepted a position at five dollars a month for six months, in 





^^y^r^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.-EDIA. 



6l 



order that he might get a better knowledge of fine work. 
Having no resources to rely upon, he necessarily became 
very careful of his expenditures, and that experience, 
followed up, has enabled him to say, that since that time, 
he has neither bought nor smoked a single cigar, nor has 
he purchased or used any intoxicants. When he first 
thought of going into business on his own account, his 
friends endeavored to dissuade him from his purpose, for 
they feared that he would only lose the little money 
he had already saved. Perhaps the kindly admonitions 
of his many friends had the effect of increasing his caution 
in business matters, and contributed somewhat to his suc- 
cess in after life. He was not to be deterred from his 
purpose, and, in April, 1826, though only in his twenty- 
second year, he embarked in business on his own account, 
and established himself in the same square on Arch street, 
between Fifth and Sixth streets, in which his business is 
still conducted. It was here that he originated the busi- 
ness of furnishing undertaking, and began to supply all 
the requisites for the burial of the dead. Previously, 
undertaking had been carried on by cabinet makers, as it 
is in country localities to this day. The accommodation 
to the public, from the diligent prosecution of this entirely 
new business, was fully appreciated in the community, and 
he began, at once, to reap the fruits of his enterprise and 
labor. By the closest application to business, and by mak- 
ing it his invariable rule to furnish only good work and 
material, he speedily came into the possession of a large and 
increasing patronage, and, for many years, has conducted, 
on an average, one hundred funerals a month. He attended 
to all the public demonstrations in the City of Philadelphia, 
up to the year 1865. He had charge of the obsequies of 
Bushrod Washington and John Marshall, of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, Generals William Henry Har- 
rison and Zachary Taylor, Presidents of the United States, 
Commodores Brainbridge, Elliot, and Hull, and Admiral 
Stewart, of the United States Navy, Ex-President John 
Quincy Adams, and many other distinguished public men 
and private individuals. From the indigent youth, who 
first set his foot in Philadelphia as a stranger to seek his 
fortune in life, he has risen, by the force of his own 
energy, and by the exercise of the strictest integrity, to 
wealth and independenct 



ARRISH, JOSEPH, Physician, was born in Phila- 
e^JllI delphia, September 2d, 1779. His parents and 
is 111 I family were members of the Society of Friends, 
and he was brought up in the rules of that deno- 
mination. In early life he enjoyed the best edu- 
cational facilities attainable at that time in Phila- 
delphia, acquiring, in addition to a sound English education, 
some knowledge of Latin, French, and even Hebrew. In 



his twenty-first year he entered the office of Dr. Caspar 
Wistar, and received his Degree of Doctor of Medicine in 
1805. Recognizing early the wisdom of popularizing sci- 
ence, he delivered a public course of chemical lectures in 
1807-8, which brought him favourably to the notice of 
his fellow citizens. His professional rise was rapid, and 
in 1816 he was appointed to succeed Dr. Physick as Sur- 
geon to the Pennsylvania Hospital, His charitable dispo- 
sition and strict sense of duty led him to take an active 
part in numerous plans of benevolence and public aid. 
Long a member, he was ultimately President of the Penn- 
sylvania Abolition Society, in which office his predecessors 
were Drs. Wistar, Rush, and Franklin. Many students 
entered his office to receive professional instruction, among 
whom were not a few who themselves achieved eminence 
in after years. He married, in 1808, Susanna Cox, daughter 
of John Cox, of Burlington, New Jersey. His death oc- 
curred March iSth, 1S40. 



ARRISH, ISAAC, Physician, second son of Dr. 
Isaac Parrish, of Philadelphia, was born in that 
city March 19th, 181 1. Having received a clas- 
sical as well as an English education, he began 
the study of medicine with his father in 1829, 
and graduated at the University of Pennsylvania 
Two years later he was elected one of the sur- 
geons to Wills Hospital, which position he occupied for 
eighteen years. He gave the first regular course of instruc- 
tion in ophthalmic surgery in that institution in the winter 
of 1839-40. As a teacher, he was instructive and impres- 
sive, and popular with the students. His humane dispo- 
sition caused him to take an active part in the Philadelphia 
Society for Relieving the Miseries of Prisons, a subject of 
almost hereditary interest, as his grandfather, Isaac Par- 
rish, h.ad been during the Revolutionary war also conspicu- 
ous in this charitable employment. In 1846 and 1S47, he 
made a tour through Marj'land, New York, Rhode Island, 
Massachusetts and Connecticut, in order to study the disci- 
pline of the State prisons, the results of which observations 
he embodied in an article in the Pennsylvania youinnl of 
Prison Discipline, 1849. Shortly afterwards he called the 
attention of the Judiciary and the public to the dispropor- 
tionate mortality and relative length of sentences between 
the white and colored prisoners of this Commonwealth. 
These and similar labors brought forth beneficent results, 
and the correction of many abuses, even if in some in- 
stances such fruits were long delayed. In his religious 
convictions, he was a Friend, of the primitive model of 
Fox, Barclay and Penn, but observed, in all his intercourse, 
that toleration for the honest sentiments of others which, 
when rightly understood, lies at the basis of Friends' doc- 
trines. Early in his career (1834) he married Sarah Red- 
wood Longstreth, daughter of Samuel Longstreth, a re- 




62 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPv^iDIA. 




spected merchant of his own ciry. Of naturally delicate 
frame, his unsparing labors for the benefit of others bore 
heavily on his health, and in his forty-second year, after 
many months of failing physical strength, he succumbed to 
an acute attack of dysentery, passing away July 31st, 1852. 



BBEY, WILLIAM MAXWELL, Merchant.son of 
Roswell and Elizabeth Abbey, was born in New 
York, on March 8th, 1827. The Abbeys were ori- 
ginally French Huguenots in their extraction, and 
the name was formerly known as Abbayi. Ros- 
well Abbey was a man of great mechanical 
genius, who even at a very early age displayed much abil- 
ity, having invented most ingenious Cotton. Machinerj'. 
He also invented the first Type-casting Machine, and was 
the originator of the application of Electrotype to the 
making of Type Matrices. He was a well read man, 
as also something of an artist, combining a talent for 
portrait painting inherited by his son, and which he exer- 
cised up to the time of his death, in 1S58. The early 
training of William M. Abbey was obtained al the infant 
school of Miss Sarah Labrce; he later became the pupil of. 
Roswell C. Smith, Fr.mcis M. Liibbren, and the Rev.' 
William Mann. W'hen the Central High'School opened; 
in October, 1838, he was one. of- the original thirty pupils 
then admitted. Having graduated in 1842, he removed to 
Baltimore, and there learned the drug business in the store 
of Charles P. Rogers ; but his health failing, he obtained a 
situation with B. A. Muzzy, Importer and Commission 
Merchant. In 1846, he removed to Philadelphia, and was 
employed by Wilcox, Billings & Co!, Commission Mer- 
chants, where he remained until 1851, when he engaged in 
the Drug business, at Ellicott's Mills, Marj'land. It was 
not until 1853 th.at he returned to Philadelphia and entered 
the establishment of Sailor & Sank, and finally became a 
member of the firm of J. Rinaldo Sank & Co., where he is 
successfully engaged at present. As a boy, he attended 
the Sunday school of the Dutch Reformed Church under 
the care of the Rev. Dr. Hardenburg. In i860, he joined 
Calvary Episcopal Church, and became Superintendent of 
the Sunday school, which position he held for nine years, 
afterwards holding the same post at St. Jude's ; he also led 
the choir in both parishes. At Calvary, he was for six 
years Rector's W.arden, and has been a Deputy of the 
yearly Diocesan Convention since l86l. Having joined 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1849, lie passed 
the chairs in .Star of Bethlehem Lodge, No. 190, and was 
Representative to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. He 
is now President of the Handel and Haydn Society of 
Philadelphia, and during eight years held the position of 
Director of said society. He was one of the origin,ators 
of the Tobacco Board of Trade. As a business man, he 
is quoted for his integrity and energy, which is also mani- 




fested in every calling he fills, claiming for him the good 
will and esteem of all with whom he is associated. 



ORRIS, ISAAC, Lawyer, was bom in Philadel- 
phia, on the 1st of Febru.ary, 1802. His family 
is an old and respected one, and has long been 
well known in the history of Philadelphia. His 
ancestors are English in the male line, and ori- 
ginally came from the Isle of Wight. Thomas 
Norris, one of them, established himself in London and 
there became an eminent and wealthy merchant. He 
left London on account of the religious persecutions of his 
time, for he had joined the Quaker sect, which had then 
just sprung into existence, and removed to Jamaica, where 
he afterwards perished, with almost all his family, in the 
terrible earthquake of 1692, which destroyed Port Royal. 
His son Isaac, then a youth, abandoned the island which 
his father had selected for a residence, and which proved 
to be the grave of nearly all his family, and removed to 
and settled in Philadelphia, where he m.irried Mary Lloyd, 
a daughter of Governor Lloyd ; and from this Pennsylvania 
bninch of the family the present descendants in Philadel- 
phia have sprung. In the early days of our city this Isaac 
Nohris purch.ased " Fair Hill," a tract of several hundred 
acres of land, in the vicinity of the city, and built a large 
countiy house on it. To it he removed from the old and 
well known " Slate Roof" house in Second street, around 
which cluster so many historical reminiscences. During 
the War of the Revolution the original Fair Hill mansion 
was burned by the British army, after the bailie of German- 
town. It w.as then occupied by John Dickinson, who was 
styled the rebel Dickinson, and who had married a daugh- 
ter of Isaac Norris, the Speaker of the Coloni.il Assembly, 
and on its soil many of the British soldiers, who died of 
their wounds, are buried. This destruction of the house 
originated from the bitter hostility against Dickinson, who 
was known as one of the leaders of the Revolution, and 
who was supposed to be the owner of Fair Hill. Fair 
Hill has descended in the Norris family from father to son 
until it came into the possession of the late Joseph Parker 
Norris, the father of the subject of this sketch. This 
country seat, which for several generations has been the 
residence of different members of the Norris family, now 
forms a large portion of the Nineteenth Ward of the city, 
which has advanced and spread rapidly in that direction. 
Streets have been laid out, opened and paved through it, 
whole squares of ground have been covered with dwelling 
houses, two large and noble public squares on the estate 
have been laid out and generously given to the cily by the 
family, and, in a word, the old countiy seat and home of 
the Norris family has been converted into a densely built 
up town plot, until its landmarks are no longer observ- 
able. This fact will be evident when it is staled that 




-■-i^syv i-jh (.: l-hri3;ia. 




CuA-^e.,^ 



,(UvV-l/2l<f 




^^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.HDIA. 



(r. 



nine large and handsome churches now stand on its soil. 
From this good old stock the present Isaac Norrls, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was born, in the old Norris house, 
which some of our readers will well recollect as standing on 
Chestnut street, and which was pulled down in 1818 to 
make room for the building of the Bank of the United 
States — now the present Custom House of Philadelphia — 
on its site. He received a liber.il education, and after be- 
coming a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, read 
law with the late Hon. Joseph R. Ingersoll, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1825. Under his good tutorship he 
learned habits of industiy and devotion to business. He 
continued assiduously to practise his profession until the 
death of his father in 1841, when he had become an active 
practitioner at the bar; he then relinquished his profession 
to take the charge and management of the Fair. Hill estate. 
This estate, which he has managed with great integrity, 
prudence, and judgment, has grown up under his fosteriiig> 
care into a very large and responsible business, which' 
now engrosses all his time and attention in its conduct and 
further development, requiring not only skill and judgment, 
but also a ready knowledge of real estate law in .its mul- 
tifarious transactions. In political principler> he has 
always been a Republican — sincerely siding with the workfer, 
and sympathizing with his honest cause, knowing -that of- 
such the pride and wealth of the nation are'formed, and be- 
lieving that in the best direction of labor corisists the most 
certain and rapid development of his country. He has' 
never been in active political life, although he is an in- 
terested observer in all the movements of the day. He 
married a daughter of the late George Pepper, and has a 
family of five children now living. He has been, like 
those from whom he is descended, beloved and honored 
by his family and friends, and greatly esteemed by the 
public. 



HILLINGFORD, PIENRY H., Merchant, was 
born in Upper Darby, Delaware County, Penn- 
sylvania, on October nth, 1S15. His father, 
James Shillingford, was a black and white smith 
and edge-tool maker; his mother's maiden name 
was Mary Hoofstitler. He enjoyed no advan- 
tages for obtaining an education beyond those afforded by 
the common schools of his native village. At the age of 
ten he commenced to learn a trade under his father's super- 
vision, and remained with him until he was eighteen. But 
during all these years he devoted every leisure moment to 
the study of such useful books as fell in his way. The result 
of this reading was his selection, .as soon as he had com- 
pleted his trade, as an assistant teacher in one of the village 
schools, and the duties of this position he was enabled to 
discharge satisfactorily to all concerned. But he had by 
this time developed a taste for mercantile pursuits, .and em- 




braced the first opportunily that w.as presented to enter 
upon his chosen field of labor. He soon found employ- 
ment with Stephen Pancoast, who kept a small country 
store, and subsequently with 'William Eaves, who conducted 
a similar business, at Nether Providence, in Delaware 
County. In both of these situations he was industrious and 
diligent, and to both employers he gave entire satisfaction. 
Led by an ambitious spirit to seek a wider sphere of opera- 
tion, he came to Philadelphia in 1836, where he secured a 
position as. errand boy in the paper and rag warehouse of 
Samuel Eckstein. A few months afterwards he entered 
the office of the Saturday Evening Post as mail writer. 
The manner in^which he discharged his duties here ob- 
tained him a letter situation with Smith & Hartshorn. 
In 1837 he was employed as chief salesman in the estab- 
lishment of Shoemaker & Love, jobbers in woollen goods. 
Here he manifested great interest, and displayed such ex- 
cellent business qualifications that, on the retirement of 
the senior from the firm, he was admitted into the concern 
*as junior partner; the house being conducted under the 
nanve^of- Loye^Smith &-Shillingford. On the subsequent 
dissolution of this co-partnership, he was prevailed upon to 
'accept the agejicies of several^ prominent English houses, 
for whom he transacted a large and constantly increasing 
■business, in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore 
and Richmond^' These agenqies he continued to hold until 
'1858, when he was compelledto relinquish them, to devote 
his time and attention to the interest held by himself and 
his brother-in-law, George Howell, in the Clearfield 
Coal and Lumber Company. At the breaking out of the 
Rebellion, he was Secretary and Treasurer of the Tyrone 
& Clearfield Railroad Comp.any, of which General R. C. 
Hall was at the time President. General Hall was soon 
appointed Quarter- Master. General of Pennsylvania by 
Governor Curtin, and he himself was commissioned 
as Assistant Quarter-Master General, with the rank of 
Colonel, 'with his headquarters in the city of Philadelphia. 
Immediately after the battle of Williamsburg, accompanied 
by other prominent Philadelphians, he proceeded to York- 
t,ovyn wUh supplies for the sick and wounded in the army. 
On their report of their operations, and at the suggestion 
of George H. Stuart, of Philadelphia, the Christian 
Commission, which accomplished so much good by its 
operations throughout the remainder of the struggle, was 
organized and placed in working order. He wrote the 
first army pass for a member of the Christian Commission, 
which was given to Mr. Stuart. He also introduced the 
use of Jamaica Ginger into the army. The army surgeons 
at first condemned its use, but they subsequently had good 
reason to change their views on the subject, and immense 
quantities of the article were forw.arded to the soldiers in 
the field by the Christian Commission. At the time the war 
broke out, in addition to holding a responsible position in 
the Tyrone & Clearfield Railroad Company, he was acting 
as Secretary and Treasurer of the Atlantic and Ohio Tele. 



(•'4 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/KDIA. 



graph Company, and also as a Director of ihe Western 
Union Telegraph Company. lie has, however, devotcil his 
time of late years to the development of the coal and lum- 
ber interests of Ihe State. When, in 185S, he assumed the 
management of the affairs of the Clearfield Coal and Lum- 
ber Company, that concern had become a total wreck. But 
by his shrewd management this company has been merged 
into the Moshannon Land and Lumber Company, with a 
capital of $500,000. He is now President of this corjiora- 
tion, and also of the Kitlanning Coal Company, which he 
organized and put into .ictive operation in 1S62, in con- 
nection with II. N. Burronghs, its working capital being 
5500,000. Biiih of these important companies arc now 
highly successful, their prosperity being largely dai to his 
excellent business qualifications, large experience, and care- 
ful mode of conducting such extensive operations, and in 
no small degree to his affability and geniality of manner. 



^^AMMO> 




(\MMOND, JOHN W., Mcrch.ant and Capitalist,' 
was bom in Carthage, Jeffci-son county,' Ntfw 
York, May 6th, 1829. At an early Sge, his 
father, John D. Hammond, a civil Aigineer, 
died, leaving a large family in rather slr.iitened 
circumstances. John W'f then 'a ifferc'child, at 
once realized the position of affairs, and decided upon 
seeking work, eventually succeeding"" in'his design. When 
in his seventeenth year he left his home for Utic.i^ where 
he entered the grocery establishment of Caleb'' Watkins, 
then one of the largest dealers in that city.' Here". He 
remained two years, during which time he succeeded ~n 
gaining the entire confidence of his employer, and acted 
in many responsible undertakftigs and positions. In 
l848-'49, the memorable Clold Fever seized upon the 
general community, and, participating in the excited ex- 
odus, he, while still under twenty years of age, started 
for the Pacific coast. The parly with which he was con- 
nected consumed several months in accomplishing the 
journey, but finally arrived there in good health and spirits. 
Immediately commencing their mining operations, the 
associ.ites met with fair success ; while John subsequently 
engaged in the sale and transit of provisions and supplies to 
the mining regions, situated near tTie. head-waters' of Uba 
river. In the spring of i'850, he began operations on the 
American river, but here his efforts were attended with 
comparative failure. On returning to Sacramento, in the 
following August, he found that the great scarcity of ice 
was a constant source of discomfort and comp!aint ; acting 
shrewdly upon this observation, he invested largely in Ihe 
needed article, and secured quick and profitable returns for 
the money laid out. Subsequently he trafficked in horses 
and mules, and in that essay also added to his prosperity. 
Late in (October of 1850, he decided to return eastward, and 
remain in New York ; and his voyage thither was attended 



I by many perils and severe hardshi|K, although ultimately 
he landed in safety at the desired jwrt. In 1S51, he com- 
' menced business in the above-named city, dealing in 
foreign and domestic fruits. That trade proving very 
profitable, he rapidly grew into excellent repute as an 
able, reliable, and enterprising merchant. In the winter 
of i86o-'6l, he visited the Oil Regions, and there became 
interested very largely in oil lands, refineries, and the 
various enterprises connected with the petroleum industry. 
He afterward associated himself with John Kcrtig, and 
established the well-known firm of Fertig & Hammond, 
who are among the largest operators in that region, pur- 
chasing interests, sinking wells, and producing and refining 
oils ; they were also the sole proprietors of the famous 
Fertig "& Hammond Wells. Later the partners became 
the most extensive operators in real estate in Titusville, 
and in the adjacent country ; and it is reli.ably stated that 
one-tenth of all the titles to city property in Titusville 
bear the signature, in conveyance, of "Fertig & Ham- 
mond." John W. Hammond was among the first to build 
a rc-fiaery in Eric, and, owing to his enterprise, many other 
■refineries have, since that period, been erected there. 
From l£62 to 1870, he resided alternately in Pennsylvania 
and Utica, New York, and in both places his impress and 
J)*neficial influence are felt and recognized in innumerable 
tilings.' In the latter city, he was a prime and energetic 
mover in irtl the enterprises looking to its welfare; and 
the magnificent Opera House in that city owes its existence 
alraostsenlirely to him and to his abilities, he having been 
the-j>rojecior, and the jjrincijMl man to carry forward to 
completion this elegant structure. In the interest of the 
Utica ^Mechanics' Association, he solicited and received 
subscriptioiis sufficient in the aggregate amount to pay for 
the. entire cost. It is but just to say that, without his 
efforts, it would veiy probably never have been developed 
into a reality. In return for his generous exertions, he 
possesses the esteem of the entire community; and many 
were the expostulations and regrets when he decided to 
leave for Erie, and there live permanently. While residing 
in Utica, he was Chairman of the Grant and Colfax Club 
of Oneida county, and assisted materially in carrying the 
county for his favorites, it having been conceded to the 
Democrats, being the h6me of Seymour ; he was also 
tendered many ]wsilions attended with honor and emolu- 
ment, but such he always firmly declined to accept. In 
"1870, his failing hcilth obliged him to seek other and 
more restorative climes, and he sailed for Europe; after 
an extensive tour abroad, he returned home, and moved to 
Erie, Pennsylvania, where he is now a permanent resident. 
I Here, as in Utica, and wherever he has tarried, he takes 
! a high rank among the most useful, enterprising, and in- 
fluential citizens. On two occasions he has been called 
( upon to accept the nomination for Mayor, once by a call 
I signed by 1200 citizens, irrespective of party; the com- 
I plimentary offers were declined, however, as he preferred 





<^^^<2^*^ 




PIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



65 



I'lie leisure and Iranquillily of a private life to the chcLkeied 
career of a puljjic ch:\racter. Through his tireless exer- 
tions, the fine Fair Grounds and buildinys, in Erie, were 
erected and arranged ; taking in hand the flagging work, 
he solicited subscriptions, aided generously frtini his own 
private fortune, and superintended their construction. For 
the past twelve years he has been largely and importantly 
identified with the Erie manufacturing interests, and is 
always ready to start a new enterprise if his efforts will 
but furnish employment for the many who seek it. In 
addition to his interests in the Oil Regions — extending 
from Erie to Millerstown — he is a Director in the Erie 
Dime Savings Bank, and in the Keystone National B.ank ; 
is President of the Foxborough Savings Bank, and also 
of the St. Petersburgh Savings Bank; in all of these 
responsible trusts he possesses the entire confidence of 
those interested in their well-doing, and daily increases 
his renown by the constant and energetic exercise of 
those admirable qialities which have enabled him to 
attain to such a high and honorable position among his 
fellow-citizens. He was married, in 1857, to the grand- 
daughter of Caleb Walkins, of Utica, the proprietor of the 
grocery establishment in which he first found employment 
in that city. 

|:EWIS, JOHN T., Merchant and Manufacturer, 
was born in Philadelphia, December 12th, 1811. 
His ancestor, William Lewis, came from Glamor- 
ganshire, South Wales, to Pennsylvania, in 1686. 
His father, Samuel N. Lewis, was a memljer of 
the well-known firm of M. & S. N. Lewis, ship- 
owners and shipping merchants. He himself received his 
education partly at the Friends' School on Fourth street, 
below Chestnut, aftersvards at the Episcopal Academy on 
Locust street, above Ninth, and at the Classical Academy 
of Samuel Jones, on the northwest corner of Seventh and 
Chestnut streets. He also enjoyed the advantage of private 
lessons in French and Spanish. Having completed his edu- 
cation, he entered his father's counting room, and in course 
of time succeeded to the business, the firm being re-or- 
ganized under the style of John T. Lewis & Brothers. The 
counting-room of the house is at 231 South Front street, 
being the location in which the firm commenced business 
in 1S07. Thus for sixty-six years the same premises have 
been uninterruptedly occupied by the original co-partnership 
and its successors, a circumstance worthy of note from its 
great rarity. At present he is associated with his brothers, 
Saunders Lewis and George T. Lewis, and his nephews, 
Samuel U. Lewis, John T. Lewis, Jr., and William V. 
Lewis, in the manufacture of w-hite lead and its accompani- 
ments, on an extensive scale, in the Eighteenth ward. Port 
Richmond. This branch of business was entered into by 
the old firm of M. & S. N. Lewis in 1819, in premises on 
Pine street, between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets, where 
9 




Joseph Richardson founded the works in 1S13. After the 
establishment was purchased by the Lewises, it was en- 
larged from year to year, as their energy developed the 
trade, until, in 1848, a remov.al to the present site was 
judged advisable. A high reputation was established by 
the old firm by the purity and general excellence of their 
white lead, and this reputation has been fully maintained 
by their descendants and successors. As an evidence of it, 
it may be mentioned that the supply of nearly ten million 
pounds per annum is scarcely sufficient to meet the demand 
for the paints bearing their trade m«rk. Like his progeni- 
tors for several generations, he was in early life a member 
of the -Society of Friends, but he is now an Episcopalian, 
and holds an honored position in that church. In May. 
1850, he married Maria, second daughter of* the late John 
M. Scott, of Philadelphia, a lawyer of considerable emi- 
nence and high social standing, at one time mayor of the 
city. Public-spirited, he is director and manager of several 
institutions. During the war he was a staunch advocate of and 
laborer for the Union. In the great Central Fair, held in Phil- 
adelphia in 1S65, he took a prominent part as a member of 
the Finance Committee; and by his judicious labors contri- 
buted materially to its grand result, no less than $1,200,000 
being realized fur the benefit of the Union soldiers. He was 
directorandsecretary of the Academy of Fine Arts foranum- 
Ijer of years, and is now treasurer of the Pennsylvania Hos- 
pital, in which his .ancestors, on both sides of the family, have 
been actively interested from its foundation in 1752. He fol- 
lowed his father in the treasurership, at his death in 1841, 
who succeeded his brother, Joseph S. Lewis, in 1826, who in 
his turn received the ofiice from his father, Mordecai Lewis, 
in 1799, that gentleman having been elected to the position 
in 1780. So that there has been an unbroken family succes- 
sion in the office extending over no less than ninety-three 
years. Not only have these members of the family given their 
services, but they and their relatives have always been libe- 
ral contributors to the funds of the institution. In the early 
days of its existence the signers of the paper money for the 
Province gave to it the commissions they received for that 
duty. Mordecai Lewis was one of these signers, and in this 
manner alone contributed to the hospital nearly a thousand 
and fifty dollars. 



ILLIAMS, GEORGE, City Railway President, 
was born in Philadelphia, February 25th, 1814. 
His parents were natives of Delaware, in which 
State the family had resided for several genera- 
tions. He received a sound education in the 
schools of Philadelphia. He commenced his 
business career in the counting house of his father, where 
he learned the lumber business, in which he continued 
until January 1st, 1863, except for a period of four years, 
during which he was engaged in farming and in cutting 
timber in the State of Delaware. From their first intro- 




36 



BlOGRArilKAI, ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



duclion into I'lulailciphia, he always nianifested a deep iii- 
Icresl in tily pxsscnjjcr railways. In Ihe promotion of llic 
scheme of the Tenlh and lileventh Slrcel Railway, he look 
an active and prominent part ; on the organization of the 
company, he was elected its President, and has continued 
to hold that position ever since. By his capable manage- 
ment, the road occupies a position in public estimation, 
whether as a travelling convenience or an investment, that 
will compare favorably with that of any other in the city. 
On the in.-titution of the Board composed of the Presidents 
of the several Passengai- Railway Companies, Mr. Williams' 
record pointed to him xs the most suitable person to occupy 
the responsible office of Chairman. Me was elected, aiul 
has continued to act in that capacity ever since. Politi- 
cally, he has always been counted as a m/eniber of the 
Democratic party, and he has on several «dCasions bixn 
honored with its confidence in election tdrjjUces of truSt 
and honor. He has held several municipal ufBces, among 
them that of Guar<lian of the Poor, and that of member 
of Select Council. During the war his sympathies were 
actively engaged on behalf of the Union cause." »-lf^s a, 
citizen of liberal and progressive ideas, and ha». always ex- 
erted considerable influence in the ])romotion of city.im- 
provements and the advancement of good gov'ci^nment. - Jit 
is widely esteemed as a shrewd and energetic busincsifman, 
a kindly and courteous gentleman.' - 

ACARTHUR, JOll.V, Archiiecl, was i)orn. at 
Bladcnock, in Wigtonshire, Scotland, May Ijthn' 
1823. His ancestors on the father's side came 
originally from Oppen, Argyleshire, in the South 
Highlands, and those on the mother's side from 
Ayrshire. He came to Philadelphia when only 
ten years of age. As soon as he wxs old enough, he was 
apprenticed as a carpenter, and served out his term. While 
learning^ this business, he employed his evenings in study- 
ing drawing and architecture. His uncle kindly offered to 
defray tjie eNpense for his lilxjral education ; but this favor 
the^ nephew declined to take^.. advantage, of, preferring 
10 educate himself. In connection ivilii the s^idy o/archi- 
tccturCj he acquired a comition^olrool" education in the 
evenings at the school in the old Carpenter's Hall, where 
he learned drawing and designing, for which he had al- 
ways felt a strong taste. So assiduously did he apply him- 
self to these studies that he soon attained extraordinary 
skill. And this skill soon met with public recognition ; for 
in 1S48, he was awarded the first premium for his plan for 
a new House of Refuge, and was entrusted with the entire 
charge of the erection of the l>uilding. In 1849, he served 
as foreman for his uncle, who had secured the contract for 
the erection of the west wing of the Pennsylvania Hospital. 
About a year later he was a])poinle<l Superintendent on the 
east wing of the same hospital. These successes may be 




saiil to have fairly startetl him in the profession in which 
he has since won so much distinction, and of which he is 
one of the acknowledged leaders. Philadelphia abounds 
with monuments to his finished art. Among the more 
prominent buildings erected by him may be mentioned the 
Continental, the Girard, and the I.a Pierre hotels; the 
mansions of the late Dr. Jaync, and George W. Childs ; 
the Ledger Building, which is admitted to be one of the 
handsomest ])iles in the city ; the elegant and commodious 
marble buildings on the north side of Chestnut street, be- 
tween Sixth and Seventh streets ; the old Post Office in 
pock street, afterwards occupied by Dr. Jayne, of whose 
-esta^ he is the architect ; the three noble marble stores on 
the corner of Ninth and Chestnut .streets, built upon the 
Bird estate; the marble building adjoining the Continental, 
occupied by Porter & Coates, and owned by John Rice ; 
the singularly beautiful edifice of the Presbyterian Board 
of Publication, and the range of splendid stores recently 
completed on Market street, below Seventh, owned by 
-VyiUiam Weightman, of Powers & Weighlman. But not 
.only in Philadelphia may illustrations of his genius be met 
with. He designed and superintended the erection of Jay 
CoiAjl & Co.'s extensive banking house at Washington, 
Dislnct of Columbia. He is the architect of the Pardee 
Building at Easlon, Pennsylvania, which when completed 
will be known^as Lafayette College. This institution has 
heen ■munificently Endowed by Mr. A Pardee, and the Col- 
tege' wilPbfe a magnificent structure. Indeed his work 
is lo'^be foOhd in almost every State in the Union. He 
tt^as architect for the Wjr Department for hospitals and 
other Governmental buiUlings in and around Philadelphia 
during the Rebellion, and, after its suppression, for the 
Xavy Department, for which he built the naval hospitals 
at Philadelphia, Mare Island, California, and Annapolis, 
Maryland. He is also the architect for the Slate Asylum 
for the Insane, at Danville, Pennsylvania, and for the new 
public buildings just commenced in Philadelphia, where 
he will superintend the constructlon~of the United Stales 
Post Office and Law Courts. He works in all styles 
of architecture, and manifests in his drawings a very pure 
and classical, taste. Especially does he show regard for 
the fitness of things in his designs, whether for public iii- 
stitutiims, business structures, or private residences, never 
overlooking any consider.itions which should legitimately 
operate to modify the character of a. building. Not less 
remarkable than his artistic skill, are his unswerving in- 
tesJrily and indomitable energy. The first has won him 
the entire confidence of every client, while to the second 
may, in great iiiea.sure, be attributed his success in life. 
He has made his way to the front rank of a profession in 
which eminence is peculiarly difficult of attainment, in 
spite of obstacles that might well have seemed insur- 
mountable. He is at present the representative in Phila- 
delphia of the Supervising Aichitcct's office of the United 
States Treasury department, at Philadelphia. 




y 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENtYCLOP^DIA. 



67 



jATZMER, WILLIAM II., Railroad Promoter 
and Manager, was born July 22, 1807, near 
Somerville, Somerset county. New Jersey. On 
the paternal side he is of German descent, his 
father having emigrated from Coburg, in 1794, 
and settled, first in Bustleton, near Philadelphia, 
and later in Somerset county. New Jersey, where he had 
charge of the Campbell Mills. His limited means did 
not permit him to furnish his son other educational advan- 
tages than those of a country village, but these were so 
well used that, at the age of twelve years the latter was 
qualified to fill the situation of clerk in a country store. 
A year later he entered a more extensive establishment at 
Somerville. Here he remained for five years, displaying 
such business qualifications that the entire management 
of the house was confided to him, and the proprietor was 
desirous that he should acquire a partnership interest. To 
this, however, his want of capital was a bar, and believing 
that the knowledge of some trade would render him more 
secure of winning success in life, he left the store, and 
entered a printing office in the same town. The oppor- 
tunities for self-culture which such a position off'ers were 
not neglected by him, and he soon acquired, not merely 
a practical acquaintance with the trade, but a general 
knowledge of science and literature. Thus provided, a 
rational ambition prompted him to seek a wider field than 
that of a country village, and, supplied with high testi- 
monials of character and ability, he applied successfully 
to the wealthy steamboat firm of Stevens Brothers, of 
New York City, for a situation. At that date, 1830, 
they controlled the principal trade of the North River, 
and they placed him as chief clerk on the " North Amer- 
ica," then the finest boat afloat on the New York waters, 
where he distinguished himself by his executive skill and 
agreeable manners. The brothers Stevens were at this 
period engaged in constructing the Camden and Amboy 
Railroad, a charter of which had been granted by the 
Legislature of New Jersey, in 1830. In 1833, having 
completed the eastern sections of the line, they transferred 
him to the steamboat route between New York City and 
South Amboy, which 'position he occupied about three 
years. After the completion of the road from Amboy to 
Camden, a responsible position was assigned to him in 
the office in Philadelphia, by the same firm. Its duties 
he fulfilled so satisfactorily, that soon, not merely the 
management of the Philadelphia office, but of the whole 
interests of the Company were entrusted to him. It is 
not easy at this day, when the railroad system is thoroughly 
organized and acknowledged successful, to appreciate how 
onerous and responsible those duties were. The Camden 
and Amboy Raihoad was the first great through line com- 
pleted in this country. By many sound and cautious men 
it w.as deemed a hazardous and even chimerical experi- 
ment, likely enough to bankrupt its stockholders. The 
rebpective rights of the public and the road were yet un- 



defined ; costly litigation was unavoidable ; and the im- 
mense labor of organization had all to be performed 
without the light of precedent or example. The Com- 
pany justly recognized that one mind must control the 
whole, untrammelled by interference or conflicting opinion ; 
and the brothers Stevens rightly judged that such a mind 
could be found in their late employee. Hence for years 
he may be said to have been the autocrat of the road, 
appointing and deposing any subordinate officer, carrying 
his plans and wishes through the Board of Directors with 
little opposition, and withal using this extensive authority 
with such discretion that neither employees nor stock- 
holders ever preferred just grounds of complaint against 
his management. The Company obtained control, early 
in its history, of the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, 
to secure the direct all-rail route between Philadelphia 
and New W)rk ; and ran a steamboat, first to Bristol, and 
then to Tacony, in connection with this line. They also 
became proprietors of the ferry between Philadelphia and 
Camden, and of several freight and feny lines on thf 
Delaware. From these beginnings, the road extended 
the area of its branches in all directions, so that it finally 
received the transportation of nearly one-half the teiritory 
of New Jersey. The smaller connecting roads which 
were from time to time constructed, were supplied with 
funds and credit by the Camden and Amboy, and gener- 
ally managed in accordance to the advice of its efficient 
superintendent. Nor was his influence bounded by the 
limits here defined. The Belvidere and Delaware Rail- 
road, one of the important connecting branches of the 
Camden and Amboy, approaches the vast coal regions of 
Pennsylvania. The extensions required to unite this with 
the coal fields was the Lehigh Valley Railroad and its 
branches, projected by Judge Packer, of Pennsylvania; 
and certain privileges and assistance essential to that 
important undertaking were, by his advice, granted the 
Lehigh Valley Company by the Camden and Amboy, 
services warmly acknowledged by Judge Packer. In 
1867, Edwin A. Stevens having resigned the Presidency 
of the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company, that honor 
was conferred, by unanimous consent, on him who, for 
thirty-seven years, had been the faithful and successful 
steward of the Company's interests. In this year the 
New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company was 
amalgamated with the Joint Companies of New Jersey, 
and the public works of the State embraced in the Dela- 
ware and Raritan Canal Company, the Camden and 
Amboy Railroad Company, and the New Jersey Railroad 
Company, were managed by a Joint Board through the 
respective Presidents. He was appointed Chairman of 
the Passenger and Freight Committee, and Secretary of 
the Joint Board and Executive Committees, which posi- 
tions he held until the lease of the works to the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad Company. To this lease he was opposed, 
and stated the reasons for his opposition in a forcible 




68 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCI.OP.KDIA. 



argument entitled, Vit-zus upon the Proposition to lease the 
Public Works of New Jersey to the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road Company, read before the Joint Board of Directors, 
at their meeting at Trenton, A'e-.v Jersey, April 20th, 187 1. 
The lease, however, was finally ratified and executed by 
the Presidents of the Companies, by directions ot^hc 
Joint Board, his views of its inexpediency remaining 
nevertheless unchanged. In May, 1872, his official con- 
nection with the United Canal and Railroad Companies 
of New Jersey, and as President of the Camden a»ra 
Amboy Railroad Company, ceased. His connection with 
the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, of which he was 
a Director as early as 185.3, continues, and he was elected 
unanimously its Consulting Manager. WKen twenty-two 
years of age he married Eliza A. Campbell, of New 
York City, and has had the pleasure" of witnessing ah 
exemplary family grow up around him.'^ Ilis personal 
character has not merely b^een conspicuous for fair dealing 
and sincerity— qualities essential to the posts he has filled 

but also for uniform courteousness, and a freedom from 

the irritability which so frequently m.irs the' manners of 
the best men when overworked and weighted with the 
cares of a complex business. The capacity*of very rapid 
labor, and the power of occupyhig .llie mind with, more 
than one topic of attention at a time, are traKs Ke'has 
manifested in a universal degree, and'cxplain the facility 
with which he could transact, without errors, such varied' 
affairs. 



o l*,WST, D.VVID, Merchant and Banker, was born- 
in Allen township, Northampton county, Penn-' 
sylvania, October 27, 1814, his father being of 
German descent and a farmer. A portion of 
his homestead farm is now occupied by the town 
of Catasauqua. What education he received 
was at the counti7 school of his neighborhood, in which, 
at that day, instruction was given wholly in the German 
language. In his fifteenth year he entered a country store, 
where he remained until 1833, when he removed to Phila- 
delphia to seek his fortune in that city. Very limited in 
means, and spciking English but inipcrfeclly, the outlook 
was not bright. He obtained, however, a position in the 
hardware store of Reeves, Buck & Co., where his strict 
attention to business and determined efforts to plea.se 
secured his early advancement by his employers. In 
183S, he was admitted as junior partner to the firm, which 
ch.anged to the style of Reeves & Fraley, and later to 
Allen R. Reeves & Co. In 1842, he retired from this 
partnership, and associating with himself D. S. Wine- 
brcnner, established the hardware house of Faust & Wine 
brenncr, which, in l86f, became David Faust & Co. 
Business, meanwhile, had prospered, and the reputation 
of the firm in mercantile circles increased, so that, in 1S64, 
hi' was enabled, after over thirty years of commercial life, 



to retire from that branch of industry on a well-earned 
competency. A life of case, however, was not his desire, 
and the next year, 1 865, he was chosen President of the 
Union National Bank, an institution of which he had 
lieen one of the original corporators and on its Board of 
.^Directors since its organization. In such public enter- 
prisSSic hxs always manifested an active interest, con- 
tributing as far as in his power to the success of the 
former steam lines to Charleston, South Carolina, Rich- 
mond, Norfolk, and other Southern ports, and also to that 
of the Pennsylvania and North Pennsylvania Railroads. 
Of the gentlemen with whom he was associated during 
his mercantile career, Frederic Fraley, the only surviving 
member of the old firm of Reeves, Buck & Co., is the 
President of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, and 
Di-S. Winebrcnner is now a member of the firm of Arm- 
strong & Winebrenncr. His marriage occurred May 2, 
1839, and he enjoys in the relations of social life the same 
esteem which the commercial community arc unanimous 
in according him. As a bank president his financial 
insight and ready appreciation of the monetary demands 
of the period, are ackn(j,wledged by all who are brought 
in contact with him. 
.. , :*'• ' *..-'-* «>• 




yT^A'-:.L, J 



PA^IIJ B., Merchant and Banker, was born 
peiinaiilown, Pennsylvania, June 8th, 1820. 
{is the son of Abraham H. Paul, of the .same 
_ q place.jand grandson of Abraham H. Paul, one of 
W*^ 3 the 'first settlers of Germantown. He had but 
^ '.-. > little education in his early days, being hard at 
work with his father in the butchering business in Phila- 
delphia. At the age of fourteen, by reason of his father's 
loss of sight, the almost entire care and protection of his 
father and mother with their seven children devolved 
upon him. He proved himself fully equal to the heavy 
task. Quick and reliable in business he, although so 
young, commanded the confidence of his customers, and 
the concern increased and prospered under his good 
management, judgment, and ability, becoming so produc- 
tive and profitable that the family were comfortably 
provided for until he had attained his twenty-second 
year. Then his younger brother took his place, though he 
still continued to do much for the comfort of his family. 
He commenced business for himself in 1842, in a small 
way, at Fifteenth and Market streets, without a dollar of 
capital, but with a good credit, which his excellent charac- 
ter and principles, tried during the previous eight years, 
had gained for him. He remained in the same location, 
extending his operations with eveiy year until 1857, when 
a new market house was erected at Sixteenth and Market 
streets, and he was elected its President. In the same year, 
so well had his business abilities and inflexible integrity 
become known, he was chosen President of the West 
Philadelphia Savings Fund. At the time the institution 









rpKRlbi.Ki' liy l^flluN {iAI'ilJK.. 




i- 



Mi - 




\^l!i:^^,Sks^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



69 



seemed likely to prove a failure. He, however, had every 
confidence in the soundness of the scheme, and took hold 
of it with all his characteristic energy and earnestness. He 
deposited his own personal account with the Philadelphia 
Bank, as collateral, in case of a run or misfortune. This 
gave the concern stability, and under his able direction of 
affairs it was gradually brought out of all its difficulties and 
placed upon a thoroughly strong and prosperous basis. 
From the time that he took charge, until, in 1864, it was 
dissolved by the courts, it maintained a good position. His 
great success in this undertaking pointed to him as the 
most suitable man to bring the Hestonville & Callowhill 
Passenger Railway Company out of troubles in which it 
had become involved. Its affairs had been placed in the 
hands of a sequestrator, and it was without horses, conve- 
niences, or management. Under these circumstances, he 
was in 1S61 elected as its President. He accepted the 
heavy responsibility, went to work with a will to disentangle 
its affairs, succeeded in bringing it out of financial mire, and 
stood by it until all its obligations had been paid, and it was 
placed on a firm and flourishing basis. This was in 1864. 
At the time of his election, the liabilities of the company 
amounted to $500,000. The undertaking of these two 
tasks, and the successful accomplishment of them, required 
great nerve and signal ability. To bring two almost de-i- 
funct concerns of such a character, out of trouble;=^nd to 
place them in a prosperous condition, is .^o.'tjrdina^y 
achievement. Only financial and administrative capacity 
of a high and rare degree could have resulted in the pay- 
ment of so large an indebtedness as thatfof rthe'raihvay 
company, in the arrangement of such heavy embarra^ 
ments as those of the bank, and in the establishment of 
both on a strong and prosperous basis. It should be re- 
membered also that he was called to the management of 
the affairs of the bank during a year of almost unprece- 
dented financial disaster, the country being then in the 
crisis of 1857. That his success was appreciated in finan- 
cial circles, was very promptly evidenced. In the same 
year that the West Philadelphia Savings Institution was 
closed, he was chosen President of the Third National 
Bank, the third of the new series of Philadelphia' national 
banking institutions. He was one of the chief promoters 
and one of the heaviest investors in the enterprize. The 
stockholders felt that they were consulting their best inte- 
rests in putting at the head of affairs one who had proved 
himself so competent to grapple even with the most diffi- 
cult financial problems. And their confidence has been 
fully justified. It started upon a capital of $100,000, and 
with a deposit line of $86,000 in the first week. At the 
close of the first month, the deposits had risen to $140,000, 
and have continued to advance steadily, until now they 
amount to an average of $900,000 and $1,000,000. This is 
ample testimony as to the skill and judgment by which his 
management has been characterized. The original organi- 
lation of the institution was affected by the election of 



ra£s-' *' 



David B, Paul, James B. Ferree, Adam Warthman, William 
C. Allison, Thomas K. Peterson, C. P. Morton and Geofge 
Cookman, as Directors; D. B. Paul as President and R. 
Glendiuning as Cashier. During all this time, and down 
to January, 1871, he continued to serve as President of the 
Western Market Company, being the only one the corpo- 
ration ever had. The building was then sold to the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad Company, and the charter of the com- 
pany annulled. He was married in November, 1855, to 
Martha Louisa, daughter of Charles McKellar, of Phila- 
delphia, by whom he has seven children, all young. He 
has never been a politician, contenting himself with the 
conscientious and unobtrusive discharge of his dulv as a 
citizen. From his youth he has been a member of the 
Presbyterian Church, and in good standing. He had its 
principles instilled into him by his parents, and he has al- 
ways worked for and in the cause, giving liberally to all 
schemes instituted by the church. A guiding principle of 
ihis life '-has been, never to borrow or lend, or to endorse 
notes. He has adhered closely to the policy of strict and 
straigntforward business habits. Naturally, therefore, he is 
highly esteemed in mercantile circles, and this esteem fol- 
lows him in his social relations. 



GLLltR, DANIEL LEWIS, Lawyer, was born 
in Eitchfield, Connecticut, January I9lh, 1796. 
Llis father, Thomas Collier, of Boston, was a 
man.of fine literaiy culture, and prominent as an 
editor.'"*- His parents being in limited circum- 
stances, he was taught at an early age self-reli- 
ance and the necessity of independent exertion. He com- 
menced a's an apprentice to the printing business; afterwards 
served as a clerk, and in his twentieth year, started for the 
West to seek his fortune in what was then a wilderness. 
Stopping at Steubenville, Ohio, he became a student in the 
law office of the Hon. John C. Wright, and was admitted 
to the bar in August, 1818. Associating himself as a part- 
ner with his tutor, his abilities soon gained him a promi- 
nent position among the many able lawyers of that city. 
During the many years of active pursuit of his profession, 
he was engaged-in most of the leading cases that came be- 
fore the court of that district. After a long and prosperous 
career, he removed, in 1857, to Philadelphia; where, re- 
tiring from professional life, he devoted his time to works 
of benevolence and religion. He was a member of the 
Board of Managers of the House of Refuge, the Blind 
Asylum, and the Colonization Society ; Vice President of 
the Presbyterian Board of Publication, and a member of its 
Executive Committee. In the latter years of his life, he 
was a ruling elder in the West Spruce Street Church, and 
frequently appeared in the Presbytery, Synod and General 
.Assembly. He was married in 1823 to Hattie Lorri- 
moro, a native of Washington County, Pcnnsyh'ania, His 




70 



UlOGKArillCAL EXCVCLOr.EUIA. 



death occurred March jolh, 1869, and he Icfl a large circle 
of friends to mourn his loss. Among Ihcse was Ihc Hon. 
Edwin M. Slanton, who had been a sludenl in his office, 
and whose beauliful tribute to his memor)' merits quotation, 
as giving a summary of his estimable character with the 
hand of a master : 

" There were certain professional qualities belonging to 
Mr. Collier which distinguished him, and made his walk 
and conduct an example that cannot be too strongly im- 
pressed upon younger members of the profession. He was 
not*nly my legal instructor, but was my guardian after my 
f.ilher's death. This relation not only enabled me to know 
his personal and private virtues; liut also gave me facilities 
for observing his professional qualities, to a greater extent 
perhaps than any other person enjoyed. As a lawyer, Mr. 
Collier was fitted for the highest walks in the profession ; 
but singularly free from all personal ambition, he found his 
chief happiness in the domestic and social circle." 

Such was the testimony also of most of those who were 
brought into close personal relations with this eminent 
jurist. Both in the Eastern States and the valley of the 
Ohio he left many to cherish his memory as that of a just 
and abit advocate and a kind friend. 



i ^[BSON, JOHN, Merchant, w.is a n.itive of Ireland. 
He was born in the vicinity of Belfast, and re- 
ceived a liberal education in the schools of that 
city. When about twenty-two years of age, he 
came to America in search of better opportunities 
for making his way in the world than were of- 
fered in the old country. He was without friends or influ- 
ence of any kind, and was entirely dependent npol? his own 
efforts; but his pleasing address and fine business qualifi- 
cations speedily secured him a large circle of acquaintances 
and profitable employment. Being appointed Note Clerk 
in the Mechanics' Bank, of Pliila<lelphia, he performed the 
duties of the position in an eminently satisfactory manner 
for a number of years, until he went into business for him- 
self in the wine and liquor trade. Shortly after becoming 
attached to the Mechanics' Bank, he published a Treatise 
on Bookkeeping, which was received with marked favor 
by the mercantile portion of the community. In the 
year 1856, he erected the Gibsonton Mills Distiller)', on 
the Monongahela River. This distillery is considered the 
finest establishment of the kind in the country, and its pro- 
ducts have long enjoyed a VC17 wide celebrity. The repu- 
tation which the distillery has gained is largely due to the 
sagacious management of its founder, who devoted him- 
self to his business with the most untiring energy. Me was 
an excellent representative of a class which has done much 
to advance the material interests of the State of Pennsyl- 
vania. His uncompromising integrity, the suavity of his 
manners, his reniirkable business talents, and his many 





other noteworthy personal qualities, caused him to be cor- 
dially esteemed and respected by the community in the 
midst of which he resided, and elicited the warmest ex- 
pressions of regret at his death, which occurred on the nth 
of March, 1865. By this event the extensive business 
devolved upon his son, Mr. Henry C. Gibson — who con- 
tinues at the head of the firm of which his father was the 
founder. 

ILLIAMSON, PASSMORE, Conveyancer, bom 
February 23d, 1822, in West Town Township, 
Chester county, Pennsylvania, was a son of 
Thom.TS Williamson, a member of the Orthodox 
branch of the Society of Friends, and at that time 
Librarian of West Town Boarding School, in 
which his mother had been a teacher of marked ability. 
They subse<iuently removed to West Chester, and thence 
in 1832 to Philadelphia, where Passmore received the 
greater part of his education. In 1836, he entered his 
father's office as a clerk, and studied conveyancing. After 
the burning of Pennsylvania' Hall, he became identified 
with the Radic.-il Abolitionists of the Liberty Party. On 
the iSth of July, 1S55, William Still, a prominent colored 
citizen of Philadelphia, entered his office at Seventh and 
Arch streets, and laid before him a note informing him that 
there were three slaves at Bloodgood's Hotel who wished 
to claim their freedom. Being at that time Secretary of 
the Acting Committee of the Pennsylvania Abolition So- 
ciety, he sought them out and found them on board a 
steamer bound for New York, en route for Central 
America. He informed the woman that she and her two 
children were free; and although her master, John H. 
Wheeler, of North Carolina, the United States Minister to 
Nicaragua, attempted to restrain her by force, she and her 
boys, assisted by some negroes, reached the wharf and with 
some of her friends entered a carriage and were driven 
away. Their liberator having given his name and ad- 
dress to the former master, quietly returned to his office. 
The master, feeling that his rights of property had been in- 
vaded, obtained upon petition to J. K. K.me, Judge of the 
District Court of the United Slates in and for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania, a writ of habeas corpus directed 
to Passmore Williamson, commanding him to produce in 
court the bodies of the three slaves. Asserting, in his re- 
turn to the court, that he had not in his possession the 
bodies of the former slaves, and hence could not produce 
them, he was adjudged to have refused, or at least to have 
failed, to answer the cominand of the law, and was ordered 
by Judge Kane to be imprisoned for a contempt of the 
court. In vain Edward Hopper, Charles Gilpin, and Wil- 
liam M. Meredith sought his release. Ellis Lewis, Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, ple.iding 
want of jurisdiction, declined to act upon the decision of 
the District Court, and ,for three long months this man 




\tx-r Pub Co Ihil»aa 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOr.iLDIA. 



7« 



languished in prison, proving his fidelity to the principles 
he had imbibed and so earnestly advocated. He refused 
to allow the grateful woman to return from Boston and give 
herself up to secure his freedom, and at last public opinion 
forced the discharge of the prisoner, and a nolle prosequi 
was entered. Amid the congratulations of friends, he re- 
turned to his home more than ever devoted to the humane 
mission upon which he had entered. Later in life, he was 
a warm friend of the Female Suffrage movement. The 
offices of the Female Suffrage Society, of Pennsylvania, 
were his gift. He takes a deep interest in all benevolent^ 
schemes, and especially those involving the rights -cand 
liberties of his fellow men. 




/ 



'ASSIDY, LF.\VIS COCHRAN, Lawyer, was born 
in New York City, October 17th, 1829. When 
but three months old, his parents removed to| 
Philadelphia, where he has resided ever since. 
His father was a type founder, and one ofj|the 
first who cast "music" and "old Eiiglish " ini 
this city ; he was a skilled and intelligent wj^-kiijanj and 
was highly respected. He died in 1839, leaving a widpw,, 
with but slender means, and one son. The lad wjs jit first 
educated by his mother, a woman of great decision 6f <^ha^- 
acter and indomitable will; he afterwards attended the 
Moyamensing public school, Eighth and Fitzwater "streets, 
and lastly the Philadelphia High School, while Professors 
A. D. Bache and John S. Hart had charge of the same. 
In 1847, he commenced to study law in the office of Hon. 
Benjamin H. Brewster, and was admitted to practice in 
1850, not yet having attained his majority. In i85i,he 
was elected a member of Assembly to represent, in part, 
the County of Philadelphia in the State Legislature, where 
he was appointed Secretary of the Judiciary Committee, 
also serving as a member of the only other law committee 
of the House, that of Estates and Escheats. He took so 
active a part in the proceedings of the session, that his con- 
stituents wished to re-nominate him tlie ne.xt year, but this 
he declined, and entered at once into the practice of his 
profession. In 1852, he was elected .Solicitor of the Dis- 
trict of Moyamensing, which honor the ne.\t year he de- 
clined, owing to his business engagements, which were 
constantly increasing, and those of Mr. Brewster, then on 
a European tour, which he undertook. In 1854, the 
degree of A. M. was conferred on him by Princeton Col- 
lege. In 1856, he was elected District Attorney for the 
consolidated city, although only twenty-seven years of a^e. 
He soon acquired great professional distinction by his able 
prosecution of the leading homicide cases of West, English, 
Shurlock and others, who had secured, as counsel, the then 
leaders of the bar. His election to this position having 
been contested, after holding the office a year, he was dis- 
placed, receiving from President Judge Thompson {since 



deceased) the compliments of the court for the able and 
upright manner in which he had discharged his duties. 
Thoroughly identified with the Democratic party, especially 
with that larger portion opposed to the Kansas policy of 
General Peirce and President Buchanan, he was elected 
Delegate to the Charleston Convention in 1S60, where he 
was an active supporter of Judge Douglas, with whom he 
was on terms of personal intimacy, and whose character 
and course as a statesman he ardently admired. He was 
Secretary of the Committee having especial charge of 
Judge Douglas' interests, and was one of the recognized 
leaders of ,that branch of the party. In 1862, he accepted 
the nomination a second time for the post of District Attor- 
ney, although his party was largely in the minority; he 
had, hov(e»er, the satisfaction of receiving a large vote, 
running " ajiead of his tit:ket," though not elected. But 
while thus engaged in politics, he did not allow his profes- 
sional .engagements to be intruded upon, always pursuing 
them with fi^ilhfulness and credit. Although solicited to 
become the Representative of the First District in Con- 
gress-,_where his nomination was equivalent to an election, 
he steadily refused the honor. Regularly elected to the 
Statq Conventiqns'ofchis party for a long series of years, he 
.so directed the course otiSileliberation as finally to lead to 
the adoption of,.-'the "new departure " plank in the Demo- 
cratic platform of this State, of which he is the recognized 
parent and .author. , IJuring the late war, he was in favor 
of supj5re3sing the Rebellion, taking an active part in the 
raising of troops, and particularly among these the famous 
" Second Reserves," of Pennsylvania. He was far in ad- 
vance of his party in recognizing the rights of the colored 
man under the Constitutional Amendments, having been 
always opposed to the provisions of the Fugitive Slave law, 
steadily refusing to support it personally or professionally, 
and the course upheld by the Southern leaders of his party, 
especially in reference to the Kansas policy. Since 1862, 
he has neither sought nor permitted his name to be used 
for any office except in connection with the Constitutional 
Convention, now in -session, and the Board of Education, 
in both of which hodiesAe' is an active and earnest mem- 
ber, discharging the dalles of the latter with a sole eye to 
the education of th'e masses, and particularly of the colored 
children. He it was who caused one of the public school 
houses to be named after a well known colored merchant, 
the late James Forten. As a member of the Constitutional 
Convention, he ranks amongst the ablest of that body, and 
has taken a prominent part in the debates, particularly in 
those on representation and the judiciary; in the former, 
he defended the interests of the city against the assaults 
of the country members, showing conclusively the im- 
mense importance of the commercial metropolis to the 
State, and that the principal part of the revenue to the lat- 
ter is drawn from the former. Though actively engaged in 
a large law practice, besides serving as a member of the 
two distinguished bodies just named, he finds time to 






BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



72 

superinlcnd Ihc pul.Iicnlion of The Day newspaper, of 
which he is the chief proprietor, and which is regardc<l as 
one of the most spiijjhtly of the Philadelphia penny press. 
As a lawyer he stands among the leaders of his profession. 
He is pronounced hy his colleagues and opponents at the 
bar, who have had the best and most frequent opportunities 
of observing aiul testing his capabilities, as the " ablest 
criminal lawyer in Pennsylvania, and one of the best in the 
United States." During all his practice of many years, he 
has never lost a capital case. One of the most remarkable 
of these was where Oskins was acquitted of the murder of 
his wife, on the plea of insanity. It was a tremendous 
task to convince the jury that this man was insane, yet he 
accomplished it, m.iking one of the fullest and finest argu- 
ments, far exceeding in scientific information and clear 
metaphysical reasoning, the best efforts of many of the 
strongest of the old bar of this city, always distinguishe.l 
for learning and power. His strength before a courr»and 
jury consists not in that fl-.iency of speech and flourish of ^ 
rhetoric by which some of his predecessors in criminal prac-^ 
tice won fame and fortune, but in his power as a thorough 
lawyer, and in his strong common sense. He quickly iier. 
ccives the weak points of his adversaries, "and is always 
prepared to expose them. In the examiliWfon and cross. 
examination of witnesses he is veryshiewd.' In the Oskins. 
case, before cited, a physician was testifying to me pH-fect, 
sanity of the prisoner, when he suStlenTy^SsUed him if -he 
did not, in a certain case, somc^ytats' .ago, testify that Mr\ 

was perfectly sane"- Thejdfltior'answered, " Yes:'' 

" Where is he now ? " theh inquired counsel, and the w it- 
ness was compelled to answiS*. "4n a liunatic Asylum," 
thus completely neutralizing his formei-'tesiimony. ' This 
illustrates his readiness to avail himself of an outside fifct, 
of which the doctor believed him ignorant. But his great 
success lies in his sound judgment, strong sense, and 
thorough knowledge of the law, and of human nature. 
With these he h.as carried many a jury, convincing them 
against their very will. He concentrates his facts and forces 
of reason and argument. Few men , at the bar, waste so few 
words. There is weight and poinVjn all he says, and he never 
says anything after he " is done,''^ a legal-friend »)rien rc'- 
marks. His success ofTeR encourag"cmem-t« .youth, foj^ta^- 
ented as he is, he owes his present position chiefly to per- 
sistent hard work. 




?MrriI, KR'llARI) S., Merchant, and President 
of the Union Mutual Insurance Company of 
Philadelphia, was born August l6th, 17S9, in 
Philadelphia. His parents were Daniel and 
Klizabeth Shute Smith. His grandfather, Richard 
Smith, of Cape May, New Jersey, with a view to 
the education of his children, purchased a farm at Glouces- 
ter Point, New Jersey, where he resided until his death, a 
few years sul>sequcntly. The f:imily then returned to their 



friends and relatives at Cape May. When he arrived at a 
suitable age, his son Daniel entered the couming house and 
store of Krancis Gumey, who was largely intcn-sted in 
the West India trade; with him he resided until he was 
of age, in 1776. On the Declaration of Independence, he 
was commissioned a Lieutenant, and was assigned to a 
sloop of war, which captured a British transport wiih three 
hundred troops. The sword surrendered by the officer in 
command of the troops is still preserved in his family a« 
an interesting relic of his early services on behalf of his 
countr)-. On his second cruise, he was not so fortunate, 
as the vessel was captured by a British frigate, and carried 
into Providence, Rhode Island, where the prisoners were 
confined in the hold of an old hulk, a prison ship, and 
treated with the utmost rigor. Here he remained in 
captivity nine months, suffering severely from scurvy, the 
marks of which he bore with him to the grave. On his re- 
lease he returned to Cape May, was nursed by his sister, 
and recovered. I le then joined a regiment commanded by 
his old friend Colonel Gurney, in which he remained 
two years. On the expiration of his term of service, he 
married Elizabeth, daughter of William Shute, of Philadel- 
phia,' brother' of Atwood Shute, who filled, with distin- 
guished honir, the mayoralty of Phil.adelphia, and other 
offices from 175s to 1757. <lu"»g '''« administration of the 
^nn' ^mily. Shortly after the adoption of the Constilu- 
ti'on of Ihe United Stales, he entered into partnership 
with Colonel Gurney, and the firm conducted an honor- 
•able'and succes^ul mercantile business for thirty years. 
As the- Navy Agents for the United States Government, 
iheV s'lipeVirt'tendcd the building of the frigates " United 
Siafes " aiid " Philadelphia." The partnership was dissolved 
when the war of 1812 was declared. Mrs. Smith, the 
mother of the subject of this sketch, died in 1798, in the 
thirty-ninth year of her age, having had thirteen children, 
seven of whom were living at the time of her death. At 
the commencement of the year 1873. three still survived her, 
aged respectively seventy five, eighty-lwo, and eighty-three 
yeai-s. A daughter died in her snctily-sixlh year ; two sons 
dietf in their aghlielh year, and one in his eighty ninlh 
year. The six -brothers .ill celebrated their golden wed- 
dings, and all resided in Philadelphia from their youth. 
■Richard received his literary education in the Episcopal 
Academy, then under the able supervision of the Rev. 
James Abercrombie, D. D., about A. D. 1800. In the year 
1806, when he had attained his seventeenth year, he en- 
tered the counting-house of Pratt & Kintzing, extensive 
ship owners and commission merchants, trading largely 
with Europe, the West Indies, and South America. Eng- 
land and France being then at war, there was a large de- 
mand for trading vessels under the American flag; and in 
consequence, the business of Pratt & Kint/ing was very 
extensive. One of the earliest tests of his competency for 
business, especi.ally that of mercantile life, presented itself 
when the ship '• Mount Vernon " came in, consigned to Pratt 



i*i, 





'/ 



3 




fl 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP^.DIA. 



& Kinlzing, with a cargo of coftec, in Intlk. Tlie ship had 
loaded at Port an Prince soon after the insurrection of the 
blacks of Santo Domingo. The vvorl4 of superintending 
the unloading was assigned to him. It was a very arduous 
one, but he proved himself fully equal to it. Workmen 
were kept steadily employed in making the bags ; and the 
whole cargo, transferred in these, was marked and deliv- 
ered to the several owners with promptness and despatch. 
During the whole period of his connection with Pratt & 
Kintzing, he acquitted himself with the same ability, and 
acquired habits of accuracy iti the several departments of the 
business, which, while they augured w^ell for his fuliu-e, 
served him good purpose when, in after years, he was 
thrown upon his own resources. From a very early day, 
he had cherished a desire to go to sea as supercargo or 
agent, for the sake of seeing other countries, and he suc- 
ceeded in gaining that position on the ship '* Eclipse," which 
was advertised to sail for the Baltic. The position was a 
highly responsible one, as many of the merchants consigned 
their shipments to the supercargo, subject to their instruc- 
tions. He entered now upon the most eventful period of his 
life. He was just of age. His new duties were arduous, and 
more than usually responsible; business tact, sound judg- 
ment, and quickness of decision, were imperatively needed. 
He was placed in charge of a cargo, liable at any time to 
capture by Danish cruisers, — Denmark being then at war 
with England, — and upon his ability in the management 
of the trust committed to him was to turn the whole of his 
after life. Passing around the north of Scotland, his vessel 
arrived safely at Gothenberg, in Sweden. Here he landed 
his cargo, and remained, being unable to find sale for it. 
In l8il,he was appointed Consul for the United Stales 
Government at the port of Gothenberg. In July, 1812, as 
Consul, he received, on the arrival of a small pilot boat 
from New York, the first intelligence of the declaration of 
war against Great Britain, and managed to withdraw thirly- 
tii'O sail of American vessels from under British convoy 
lying in the roads below Gothenberg, and thus saved them 
from capture. Of these, six belonged to Boston, two to 
Philadelphia, two to New York, three to Newport, three to 
Wiscasset, two to Newbuiyport, two to Portsmouth, two to 
Salem, two to New Bedford, two to Bath, two to Nan- 
tucket and four to Duxbury. They, with their cargoes, 
were subsequently sold and placed under the Swedish fl.ag, 
and the vessels thus safely dispatched to the United States. 
Others, which disregarded his advice, were captured. 
Being the first on the continent of Europe to receive the 
news, he immediately communicated the intelligence to the 
American Ministers in St. Pelersljurg, Stockholm and Co- 
penhagen, thus advising them of the fact, news of which 
did not reach England until August 7th. His arrival in 
the United Slates, on his return, took place in January, 
181 3. His first visit was to the friend and partner of his 
father. General Gurney, at whose residence he was intro- 
duced to Eliza Beach, a daughter of an old and valued 
10 



friend of his father; he was married to her in the following 
November. This union, which existed for fifty-eight years, 
was terminated by the death of Mrs. Smith, in March, 
^871, in the eighy-first year of her age. His active busi- 
ness habits not permitting him to remain long unemployed, 
he sought, by extensive correspondence with his friends in 
Sweden, sustained by influential friends at home, to con- 
duct a business which should extend to Sweden. A 
.Swedish ship arriving in 1816, he made an arrangement 
with the supercargo to assume the whole responsibility of 
the sale of the cargo. It was deemed by his business 
friends a heavy risk, but he succeeded in procuring the 
necessary funds to the amount of 840,000. The venture 
proved entirely successful, and he received $3000 as his 
commissions. He then formed a partnership with his 
brother, Francis Gurney Smith, which lasted five years. 
At its expiration, he sailed to Gibraltar with a cargo of 
flour, which he sold to advantage. A partnership was 
formed with his brother Daniel and Joshua Haven, and 
subsequently Thomas Haven, under the name and title 
of Haven & Smith, and was continued from 1825 to 1834, 
when the antagonism between President Jackson and the 
Bank of the United States having caused a fearful revulsion 
in all business circles, the firm suspended in consequence 
of the failure of other parties. He then removed to Rock- 
dale, where, on a small farm owned by the firm of Haven 
& Smith, he raised enough of produce to enable him, with 
the superintendence of a grist mill, to live comfortably 
though plainly^ In June, 1837, he was, through the influ- 
ence and nomination of Henry Pratt, elected President of 
the Union Insurance Company, of which he had been a 
Director since 1830, and of which he has faithfully served 
as President for thirty-six years. On the death of Mr. 
Pratt, in 1838, he was found to be named in his will as 
one of his Executors and Trustees of his large estate, 
which responsible trust he has held for thirty-five years. 
His activity in all good works in the Episcopal Church 
in this city and at Rockdale, is witnessed by the success 
which has attended his endeavors. 



ITIIROW, REV. JOHN LINDSAY, D. D., Cler- 
gyman, \\'as born at Coatesville, Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, March 13th, 1837. His father, 
John Mitchell Withrow, was of Scotch descent; 
and his mother, whose maiden name was Keziah 
McClellan, of Irish ancestry, both families hav- 
ing been attached to the Presbyterian Church for genera- 
tions past. His parents were frugal, thrifty, and in pros- 
perous circumstances, and were highly respected m the 
community in which they lived. They naturally sent their 
son to Princeton for education, he having entered Nassau 
Hall in September, 1857, and was graduated in May, i860. 
In September following, he entered upon the study of 




74 



lilOGRAPIIICAI, ENCVCI.OP.F.DIA. 



divinity at the Theological Seminary at Princeton, from 
which he grailuated in May, 1863. Three months before 
he had completed his course at the Theological Seminary, 
he received two calls — one from the First Presbyterian 
Church of Wilmington, Delaware, and another from the 
Presbyterian Church at Abington, near Philadelphia. The 
call from Wilmington was unanimous, and the salary a 
liberal one; while the invitation from Abington was divi- 
ded and not at all cordial, the compensation materially 
less. His convictions of duty, nevertheless, led him to ac- 
cept the latter. Entering upon his duties in the beginning 
of May, 1863, he found the church building old, dilapi- 
dated and unsightly, the congregation very small, and 
divided on the war issues, the great majority being anti- 
war Democrats. He was nothing daunted, but went to 
work earnestly and patiently, showing himself on all occa- 
sions an uncompromising advocate of the Governrtient war 
measures. As long as the struggle with the South lasted, 
every fast day and every day of thanksgiving for victories 
was strictly observed, despite the meagre audiences which 
invariably attended such services. But the congregation 
steadily grew in numbers and increased in liberality, and 
large a<lditions were made to the church membership. In 
1865, immediately after the close of the war, a movement 
towards the erection of a new church building was inau- 
gurated, but the labor of raising the necessary funds was 
left almost entirely to him. Through his personal exer- 
tions the new edifice was completed and paid for, the entire 
cost of the structure being about thirty thousand dollars. 
While it was in course of erection, he received unanimous 
calls from churches in three different cities, all of which 
were promptly and unhesitatingly declined. In October, 
1S68, however, — within a month after provision had been 
made for the p.ayment of the last dollar of indebtedness on 
the new building, — the Arch Street Presbyterian Church, 
of Philadelphia, extended to him a hearty call to become 
its pastor. He accepted it, and entered upon his new 
duties in December, 1868. .'Vniong his predecessors had 
betfn such celebrated divines as Dr. Thomas H. Skinner 
and Dr. Charles Wadsworth. At the time he became its 
pastor, he w.is only thirty-one years old, and it was thought 
by some that the experiment was a doubtful one. liut 
success crowneil his labors from the outset. The congre- 
gations were crowded, the revenue from ])e\v rents soon 
became much larger than ever before, the contributions to 
various church objects were multiplied many times over 
those of previous years, large additions were made to the 
membership at each communion, and the churches and 
friends of the denomination throughout the city felt that 
for the first time in many years the church had assume<l its 
proper position. In the second year of his pastorate, the 
congregation purch.ased a handsome parsonage, and adiled 
its free use to his salary. In the spring of 1S72, with his 
wife, he made a European tour, his expenses being paid by 
the congregation. While he was absent in Europe, the 



! degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by 
Lafayette College. During the first four years of his l.il)or 
at the Arch Street Church, three earnest efforts were made 
by churches in distant cities to induce him to leave Phila- 
delphia; but, despite flattering inducements, they were at 
once positively declined. He has rare gifts as a pulpit 
orator, his style being characterized by unusual earnestness, 
boldness and finish, while personally he possesses those 
rare gifts of head and heart which invariably attract and 
rivet the affection of the best class of people. He has a 
natural aversion for lecturing alid every other kind of labor 
except that to which he is devoting his life. This has led 
him persistently to decline taking part in committee and 
similar labors, but he has, nevertheless, felt constrained to 
serve, as at present (1873), as a Trustee of the Lincoln 
University, a Trustee of the Presbyterian Hospital of Phila- 
delphia, and a member of the Board of Education of the 
Presbyterian Church. 



I. yfVt AISCII, JOHN' M., Druggist and Merchant, was 
horn at Ilanan, in Germany, on the 30th of Janu- 




ary, 1831. Emigrating to this country, he landed 
in New York in September, 1 849. He found 
employment as a clerk in the cities of New York, 
Baltimore, and Washington successively, and 
finally came to Philadelphia in 1853. He began to con- 
tribute to the American Jottrnal of Pharmacy in 1854, and 
in giving to the world the results of his scientific research 
upon pharmaceutical subjects, he acfjuired a fair reputation. 
From 1859 to iS6i,he taught Practical Pharmacy and Ana- 
lytical Chemistry in the private Pharmaceutical school of Ed- 
ward Parrish. In 1S61, he was appointed Professor of 
.Materia Medica and Pharmacy in the College of Pharmacy 
of the City of New York, and removed thither, but resigned 
in March, 1863, and returned to Philadelphia. He then as- 
sumed the position of Chief Chemist with A. K. Smith, Sur- 
geon of the United States .\rmy,and undertook the organiza- 
tion and man.agement of the United Slates Army Laboratory 
located there by Surgeon-General Hammond. He held 
this position until after the close of the war, and by great 
industry and ajiplication he managed to manufacture and 
supply the army with a considerable portion of their medi- 
cinal preparations. In so doing, by his economy he had 
saved for the Government, according to the official labora- 
tory reports, up to October 1st, 1865, over three-fourths of 
a million of dollars. He left the army laboratory in Janu- 
ary, 1S66, and opened an apothecary store in Philadelphia. 
In the same year he wa^elected Professor of Pharmacy in 
the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. In the year follow- 
ing, he exchanged chairs with Professor Parrish in the 
same institution, and assumed the chair of Materia Medica 
and Botany. In 1870 and 1871, he was commissioned by 
the same college to open and conduct their Chemical and 
Pharmaceutical I.abnratnn.'. In March 1871, ho was 




' J Jo. I'ir.lid^ 



^K^..^^^ . ■^'^^-:^^^~^'-^^^Z^^'-^'t^ 



EIOGRAPHICAL EXC\'CXOP.(EDIA. 



dected to the vacant editorial chair of the American Jour- 
nal of Pharmacy. He has been Permanent Secretary to 
the American Fhannacentical Association from 1S65, 
and has been honored by election to honorary or corres- 
ponding membership by many of the Pharmaceolical socie- 
ties of the United States and Europe. The Maryland C<J- 
Ic^e of Pharmacy conferred upon him the honorary d«^ree 
of Doctor in Pharmacy. Thus be has risen to the highest 
Tank in his profession by native merit of the mind and 
diligent research. He has the satisfaction of knowing 
that he has contributed much to the advancement of : 
beloved profession and for the good of his fellow men. 



- ' (ALLACE, HON. \\TLLIAM A., Lawyer 1 
Politician, was bom in Huntingdon coc: 
Pennsylvania, November 28<h, 1827, of Sec- 
Irish parentage. Having obtained a prelimir 
education in Qearfield .\cademy, he commer 
the study of law with his father in 1S47. ^t"^ 
admitted to the bar when only twenty years of age. Ear^jcn 
in his practice, the land law statute attracted hrstspeciaS T?'? 
attention, and be obtained a thoroogh knowledge, of 
titles in that portion of the State. This sooo bipgghf j»j . 
a large and Incralive practice, and for fifteen \iears bej 
labored with an nnnsoal degree of success.' In : '■ ; 
entered upon political life, and was elected Sta!» 
by the Democratic party. During his terrr 
Harrisborg, he commanded the respect and 
his brother Senators, by his int^rity and ec 
patriotism. He originated the resolution itx the 
of the Gvil Code,— advocated zealoosly the education of 
orphan children of soldiers by the Slate, — strenuously op- 
posed the proposition for the increase of the rate of interest; 
also the changes in the law of evidence, by which a party 
should have the right to testi^ in his own case, and advo- 
cated with equal earnestness the passage of a free railroad 
law. He has been re-elected three times, and in 1*65 wi= 
chosen Chairman of the Democratic Committee, - 
sition he has held almcet ever since, and in wbic- 
displayed all the qualities necessary for an enlighte^ 
party leader. He was elected Speaker of the State Se::___ 
in 1871 ; a delegate to the Baltimore Convention in 1872, 
and the nominee of the Democratic members of the State 
Senate for United Stales Senator in 1869. These distinc 
tioos abandantly testi^ to the esteem entertained for him 
Ihroaghout the party of which he is a conspicuous member. 
He married, before he was twenty one, a daoghter of the 
Hon. Richard Shaw, of Clearfield, and is the father of a 
large lamiiy of children. To his efibns it was mainly due 
that a systematic organizatina of the Democratic party was 
effected in 1866, and that in the following year the .State 
was carried by Judge Sharswnod for the Supreme Court, 
aid also that in October, 1868. it made one <A its most 



gallant crff?*e=*s. _^Kijoi«^ tht!^ ear^ie^tlv "^ev^*^ to the 
pnnci' ' "- 

so prr r : 

character and profoinid knowledge of jnrispradence, se- 
cnred the esteem of the best men of all parties. On all 
qnestioQS of law, he opinion is listened to in the Senate 
with the utmost attention, and his influence ha.s been pow- 
erfully exerted in the modification and formation of some of 
:'- - : statutes of the CommonwealtK In the 

questions, he uniformly ris^ above the 
ere partisan or local interests, and throws 
■ inilnence in favor of tho^e measures 
rnent, will result most beneficially for the 
' the State. He has always been, there- 
recial I^islative enactments based upon 
e expediency, and aimed to meet a pres- 
•Jie sacrifice of a general principle. Snch 
ngly pursued during the whole period 
: as won for him not merely the apprecia- 
-ned repotatioa of 



the most prominent names in this and 



-J^^ 



I 



(9^ 



ASSAT^, AtEXAXDER JOHXSTOX, General 

' ' — r - ;nia Railroad Company, 

Pennsylvania, in 1840. 

K:- fi;-tT. K TTt Cassatt, is descended from 

a imX.-; of Frer. ;h origin, who emigrcted to this 

conntry at an early day, settled in Bergen connty, 

Xew Jersey, and tiltimately removed to York county, Penn- 

^Irania, where they located themselves in that part of it 

now known as Adams cotmty. His mocher was Catharine 

Johnston, daughter of Alexander Johnston, Jr., of the 

Chester county family of that name. He commenced his 

ed5C5'!'>?! in Pit'sbcrj?!. Petnssylvaaia, where be early ac- 

in speaking the French and 

; ftill quite young, he accom- 

= to Enrope, where his stndies were con- 

,.:. . . ; ; insdlntioiB of learning. Upon his return 

to the United States, he entered the Rensselaer Polytechnic 
Institule, at Troy, New York, where he graduated with 
great credit, and, going South, was for a short time em- 
ployed on one of the Georgia railroads. His engagement 
then was broken up by the outbreak of the civil war, and 
he was obliged to return North. An oppoilunity soon 
presented itself for him to obtain a position in the o£ce of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Altoona. He ac- 
cepted it at once, and since that time has continued to 
reside there and give his attention to the interests of this 
leading rood. His abiliiies were quickly noted by the able 
men who are at the head of it, and he was rapidly pro- 



76 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.KDIA. 




moled to the position of General Manager, which he now 
retains. Soon after settling in Alloona, he united in mar- 
riage with Lois Buchanan, daughter of the Rev. Mr. 
Buchanan, of Oxford, Thiladclphia county, Pennsylvania, 
and niece of the late President, James Buchanan. 

^ARDNER, JAMES L., Rear.Vdmir.il United 
States Navy, w.ts bom in Philadelphia, Penn- 
sylvania, November 20th, 1802. Appointed Mid- 
shipman from Pennsylvania, May loth, 1820, his 
first .service was in the schooner " Dolphin " and 
ship " Franklin," flag ship of Commodore Stew- 
art, in the Pacific Ocean, from 1821 till 1824. In August, 
1825, he joinetl the frigate " Brandywine," and sailed to 
France, the frigate bearing to his native home General 
Lafayette, who had been " the Nation's Guest " in the 
country he had aided to free. Me afterwards served for a 
time in the Mediterranean, and returned to the "United 
States in 1S26. In Octol)er of that year he sailed in the 
" Brandywine," then flag-ship of Commodore Jacob Jones, 
for the Pacific Ocean. In that frig.itc, the schooner 
" Dolphin" and ship " Vincennes," he served, until June, 
1830. Of the latter ship he was for nearly three years the 
navigating oflicer, and in it, in 1S29-30, he circumnavi- 
gated the globe. May rjth, 1S2S, he was commissioned 
Lieu/etianl. The summer of 1832, he was upon duty as 
senior Lieutenant in the schooner " Experiment." The 
years 1833-34 he passed on the " Delaware," flag-ship of 
Commodore Patterson, commanding the Mediterranean 
Squadron. In April, 1837, he was ordered to the " Inde- 
pendence," flag-ship of the Brazil Sr|uadron, Commodore 
Nicolson, and served in Russia, England .ind Brazil until 
1839. From 1840 to the close of 1844, he was upon duty 
as senior Lieutenant in the sloop " Cyanc " and frigate 
" United Stales," flag-ship of the Pacific Squadron, nearly 
three years of the time in the latter. The four years fol- 
lowing, he was in command of the receiving-ship at Phila- 
delphia. In May, 1850, in the brig " Porpoise," he sailed 
for the coast of Africa, and made a cruise of three years in 
command of that vessel and the sloop of war " Dale," re- 
turning to Boston in April, 1853. lie was commissioned 
;ls Commander May tyih, 1851. The summer of 1855, he 
was upon duty as Fleet Captain of the West India Squad- 
ron. In 1S60, he was ordered to the Philadelphia Navy 
Yard. May 19th, 1S61, he was commissioned as Captain. 
In September of that year, he was placed in command of 
the steam frigate " Susquehanna," of the North Atlantic 
Blockading Squadron, blockading South Carolina and 
Georgia. lie took part, under Du Pont, in the capture of 
Port Royal, his services in that action being so conspicuous 
that his name was sent to Congress, by President Lincoln, 
for a vote of thanks from that body. Flag Officer Du Pont 
wrote to him : 



" Your noble ship, throughout the whole of the battle, 
was precisely where I wanted her to be, and doing pre- 
cisely what I wanted her to do; your close support was a 
very gallant thing." 

In May, 1S62, he assumed command of the E.ast Gulf 
Blockading Squadron, with the fl.ig of Rear-Admiral. In 
December, he returned to Philadelphia, invalided by a se- 
vere attack of yellow fever, by which disease, during the 
summer of 1S62, his ship lost forty gallant officers and 
men. July l6lh, 1862, he wxs commissioned as Commo- 
dore. In May, 1863, he took command of the West India 
Squadron, with the flag of Rear-Admiral, and remained 
upon that duty until October, 1864, when the squadron 
was withdrawn. July 25lh, 1866, he was commissioned as 
Rear-Admiral. From the year 1864 to 1S69, he was upon 
special duty as member of Courts Martial and Examining 
Boards. In 1869, he was appointed Governor of the Naval 
Asylum at Philadelphia, where he remained until 1872. 
No officer has served his country more faithfully and 
gallantly. Though an officer of " the old school," he 
ever keeps pace with the advancing spirit of the age. 
In time of action, his coolness, decision of character, 
professional knowledge and energy are invaluable. He 
is an honor to his profession and to the country whose 
flag he ujiholds. 



GRAN, JOSEPH MICHAEL, Lawyer and Judge, 
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Octobei 
loth, 1800. His parents were both natives of 
Ireland, and belonged to the Catholic Church; 
they emigrated to America in 1795, leaving 
Dublin in company with four ladies, one of 
whimi, his aunt Theresa, founded the Nunnery at George- 
town, District of Columbia. His mother's maiden name 
w.is Mary Lalor, a cousin of Patrick Lalor, Member of 
Parliament. His father entered into trade in Philadelphia, 
and was for many years extensively engaged in the cloth 
business at the corner of Chestnut and Second streets. His 
preliminary education he received at the school of Grey & 
Wiley, a Presbyterian educational establishment. The 
higher liranches of study he pursued at the University of 
Pennsylvania, from which institution he graduated in 1820. 
He immediately devoted himself to the study of law, and 
entered, as a student, the office of Hon. Joseph R. Inger- 
soll, with whom he remained until he was admitted to 
practice. Establishing himself in his native city, the 
ability, honesty, and the energy he displayed in his profes- 
sion, quickly gained him not only reputation, but a large 
and lucrative practice, in which his success was distin- 
guished. He was an active member in the Convention of 
1837, 10 revise the Cons-.itulion of Pennsylvania, being one 
of the delegates from the city of Philadelphia. In 1840, 
he was apjiointed to the bench of the Court of General 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



77 




Sessions of Philadelphia, in which position he served for 
three years. He died June 6th, 1859. Throughout life, 
with great earnestness, he devoted hiniself exclusively to 
the practice of his profession ; and although his business 
was veiy large and laborious, he always preserved his 
habits of study, and his ability, attested as well by his pro- 
fessional success as by the concessions of his brother law- 
yers, cause him to be remembered with respect by the 
latter, and with gratitude by the many whom his labors 
have benefited. 



|UDD, HENRY, Merchant, was born in the city 
of Philadelphia, April 20th, iSlo, and is de- 
scended in a direct line from Thomas Budd, born 
about 1620, who was a minister in the Estab- 
lished Church of England, and pastor of the 
Parish of Mavtook, Somersetshire, but in 1660 
became a Quaker preacher. His son, also named Thomas, 
emigrated to America in 1678, and settled at Burlington, 
New Jersey. He was the author of a work entitled, Ac- 
coiuit 0/ Pennsylvania and N'ew Jersey in 1685, which at- 
tracted some notice in its day, and is still regarded as of 
historical value. Erom William Budd, a brother of Thomas, 
were descended William Bingham Bradford, Attorney 
General of the United States under President Washington, 
and William Bingham Barring, afterwards Lord Ashburton. 
Henry Budd was educated at the best schools of his native 
city, the greater part of his school years being spent under 
the tuition of the eminent scholar, Charles Keyser. At the 
age of eighteen, he entered the mercantile house of T. 
Latimer & Co., where he remained, after the decease of 
Thomas Latimer, with William B. Potts, the surviving 
partner, imtil January, 1836. The excellent advantages 
whic>- his connection with this house afforded for a thor- 
ough .nercantile training, Latimer & Potts being regarded 
as among the best business men of their day, he improved 
to the utmost. At the age of twenty-one, by the death of 
both his parents within the space of twelve months, he was 
left the sole supporter of seven younger brothers and 
sisters, whom, without other means than his talents and 
industiy, he managed to educate and to settle comfortably 
in life. January 1st, 1836, he entered into a co-partnership 
with Thomas Ridgway, previously a member of the house 
of Ridgway & Livizey, the new firm being known as Ridg- 
way & Budd. They carried on the flour business quih: 
extensively, the latter being especially active, and soon I 
making himself generally known and esteemed in the mer- 
cantile world. While in this connection, he had an oppor- 
tunity for the display of that public spirit which has ever 
been his prominent characteristic. The trade of the Sus- 
quehanna and Juniata rivers, at that time of great impor- 
tance to Philadelphia, was likely to be diverted to Baltimore 
by the completion of the tide water canal. «e took an 
active and leading part in the establishment of a line of 



tow-boats to ply between Philadelphia and Havre de Grace, 
by which means the canal was converted into a benefit to 
the city, while the declining energies of the Chesapeake & 
Delaware Canal Company were greatly reinvigoraled. 
About this time also, with his usual generous public spirit, 
he gave what time his regular business permitted to the 
duties of a Director, and subsequently to those of Presi- 
dent of the Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal Company. 
In connection with this enterprise, he exhibited those 
qualities of tact and energy for which he has been ever 
distinguished. On the 1st of January, 1846, Roland Kirk- 
patrick, who had long been with the house, became a 
partner in the firm of Ridgway & Budd, remaining until 
1S49, when he withdrew, and the original parties continued 
the business until 1850, when Thomas Ridgway retired 
and S. I. Comly became an associate. Impressed with 
the lack of system in this business, and the importance of 
cooperation and a thorough understanding among those 
engaged in it, the senior partner invited to meet him at his 
house"tvvelve gentlemen prominent in the trade. Subse- 
quent meetings were held, and a plan of organization was 
agreed upon, from which resulted " The Corn Exchange 
of Philadelphia," one of the most important institutions of 
the city, and which has given the flour and grain trade a 
prominence it could not otherwise have attained. He has 
been connected with the Northern Liberties Gas Com- 
pany ever since its organization, and has been for at least 
fifteen years its President. He was a member of the Board 
of Trade for many years, and always took an active part in 
the proceedings of that body. Since retiring from mercan- 
tile life, he has retained the position of a Director of the 
Penn Township Bank — now known as the Penn National 
Bank— which he has filled for twenty years. He has been 
for five successive years elected to the Presidency of the 
Green and Coates Street Passenger Railway Company. He 
is also Vice-President of the time-honored Fire Insurance 
Company of the County of Philadelphia. 



ROCKIE, WILLIAM, Merchant, was born in 
Edinburgh, Scotland, Deceniber 23d, 1S34. His 
ancestors were farmers both on the side of his 
father and mother, although his father afterwards 
engaged in baking in Edinburgh; but as his 
preferences lay in other directions, after he had 
completed his education in the High School of Edinburgh, 
he entered a mercantile house in Leith, Scotland, in 1849. 
That city continued to be his home until 1855, when he 
removed to Liverpool, where he obtained a position as 
clerk, and subsequently an interest, in the old established 
shipping house of Richardson, Spence & Co., of Liverpool 
and Philadelphia. On the death of the senior member of 
that firm, he came to Philadelphia to represent it in 
America (1S65). His extensive knowledge of mercantile 




78 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CYCLOI'/F.DIA. 



transactions, and the sound judgment with which he is 
naturally gifted, enabled him to prosecute the business of 
the firm with satisfactoiy results to all interested, and he 
rapidly took a prominent position in the commercial world 
of Philadelphia. His name has been frequently sought, to 
lend weight to cor|K)rations, and he has repeatedly been 
urged to take an active part in bringing their claims before 
the public ; but this he has usually declined to do, not 
from lack of public spirit, but from a natural modesty 
which is as commendable as it is rare in this age and 
country. He is a Director of the Insurance Company of 
North America, and an .iclive member and Director of the 
Commercial Exchange. .'\Uhough he .arrived in this city 
without acquaintances, he has gathered around him a circle 
of warm friends who appreciate highly the excellent traits 
which adorn his character. Not the least of these is the 
deep and sincere religious feeling which actuates his life. 
An active member of the Presbyterian Church, he has also 
been prominent in furthering the objects of the Young 
Men's Chrisli.in Association, and other enterprises of a re- 
ligious and charitable nature. His marriage took place 
after his arrival in this city, to a Phil.idelphia lady. 



_|ITTLE, AMOS R., Merchant, was born in the 
L town of Marshfield, Massachusetts, July 27th, 
1825. He is the son of the Hon. Edward P. 
Little, and grandson of Captain George Little, 
who commanded the United States frigate " Bos- 
ton," during the short war between Krancc and 
this country in 1801. He received the usual amount of 
education bestowed upon farmers' sons, mostly at home, 
though latterly attending boarding-schools in Sandwich and 
Providence, Rhode Island. At the age of nineteen, he 
bade farewell to the old homestead, and came to Pennsyl- 
vania. He decided to select a mercantile career, although 
at this time he did not possess the slightest idea of any of 
the duties or responsibilities attendant upon such a pursuit. 
His capital stock consisted of energy, integrity, and deter- 
mination to acquire all that w.as necessai-y. His first 
year was p.issed in a country store at Milestown, Pennsyl- 
vania, where his compensation was his board and five dol- 
lars per month. There he obtained his first insight into 
mercantile traffic, and learned the rudiments of that busi- 
ness which was to be of service to him in the future. 
Being eager for promotion, he entered the wholesale house 
of M.aynard & Hutton, in Market street, Philadelphia, at a 
salary of three hundred dollars per annum, which was 
steadily increased until the close of 1S49. In that year he 
married the daughter of George Peterson, a retired mer- 
chant of the city. The following year he undertook the 
responsibilities of a Commission House on his own account, 
under the firm-name of Little & Petei'son, afterwards 
Withers, Little & Peterson, then Little & Stokes, which 





was again changed to Little, Stokes & Co., and finally, in 
1866, to Amos R. Little & Co., which name it still retains. 
Throughout his entire business career, he has been success- 
ful not only in the accumulation of means, but in .securing 
a reputation as a man of strict integrity, honorable in his 
dealings, prompt in the fulfilment of engagements and in 
the discharge of liabilities. He passed successfully through 
all sexsons of financial troubles. In his youth he acquired 
a ta-ste for gunning and fishing, which he has retained 
through his life. He attributes his continued good health 
to the putting aside of business cares twice a year and in- 
dulging in these manly sports in a rational manner. 



ORRELL, EDWARD R., Lawyer, was born at 
Frankford, Philadelphia, April 22d, 1844. His 
education was received at the public schools 
of the city. He graduated from the Central 
High School in July, 1861, which also conferred 
upon him the degree of Master of Arts in 1866. 
Three years later he was elected to deliver the Annual 
Oration before its Alumni, which he did in a highly credit- 
able manner. After leaving school, he entered the office 
of the Hon. James Ross .Snowden, as a student of law, and 
W.1S admitted to practise that profession in December, 
1865. His success has been satisfactory, and he has de- 
voted himself to his growing duties with undivided atten- 
tion, though always taking a lively interest in the progress 
of Democratic principles, to which organization he has 
constantly been attached. At the solicit.itions of his 
friends, he consented to become a candidate for the mem- 
bership of the Consiitulion.al Convention, which met at 
Harrislnirg and Philadelphia in 1872. He was elected, 
and h.as left an honorable record of his activity in the meet- 
ings of that body. A member of the Masonic Order, he 
occupies the position of High Priest of the Chapter and 
Senior of his Lodge. Religiously, he subscribes to the 
doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church. 



I.ODGET, LORIN, Meteorologist, was born M.ay 
25th, 1823, near Sugar Grove, Warren county, 
Pennsylvania, on a farm situated partly in New 
York and jiartly in Pennsylvania. He comes of 
an old Puritan stock, the common ancestor of the 
Blodgets in America having been Thom.us Blod- 
get, merchant of London, who was among the first sworn 
as freemen .at the founding of Boston, in 1632. During 
the Revolutionary war, his ancestors emigrated to Pennsyl- 
vania, where his grandfathel' took up arms on the patriot 
side in that struggle, and a relative, Samuel Blodget, was 
well known" at the close of the last century as a wealthy 
Philadelphia banker. In the war of 1812-14, his f.ilhcr 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP^^LDIA. 



79 



was an officer in the American army, and served with 
credit on the Canadian frontier. Destined for a collegiate 
education, he was placed at Jamestown Academy, Chatau- 
qua county. New York, but was obliged to leave college 
before he graduated, on account of his father's death in 
1838. In the following spring, although not yet eighteen 
years of age, he was persuaded by a wealthy neighbor to 
take charge of an expedition to Wisconsin, to examine and 
purchase lands for a colony. This promised a gratification 
to the scientific tastes which had early been developed in 
his mind, and accepting the offer, he passed nearly two 
years in traversing Wisconsin, lUmois and Iowa. The at- 
mospheric phenomena of these regions especially interested 
him, and he made many valuable and suggestive notes 
during his journeys. These subjects he continued to study 
attentively after his return, his time being alternately occu- 
pied with teaching and farming, but meteorology never 
being neglected. In politics, he was an active Whig, and 
took the slump with the so-called " Barn-burners" of New 
York against the nomination of General Taylor in 1848, in 
which year he was also a delegate to the convention which 
nominated Van Buren and Adams. He attached himself 
to that branch of the party which advocated the " free soil " 
doctrines, and opposed the extension of slavery. The con- 
tributions which he had made to meteorological science had 
long won for him a high reputation in this branch of sci- 
entific investigation, and led to an invitation being extended 
to him, in the fall of 1851, to remove to Washington City, 
and take charge of the department of Physical Science in 
the Smithsonian Institute. This flattering distinction he 
accepted, and remained in tlie position thus proflercd until 
1854. While in this post, he had the supervision of sup- 
plying the Pacific Railroad surveys with scientific instru- 
ments, as well as the reduction of their observations of 
altitude, climate, etc. It deserves to be mentioned here, 
that the .survey of the routes of the Pacific Railroad was 
one of doubtful accuracy by the ordinary modes, and a 
survey by the use of the b.iromcter was then unknown. 
He not only advocated its use for this purpose, but secured 
the action of Congress, by which the surveys were ordered 
to be completed in this manner, and for this reason they 
were placed under his direction. As the result, all of the 
six lines then surveyed across the Continent, from the Mis- 
sissippi to the Pacific, are now relied upon as base lines 
for other roads, and as being practically accurate. Such 
success had never been attained even by French engineers, 
who used the barometer in the Alps only for single deter- 
minations. During the three years he had charge of the 
System of Climatological Observations at the Smithsonian 
Institute, he prepared the forms and instructions then and 
ever since in use in that system and at the United States 
military posts, and published several papers of general re- 
sults of climatological research from 1852 to 1855, particu- 
larly at the meeting of the American Association for the 
Advancement of Science, in 1853, at Cleveland. He pre- 



pared, by order of the War Department, in 1S54 and 1855, 
parts of several volumes of Pacific Railroad Reports, and 
a general report, in quarto, of Resiills of Obset-'ations at the 
United States Military Posts since iSig, with Isothermal 
and Rain Charts, This report elicited glowing eulogiums 
from Baron Humboldt and all the distinguished"savans of 
the day, and it may be said, without exaggeration, to reflect 
honor both upon him and his country. In 1856-57, he 
delivered lectures, illustrated by Isothermal and Rain Charts 
of the United States, before several of the State Legisla- 
tures and scientific institutions. His greatest reputation is 
due to his valuable work on Climatology of the United States, 
which was published in Philadelphia in a large royal Svo 
volume, with Isothermal and Rain Charts. This is a 
standard work on the climates of the temperate latitude, 
of which a large edition was sold in Europe. It received 
the high approval of Humboldt and other European 
physicists, and is still considered authority on that subject. 
Its author did not confine his attention to purely scientific 
subjects, though every year brought forth publications of 
value from his prolific ]^en. From 1857 he became engaged 
chiefly in general public interests, being Associate Editor 
of the North American from 1857 to 1864; .Secretary of 
the Philadelphia Board of Trade, 1S58 to 1864; and at 
Washington as a general officer of the Treasury Depart- 
ment, 1863 to 1865. From 1865 to 1872, he prepared 
many tariff' acts and bills with special papers in support 
and explanation of the resources of the Government. In 
1864 and 1865, his pamphlet on The National Resources 
was printed in very large numbers in the United States, and 
twice in Germany, being accredited with much influence 
in sustaining the cause of the Union at that critical time. 
As an active Republican, he was conspicuous in aiding the 
Union cause during the war. He originated the Bounty 
Fund of Philadelphia, by which $530,000 was paid to aid 
that cause, in 1S62 and 1S63, from voluntary contributions, 
and was Secretary of the Fund. He also raised one of the 
reserve regiments of Philadelphia. In 1865, he was ap- 
pointed by President Lincoln to the Treasury office of 
United .States Appraiser at Large, residing at Philadelphia. 
He continues to hold this important position, as indeed it 
would be difficult to find any one more thoroughly qualified 
to perfi)rm its duties. He has always been a good Chris- 
tian, and is at present an active vestryman of the Church 
of the Messiah, at the corner of Broad and Federal streets, 
to which he has contributed largely. In all that makes a 
good citizen and valuable member of society he stands 
eminent, and no one in Philadelphia h.as done more to for- 
ward the interests of the city with the General Government. 
It is not too much to say that the final action in regard to 
League Island was due largely to his personal influence 
and exertions. Himself a large property holder on South 
Broad street, he realized the great value of a Na\'al Depfit 
in that locality. In person, he has a dignified carriage, 
with a thoughlful countenance, in which the perceptive 



RlOGRAnilCAL F.NXYCI.Or.r.DIA. 



ami reflective faculties are evenly balanced. Not only in 
'.he history of PhilaclelpTiia, liut in the scientific record of 
the world, he has undoubtedly made his mark. 




vC 



f AURY, FRANCIS F., M. D., Surgeon, w.-is born 
near Danville, Kentucky, August gth, 1840. He 
is directly descended from a Huguenot family 
which settled in Virginia. His father was an 
Episcopal clerg^•nlan. Having received a colle- 
giate education at Centre College, Danville, Ken- 
tucky, he subseijuently studied medicine at the University 
of Virginia, and at the JefTerson Medical College of Phila- 
delphia, from which institution he received his diploma in 
1862. A month previous to his graduation he was ap- 
pointed resident physician to the Philadelphia (Blockley) 
Hospital. Eighteen months afterwards he was chosen as 
visiting obstetrician to the same institution. In 1865 on 
the resignation of Professor Samuel D. Gross, he was 
elected his successor as one of the surgical staff of this hos- 
pital. He brought with him to the discharge of the duties 
of this responsible position the experience derived from five 
years' service as chief of the Surgical Elinic of the Jeffer- 
srui Medical College, and from threS' years' service as one 
of the surgeons of the South Streets. United States Aiiny 
Hospital. .\t the lime of the formU'ci of anauirillary faiculty 
to the Jefferson College, he was appointed-Id lecture on 
Venereal and Cutaneous Di.seases.< In all of these posi- 
tions he has worked with marked- ability^nd fidelity, and 
hxs acquired considerable distinction. At the same time 
he has given such attention to general medicine and sur- 
gery as to build up a large and lucrative practice in" the 
city of his adoption. For so young a man, he has won a 
singularly high position in his profession. The clinical 
lectures which his hospital positions require him to deliver 
are popular among the students, and .always well attended. 
Many of them have been printed in The Meiiical and Sur- 
gical Ktportcr of I'hiladelphia, and have been widely read 
and admired by the profession at large. The descriptions 
of cases they contain are terse and lucid, and the treatment 
recommended such as to recommend itself to professional 
readers. Articles from his pen have also appeared in other 
scientific periodicals. 



"^ ARCROFT, STACY liROWN, Merchant, was 
born in Hunterdon county. New Jersey, January 
29th, 1795. The family was originally from the 
county of Chester, England, where it held con- 
siderable landed estates, and numbered among 
its members several who belonged to the English 
baronetcy. About the year 1740, a younger branch emi- 
grated to this country and located in Hunterdon county, 




New Jersey, where they purchased lands, some of which 
are still retained by their descendants. The subject of this 
sketch, having obtained a common English education at the 
district schools, commenced, while still a boy, a small 
store in the town of Kingwood, in his native county. Here 
he continued for several years, until his success in commer- 
cial pursuits induced him, in 1817, to embark in the bro,ad 
current of city life in Philadelphia. In May of the follow- 
ing year, he opened a dry-goods jobbing house, with David 
Bray. Under the varied styles of Bray & Barcroft, Bar- 
crqft^ Beaver & Co., and Barcroft & Co., this house still 
continues to stand at the head of its line of trade, after 
weathenng the financial storms of more than half a century. 
The firm often changed its membership, but its honored 
founder stood uninterruptedly at its he.id until the time of 
his death. Under his prudent hand it steadily progressed, 
and extended its connections in this country and in Europe. 
Nor did he confine his view merely to the welfare of his 
own establishment. Recognizing the advantages which the 
growth of the city would confer upon all, he was a liberal 
subscriber to steamship and railroad enterprises, and to 
whatever other undertaking he felt convinced would re- 
dound to the benefit of the city. During the war he was a 
faithful supjKjrter of the Government, and was also one of 
the " Soldiers of 1812." For, though but seventeen years 
of age when that struggle broke out, he shouldered his 
musket, and was x)Jie"of those volunteers who remained at 
,C.amp Dupont until ..tlit danger of inva-sion had passed. 
An unostentatious Christian', he took deep interest in pro- 
jects of charity and benevolence, and in the propagation of 
the Gospel. At his death, he left handsome benefactions 
to the Episcopal Hospital, the Northern Home for Friend- 
less Children, and the Asylum for the Blind. His decease 
occurred March iglh 1870, at the ripe age of seventy-six 
ycare. 



USSELMAX, N. C, Bank President, was born 
near the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Decem- 
ber 7th, 1834, his ancestoi-s, for several generations, 
being Pennsylvania Germans. He was educated 
in the Grammar Schools and the Central High 
School of Philadelphia. His business career be- 
gan at Gftrlisle, PennsylvaiTiia, where, as an employee of 
the De|M)sit Bank, he developed iwd displayed the financial 
.ibilities for which he has since become distinguished. He 
served the bank for three years, rising from one position to 
another, until he attained that of cashier. He removed to 
PhiLidelphia in 1S5S, and was employed by the Union (now 
the Union National) Bank, then just commencing opera- 
tions. In this position, his industry, integrity, and talents 
secured him steady advancement, until, in January, 1865, 
he was elected cashier. In 1868, all the banking insti- 
tutions of riiiladclpbia were upon the natlmial basi.s, 







9^ 








GaUxv FaUCcFliilaiU. 




LAi^lJyf nJ^ . 






BIOCKAPHICAL 

which the events of the preceding years had made so suc- 
cessful and popular. A few business men of the city, be- 
lieving that the time had come for the re-establishment of 
State banks, applied to the Legislature for a charter for a 
bank without circulation. The proposition met with vigor- 
ous opposition both without and within the Legistature, yet 
it was ultimately successful, and in consequence " The 
Union Banking Company " was organized. To this pro- 
ject the subject of our sketch had given his untiring ener- 
gies, and as to his efforts its success was in great measure 
due, it was fitting that he should be a sharer in its benefits. 
The State banks, once the popular medium of finance, were 
again, to a certain extent, renewed, and there are now teii 
within the limits of the city of Philadelphia, while others 
are contemplated. The Union Banking C<impany, with its 
efficient presidency, has grown to be one of the prominent 
financial institutions of the city and State. Its capital at 
starting was 850,000, which has been increased to nearly 
$200,000, while its deposits amount to not far from $2,000,- 
000. He is a man of progressive ideas and liberal spirit, 
while his industry, wil(^ and energy of character, have 
raised him to a high rank among financiers. 



IMS, HENRY AUGU.STUS, Architect, was born 
in Philadelphia, December 22d, 1832. He was 
intended for the profession of a Civil Engineer, 
and went to Canada in 1851 to prosecute that 
study. Subsequently he was engaged on railway 
works in a subordinate capacity for several years, 
in Canada, Georgia, and Minnesota. He commenced the 
study of Architecture in 1856, and practised it with con- 
siderable success at Ottawa, Can.ada, from i860 until 1S66, 
when, desiring a more extended field, he returned to his 
native city. .Since his return he has executed several im- 
portant works, among which may be named the Second 
Presbyterian Church, at Twenty-first and Walnut streets, 
the Montgomery County Alms-house, a small chapel at the 
coiner of Twenty-first street and Columbia Avenue, another 
at Mercersburgh, Pennsylvania, a number of counti'y houses 
of size and importance, and other buildings for individuals 
in and around Philadelphia. In conjunction with his 
younger brother, J. P. Sims, who studied under him, he 
is erecting the new Court House at Hagerstown, Mary- 
land, the extension of the Montgomei'y County Prison at 
Norristown, Pennsylvania, and many buildings of a private 
character. The firm are acting as consulting architects on 
the new Girard Avenue Bridge, in course of erection, and 
are designing its ornamental features. He is the Secretary 
for Foreign Correspondence of the American Institute of 
Architects, and in this connection his name is well known 
to the architects of Europe. He is also one of the Vice- 
Presiilents of the Philadelphia Chapter of Architects. 





ENCVCLOP.EDIA. gi 

7 

OWEIX, SAMUEL BEDELL, M. D., Physician 
and Scientist, was born in Camden, New Jersey, 
Se^)tember 20th, 1834. His father, Richard W. 
Howell, was widely estee.r.ed as a sound lawyer, 
a man of high moral worth and a Christian gen- 
tleman ; in various offices of tiust, held for many 
years, he manifested distinguished usefulness as a citizen of 
the town and the State. The family on the father's side 
originally came from Wales, settled on the Delaware, and 
for two or three generations, has held the estate between 
Red B^nk and Gloucester. One of his uncles, after whom 
he is named, belonged to the medical profession, and occu 
[Tied the chair of Anatomy and Physiology in the Princeton 
College, New Jersey, until his death. Another uncle, 
Joshua Howell, was a lawyer in good standing in the west- 
ern part of Pennsylvania; on the outbreak of the war he 
raised a' regiment, was afterwards made a Brigadier-General 
of Volunteers, and was killed before Petersburg, Virginia. 
His brother went out with the New Jersey volunteers, and 
was killfed at the battle of Fair Oaks, when General 
McClellai^ army retreated to Harrison's Landing. His 
mother is a direct descendant of Samuel Carpenter, one of 
the original proprietors in Philadelphia with William Penii, 
and through her, in direct and collateral lineage, he is con- 
nected with a large circle of relatives embracing many 
names of worth anji note. Having passed through the 
usual course of school training in his native town, and in 
the city of Philadelphia, he was prepared for college by 
Rev. Dr. Knighton, formerly tutor in Princeton. He early 
developed a strong taste for the natural sciences, studying 
them in all the works he could obtain, and in the fields and 
in the mountains; he also showed some natural taste for 
drawing and painting. While preparing for college, his 
health began to fail, and he was sent off on a pedestrian 
tour through the New England .States, spending a season 
camping and gunning through Maine and into Canada. 
Returning home with improved health, he resumed his 
studies, availing himself always of every opportunity for 
practical investigations in the lalioratory of a neighboring 
chemist and mineralogist. In the contemplation of the 
evidences of the slow and silent working of the forces 
modifying the face of nature, he was guided by one who 
was a practical mineralogist and geologist, and enthusiastic 
lover of natiu'e. Manifesting these tastes it was natural 
that he should choose medicine for his life work. He 
matriculated in the Medical Department of the University 
of Pennsylvania, and though interrupted in his studies by 
uncertain health, he persevered and graduated with honor 
in March, 1858. By the advice of his uncle. Dr. James 
Carpenter, he began practice in the Schuylkill mining re- 
gion, where constant exercise in the mountain air conferred 
health and strength, permanently establishing his constitu- 
tion. Appointed, soon after, physician and surgeon to the 
mining towns of the Hickscher collieries, an extensive 
field of usefulness opened before him. During his resi- 



82 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOIVEDIA. 



dence in this region, he earnestly pursued his studies in 
practical geology. In 1S65 he removed to Philadelphia, 
and began practice in that larger sphere, availing himself 
also of the peculiar local facilities for studying chemistry, 
mineralogy, and geology. He had been a member of the 
Academy of Natural Sciences since 1855, and in 1868 he 
was elected its secretary, an office he still holds. Tor some 
years he has n)anifeste<l a strong interest in the welfare of 
the frcedmen of the South, and the colored men of the 
North, holding a liberal Christian culture to be the best 
means for elevating them to a comprehensive conception 
of their own interests and responsibilities. In iS6Shcwas 
appointed by the Board of Trustees of Lincoln University, 
Chester county, I'eimsylvania, professor of the Natural 
Sciences, tlie duty of forming and developing the depart- 
ment of science, including medicine, being entrusted to 
him. In this University, which possesses in real estate and 
invested funds over two hundred thousand dollars, some 
two hundred students are resident. His services to this 
.idmirahle institution have been of a distinguished char.ac- 
ter. In September, 1868, he was elected to (ill the chair 
of Chemistry and Materia Medica, formerly held by Pro- 
fessor Henry Morton, and afterwards by Professor Leeds, 
in the Philadelphia Dental College. In the preceding 
April he had been made a fellow of the time-honored 
College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and in 1872 he was 
a delegate therefrom to the .\merican Nation.il Medical 
Association. On December 4th, 1S72, he was chosen to 
occupy the chair of Miner.alogy and Geology, in the auxi- 
liary dcp.irtmcnl of the University of Pennsylvania, vacant 
by the resignation of Professor V. V. Hayden, United States 
Geologist. He was married on April I3lh, 1859, to the, 
daughter of Ihe late Rev. William Neill, D. D., of Phila- 
del|>liia, formerly President of the Dickinson College, 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, He is a member and ruling-cMer 
in the Presbyterian Church. 



JlCVEREUX, JOHN', Shipowner and Merchant. 

was Ijorn in Phil.idelphia, August lolh, 1800. 

Having received a good general education, he, at 

sixteen years of .age, entered the counting-room 
^ N— J of a mercantile house, largely engaged in the 

foreign and coastwise commerce of the country. 
In 1823 he was sent out by thelirm as supercargo in one of 
their vessels to Brazil. He continued in th-tt capacity for 
six years, and gained an experience that proved very use- 
ful to him in alter life, .\fter 1829 he became extensively 
engaged in the Ir.ide between Brazil and the United States, 
and was instrumental in introilucing many reforms for the 
pur])ose of facilitating the commercial intercourse between 
the two countries. Among other matters he caused a 
change to be made in the mode of shi|)ping sugars. They 
had been shipped in unwieldy cases, wliiuli, while offering 




no especial protection to the commodities themselves, had 
proved a source of much annoyance and deUay. He sub- 
stituted barrels and bags, and the change at once com- 
mending itself to other shippers, soon came to be generally 
adopted. In ship-building he became largely engaged; in 
1S36 he built the largest freighting ship, both as to tonnage 
and capacity, ever constructed at the Fort of Philadelphia 
up to that period. He was for many years a large ship- 
owner, and kept up extensive and varied relations with 
South America, Great Britain and other parts of Europe. 
His integrity and marked business ability led to his services 
being sought by many public institutions. Thus he served 
as a director for many years in two of the banks of the 
city; was a director in the Delaware Marine Insurance 
Company, and acted as its President for some time, but de- 
clined to accept that position permanently, on account of 
other business engagements. Since its commencement 
until now he h.as been a director in the Huntingdon and 
Broad Top Mountain Railroad Company. In mimic.ipal 
affairs he has always manifested a large and intelligent 
interest. In 1843, previous to consolidation, he was elected 
a member of Councils, an honorable i)osition at that lime, 
the municipal government being conducted so admirably 
as to elicit commend.itiini from all outside communities. He 
was among the warmest advocates of the i)urch.ase of the 
Lemon Hill esue, the nucleus of the present Fairniount 
Park, and one of the select committee to consummate that 
purchase on beh.ilf of the city. For several years he served 
as a member of the Board of Port Wardens, discharging 
his duties with signal efticiency. His long career as a ship- 
owner and merchant rendered him fully sensiblt? of the ad- 
vantages of keeping o]jen the port of Philadelphia through- 
out the year. From this manifestation of interest, and his 
(prominent ]x>sition, he naturally was chosen a member of 
the Board of Trustees of the City Ice Boats. His fitness 
for the office soon gained him the election as President of 
llio Board, and for twenty-four years out of the twenty- 
eight during which he continued a member of the Board, 
he retained that position. It was by his advice and 
under his immediate supervision that the present iron ice 
boats were constructed. During the war he was a strong 
supporter of the Union cause, and took an active in- 
terest in all schemes designed for its assistance. Thus 
he allied greatly to promote the success of the great sanitary 
fair held in Philadelphia in 1S64, having from the first par- 
licip.ited so warndy in the movement .as to be appointed a 
member of the Executive Comniillee. At present he is 
President of the Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Company, 
of which corporation he has been a director for Iwenly-four 
years. .\s a financier and merchant his abilities arc of a 
high order. Enterprising and far^sighteil, he is also gifted 
with administrative powers of an unusual quality. A shrewd 
and successful business man, a valuable citizen, a culti- 
vated and courteous gentleman, he commands the respect 
and esteem of the community. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



r'^ 



83 




%OULD, JOHN IIEXRV, Mamifacturpr, was born [ peity to look after, remaincfl almiad.and went into business 

1 ;., rtl ....1, ti -u;.... Tr i l ;., .o i :.. i ._..)__ _i • - i . i ■- . ,. . , ^ 



in riymoulb, I_)evonshire, England, in 1825, and 
is a son of Captain James Gould, of tbe Ibitish 
army. He early conceived an idea of earning his 
own livelihood, and employed the savings of his 
youth to purchase, when but fourteen years of age, 
a small stock of goods, which being obtained, and no more 
than lie could well carry, he started off on foot to obtain 
purchasers. Having sold his stock at an adv.Tntage, on his 
next expedition he went by stage to find his market. As he 
conducted his operations on a purely cash basis, he had no 
debtors or creditors to prevent or retard his success. " He 
finally adopted the plan of making his purchases in Lftrhdon, 
Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, or some such c^tre of 
trade, shipping his goods to the place where he first intended 
operating, inviting the trades-people to meet him at the 
hotel, and after disposing of a portion of his stock, proceed- 
ing to the next town or wherever the market seemed pro- 
mising. There was scarcely a town in the United ^King- 
dom, which he did not visit in this way, and in tJjeJEourse 
of two years, or when he was but sixteen years" oid,--hi had 
made about ;^iooo (S5000). He now thipught of Snigrating 
to America, as he had met one of its citizens ;#h'o' w"ds 



in London, shipping gjods to and from the United States. 
He was but eighteen years old when he left the States. 
Before two years had elapsed he had so arranged family 
matters that he felt at liberty to return to Ai. erica. He at 
once established himself in Philadelphia, and became partner 
in a firm engaging in the manufacture of furniture from the 
hard white Canada maple. But the business did not jjrove 
profitable, and the financial revulsion of 1S57 occurrincr, his 
partniits were quite willing and re.ady to dispose of their 
respccfiye interests to him, on condition that lie would assume 
their liabfilties. In 1859, he sold out, paid the creditors in 
full, but had nothing left. He now borrowed some money, 
and opened a retail furniture store, at an excellent stand in 
otie of the l^st business streets in the city, and undertook at 
once to compete with the large dealers. His perseverance, 
energy and ability soon began to attract attention, and one 
large firm especially became afraid of hiin. This latter con- 
cern discovering that he did not own the jiropcrty where his 
store was located, quietly purchased it, and ordered him out ; 
,gl5,i30O worth of furniture was put into the street at nightfall, 
aii4 there-remainefl^rll morning. The blow was well aimed ; 
bufSflroved the tufhing point in his career. He purch.xsed the 



engaged in selling land, and of whom, he ]Mirchased a large iOTaBiTOn Hoiise for $40,000 and put gi6,ooo into improve 



number of acres, after being informed by the Americaif 
Minister, Hon. Edward Everett, that the land agent was a 
man of the strictest integrity. In company with this per- 
son.age he left England, .and proceeded as fiir .as Buffalo, on 
their way to Milwaukee; but his companion eloped, carry- 
ing off not only the purchase money, but also the title deeds 
to the tract of 5000 acres. He had not trusted however to 
being enriched by the sale of his lands, but prior to leaving 
England, had shipped a lot of goods to Montreal. Thither 
he proceeded, obtained his wares, but finding a better 
market in the States, had them forwarded to Buffalo. Here 
they were seized by the customs officers for non-payment 
of duties, but being assisted by some influential friends, they 



ments' on the property; The treatment he had received 
from the rival Itouse- became generally known — in fact, it 
was as good as the best advertisement ever printed in the 
papers-^and his patrons were numbered by hundreds. The 
only result of their " friendly move" was to heighten his 
popularity, increase his business, and give him a fair start 
on the high road to success. Sales then amounting to 
$40,000 per annum have risen to over $400,000. In place 
of one store he now has five large establishments and an ex- 
tensive manufactory in various parts of the city, all connected 
with each other, and with his residence by means of the 
electric telegraph. He understands well the value of printer's 
ink, and the importance of advertising. In the latter, he 



were released on payment of the duties'. By dint of hard ' introduced a new feature by ordering eight wagons, for the 

dslivery of goods, to be built ; had them painted with the 
national colors of "red, white and blue," and on their com- 
jpletion, turned out'andvdriven through the streets headed by 



trading. he m.inaged by degrees to convert his .stoclf int6 
money, and having closed out hisTi-ares, started on a pf5- 
specting tour through the Canada? and .Western-States. 
Returning to New York, he took up "his residsnce ir! the 
family of a picture dealer. One day he stepped into an 
auction store, where he purchased an old pamtihgfbr-seven , e:-«er appeared in the columns of a Philadelphia newspaper, 



dollars and a half, and having cleaned it, sold it to h 
landlord for $400. Finding it to be a genuine " Moreland," 
the picture dealer was enraptured, and offered his tenant a 
partnership in his store, without requiring him to invest any 
capital in the business;, except his talents. He accepted the 
proposition, and the new firm met with success, their trans- 
actions becoming more and more extended and lucr.itive, 
wTien the great fire occurred, their entire establishment 
was destroyed, and the stock not being insured, he was 
again adrift. While visiting Phil.adelphia, he w.as called 
home by family bereavement, and h.iving his mother's pro- 



a-brass band. Dn the following morning he had published 
in \\\f:'fkiladf{phia InjiiiierXhe largest advertisement which 



occupying two pages and a quartsr of that journal. Among 
other novelties, he has introduced saleswomen to attend to 
the wants of his lady customers, an experiment never before 
attempted in Philadelphia among furniture men. He is an 
active member of the Episcopal church ; is a Royal Arch 
Mason ; a member of the Board of Trade; the St. George 
and Albion Societies; the Historical Society; the Fairmount 
Park Art Association ; the Reform Club ; and the Society 
for the Prevention of Cruelty to .-Vnimals. He was married, 
in 1850, to Amelia Gustard of London, and of his ten 
children, seven are now living. 




i 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



SI I MEAD, GEORGE L., I-iwycr, was bom in 
I'hilaileliihia, on July 2<1, 1809. He is a direct 
descendant of John Ashniead of Cheltenham, 
. jt - England, who came to Philadelphia in 1682, 
J^^ and settled on land which he purchased from 
William Penn, and named Cheltenham, now in 
Montgomery county. One of his ancestors was Captain 
John Ashmcad, who served with distinction during the war 
of the Revolution ; and another ancestor by the maternal 
line was Doctor George Lehman, who wis a surgeon also 
in the Revolutionary army. By intermarriage the Ashmead 
family became connected with that of Governor MifTlin of 
Pennsylvania, and alsowith that of the distinguished and phi- 
lanthropic Doctor Benjamin Rush. His father, Thomas Ash- 
mcad, now deceased, held for forty years, .under every 
successive change of administration, an important position 
in the Custom-house at Philadelphia, and was universally 
respected for his integrity, kindness of heart, courteous and 
gentlemanly deportment. He himself received a liberal 
education, and was noted for intense applic.ition to his 
studies. When about twenty years of age, he commeneed 
the study of the law, and was admitted to practice in l8j2, 
obtaining a very creditable certificate from his cxamipers, 
among whom were the late venerable Charles Chauncey,. 
and the late Hon. John K. Kane, the learned and distin- 
guished Judge of the District Court o£,the JJnited States 
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. . Byc.lose atten- 
tion to business, unwearied devotion to the intt;r»;.sts of his 
clients, uprightness of character, and thorough knowledge 
of the principles of law, he acquired an extensive practice 
in nearly all branches of law ; hut his predilections and 
tastes led him to prefer practice in the civil courts. In the 
course of his professional life he has participated in a num- 
ber of important causes, among othei-s, the cases of " Com- 
monwealth vs. Gill," for murder, " Commonwealth vs. 
Von Vliet," for larceny, in which he was associate counsel 
with David Paul Brown and the Hon. William B. Reed; 
" Potts vs. Hcrtzog," a celebrated ejectment ease, in which 
property valued at several hunilred thousand dollars was at 
stake, being therein associated with George W. Biddle, 
William L. Hirst, and other well-known and distinguished 
members of the Bar, one of whom said to him at the close 
of the case, " Mr. Ashmead, this cause was gained jn your 
odice;" and the well-known case of " The United States 
vs. Hanway," indicted for treason, in which he was one of 
the a.ssociate counsel for the United States. Shortly after 
his admission to the Bar, he was elected a director of public 
schools; at a subsenuent period, he was elected .Solicitor 
for the large and imjiortant District of West Philadelphia, 
and while in this office he made and published a " Digest 
of the L.aws and Ordinances pertaining to the District," 
which was remarkable for its completeness, clearness of 
arrangement, and accuracy. After the consolidation of 
Philadelphia, he was selected as First Assistant City Soli- 
citor, under the .administration of the Hon. William A 



Porter, and it has been matter of remark, that the office of 
City Solicitor has never been administered more ably nor 
faithfully than then. Mr. Porter, before the close of his 
term as City Solicitor, was appointed a Judge of the Su- 
preme Court of Pennsylvania, and it became necessary for 
City Councils to elect a successor for the remainder of the 
term. He became a canditate, and was opposed by Wil- 
liam L. Hirst, who was elected by a small majority. 
Having been an opposing canditate to the new Solicitor, 
he deemed it proper to send in his resignation as First As- 
sistant, but at the urgent request of Mr. Hirst, he continued 
in office to the end of the term. At the time of the first 
nomination of the Hon. James R. Ludlow as Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas, his name was prominently before 
the Judicial Convention, and it was believed by his friends 
that his prospects for the nomination were very fair; but 
these prospects, whether fair or otherwise, were suddenly 
closed by the fact that a friend, who had been requested 
to present in his behalf to the Convention the usual pledge 
of canflidatcs to abide by the nomination, negUcttd so to do, 
and under party rules, his name could not then be con- 
sidered. In political life he is and alw.iys has been a Demo- 
crat, exqepli that during the war of the Rebellion he deemed 
it hifffirst duty to support men and measures to uphold the 
integrity of the Union. He is still in the vigor of manhood, 
and cpntinues to mahifes^ an active interest in pidilic affairs. 
In his profession lie ranks among our ablest and safest 
counsellors. During the intervals of professional toil, he 
h.ts. found leisure to indulge his scholarly tastes, and his 
convers.ation discloses a knowledge of general literature, 
familiarity with the best authors of the day, and cKassical 
attainments of a high order. Starting out in life with a 
proper estimate of the exalted duties of his profession, he 
adopted a code of ethics no less stringent in its practice than 
the rules which govern judicial decrees. The purity of his 
life has been regulated by the severest discipline, his integ- 
rity is undoubted, and his clients all trust and honor him. 
In the jiractice of his profession, he has taken labor as the 
me.ans of opening up the intricacies of his cases, and of dr.aw- 
ing truth from the deepest wells. When he has finished the 
examination of his points, and matured his judgment and 
prepared for trial, there is nothing left undone. He has 
gone over the case and has seen all its points weak or 
strong. He is thus fully equipped for the contest. His 
style in pleading is clear, earnest and forcible. Disdaining 
all flights of oratory, he confines himself to the statement 
of facts in the simplest language, following this up with the 
support of the evidence, and so presenting his positions as 
to satisfy both judge and jury that he, at least, fully be- 
lieves in the justice of his cause. From beginning to end 
he h<-is an air of business, and is never betrayed into levity 
of manner or undue excitement. Ambitious of success, but 
too proud to seek it by tortuous means, he has won honor- 
able distinction in his professional, public and private 
relations. 




^*i!imi: 



io. 



l^~rrL£.ccc^CD 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




85 



QUll l/SSER, WILLIAM, Merchant, was born in Lan 
easier, Pennsylvania, August 17th 1789, his an- 
cestors being original German settlers of that 
region. He had but indifferent educational ad- 
vantages, and in July, 1803, went to seek his 
fortune in Philadelphia, then regarded as the 
commercial metropolis of the nation. He there entered the 
employment of his brother-in-law, John Linger, who was 
engaged in the hide and leather business at No. 137 Market 
street, and who was the surviving partner of the firm of 
Caspar Linger & Sons, who were, to a great degree, the 
founders of that branch of tr.ade in Philadelphia, they hav- 
ing first introduced the practice of buying hides from the 
importers and retailing them to the tanners, the latter having 
previously bought direct from the importers, paying in 
leather. In their employ he applied himself assiduously to 
mastering the details of the business, and won their confi- 
dence to such an e.\tent as to be entrusted with responsible 
duties. On the breaking out of the war, ih 1812, he did not 
hesitate temporarily to sacrifice his brilliant prospects to 
serve his country. Volunteers being called for to defend 
Philadelphia, then threatened with attack, he enlisted on 
the 1st of January, and served at Camp Dupont until the 
close of the war. On being released from his military du- 
ties, he returned to his former employer, and, in 1814, was 
taken into partnership, the new firm being styled John 
Linger & Co. The new member devoted his energies to 
the business, which speedily developed into greatly ex- 
tended proportions, being aided by the effect of the war. 
In 1829, John Linger, sr., retired from the firm, which was 
continued under the name of John Linger, jr., & Co., until 
1S36, when John Linger, jr., retired, and A. H. Bryant en- 
tered the house, which adopted the designation of William 
Musser & Co. In 1845, ^- H- Bryant retired, and the fol- 
lowing year A. Ruth, of Lancaster, and later Richard M. 
Greiner were admitted, the firm name undergoing no further 
change to the present day. The business of the house 
steadily grew in volume and prosperity until the year 1S48, 
when various losses and embarassments led to a suspension 
of payments. The reputation which the senior partner had 
acquired for integrity, judgment, and enterprise, induced 
the creditors of the firm unhesitatingly to grant the exten- 
sion of the time of payment asked for. Their confidence 
was fully justified, as the last cent of indebtedness was paid 
in 1853. Since that period, the house has enjoyed uninter- 
rupted jirosperity, and at present is without a superior in 
the branch of business to which it is devoted. In 1859, he 
retired, with an ample fortune, from active participation in 
trade, having been engaged in this business for half a cen- 
tury. His business prominence and recognized capacity 
have caused him to be much sought after as a member of 
various incorporated enterprises. He has, accordingly, been 
made director of a number of such institutions, but has 
steadily declined frequent solicitations to become president 
of coal and railroad companies, and also of <inc uf tlie prin- 




cipal moneyed corporations of Phil.-idelphia. He is a mer- 
chant of the old school, and is satisfied to remain as such. 
Desirous only of extending and consolidating his business 
upon the soundest and most conservative principles, he 
has always shrunk from publicity in any other connection, 
financial or political. From early life he hafs been a 
steady supporter of the Lutheran church, and was one 
of the foundeis of St. John's church, Philadelphia, and 
has long been president of its board of trustees. He 
has also been appointed trustee for a number of large 
estates, and has discharged his duties, in that respect, to 
the satisfaction of all interested. In his eighty-fourth 
year, he retains his mental faculties unimpaired, and 
exhibits his usual activity of mind and body. He has 
had no children, but has adopted several, who are a 
comfort to his declining years. He enjoys the rewards of 
a well-spent life, the esteem of the community, and the 
warm attachment of a large circle of friends. 



'* <^-OOPER, WILLIAM H., M. D., Physici.m, was 
born in Worcester county, Maryland, August 
7th, 1824. When he was about eleven years of 
^- m age, his parents removed to Philadelphia, where 
e> "3^ he has since resided. He received his primary 
education in the Academical Department of the 
University of Pennsylvania, presided over by that able 
scholar and strict disciplinarian, the late Rev. Samuel W. 
Crawford, D. D. The thoroughness with which his studies 
were pursued in this preparatory school enabled him, at the 
proper time, to pass his examination for entrance into the 
Collegiate Department of the same institution. After four 
years of close application to the prescribed studies, he gra- 
duated A. B. in 1842, and received the degree of A. M. in 
1845. Having determined to embrace the medical pro- 
fession he commenced his studies under the preceptorship 
of Drs. William E. Horner and Henry H. Smith, the former 
being, at the time. Professor of Surgery and the chief of the 
surgical clinic. After attending the usual courses of lec- 
tures in this school, his Alma Mater conferred on him a 
third diploma, that of Doctor of Medicine, in March, 1S48. 
Still desirous of further training in his profession, he sailed 
for Europe, and repairing to Paris, passed eighteen months 
in close study and application, storing his mind with the 
sound learning there inculcated, and witnessing, in the 
hospitals and dispensaries, the many skilful operations per- 
formed by the first surgeons of the world. Soon after his 
return to the United States, he was elected a physician of 
the Philadelphia Dispensary, with which institution he was 
connected three years. During his term of service the city 
of Philadelphia w.as visited by the yellow fever. The disease 
was introduced from one of the West India Islands by the 
'' Mandarin," a vessel which had managed to pass the 
(Juaraniinc without careful inspection. The epidemic pre- 



86 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CYCLOryEDIA. 




vailucl to some extent in the southeastern part of the city, 
l)arlicularly in those streets contiguous to the Delaware 
kiver. The majority of the cases were in his district, and 
his attention was ])articularly directed towards their treat- 
ment by this charitable institution, as the (;rcater part of the 
persons attacked were those in an humble sphere of life. 
On his retirement from this arduous position, he devoted 
himself to the practice of his profession, giving; obstetrics 
his special attention. Mis success has been remarkable, 
and for the past fifteen years he has been one of the leading 
accoucheurs of the city. During the war of the Rebellion 
lie acted as surgeon in cases of emergency. 



»i:i. LINGS, NATHAN, Merchant, was bgm on 
August 14th, 1826, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, 
of which place also his parents, John and Phoel>e 
VgrI Ilcllings, were natives. After a few years passed 
O "3^ at a local school, he went to work on his father's" 
farm. lie, however, was not formed of the stufi 
of which farmers are made. Of a bold, self-reliant, enter- 
prising character, the monotonous^Hfudgery of a^rirfiltural 
life was necessarily distasteful to him. Gonsl:ious.offer6atcr 
possibilities, he one day .stuck his Vork energetically into 
the ground, and emphatically declared that that sh5uld-bc' 
his last day's labor on a farm. Neilherlhreals nor persua- 
sions could move him from this resolution. Havinjj-Secured 
the reluctant consent of his parents, he became apprentice 
to the blacksmith trade in the neighboring village of Browns- 
burgh. A year's experience of this pursuit, however, 
only showed that it was equally uncongenial to his disposi- 
tion. The fact was evident also to William Brown, 
founder of the village, who had taken a strong interest in 
him, and now strongly urged him to seek, in the neighboring 
city, a more suitable occupation, requiring head rather than 
hand work. This friendly advice had much weight with 
him, and at the age of seventeen he started in search of 
that fortune that awaited him in Philadelphia. The ex- 
cellent reputation he brought with him secured him inimK] 
diate employment as clerk with Joseph Downing, dealer 
in agricultural produce. Though still a youth in years, his 
application, shrewdness and honesty soon placed him in 
virtual control of the entire business. In less than a year, 
however, he accepted a similar position with Thomas 
Palmer in the same trade, on Delaware avenue. With him 
he remained until 1849, when he had attained his twenty- 
third year. The news of the discovery of gold in California 
had at this time reached the Atlantic seaboard, and he at 
once resolved to join the motley throng that crowded every 
avenue to that modern El Dorado. With a prudent fore- 
sight, he detennined to take with him an assorted stock of 
goods, and also a small sail-boat designed to transport pas- 
sengers between vessels in San Francisco harljor and the 
beach. In February of the above year, he sailed from 



Dock street wharf on board the ship " Levant," and after a 
wearisome voyage of one hundred and thirty-five days 
round Cape Horn, the vessel put into Valparaiso, Chili. 
For the previous month all on board had been placed on 
a merely nominal allowance of water and food, and had 
been reduced to the last extremity of starvation. The 
much-needed supplies having been embarked, the ship 
once more put to sea, and after a further delay of seventy- 
nine days, finally cast anchor in the harbor of S.in Fran- 
cisco. He immedi.itely opened a general .store on the beach. 
During his six weeks' rc-sidencc here he met with the suc- 
cess his judicious foresight and bold enterprise richly me- 
rited. His boat, too, manned by hired labor, added not a 
Htlle to his fast-accumul.iting profits. On the arrival of 
the rainy season, his adventurous spirit readily disposed him 
to lend ^ favorable ear to the persu.isions of his friends to 
dispose of his merchandise still on hand and join them in 
a projected expedition to the " Diggings." Their objective 
point was down the St. Joachin Valley, an<l known to the 
miners by the name of the " Chinese Diggings." His party 
of ten were the fii-sl Caucasian visitors to this section. .Soon 
thousands flocked thither from all sides; a local govern- 
ment wa.s OTgani jed, appropriate laws hxslily enacted, claims 
carefully mi.asured out, and the diggings found to be among 
the richest injiie State. After a d.iy's laborious toil at the 
cradle it wa.srflrten highly refreshing to find ih.at his indi- 
vidual shSre of the profits amounted to Sloo, in bright yel- 
low goliL ^u^. £ight months were profitably spent at this 
place, and iRen as the richer placers were gradually ex- 
hausted, the spirit of restlessness inherent in the miner 
drove the dissatisfied party in different directiims, in tireless 
search of more lucrative fields of labor. For the next nine 
months his career was one of constant change, travel and 
adventure. The waters of the Calavaras, Tolumna, Trinity, 
Sacramento, Feather, Big and Little Bulc rivers were, in 
turn, prospected. At one time, he was one of a crowd, and 
at another, he had but a single companion. Rivers, swamps, 
trackless woods, and craggy mountains were traversed. 
Hardships and privations of all kinds were added to dangers 
from grizzly bears, wild Indians — then numerous in Cali- 
fornia — and'-fitill more savage white desperadoes, whose 
reckless deeds oPviolence and cruelly were a curse to the 
land. These were met, each in its turn, and successfully 
overcome, but even still more dreaded were the insidious 
influences of the miasmatic vapors arising from the swamps 
and streams of the newly-opened country. At one time he 
lay sick, nearly unto death, on the banks of a solitary stream, 
abandoned by the companions of his journey, whose time, 
worth to them S25 per day, was too valuable to be lost 
nursing a chance acquaintance. When, at length, he had 
painfully dragged his tortured limbs to the miserable hut 
of an adventurous doctor, thirteen dollars j)er day was 
considered a moderate charge for scant medicine and 
wretched board during the thirty days of his enforced stay. 
Whatever came to hi-; hnnd during his two years' residence 



i 





t/^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



87 



in the counli-y, that he ilid wilh all liis power, and what- 
ever he touched turned out successfully. Whether as a 
storekeeper on the beach, a miner among the mountains, a 
farm superintendent in the Sacramento valley, a speculator 
in farm produce for the San Francisco market, a sail-boat 
skipper in the bay and its debouching streams, or a hotel 
proprietor in the city, fortune uniformly smiled on his en- 
ergetic efforts. Sacramento City, Marysville, Stockton, 
Vallejo and San Francisco were alike favorable to his 
enterprise. As founder of the Isthmus House, in the last 
named city, he began that career of success which has uni- 
formly attended its subsequent proprietors. Rigidly ab- 
staining from gambling and drinking, the besetting sins of 
the successful miner, his career was laborious, enterprising, 
economical, and therefore successful. After eight months' 
proprietorship of the Isthmus House, he found that the 
toils and privations of the past two years h.ad seriously af- 
fected his health. Satisfied with the pecuniary results of 
his labors, he determined immediately to sell out his inter- 
ests in the business and return to Philadelphia. With him 
lo resolve was to execute, and in October, 1852, he em- 
barked on board the bark " Gipsy," for Panama. After a 
series of mishaps, he finally reached New Orleans. Making 
a brief sojourn only in the Crescent City, he took boat for 
Wheeling, West Virginia, and thence crossing the Alleghany 
Mountains, arrived in Philadelphia after an absence of 
nearly three years. Shortly after his arrival, he purchased 
the Inisiness of Thomas Palmer, his former employer. The 
same success that had attended his past undertakings fol- 
lowed him in his new enterprise. In this his progress was 
materially aided by the unwearied exertions of his younger 
brother, Tunis Hellings, whose services, at first as assist- 
ant and afterwards, in 1859, as partner, he fortunately 
secured. The labors of the brothers were equally harmo- 
nious and indefatigable. Close observation of the market, 
extensive knowledge of the state of the crops in every sec- 
tion of the country, constant iniUistry and unimpeachable 
integrity, have long since placed them in the front rank of 
oper.ators in their line. Some years since he found that an 
uninterrupted continuation of his labors was not unlikely 
to seriously impair his health. Wilh characteristic pru- 
dence and promptitude, he resolved partly to relax his 
attentions, and purchased a beautiful villa residence, 
appropriately called " Shady Side," pleasantly situated 
on .1 lake like curve of the Delaware, about twenty- 
one miles from Philadelphia. In this charming retreat, 
made brighter by the company of his amiable and at- 
tractive wife and four promising children, with just 
enough business on hand to occupy his mind, at the 
meridian of life, he wisely enjoys a fortune to which few 
attain even at the close of their days. Freeiuent visits to 
his office in the city still keep up his connection with the 
mercantile community, and give to his trade the advantage 
of his valuable experience. Among the representative 
men of the city, few hold a more honorable place. 




c'^^^REASE, ORLANDO, Merchant, was born in 
London, England, December 21st, 1823. Alfred 
Crease, his father, was a manufacturer of chemi- 
cals, and came to Philadelphia in the year 1830, 
where he continued to carry on the same busi- 
ness. His son having received a sountl primary 
education at Bethlehem, left school at fourteen years of 
age, and was apprenticed to James P. Morse, an upholsterer, 
in whose employ he continued until 1S46. In that year he 
entered the store of William McCallum, carpet dealer, in a 
subordinate position. The house at that time had only a 
small retail trade, but by judicious business management, 
and especially in consequence of the uncommon ability he 
manifested as a salesman, il rapidly increased its connec- 
tions until it is now the heaviest wholesale carpet house in 
Philadelphia. He continues to give it close attention, and 
there is every prospect of a still larger extension of its 
trade. While thus earnest in the pursuit of business, he 
does not deny himself those pleasures of liberality and be- 
nevolence in which only the wealthy can indulge. A 
member of St. David's Church (Protestant Episcopal), 
Manayunk, he takes a warm interest in its Sunday school, 
and generally in the extension of religion. Fond of music, 
he leads the choir at St. David's, and has bought for it an 
organ from his own means. His interest in Biblical study 
led him to spend six months in the Holy Land, in 1S71, in 
company with the Rev. Drs. March and Newton, and the 
Rev. Mr. Claxton, and he often surprised his companions 
with the accuracy of his topographical knowledge of the 
sacred places. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
he holds high rank, as a member of the Bishop White 
Prayer Book Society, and is conspicuous for energetic de- 
votion to the excellent objects of that association. 



LLIS, THO>L\S S., Auctioneer, was born in Phil- 
.adelphia, November 24th, 1815. After receiv- 
ing a limited education, he wa-s removed from 
school, and in the eleventh year of his age 
placed in the auction store of M. & S. Thomas, 
then located on Chestnut street, below Third 
street, with which house he has ever since been connected, 
through all its changes and locations. Step by step he 
ascended through all the many grades of the business, his 
energy and perseverance overcoming every obstacle, and 
solving the many difficulties, arising during the course of a 
long and eventful business life, with discernment and im- 
partiality. From being the smallest boy in the house and 
occupying the most humble position, he eventually became 
a co-partner, the name and style of the house havmg been 
changed to Moses Thomas & -Sons. Upon the death of the 
senior partner, which occurred August 25th, 1S65, the sur- 
viving members of the firm, the subject of this sketch thus 
becoming the senior i)artner, John D. Thomxs, who died in 




88 



mOGRAl'HlCAL ENCYCLOP/KDIA. 



January, 1867, and N. A. Jennings, continued '-he same 
Imsincss, and, at the particular request of the deceased, 
without change of style. The immense and varied grades 
of auction sales carried on by these gentlemen, embracing 
as they do the highest order of property, require the super- 
vision of an active, thorough, and honorable business man. 
Of such a standing is the present senior member, who ex- 
ercises all his varied talents in bringing all parts of the 
business to a satisfactory conclusion. The heavy sales of 
real estate, stocks, bonds, mortgages, ground rents and 
loans, are held each week at the Merchants' Exchange, 
while those of furniture, books, coins, etc., are made in the 
spacious upper and lower rooms in the building occupied 
by the firm on South Fourth street; in addition, many sales 
are conducted at private residences. He has been an active 
member of the old Volunteer Fire Department, attached to 
the Fame Hose Company, and served as the Treasurer of 
that organization for nearly thirty years. He hxs also been 
for several years a Director of the Franklin F'ire Insurance 
Company, one of the largest and staunchest of our city un- 
derwriters. At the present time he is also connected with 
the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company in the ca- 
pacity of Director. Prior to and during the existence of 
the Fair held in Philadelphia for the benefit of the United 
Sl.atcs Sanitary Commission, in 1864, be was chosen Chair- 
man of the Committee of Auctioneers, which body, by their 
subscriptions and donations, aided materially in rendering 
that unilertaking a great success. He has been recently 
honored by being assigned the same position for a similar 
committee in reference to the approaching International 
Exposition to be held in Philadelphia on the occasion of 
the Centennial Anniversary of American Independence. 
He was married in 1841. 



.ENRY, THOMAS CHARLTON, Merchant, was 
born in Philadelphia, April 20lh, 1S2S. He is 
the son of John S. Henry, and grandson of Alex- 
ander Henry, both honored citizens in iheir day. 
Educated in his native cily, he commenced his 
business career in the diy goods trade ; but soon 
withdrew from this to enter into the wool business, which 
he commenced at the age of twenty-two, on Front street, 
under the firm name of T. C. Heniy & Co., and for .seven- 
teen years was .imongst the most extensive dealers in that 
staple. In 1867, he retired from this connection and be- 
came interested in the lumber business, which he conducted 
with equal skill fur several years. In the month of June, 
1 87 1, the Philadelphia Warehouse Company was first or- 
ganized, and G. L. ISorie, brother of the Secret.ary of the 
Navy, was elected its temporary President. The arrange- 
ment, however, was not intended to be permanent. Such 
an enterprise required at its head a man gifted not only 
with rare executive ability, but possessed of a wide repu- 




tation among business circles for integrity, financial skill, 
and energy. It was not until the following October that 
their choice was definitely made. The subject of this 
sketch, who had' just returned from a visit to Europe, had 
hitherto taken no part or interest in the organization of the 
new company, yet he was at once invited by the Directors 
to become its first active President. From that date he has 
had the management of the organization, and the success 
that has marked its career is due in a great measure to the 
wisdom of the Directoi-s in their choice of its President. 
He is likewise President of the Saving Fund Society of 
Germantown, and a Director of the North American In- 
surance Company. In 1849, he married Mary E., daughter 
of John P. Jackson, one of the most prominent citizens of 
Newark, New Jersey. During the war, he was prominent 
.imong those who stood by the Administration, and con- 
tributed liberally of his labor and means for the preserva- 
tion of the Union. On the organization of the Germantown 
branch of the Union League, he was .selected its first 
Chairman, a position he held until the close of the war. 
He has always been a zealous adherent of the Presbyterian 
body, and is widely known as one of the active supporters 
of that church in Germantown, where he has alw.ays made 
his home. His private life has been an exanqile of unob- 
trusive usefulness and benevolence. Although never like 
his distinguished brother. Mayor Henry, the recipient of 
municipal honors, his character h.os not failed to win for 
him many admirers and warm personal friends. 



'^ 



^TICHARDS, BEN'JAMIN W., Merchant and Aug 
/" lioneer, was bom at Batsto Iron Works, Burling- 
I ton county. New Jersey, in the year 1797. His 
«► father, William Richards, was the proprietor of 
the extensive furnace and forges at that place ; a 
man of wealth and social influence in the .State, 
an extensive land owner, and able therefore to give his son 
every educational advantage. The latter, in his early boy- 
hood, studied under Rev. Mr. Dunham, of New Brunswick, 
where, having acquired a solid primary education, he 
entered the college at Princeton, and graduated with dis- 
tinguished honors in his nineteenth year. At that time, 
influenced by the preaching and instruction of Rev. Dr. 
Alexander, he contemplated entering the ministry. His 
student life had, however, affected his health, and he was 
ordered to discontinue mental exertion, and to travel. 
Accordingly he made a Western and a Southern tour, re- 
turning in 1818 with health fully restored. Thus disen- 
gaged from the anticipation of a clerical life, he <letermined 
to embark in mercantile pursuits. He had not received 
any mercantile training, but, having capital, a connection 
was sought for him with one possessing the necessary 
knowledge. The opportunity was found in Philadelphia, 
a partner>>hip being formed by him in 1819 with Jes.se 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



Sg 



Godley. The firm existed for three years, wlien, having 
married the daughter of Joshua Lippincott, of the firm 
of J. & W. Lippincott & Co., Auctioneers and Commis- 
sion Merchants, he retired in order to enter that house as 
a partner. It was then one of the largest and most suc- 
cessful auction and commission establishments of Phila- 
delphia, and one with a history. Prior to the Revolution, 
the office of "Vendue Master" was a proprietary franchise 
conferred by the Colonial executive authority upon special 
favorites. When the proprietary authority was abolished, 
numerous persons availed themselves of the absence of all 
laws regulating auctions and auctioneers. These voluntary 
vendue masters being found injurious to the public inter- 
ests, their sales proving convenient means for the disposal 
of stolen property and interfering with the regular course 
of trade, regulations, and afterwards laws, were passed pro- 
viding for the licensing of a certain number of auctioneers 
in the city and county of Philadelphia. Now the business 
is open to any who will pay the license fee and make the 
required returns. The firm of J. & W. Lippincott & Co., 
superseded by that of Lippincott & Richards, originated in 
the oldest of these post-revolulionaiy auction houses. In 
1797, Peter Benson was a regularly licensed Vendue Mas- 
ter. Two years later, he admitted Samuel Yorke as a 
partner. In 1802, he himself retired, and Joshua Lippin- 
cott joined the firm, which then traded under the title of 
Yorke & Lippincott. When the former died, he w.as suc- 
ceeded by Joshua Humes. In 1822, Joshua and William 
Lippincott carried on the business. Then our subject 
joined them. Shortly afterward, William Lippincott re- 
tiring, the firm became Lippincott & Richards. When 
the former retired, the latter associated with him, about 
1836, Joseph Bispham, and the firm continued to be 
known as Richards & Bispham until the death of the senior 
jurtner, in 1852. Having received a fine education, and 
possessing great natur.il talents, he early exerted an influ- 
ence in public affairs. He was nominated for the Legis- 
lature as early as 1821, upon an independent ticket, but 
was defeated. A few years afterwards he was elected to 
the State Senate, and in 1827 to the House of Representa- 
tives of the State, by the Democratic party. He was sub- 
sequently elected a member of the Select Council of the 
city. The ability and public spirit he manifested in these 
positions gained him the confidence of the communitv ; and 
on the resignation of George M. Dallas, in 1S29, he was 
elected' Mayor of Philadelphia. During the next year he 
was succeeded by Mr. Milnor; but in the two following he 
was elected. President Jackson had previously recognized 
his sterling integrity and financial ability by appointing 
him a Government Director of the Bank of the Unitetl 
.States, and of the United States Mint. On the expiration 
of his th'-'d mayoral term, he visited Europe. So struck 
was Ke by the cemetery of Pere la Chaise, at Paris, that on 
his return he commenced, with the cooper.ition of some of 
his friends, a series of articles in the newspaper press upon 

12 



the subject of burials outside the city limits. The result 
of their labors in this direction was " The Laurel Hill 
Cemetery," purchased by Nathan Dunn, John Jay Smith, 
Frederick Brown, Isaac Collins, B. W. Richards. He 
was an early Manager of the Asylum for the Deaf and 
Dumb, and in connection with John Vaughan, D. D., 
founded and was one of the first Managers of the Asylum 
for the Blind. He was a member of the Philosophical 
Society; a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania; one 
of the originators and founders of the Girard Life and 
Trust Company, of which he was the first President ; he 
was successful in developing its system and policy, and es- 
pecially in engrafting upon the life insurance business the 
novel feature of a power to execute trusts, and to act as 
fiduciary agents. He continued in the Presidency until his 
death. Owing in a great measure fo his exertions, public 
confidence was quickly gained. The local bench evidenced 
its trust in the honesty and stability of the institution by 
committing to its custody large sums of money within the 
jurisdiction of the courts. The success of the enterprise 
has caused many rivals to spring up. He was one of the 
first Directors of the Girard College, elected by the City 
Councils; was the first President of the City Gas Works; 
one of the earliest Managers of the " Cherry Hill Peniten- 
tiary," and for many years was one of the Controllers of 
the Public .Schools. 

/ ~*"~ 

ISII, ASA I., LL. D., Lawyer and Legal Editor, 
was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on February 
16th, 1820. He is the son of Benjamin Fish, 
of Trenton, a prominent railroad director, who, 
for forty-three years, has been a director and 
principal manager of the Camden & Aniboy 
The school years of his life were passed at the 
Trenton Academy, the Edgehill Seminary, .at Princeton, 
New Jersey, then under the charge of the Rev. Robert B. 
Patten, and at the Lawrenceville High School, at Law- 
renceville. New Jersey. Thus prepared, he entered Har- 
vard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated 
with high honors in the class of 1842. Frcmi the Univer- 
sity he passed to the Dane Law School, and received his 
degree of LL. B. from the late Mr. Justice Story, of whom 
he was a favorite pupil, and under whose immediate super- 
vision he edited, while still in the Law School, the second 
edition of Gallison's Circuit Court Hcports, his first literary 
legal labor. In 1845, he came to Philadelphia, having 
passed some time in the office of the Hon. Henry W. 
Green, late Chancellor of New Jersey. He also received 
the degree of LL. B. from the Universjty of Pennsylvania, 
and recently Kenyon College, Ohio, conferred upon him 
the honorary distinction of LL. D. He has acted as the 
counsel of the Camden & Aniboy Railroad Company for 
nearly twenty five years. For nine years he, together with 
Henry Wharton, conducted the American Law A'c<'istcr, a 




Railroad. 



90 



i;i(k;raimiic\l encvci.op.kkia. 



now well known and inflticniial Ic-jal journal. He hxs 
also eiliti'i! Selwyn's Nisi Priiis, TidJ's Pnulice, Williams 
on Execiilois, and (ho nc-wcst and hist edition of Trouhat 
and Italy's /V.;rt/<<:, an elaborate, laborious, and learned 
work of established and well deserved rcpulalion. The 
profession is also indebted to him for the only coinpletc 
Digest to the Knglish Exehequer Reports. The literary 
lastes which he has always cherishe<l are indicated by the 
fact that he was one of the founders of the Shakespeare 
Socicly of I'hiladclphia, and has been its Dean and presid- 
ing officer for over twenty-one years. In this department 
he possesses a very complete and valuable Shakespearian 
librar)'; it embraces numerous folios .ind quartos, and all 
the best scholastic editions. The Shakespeare Society of 
I'hiladelphia is one of the literary associations in the United 
Slates that holils a recognize<l position among English .ind 
continental scholars; and although its niWijbcrship is 
strictly limited to twelve, it has greatly advaiwgS the sluAy 
of Shakespeare as an English classic. Its Secretaiy, 
] loracc Howard Furness, has recently published two vol- 
umes, which are conceded to be the finest contributions to 
the thorough study .md comprehension of the poet niade in 
our times. Mr. Fish is a man of very quiet ways ajid 
habits, a constant student, and a deep (hinkeT; but with 
these characteristics he possesses a genial dispositfqn'that 
invites friendship, and his accomplishments render social 
relations wilh him both .agrctfable and instructive. 



TTING, BEXJ.VMIN, Iron Merchant: was born 
in the year 1 798, in Bnltiinoffi, .Maryland, l^is 
father, Reuben Etling, was a native of Lartcasler, 
I'ennsylvania, where he had married Frances 
(liatz, whose maternal graiulfalher was Joseph 
Simon, a celebrated Indian trader, and among 
the first settlei's in Eancasler. After studying some years 
at the primai-y school in Philadelphia, he completed his 
education at the University of I'ennsylvania, on leaving 
which, at the age of eighteen, he entered the counting 
room of Simon Gratz & Brother, prominent geVipral mer- 
chants of those days, the senior partner being .his uncle, 
and remained with them, until 1S22. In that ye.Vr the love 
of adventure prompted hiiy to olitain the position of super- 
cargo on board the ship ".\driana," on a voyage to Canton, 
China. The success that attended the \entuie was an 
additional stimulant to the adventurous youth, and five 
more voyages in the same capacity on different vessels 
were made between the same ports. The supercargo at 
that day, in the Chinese trade, was obliged to discharge the 
various duties now entrusted to the .agents And consignees 
of the vessel, such as to dispose of his outward freight to 
the best advantage, and to load his vessel for the home- 
ward voyage with the purch.ises made, generally with 'he 




clear head, and scrnpu'.ous honesty, as he was expected to 
hire the offices and warehouses for the disposal of his out- 
ward and homeward cargoes. It was during one of these 
trips that the famous fire occurred at Canton, still remem- 
bered in the annals of China, and the warehouse, or factory, 
rented by him, and that of Mr. Wilcox, the ,\merican Con- 
sul, were the only buildings in the quarter assigned to 
foreigners that escaped destruction. While sharing in a 
large measure the good fortune of most of the Eastern resi- 
dents, he entirely escaped the customary attendant ill health, 
and after ten years' experience of the vicissitudes of the 
trade, during which he visited several other ports in China 
and also the Philippine Islands, at length he resolved, in 
(he year 1832, finally to quit the sea, and to settle pcrma- 
ftently in Philadelphia. Two years were spent in needed 
rest and relaxation, and then, in the year 1834, he entered 
into partnership with his brother, Edward J. Etting, who 
h.id been heavily engaged in the iron trade since 182S. 
The new fiiTn took the name of Edward J. Etting & 
Brother, and for many years carried on one of the most 
extensive trades in Philadelphia, at No. 137 North Water 
street, their store extending through to Delaware avenue. 
The success that had markeil his previous career followeil 
him /in his new undertaking, and the clear judgment and 
cautious 'enletprise of the brothere enabled them to steer 
clear of tlie'dang'ers of trade on which many of their less 
foiltin.itt; neighbors were wrecked. This fortunate partner- 
ship WAS dissrtlved only by the death of the elder brother, 
Edward J. Etting, in 1S62. The place thus made vacant 
was filled by J.- Marx Etting, the second son of Benjamin, 
and n)e1>usincss since that date has been carried on at 106 
.Walnut 'street, under the name of Etting & Brother. lie 
had married 'Harriet, daughter of Joseph Marx, a promi- 
nent citizen of Richmond, Virginia, by whom he has two 
sons. Frank M, Etting, the elder, filleil during the war of 
the Rebellion the position of United Stales Paymaster for 
the District of Pennsylvania. Having studied law in the 
office of H. G. Tucker Campbell, he now h.is an extensive 
practice in that profession, and is also distinguished for the 
success that has attended his antiquarian researches in con- 
nection with the e.irly history of his n.itive city. The re- 
■sults of his studies in this direction have been of such im- 
portance as to receive the thanks of the-public authorities. 



URPHY, WH.l.IAM F., Manufacturer and Mer- 
chant, was born in New York in the year 1800. 
lie received a liberal education in the schools of 
New York, and was thereupon placed in a house 
to learn the business of blank book manufacture. 
IKaving acquired a thorough knowledge of this 
trade in .ill its branches, he eng.tged in it upnn hts own 
account, and proved very successful. Philadelphia ]>rom- 



1 




proceeds of his outward cargo. All this reipiired lime, a I ised, however, a better field than New York, and he 




-' ^a* 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



91 



accordingly removed to that city, where he founded an 
estaljlishment that in years grew to be the largest and most 
celebrated in its line in Pennsylvania. His enterprise was 
conspicuous, and he allowed no opportunity of advancing 
the interests of the manufactory, by giving judicious p\ib- 
licity to the character of its products, to pass unimproved. 
He was thus an exhibitor at every public exposition of any 
importance, and so well were the merits of his exhibits ap- 
preciated that he bore off from all competitors every medal 
and diploma offered for excellence in his department of 
manufacture. In this manner his name became widely 
l<nown, and his goods acquired an immense reputation. 
Up to the time of his death, he gave close personal atten- 
tion to the conduct of the business. By his sterling integ- 
rity as a merchant and a man, he won the respect and 
esteem from all with whom he came in contact. Since his 
decease, his sons, who now conduct the business, have 
faithfully maintained the high reputation he gained. Dur- 
ing the " World's Exposition," at Paris, in 1867, they 
exhibited some choice specimens of their manufacture in 
competition with no less than sixty others, exhibitors in the 
same department. But one medal was awarded, and of 
that the Murphy Brothers are now the proprietors. Inher- 
iting the enterprise and business tact of their father, th.e 
brothers rank among the most honorable^ and. reliable of 
our manufacturers. Their mother was Ann Snifth-^nlker, 
of CharlestO'vn, Massachusetts. 



'ILLES, WILLIAM, Merch.int, was born near 
Pughtown, in the great valley of Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, on December 21st, 1786. His 
father, David Hilles, a native of Wales, removed 
to the United States about the time of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, and settled in that part of the 
State. His family were members of the Society of Friends, 
and he received a fair education at the schools attached to 
the different meetings to which his father belonged. He 
removed to Fraukford in 1812, and in 1814 married Eliza- 
beth Harper, the daughter of John Harper, of the same 
place, after which he commenced the farming business on 
the Castor road. Owing to the ill health of his wife, he 
removed to Frankford in 1S15, and opened a Flour and 
Feed store on Frankford avenue below Unity street, but in 
1817, associated in partnership with William Kinny under 
the firm name of Kiimy & Hilles, he started a tan and 
wood yard on the site now occupied by the coal and wood 
yard of N. & S. Hilles. Although anthracite coal had 
been discovered many years before, and its value as an 
article of fuel been tested by White & Hazard in their roll- 
ing mill at the Falls of Schuylkill, it was not introduced 
into Frankford until 1827, when Kinny & Hilles brought 
the first load that was ever landed on the banks of Frank- 
ford creek. Thus they became the pioneers in the intro- 





duction of that useful article, and continued to monopolize 
the business for a number of years. He was several times 
elected Burgess of the old borough of Frankford, and was 
also a member of the Board of Directors of the Poor from 
his district. He was a Director of the old Bank of Ger- 
mantown for many years, and one of the originators of the 
Frankford Insurance Compr.ny, of which he was also a 
Director for some time. He became a manager of the 
Friends' Asylum for the Insane at Frankford, in 1S32, and 
continued to act in that capacity for twenty-eight years. 
He was a prominent member of the Orthodox branch of 
the Society of Friends, in which he was an elder for thirty 
years, and he was a living exponent of its princij")Ies. He 
was ever among the leaders in every important public busi- 
ness or benevolent enterprise, and his private labors of love 
cannot be computed. Passing away on March ^c], 1862, 
he left to his family and friends the rich legacy of an un- 
sullied name, and in his striking example a strong incentive 
to a worthy life. 



ILLES, NATHAN, Merchant, was born in Frank- 
ford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of 
January, J8l6. He is a son of William 
Hilles.; ^His education was commenced at the 
FriendsiJ .School, at the old brick meeting-house 
in Frankford, and at the age of fourteen he en- 
tered West Town--Boarding School, in Chester county, 
ttjjiere he completed l^s course in 1831. He then entered 
the tan yard of his father _as an apprentice to the business, 
and served in that capacity until he attained his majority. 
On April 1st, 1S38, he became a-ssociated in partnership 
with his father, under the firm name of Willi.am Hilles & 
Son, for the prosecution of the tanning, \\'ood and coal 
business, but in 1845, the tanning was relinquished, and 
their sole attention devoted to wood and coal. The firm 
was dissolved April 1st, 1846, by the withdrawal of Wil- 
liam Hilles, whose interest passed into the hands of Samuel 
Hilles, and the firm reorganized under the present name 
of N. & S. Hilles. In the spring of 1844, he was elected a 
member of the Borough Council for two years, and was re- 
elected in. 1S46 for three years. He was elected a Guar- 
dian of the Poor in the autumn of 1852, re-elected for two 
years in 1854, and in May of the same year, after the con- 
solidation of the city, was chosen a member of the Common 
Council for one year, at the expiration of which time 
(May, 1855,) he was elected to the .Select Council for two 
years. He was a Presidential elector from the Fifth Con- 
gressional District on the Lincoln and Hamlin ticket in 
1S60. He became a School Director in May, 1859, and 
still CO' tinues an active member of the Board ; was elected 
Controller in June, 1862, and re-elected each successive 
year until 186S. He has also been a manager of the 
Friends' Asylum since 1859, and for many years a manager 
of Wright's Institute. He was one of the prime movers in 



92 



piOGRAriiicAi. enxyclop.i:dia. 



the organization of the Sccoml National Bank of Frank- 
ford, in the latter part of 1S63; it was opened for hu'^iness 
Febriiary Isl, 1864, and he has bcon its President since the 
organization. In the same year, he was a delegate from 
the Fifth Congressional District to the Baltimore Coni'cn- 
lion, which nominated Lincoln and Johnson. He was one 
of the pioneers of the Frankford & Southwark Pxsscnger 
Railway, is now the only original Director remaining, 
and consequently is the oldest Director of a city passen- 
ger railway. By election of the Select Council, he has 
heen a Trustee of the Philadelphia Gas Works since Janu- 
ary 25th, 1S65, of which Board he h.-is been the President 
since its organization, in 1S67. On the 1st of July, 1S68, 
he was elected" a Director of the Buck Mountain Coal 
Company, and was immediately chosen its' President, in 
which capacity he slill continues to act. Few men have so 
repeatedly received evidences of the public conlulence in 
their sterling integrity, and none has proved more worthy 
than he of the honors conferred uf>on him. His admirable 
business qualities eminently fit him for the duties of the 
high official positions he occupies, as wclj'aj for The suc- 
cessful management of his own private affali-s. ' He is a 
prominent member of the Orthcfdox Friends, and has con- 
tributed much to the interest's of all their enterprises, as well 
as to every other project that has comnici)'dcd itself to his 
judgment. , ' * 

'AKFR, WIII.TAM DEAL, Lawyer'and PolV- 
lician, w.as born in the year 1814, in the old 
stone homestead, which was coSval with the 
building of the Penn mansion, in the (then) Dis- 
trict of Kensington, Philadelphia. He is the 
son of Joshua Baker, of Georgia, who, being on 
a visit to Philadelphia, married Mary Deal, a school girl 
of sixteen, although she was possessed of the highest schol- 
astic attainments, and was one of the foremost amateur 
musicians of the d.iy. Her son takes great pride in attri- 
buting wh.itcvcr success he has had in life to the care and 
teachings of his mother. She was left a widow Ji an early 
age, with four children, whose education w.as principally 
directed by her. William, after receiving a primary edu- 
cation at her hands, was placed in the academy of Rev. Dr. 
Kennedy, where the use of the " birch " was princi|>ally 
and frequently invoked as an incentive to study. This 
course the new pupil disliked, and he abruptly left the 
school. Thence he was sent to Kenny's Seminary, where 
the same discipline was used, and in which, after a struggle 
with the usher (who came off " second best"), he returned 
in disgust to his mother's house. He then received private 
instructions at the hands of two pious divinity students, 
Charles Boyter and Septimus Tuslin, the latter afterwards 
a celebrated pulpit orator and Chaplain of the United 
Slates Senate. From them he passed to the old " Aca- 
demy,'' then uiuler ]'»hn Ilcni'jr, to be prepared for college; 




but here an unjust punishment for an alleged mfraction of 
the rules, led him to vacate his pupilage. F"inally, he 
found in Benjamin J. Schippcr, an alumnus of a celebrated 
Jesuit College, an eaniest, painstaking and successful 
teacher, who had a remarkable faculty for iinparting infor- 
ination to all his pupils, and who never failed to recognize 
their good points. He entered the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, then under the Provostship of Rev. Dr. Beasly, 
who, with the other professors in the Department of Arts, 
were great favorites with all the classes, and respected for 
the strict impartiality with which they viewed the merits 
of those who were striving for the honoi-s. But a change 
was m.ade, and an entirely new Faculty elected, some of 
whom brought with them their private students, and it was 
thought that too much partiality was shown the latter. 
Be that as it may, young Baker sauntered over the course, 
and in due lime graduated, but was awarded an oration. 
In the latter part of his Senior year, he published a satirical 
poem in three cantos, entitled, The Saturntad which 
made a sensation in literary circles, and was attributed to 
certain celebrities of the day (as the author remained in- 
coj^ntlo), among them Professor Nulty. The author- 
ship, however, remained hidden until within a few years 
j)!*!"." ' When but eighteen years old, he made a temperance 
sj5eecK^in the First Presbyterian Church of Kensington, 
•which wasdecmcd worthy of publication, and was used .is 
ii text-book on th.at subject. Soon after tliis, he commenced 
to publish the 'femperance Advocate, a weekly journal, be- 
lieving th.it he had within his reach both fame and fortune; 
but he failed to receive the support he h.id anticipated. 
.•\bout this time he entered upon the study of the law with 
Hon. John Wurts, a gentleman of the highest legal attain- 
ments, who not long after removed to New York, to act as 
President of an important institution. His pupils resolved 
to continue their studies under Hon. George M. Dallas, 
w^ho at this time was engaged in his duties as a statesman; 
consequently his students had to depend pretty much on 
their own resources. Shortly after his admission to the 
bar, he was called to occupy the editorial chair of the Com- 
mercial Herald, a combination of two journals which 
had respectively been edited by Hon. Nathan Sargent and 
Hon. Robert T. Conrad. In those times an editor com- 
bined the present professions of City Editor, Local Reporter, 
and Court Reporter, the only specialty being the commer- 
cial details, then under the charge of the late Colonel 
Cephas G. Childs. He remained in this position for some 
time, and then became Associate Editor of the Bur/on's 
Genlleman's Magazine, the leading literary monthly. When 
that gentleman abandoned his periodical for the purpose of 
building a new theatre, his associate, who had now "settled 
in life" by marrying Harriet E., daughter of Hon. Nicholas 
G. Williamson, of Delaware, was compelled to return to the 
law, and obtained a highly respectable ]")raclice, which he 
maintained till the events of 1844 drove him iiid' llu* poli- 
lical arena. Il was when the " War on the Bible in the 



^^ 




^4 




;%^^^^X2L* 



g^, 



BIOGRArHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



93 



public schools" commenced, and, true to his early educa- 
tion, he at once took a decided part in favor of the largest 
American liberty ; in consequence of which he was ex- 
pelled from the Democratic party. Then he threw all his 
energies and means into the cause of the American Repub- 
lican party; he started a daily paper, termed the American 
Advocate. Highly incensed at the treatment received at 
the hands of his fellow Democrats, in advocating what he 
believed to be truly Democratic, he was impetuous in the 
new cause ; travelled night and day, working wherever he 
went, making speeches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and 
New York. The new party made its mark ; a National 
Convention was called, to which he was a delegate, but, 
contrary to his advice and influence, it was termed the 
"Native" American organization. This sealed its fate. 
He lost all his fortune on the paper, which he struggled to 
maintain, and finally a second time returned, as he face- 
tiously expressed himself, " to attend a legal toll-gate on 
the public highway." He was nominated for Congress by 
many friends, but withdrew in favor of another. He was 
also nominated for Recorder of Deeds, the Prothonotary- 
ship of the District Court, and for the Slate Senate, but 
was defeated, as the Old Line Whigs ran a third candidate. 
For a number of years he retired from view, but recently, 
without any agency on his part, he was called to serve as a 
delegate in the Constitutional Convention now (1873) in 
session. 

y 

IjOPER, RICHARD F., .Shipbuilder and Merchant, 
was born at Stonington, Connecticut, about the 
year 1S03, and is a descendant of a family, most 
of the male members of which followed a sea- 
faring life. He is self-educated, and was thrown 
at an early age upon his own resources by the 
death of his father ; not only had he to provide for him- 
self, but for his aged mother. At the age of thirteen he 
shipped as a sailor, and by the time he was fifteen he com- 
manded a schooner, plying on the Eastern coast. He con- 
tinued this life for a number of years, working hard and 
faithfully, and advancing step by step, until he started a line 
of sailing vessels between Philadelphia and the Eastern 
ports. Soon after, he invented the celebrated propeller- 
wheel, which he applied to several vessels built by him, 
and these were the commencement of the " Swiftsure" line 
running between Philadelphia, New York, and Hartford. 
During the Mexican war he was extensively engaged in 
boat building, and built all those used by General Scott 
against Vera Cruz. He also rendered good service to the 
Government in the late war, by transporting soldiers, and 
when Washington was threatened, he conveyed the Jersey 
troops by sea and up the Potomac to the capital. In his 
early years, he had been engaged in the seal-fishery business 
in the South Shetland Islands. His life shows what in- 
domitable energy and intelligence can accomplish. He is 





gifted with mechanical and inventive genius, and is the 
owner and inventor of some forty patent rights for appliances 
adapted to vessels. He has earned for himself a wide reputa- 
tion as a yacht builder, having built the celebrated yachts 
" America," " Josephine," " Magic," " Palmer." and '• Mad- 
gie." It will be remembered that it was the " Madgie " that 
won and retained the Queen's Cup from Commodore Ash- 
bury, who sailed the " Livonia " and the " Cambria " to this 
country in 1871 and 1872. He now resides at Stonington, 
Connecticut, enjoying his favorite amusement of yachting, and 
superintending his extensive granite quarries. He has the 
happiness of seeing all his family around him, having only 
lost his eldest son some ten years ago. His oldest grandson, 
named after him, resides in Philadelphia, and is the head 
of the firm of Loper and Doughton, dealers in Naval 
stores. 



EWELL, WILLIAM, Merchant, was born Febru- 
ary 25th, 1792, at the southeast corner of Market 
and Water streets, Philadelphia. His father, 
then a retired grocer, and subsequently a whole- 
sale dealer, was the owner of two of the blocks 
of four-story buildings at that locality, occupying 
the upper rooms as his family residence; with his wife he 
was a native nf Belfast, Ireland, migrating to this countiy 
early in life. He was very successful as a merchant, and 
was highly esteemed by the business community for his 
integrity and thoroughness. He retired from business 
many years before his death, and was succeeded by his son 
William. The latter was educated at Abercrombie's 
academy on Fourth street, and at the schools of Hamilton 
and Delamar, on Front street, near Dock. He early de- 
veloped those qualities of perseverance, energy, and enter- 
prise, which have made him so successful as a merchant. 
He continued the business his father had left him at the old 
location till 1830, when he purchased the adjoining property 
at No. 3 Water street. He became a very extensive whole- 
sale dealer, especially in coffee, of which he was a large 
importer. Brazilian coffee, known as Rio, came into use 
about the time he commenced business, and its general in- 
troduction caused it to be carelessly harvested and put up. 
This circumstance induced him to attempt the invention of 
a machine for purifying it. In this he was successful; his 
revolving cylinder, driven by steam power, effected the 
purpose satisfactorily, and is now in very general use among 
dealers in coffee. As an example of his indomitatle enter- 
prise, an anecdote of the early years of his business career 
is worth repeating. Learning that a cargo of Java coffee 
was for sale in New York, he determined to be the pur- 
chaser. On Saturday he met at a funeral another merchant, 
who informed him that he, too, was going to New York to 
compete for the purchase of that lot of coffee. The mail 
st.age was to leave Philadelphia for New York on Monday 
morning. He ininiudiatdy hired a light sulky and started 



94 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.KDIA. 



on Sunday morning, reaching New York early on Monday, 
and puvcliasing the cargo of coffee, had it on the way to 
Pl)iladelphia before the arrival of the stage with the com- 
peting merchant. In 1854 he left the location in Water 
street in the hands of his son, William C. Newell, who car- 
ried on, till his death, in ,1865, the business of a wholesale 
tea-dealer in the store where his grandfather had traded. 
lie himself removed lo No. 109 South Front street, 
where he still continues lo do business, though now in his 
eighty-second year. Me is an active, vigorous old man, 
with his mental faculties unimpaired. He is believed to be 
the oldest grocer in the city, and has probably been in ac- 
tive business life longer than any other merchant who can 
be n.inied. His health has always been good, which is at- 
triliutahlc in gre.it part no doubt to his strictly temperate 
and regular habits. He retains distinct recollections of his 
early contemporaries in business, most of whom have long 
since passed away. His reminiscences of Stephen Girard 
arc especially vivid and interesting. He made the tour of 
Europe in the three sucessive years, 1870, l87l,«S72. The 
only public position he ever held was that of a Guardi.in 
of the Poor, the duties of which he discharged with his 
usual thoroughness and efficiency. He is a fine monument 
of the old school of Philadelphia merchants,;, active, up- 
right, and intelligent. 



'OOPER, REDMONi:), Merchant and Importer* 
w.is bom Jannarj- ist, 1818, at Mantua Creek, 
about four miles below Woodbury, New Jersey. 
He is of the seventh generation, in line, from 
English ancestors, William and Margaret Cooper, 
of Coleshill, parish of Amershain, Hertford 
county, England, who came to America in 1679. They 
were members of the Society of Friends. A cerlific.ite to 
visit and settle in the New World w.is granted them by their 
Meeting on December 5th, 1678. After arrival, for a short 
time, they resided in Hurlinglon. In 16S2, they removed 
to Pyne Point, now Cooper's Point, so-called from William 
Cooper, at one time the largest land-holder in New Jci-sey, 
owning two miles down the Delaware river, and two milijs 
up Cooper's Creek, on the south side. * ^etjmond is the 
son of D.ivid Cooper. He received a fair education in the 
schools at Haddonfield and Woodbur\', and improved to 
the utmost what advantages were offered. On Sep'ember 
24th, 1834, he came to Philadelphia and obtained a posi- 
tion in the store of Isam Barton & Co., on .Second street, 
at that time one of the largest retail stores, of dress goods, 
in the city. Desirous of further knowledge, he gave all 
his spare time to reading. After coming of age he remained 
with B.irton & Co., in the capacity of clerk, until 1847, 
when, with a limited capital of about $700, he started in 
business on his own account, purchasing a part of the inte- 
rest held by his brother in the firm. In the year 185 1 the 




nature of the business w.is changed, the house confining it- 
self to shoe-stuffs, upholsterers' and carriagc-nvinufacturers' 
goods, and a few years later dropping other branches in 
order to ni.ike a specialty of shoe-stuffs. On January Ist, 
1S67, the senior retired from active business, the firm then 
changing to Armstrong, Wilkins & Co. They are now the 
largest importers and jobbers of leather an<l general shoe 
g.jods in the United St.ates, their sales amounting to from 
one to one and a quarter million of dollars per annum 
The subject of this sketch is the senior partner of the firm, 
as well as its general financial manager. The extende-J 
operations in which it is constantly engaged, in supplying 
the markets of this country by importations from abroad, are 
un^A his care, and the excellent reputation which it sus- 
tains in European markets, as well as in this country, is 
largely owing to the weight of his personal character. 
Prior to the consolidation of the city of Philadelphia, he 
resided in what was known as " Chestnut Ward," and in its 
affairs was always active and influential, identifying himself 
with the " Heniy Clay Whig " party. His best efforts were 
ever exerted for the advancement of Philadelphia in growth 
Hn<\ influence, every movement tending in that direction 
findin<; in him an earnest upholder and advocate. When 
Uie, qusjjtion of the city subscribing to the stock of the 
Pewnsyl^ima Railroad arose, he was deeply interested, and 
well und^rjloyd.lhe importance of supporting the road. 
His political influence w.^s employed in behalf only ol 
lliose pledged to-^ts support, and by the aid of such men as 
he, the road was brought into successful operation. Some 
twenty-five years ago he removed from " Chestnut Ward," 
and since that date has taken no part in politics except lo 
vote for those whom he thought would best serve the in- 
terests of the community at large. November Ist, 1849, he 
was married lo the daughter of Joseph Cowperthwait, for- 
merly cashier of the United Stales Bank. 

p c^ / 
G**j|HITE, HON. HARRY, Soldier, Lawyer, and 
III ■ Politician, was born Januaiy, 1S34, in Indiana, 
Pennsylvania. His father was the able jurist, 
Thomas White, President Judge of the Tenth 
Judici.!! District of Pennsylvania. After a care- 
ful preliminary education at the Indiana Academy, 
he commenced his collegiate course at Princeton College, 
New Jersey, where he graduated with honor in 1853 
Having pursued the usual course of reading in his father's 
office, he was admitted to the bar shortly after, and com- 
menced at once to take an .active interest in the politics of 
his native county. The principles of the Whigs were those 
which most commended themselves lo his mind, and he 
soon identified himself in the support of the measures which 
that party advocated. At thai period the issues which the 
Whigs had advocated assuming new jAases, the party 
adopted the general title of Republicans, and in this sense 





—zf~ca^ .: J r'^aioj^ctpicu . 



BIOCRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



9S 



he is recoidcd to have liecn the first chah-man of the first 
(Ibtinctive Republican coiinly commiltee of Indiana. In 
lS6i, he responded to President Lincoln's call for troops at 
the first outburst of the rebellion, and was almost imme- 
diately elected major of the 67th Regiment Pennsyh'ania 
Volunteers. lie recruited his force to the standard, and 
did not leave it until elected to a seat in the .State Senate 
in 1862. Without his solicitation Mr. .Stanton, then Secre- 
tary of War, gave him leave of absence for the session of 
1863. While attending to his duties at Hamsburg, he 
w.as appointed chairman of the Military Committee, in 
which capacity he was Governor Curtin's most able assis- 
tant. Returning to his command, after two months' active 
service, he was captured at the battle of Winchester, on the 
17th of June, 1863, and sent to Libby Prison, Richmond, 
where he was confined until after the fall election of that 
year. As the State Senate was so equally balanced that it 
could not organize without him, he was kept under strict 
surveillance by the rebels. Time after time he risked his 
life in endeavors to escape, but was recaptured and sub- 
jected to consequent closer confinement. Nevertheless he 
succeeded in forwarding his resignation concealed in the 
back of a small testament, by a surgeon, who wa.s being 
sent north. It was received, a new election ordered, and the 
deadlock in the Senate broken. After sisteen months of 
suffering in prison, he at Lost succeeded in making his escape 
from Charleston, South Carolina, was soon commissioned 
colonel, returned to his regiment, and served with distinc- 
tion to the end of the war, when he was created Brigadier- 
General of Volunteers. He then returned to his home, and 
amid the congratulations of his friends and constituents re- 
.sunied the practice of the law. In 1865, he was again 
elected to the Senate of his native State, which testimony 
to his worth was repeated in 1868 and 1871. For years he 
has occupied the important post of chairman of the Com- 
mittee on the Judiciary, and has been speaker of the Senate. 
As chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Reform, 
he reported to the Senate the law under which the Consti- 
tutional Convention of Pennsylvania, of which he is a dis- 
tinguished member, elected by the people at large, is 
convened. In this important assembly his course has given 
universal satisfaction. He is chairman of the Committee 
on Legisl.ition, and his report at an early day went through 
the Committee of the Whole, and was received with 
marked approval. He was nominated by the Republican 
State Convention for Congressman-at-large, but declined 
the honor, and was largely supported, in the same Conven- 
tion, for Governor, but g.ave way to General Hartranft, his 
senior. Twice he has declined nominations for Congress 
when he could certainly have been elected. Personally he 
is tall, with a frank and intellectual face. He is an elo- 
quent speaker, being gifted with a voice full and deep. He 
married early in life and has three children, two sons and 
a daughter. Of' considerable culture and attractive man- 
ner?, he is the centre of a large circle of friends. 



OMRATII, FREDERICK K., Merchant, was 
born in the village of Frankfovd (now the Twen- 
ty-third Ward of the city of Philadelphia), Penn- 
sylvania, on April 19th, 1836. He is a son of 
the late George F. Womrath, a native of Hesse- 
cassel, Germany, who came to" this country at a 
very early age. When Frederick was ten years old, he was 
sent to the celebrated Moravian school known as Nazareth 
Hall, Pennsylvania, where he remained two years. Thence 
he was placed at a seminary in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, 
where two years were likewise spent in more advanced 
studies. He completed his education by a third period of 
two years' attendance at the Academical Department of the 
University of Pennsylvania, which he left at 'he age of fif- 
teen, fully qualified to pass his examination a.s a matriculant 
of the Collegiate Department. As his future was to be de- 
voted to mercantile pursuits, it was deemed unnecessary to 
pursue the more advanced studies of the Department of 
Arts ; and after a short vacation, in the month of August, 
1851, he entered his father's store, at No. 13 North Fourth 
street, under whose care and instruction he acquired a com- 
plete knowledge of the fur business in all its various branches, 
his father having been a most successful manufacturer and 
merchant for very many years. Having served a period of 
eight years as a learner in all the phases of the craft, in con- 
nection with his brother, Andrew K., he was given an in- 
terest in the business (July, 1859), though the firm was still 
designated as "George F. Womrath." In March, 1864, 
the senior partner, his father, died, requiring a change in 
the style of the house. Having formed a co-partnership 
with his brother under the name of " A. K. & F. K. Wom- 
rath," the business was carried on at their new store. No. 
417 Arch street, an immense establishment, filled throughout 
with the most costly and rarest skins. In September of the 
same year he married Anna Mary, second daughter of 
David G. Yuenghing, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The 
business of the firm prospered with each successive year, so 
much so as to dem.and increasing space; accordingly the 
establishment at No. 1212 Chestnut street was taken, and 
toil they removed in May, 1S6S. In May, l87i,his brother 
withdrew from the firm ; since *ihich time he has continued 
the business alone, although still under the old firm name 
of A. K. & F. K. Womrath. 



AY, ALEXANDER, Merchant, was born in York, 
Pennsylvania, in the year 1816. The family to 
which he belongs came originally from Germany, 
and settled on the banks of the Delaware, in 1742, 
He was educated at York, and in 1832, while only, 
sixteen, worked as a mechanic and farmer. Al- 
though his early life was thus devoted to quiet pursuits, he 
had in him the elements which insure ultimate success in 
life. His habits were frugal, steady, and industrious, and 




96 



BIOGRAPIIICAL ENCVCI.OP.EDIA. 



I 



he possessed great liMte ami energy of character. Uy these 
f|iialities he worked his way through all the difficulties 
which usually beset the first steps in such careers, and owes 
his present success in life to his own persevering and steadfast 
efforts. While he has thus displayed such energy and force 
of will, he has never from boyhood departed from the 
course he then traced out for himself, and to which he h.xs 
ever afterwards remained faithful. His greatest ambition 
was to lead a quiet and unostentatious life, and he has 
always declined every opportunity which would have made 
him depart from that aim. The consciousness of always 
having obeyed the dictates of duty, has been to him greater 
recompense than could be derived from ostentation and 
vanity. 

^WJkTOSS, HENRY PAWLING, Lawyer and Judge, 
/[ was born on December l6lh, 1836, in Doyles- 

town, Pennsylvania. He is the son of the Hon. 

Thomas Ross, of Doylestown, an eminent mem- 
Q'a^ ber of the bar, who represented his District in 
^ Congress, from 1848 to 1852; his gr.ind father 
was the Hon. John Ross, formerly President Judge upon 
the same bench which his grandson now occupies, and 
subsequently Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of 
Pennsylvania. Having passed successfully through his 
preparatory studies in the schools of his native section, 
he himself entered the Freshman cKtss at Princeton 
College, New Jersey, in 1S53, and graduated, with high 
honors, from that institution, in 1857. His tastes prompt- 
ing his continuance in the traditional profession of his 
family, he pursued the study of the law in the office of his 
father, and was admitted to practice on December l6th, 
1859. In a profession whose honors and emoluments, 
when rightly sought, are seldom sought in vain, he rapidly 
reached eminence. His reputation as a lawyer, and the 
.substantial grounds upon which it rested soon became 
familiar to all classes of his fellow-citizens, and, in 1862, 
he was elected District Attorney, and tilled that office for 
three years. His devotion t« his profession was not such, 
however, as to preclude ])ifll\ from the adoption and main- 
tenance of decided political opinions, and in 1864, and 
ai'ain in 1866, by the free choice of that parly, he was the 
Democratic candidate for Congress, from the 5lh Penn- 
sylvania District. On the 22d of June, 1865, he was 
married to Mary Clifton, daughter of Alfred Wharton, 
of Princeton, New Jersey. He was a Delegate to the 
Democratic National Conventions of 1864 and 1868. In 
l86g, he was elected additional Law Judge of the 7th 
Judicial District, of Pennsylvania, in which cap.acily he 
•served until December, 187 1, when he resigned in order 
to accept the position of President Judge, to which he had 
been elected at the general election of that year. This 
honorable ]»st he still occupies. In all valuable move- 
ments for the improvement of the condition of his fellow- 




men, he has always been earnest and active. In the cause 
of [)opular education he has ever been a laborious co- 
adjutor with kindred spirits of his section, and was one 
of the founders of the English and Classical Seminary, 
at Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Having been selected by 
his Alma Mater to deliver the oration before the literary 
societies of Princeton College, on June 24th, 1873, he 
presented to his delighted audience an admirable discourse 
uix)n T/te Ditty of the Americnn Scholar to become an 
active Agent in American Politics, which not only elicited 
the ecomiums of his cultured auditors, but called forth the 
highest praise from literary, scientific, and other journals. 
As a lawyer, the eloquence by which his forensic efforts 
were distinguished, rendered him a most popular advocate. 
As a judge, his acute knowleilge of human nature, even 
temper, accurate legal acquirements, strong reasoning 
jwwers, and stern adherence to right, ever display, in the 
clearest light, the eminent qualities he possesses for the posi- 
tion he now occupies. 



OSS, GEORGE, Lawyer, was born in Doyles- 
town, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the 24th 
of August, 1841. He is a son of Hon. Thomas 
Ross," the distinguished pleader, and a grand.son 
of Hon. John Ross, late Justice of the Supreme 
Court of Pennsylvania. His greatgrandfather, 
Thomas Ross, was a noted preacher in the Society of 
Friends. After a thorough preparation in various first- 
class schools of bisection, he entered the Freshman class, 
half advanced, at Princeton, New Jersey, in January, 1858, 
and graduated in 1S61. He then re.ad law with his 
brother, Hon. Henry P. Ross, and was admillcd to prac- 
tice in the courts of Bucks county, on the I3lh of June, 
1864. He was married on the 28th of December, 1S70, 
to Ellen L. Phipps, the daughter of George W. Phipps, 
of Northampton, Massachusetts. After serving in various 
conventions as a representative of the Democratic parly, 
he was elected, on the 8th of October, 1872, a member 
of the Constitutional Convention, now (1873) silting in 
Philadelphia, in which he has made his influence felt. 
Without entirely eschewing politics, he has confined him- 
self closely to the practice of his profession, and has well 
sustained the prestige of his family in the legal profession. 



J EATON, AUGUSTUS, Merchant, was born in 
New Haven, Connecticut, September l8lh, 1815. 
His paternal and maternal ancestry were Eng- 
lish, who settled in the then colony of New 
Haven, in the years 1630 and 1660 respectively. 
His father, John Heaton, was a shipping mer- 
chant of New Haven, who, losing his vessels by capture 
during the war with Great Britain, left at his decease an 




II 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



97 



embarrassed eslate, but an hoiioraljlc name, as the only- 
legacy to his children ; they, therefore, were obliged at an 
early age to seek the means of support. He himself, after 
the death of his father, left his home to seek his fortune 
in Philadelphia, where, without a relative or friend from 
whom to seek encouragement or counsel, he took employ- 
ment in I.I.; of the first houses established in this city for the 
sale of .'\merican Hardware — a business at that time scarcely 
known, but which has since so rapidly developed that it is 
how one of the leading interests of the country, American 
Hardware, which in many kinds is unrivalled, being now 
exported to all parts of the world. On the 1st of Januaiy, 
1841, he formed a co-partnership with the late A. H. 
Denckla, under the firm title of Heaton & Denckia, thus 
embarking in business on his own account. His partner 
retiring in 1863 was succeeded by his brothers, C. P. and 
C. R. Denckla, the name of the firm remaining unchanged. 
For over thirty years the house has conducted a most suc- 
cessful business, and maintained an unspotted reputation. 
He has been a member of the Union League from its 
origination, has held (without emolument) various pubjic 
offices of trust, and is a Director in some of the leading 
institutions in the city. 



^aREGG, JO.SIIUA Z., Merchant, was bgj;n at Eel- 
mont, Ohio, November 5th, 1829. His parents, 
Jcjhn S. and Mai-y Gregg, were natives of , West 
Virginia, whence they had emigrated to Ohio, 
about 1820. His education was received, at the 
High School of his native town. On leaving 
school, he commenced mercantile life in his twenty-first 
year, by opening a Avy goods store in Logan county, Ohio. 
There he remained during the ensuing ten years, having 
secured the ci ojieration of his brother, J. F. Gregg, at an 
early date. The brothers owned several stores in different 
towns In Ohio, and finally became interested in a wholesale 
Philadelphia firm in the same line. From the outset they 
made it a rule to avoid purchasing on credit whenever 
possible, and nearly their entire trade was conducted on a 
cash basis. To this wise determination and their general 
sound judgment is to be attributed their exemption from 
the disasters which have overwhelmed so many other com- 
mercial houses. In 1863, they retired from the dry goods 
lousiness, and embarked in the wool trade, under the title 
of Gregg Brothers, in Front street, Philadelphia. To this 
branch of business they brought the same judgment, tact, 
and promptness, which had already distinguished them, 
and the success that had marked their past career followed 
them in their new undertaking. The few simple rules 
which Mr. Gregg ado]>ted early in life as his guides will 
serve both to illustrate his character and to vindicate the 
true secret of his success. " Give close allention to your busi- 
ness ; " " Doii't try to get rich rapidly ; " " A penny saved, 
is a penny gained ; " " Let your constant -Lvatclnuords he 

13 




PerscT.\'ronce and Economy^ A close adherence to these 
rules could not fail to gain a merited success, and has now 
placed his house in the vciy first rank of merchants in the 
wool trade. Although taking no active part in politics, 
he is decided in his adhesion to the principles of the Re- 
publican party. In religious matters he is in full sympathy 
with the Society of Friends, of which he is a member. 
In Januai-y, 1865, he married Emma, daughter of Lewis 
C. Jungerich, a prominent banker in the City of Phila- 
delphia. In January, 1872, he lost the valuable assistance 
of his brother, J. F. Gregg, with whom he had lieen asso- 
ciated so many years, by his death in his thirty-second 
year, in London, England, whither he had gone in vain 
search of relief from a spinal alTection, which had made 
the final three years of his life a martyrdom. His upright 
character had secured him the respect and esteem of the 
mercantile world, and his unobtrusive usefulness in private 
life endeared him to a large circle of friends. There may 
be firms in Philadelphia to-day, possessed of larger capit.al, 
but it is doubtful whether any holds a more elevated posi- 
tion, or possesses higher creilit in the mercantile community. 
This eminent position has been obtained by an unswerving 
adherenc.e to the few simple rules with which they com- 
menced their mercantile career. 



'Wiedemann, Frederick, Merchant, was bom 

in Dixon, Illinois, January l8th, 1840. His father 
is the son of Profe.ssor Frederick -Tiedemann, 
the great German Anatomist, and the grandson 
of Profes.sor Dietrich Tiedemann. The latter 
was born at Bremenvorde, near l^remen, on the 
3d of April, 1748, and educated at the Uni\'ersity of Gol- 
tingen, where he won the high esteem of Professor Heyne, 
who secured for him the position of Instructor of Latin 
and Greek in the Gymnasium Carolinum, at Cassel, in 
1776; from whence he was transferred, in 17S6, to Mar- 
burg, as Professor of Philosophy. He attracted many 
students to these institutions, for he excelled as an ex- 
positor of the different Philosophical systems. He him- 
self was a follower of Wolff and Loche and an opjionent 
of Kant, and was famous for his researches into the History 
of Philosophy, Anthropology, The Origin of i^ieiigiiages, and 
similar subjects. Many of the results of Jiis investigations 
appeared in book form, but tlie Spi} it of speculative Phi- 
losophy was his opus magnum. He died at Marburg, on 
the 24th of September, 1803. Dr. Heinrich Tiedemann, 
the father of our subject, returned to the " Fatherland " 
from the United States, in 1841, where his son attended 
school in Mannheim, Baden ; and subsequently at Schwet- 
zingen near Heidelberg, until 1849, when the Baden 
Revolution broke out, and his father was elected to the 
House of Representatives in Baden. F. Hecker, who 
was the leader of tlie Rebellion against the Grand Duke, 




98 



lUOGKAPHlCAI. ENCYCI.OP.KDIA. 



was his uncle. Upon the supprcssiin of the Rebellion, 
Ihey were banished by the Crand I>iike, and Dr. Tiede- 
niann, now a resident of F'hiladelphia, was condemned to 
death, and had to fly the counliy ; he arrived in the United 
Slates a second time, in September, 1849, ami shortly 
after settled in Philadelphia, where he is now well-known. 
After they became residents of Philadelphia, Frederick, 
with his brothers and sisters, was sent to the Bultonwood 
Street School, on Buttonwood below Eleventh, to learn 
Entjlish. The i)eriod of his school life was brief, only 
extending into his fourteenth year, and on the 4lh of July, 
1854, he entered the bookstore of C. U. Henderson & Co., 
at Fifth and Arch streets, as an errand boy, receiving, of 
course, a very moderate compensation. In April, 1855, 
he entered the importing and commission house of Wesen- 
donck & Co., in Jayne's building, on Chestnut street below 
Third, where he remained until July, 1858, when he 
obtained the position of bookkeeper in the store of Ridge- 
way, Heussner & Co., 206 Chestnut street, importers of 
woollens. On April I4lh, 1861, he enlisted for three 
months, as a private in the 19th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
and served with his regiment until July 31. They were 
mustered out on the 9th of August, and on the 20th of the 
same month, he was sworn in for three years, as a private 
of Company C. of the 40th, afterward the 75th, Regiment 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, under the command of Colonel 
Bohlen. He was soon promoted to be Quarter-Master 
Sergeant of the Regiment, and attended to all the details 
i)f furnishing it, the Quarler-Master, as was usually the 
case, entrusting the chief management of his department 
to his Sergeant. On the 12th of October, he received a 
commission as Second Lieutenant; in November, 1861, 
he joined his Regiment at Hunter's Ch.apel, near Washing- 
ton, District of Columbia, as acting .\djutant, and on the 
Isl of March, 1862, he was appointed as Adjutant, with 
the rank of First Lieutenant, his commission being dated 
November 20th, 1861. Resigning on the 2d of May 
following, on account of the violent death of two of his 
brothers, he remained at home but four weeks, and then 
accompanied General Carl Schurz as Aide-de-Camp, and 
participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Rappahan- 
nock, Sulphur Springs, Freeman's Ford — where he was 
nearly ilrowned, and General lioltlen w.is killed some five 
paces fnim him — Waterloo Bridge, Second Bull Run, 
Chanlilly, Fredericksburg, Chanccllorsville, and Gettysburg. 
On the 4th of August, he resigned as Captain of Company 
G., 75th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and Assistant Adjutant- 
General of the Third Division of the nth Army Coq>s, 
but General Meade declined to accept his resignation, as 
he thought it would be detrimental to the interests of the 
service. He got a leave of absence, after its expiration 
again sent in his resignation, and it was accepted, Septem- 
ber 15, 1863; he received high certificates from Generals 
Tyndale, Schurz, Schimmelferning, .Sigel, Howard, Meade, 
Bohlen, and many others. He had enjoyed the nominal 



rank of Major ns a Staff olficer, and was in command of 
the 75lh Regiment after the battle of Bull Run, in 1862. 
On returning from the anry he re-entered the store of 
Ridgeway, Heussner & Co., as bookkeeper and assistant 
salesman, and so continued until January I, 1865, when 
by the enlisting of a young man who had been a book- 
keeper in the firm for a long lime, he was left in full 
charge of the books, had the conduct of the German cor 
respondence, and sold most of the goods. The senior 
member of the firm dying in April, 1866, he was given 
the control of the business with a power of attorney. In 
January, 1868, he engaged in business for himself, and 
sold goods on commission for New York houses ; but he 
soon began to receive direct consignments from Germany, 
and took into the business an old friend, R. Oelbermann, 
and the firm of Oelbermann & Ticdemann was established 
on the 1st of October, 1868. They are the only direct 
importers of woollens in Philadelphia, and enjoy an ex- 
cellent business reputation. He has taken a warm interest 
in reforming the Municipal Government of Philadelphia, 
and is now a Councillor at Large, from the Thirteenth 
Ward, to the Municipal Reform Association. 



EARON, JOSEPH, Merchant, was born in Phila- 
delphia, December 30th, 1819. His parents, 
James and Ellen M. Fearon, had both einigrated 
from Ireland early in life, and located in Phila- 
delphia. They gave to their son the best educa- 
tion then to be had in the city, in the Friend;,' 
school in Fourth street, a seminaiy of renown in its days. 
On leaving school, in 1837, he commenced his business 
career at the age of eighteen, as clerk in the vvholesale 
grocery store of Reilly & Smith in Water street. He 
acquired there a thorough knowledge of business, and 
became imbued with the habits of caution and application 
which have largely contributed to his subsequent success. 
After an ai">prenticeship, as clerk, of eleven years' duration, 
he decide<l, in the year 1847, to make the talents hitherto 
so profitable to others, a source of gain to himself, and 
with this view, in the above year, he opened a wholesale 
grocery .store on his own account, in Water street. In this 
enterprize he secured the cooperation of his brother, and 
the new firm took the name of Fearon & Brother. In the 
following year an accession of business talents and capital 
was secured by the admission of James M. Smith into the 
co-partnership, when the style of the firm was changed to 
Fearon S: Smith. This house has conlinue<l, for twenty-six 
years, with varying fortunes, to do business on the same 
spot on which it originally started, and has earned a large 
measure of success. In 1848, he married Catharine G., 
daughter of Samuel Hufty, a prominent citizen of New 
Jersey, at present City Treasurer of Camden in that Slate, 
He is a member of the Pri>l(-^i,ni>l Episcopal Church. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



99 




..IRST, WILLIAM L., Lawyer, was born in Phila- 
delphia, on April 23d, 1804. He is descended 
from the Moravian settler? at Bethlehem, Penn- 
sylvania. His father and grandfather were both 
engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was educated 
at Lee's Academy, in Philadelphia, until the 
year 1818, when he became the clerk in the oftice of the 
Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas, where, for 
six or .seven years, he was the only clerk. He then studied 
law under Hon. Josiah Randall, and was admitted to the 
bar, in December, 1827. He was first brought prominently 
before the public in the prosecution of Ur. Dyott, for 
fraudulent banking, which commenced early in 1839. This 
was followed, in 1840-41, by his defence of Dr. Eldridge, 
who was tried for alleged forgeries on twelve of the city 
banks; there were three trials, occupying respectively, five, 
nine, and -seven weeks, and the case ended in the discharge 
of Dr. Eldridge. In these cases he proved himself 
quick, ready, and tenacious, while his exhibition of superi- 
ority and power as a pleader, fully established his repu- 
tation. These cases were speedily followed by a largely 
increased and lucrative practice. He entered the political 
arena in 1 85 1, and was elected a member of the State 
Convention that nominated the Judges of the Supreme 
Court. In 1S52, he was a member of the Democratic 
State Convention, and became the Chairman of the State 
Central Committee, which conducted the presidential cam- 
paign resulting in the election of Franklin Pierce. He was 
elected President of the Democratic State Convention, in 
1853; re-elected Chairman of the State Central Committee 
for that year; and became President of the State Conven- 
tion which re-assembled during the summer of the same 
year. In Januai7, 1858, he was elected City Solicitor, to 
fill the place of Hon. Wm. A. Poiter, who was appointed 
a Judge of the Supreme Court. In 1868, he was nominated 
for President Judge of the District Court against Judge 
Hare, who was elected by a majority of twenty-five votes, 
in a poll of over one hundred and twenty thousand. He 
was, for six years, a prominent and useful member of the 
Board of City Gas Trustees. With these exceptions he 
has eschewed politics except as a duty, and has led a 
purely professional life. Although in his seventieth year, 
he appears to have lost none of his vitality, and labors as 
assiduously in his professional duties as he did thirty years 
ago. In personal appearance, he is a plain, unassuming, 
grave, business-like man ; but, his presence and deport- 
ment give evidence of marked ability, and show the active, 
determined, and thoroughbred lawyer. He is about five 
feet seven inches in height, with squarely built and broad 
set frame, and quick, nervous action. His features are 
regular, and their expression pleasing, while his head is 
large and finely developed. The sharp, penetrating glance 
of his eyes indicates great mental activity, tact, and con- 
centration of mind. As a speaker he is effective and 
earnest, and his utterances are peculiarly pointed and keen. 




His manner is imperturbable and calm, while his language 
flows in a smooth, steady current ; with no attempt at 
oratorical display, he speaks right on, and his great suc- 
cess attests his peculiar argumentative powers. His public 
spirit has done much to advance the interests of his munici- 
pality, and he was mainly instrumental in bringing about 
the important measure of consolidation. He has filled 
all the public offices conferred upon him with great credit 
and marked ability, but the law is his forte and his pride. 
He has achieved the snnimit of his ambition — to be a 
leader at the Philadelphia Bar. 



ONG, JAMES, Manufacturer, was born in county 
Tyrone, Ireland, in the year 1822. He is a son 
of James and Jane (Nelson) Long. His father 
was proprietor of a large linen manufactory, be- 
side being extensively engaged in agricultural 
pursuits. The son's educational advantages were 
vei7 limited, and even these were soon curtailed by reason 
of his departure, when only fifteen years of age, from his 
native soil. He turned his face, like so many of his 
countrymen, towards the shores of the great Western Re- 
public, and sought in this country an improvement of his 
pecuniaiy condition. He arrived at a most unfortunate 
period, for business was paralyzed ; the banks had all sus- 
pended specie payments ; trade was stagnated, and the 
commercial spirit of the people had grown feeble, listless 
and despondent. Instead of situations being vacant and 
clerks and salesmen in demand, merchants and manufac- 
turers were discharging their employees, while the number 
of those applying for the benefit of the insolvent laws 
seemed to be constantly increasing, and these — owing to 
the necessities of their cases — ceased to require any clerical 
or other force. The young adventurer, of course, experi- 
enced great difficulty in finding an opening; but, after 
some time passed in a fruitless search, his efforts were 
finally crowned with success, and in the early part of the 
following year, 1838, he was engaged as a clerk in the 
house of Glenn & Fraley. From these he passed to the 
establishment of Isaac Barton ; and after some time had 
elapsed, he filled a position in the store of Adam Moffit, in 
the (then) District of Kensington. But his ambitious 
spirit was never at rest, notwithstanding that each change 
was for the better; he sought a higher station, which he 
finally achieved by being appointed to fill the position of 
head salesman in the wholesale and retail grocery store of 
Edward P. Frick. Here his duties were excessively ardu- 
ous, by reason of the great number of hours devoted to the 
business. Each week-day his continued presence was de- 
manded for seventeen long hours, from 5 A. M. to 10 p. M., 
and faithfully did he serve his employer during that long 
business " day." Meanwhile, his uncle, James Nelson, a 
manufacturer of cotton goods, noticed his steady habits, his 



BIOGRAPIllCAL ENCYCI.OP.€DIA. 



earnest attention to business, and his capabilities for even 
a higher and more extended sphere; and in 1843 offered 
him the situation of General Superintendent of his mills, 
as well as that of head salesman in his establishment. The 
proposal was acceiited, and by the great business taci, en- 
ergy and industry he displayed in his uncle's employ, so 
won upon the latter that in three years' time he was given 
an interest in the firm. The co-partnership lasted for two 
years, when the senior member, in 1848, retired from the 
house, and the entire management of the concern devolved 
ujwii his shoulders. For several years he was wholly oc- 
cupied with the manufacture of cottons, but other business 
demanding his .mention, he was obliged to divide his time 
accordingly. Having been one of the original subscribers 
to the stock of the Huntingdon & Broad Top Railroad 
Company, he was elected, in 1S58, a Director of the s.imc, 
which official station he has continuously held until the 
present. He was likewise one of the original subscribers 
to the slock of the Frankford & Southwark Passenger Rail- 
way Company (the first laid down in Philadelphia), and is 
also a Director in the s.inie. He was, in 1865, one of the 
original founders of the Eighth National Bank, was elected 
a member of its first Board of Directors, and is now Vice- 
President of the corcior.ation. He also fills the responsible 
position of Treasurer of the Pcnn Mutual Life Insurance 
Comj)any. In lhea]iproaching International Exposition for 
the Centennial Celebration of American Independence, to be 
held in Phil.idelphia in 1876, he has been selected to the 
very important position of Chairman of the Committee of 
Cotton and Woollen Manufacturers. As a member of the 
Board of Education, he is, in all probability, more frequently 
consulted, and with much greater satisfaction, than any of 
his colleagues. In religious matlvrs, he is also gre.ntly in- 
terested. He is a prominent .and influential member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Trustee of the Church 
Extension Society; in this latter connection he has shown, 
by his bcnefacliims, a most remarkable and liberal spirit. 
He is also a Manager of the Tract Society, controlled by 
this denomination, and is a member of the Missionary So- 
ciety, whose sphere of operations are under the management 
of the Philadelphia Conference. 



fELTON, SAMUEL K., Merch.ant, w.as born July 
8lh, 1832, in the village of Fellonville, Phila- 
delphia county, a place which derived its name 
from his father, John Fellon, who was born 
there, and became one of its most distinguished 
citizens. The family is of Germ.an extraction, 
Philip Fellon, his grandfather, having arrived with his 
parents in this country from Germany when only six years 
of age. In the rapid growth of Philadelphia, Ihe name of 
Fellonville, like many others which formed well known 
landmarks around the old city, has disapiK-ared, and the 
vill.igc is now included in Ihe Twenty-second Ward. The 




rudiments of his education were given him at the public 
school of his native village, and he afterwards studied at 
Ihe Clarmount Academy, near Frankford. Having finally 
left school at Ihe age of seventeen, he in the year 1849 o''" 
tained a clerkship in the -store of Christian Shrack, on 
Fourth street, and thus commenced his business career. 
For fourteen years he was unfaltering in his close applica- 
tion to duty; and thus h.iving gained ihe favor and confi- 
dence of his emjiloyers, he was admitted as junior patlner 
in the firm during ihe last two years of his connection with 
them. In the year 1863, he formed a co-partnership with 
Conrad F. Rau and Edward A. .Sibley, both men of cnlcr- 
prise, talent and good standing, and the three commenced 
busint-ss on their own account in paints and varnishes. 
Limited in extent at first, their business soon acquired 
greater ])roporlions through the application and energy 
which they constantly bestowed upon it, until they now do 
one of the largest trades in their line in the Slale, besides 
being the most extensive varnish manufacturers in Phila- 
delphia, they having given especial attention to this par- 
ticular branch. In 1856, he was married to Anna M. 
Sickler, daughter of Christopher .Sickler, of Camden counly, 
New Jersey, and has four sons and two daughters. In 
religious convictions, he is a sincere and consistent Chris- 
tian, and is a prominent member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, for Ihe advancement of which his efforts have 
been earnest and constant. As a local preacher, cl.ass- 
leader, and trustee of the church of OIney, he has done 
much lo forward the cause of religion and morality. 



TTING, EDWARD J., Jr., Merchant, was born 
in Philadelphia, November 4th, 1840. His 
father, Horatio Etiing, was a prominent mer- 
chant of that city, a sketch of whose life will be 
found in this volume, while his mother, Frances, 
was Ihe daughter of Joseph Marx, a highly re- 
spected citizen of Richmond, Virginia. Having been edu- 
cated at the private academy of J. W. Faris, on leaving 
school he entered the office of E. & V. C. Tarnall, exten- 
sive wholes.alc dealers in drugs and chemicals. His slay 
here, however, was limited lo one year. He next became 
engaged with his uncles, Edward J. Elling & Brother, pro- 
bably the oldest and certainly among the most extensive 
iron dealers in the city. In this practical school he ac- 
quired that thorough knowledge of business, and those 
habits of industry and application without which mere 
natural aptitude is apt to fail. On attaining his majority, 
in 1861, he quilted the employment of his uncles, formed a 
copartnci-ship with Charles Cabot, and under the firm 
name of Cabot & Filing commenced business on their own 
account at 106 Walnut street. For Ihe succeeding seven 
vears they did an extensive trade in iron of every descrip- 
tion. As in business generally, llitir fortune was varied. 




-SP 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



though they had to congratulate themselves on generally 
favoralile results. Their past endeavors had met with a 
fair measure of success and the prospect was bright, when 
everything was thrown into confusion by the sudden dis- 
appearance of Mr. Cabot, leaving the accounts of the firm 
in disorder. .Such a blow would have crushed most young 
men, but in this case it only served to nerve the remaining 
partner to still more vigorous efforts. He resolved to con- 
tinue the business at its former stand, and taught by the 
bitter lesson of the past, his own name alone now appears 
in the firm. The large measure of success that has atten- 
ded his subsequent career has been the legitimate result of 
the cautious enterprise with which the affairs of the firm 
have been conducted. Though still barely thirty years 
old, an age at which many, who have subsequently gained 
a brilliant position in the mercantile world, had not com- 
niLMiced business for themselves, yet he has already acquired 
an enviable reputation. The exercise of the same talents 
that have secured his past success will doubtlessly, in the 
long career before him, secure to him some of the highest 
prizes of merc.anlile ambition. In 1862, he married M. L., 
daughter of Thomas Ross Newbokl, well known as a law- 
yer, and still better as the chief editor of the North Ameri- 
can Gazette. 



?NODGRASS, WILLIAM T., Merchant, was born 
in Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsyl- 
vania, on September 17th, 1813. His father, 
William Snodgrass, was one of the most exten- 
sive merchants in Cumberland county, and was a 
man of precision and sterling integrity. He is 
derived from Scotch-Irish ancestry, but several generations 
have been born and lived in this country. His preparatory 
education was conducted with a view to a course of legal 
study, but at the age of thirteen, a circumstance changed 
the original design, and he entered his father's store to be 
initiated into the routine of business, and from constant 
association with him to imbibe some of that systematic and 
prompt management of business matters which character- 
ized him through life. At fifteen, he was left alone in 
Philadelphia, exposed to all the temptations incident to 
that early age ; but, shunning evil associations, he spent his 
leisure time in study. For five years it was his custom to 
devote three hours daily to mental culture, and he thus 
gained for himself not only a vast amount of the practical 
knowledge that has so eminently fitted him for the carrying 
out of his various enterprises, but also formed habits of 
using up the odds and ends of time that most men allow to 
run to waste. .Starting with a capital of six dollars, and 
refusing all aid from rich or poor relatives, by the power 
of his own industry, energy and merit, he has risen step 
by step and won for himself the proud place in which he 
now stands. The fine building at the Northwest corner 
of Ninth and Market streets is a worthv monument to the 




ability of a man who has carved out his own fortune, edu- 
cated to his business forty-nine young men, and bids fair 
to live to prepare many more for a successful and useful 
career. He never joined a club nor endorsed any paper 
outside of his business, which he makes a lifetime work, 
seeming fully determined to wear out rather than rust out. 
The opening hour of the day he always spends in medita- 
tion. He is bound by the ties of no political party, and 
has uniformly declined all political honors. He is a mem- 
ber of the Board of Trade. He is a prominent and useful 
member of the West Arch Street Presbyterian Church, and 
has contributed much, by his practical and systematic 
manner of conducting business matters, to advance its 
secular interests. This, as well as the old Sixth Church, 
the lower Arch Street Church, Alexander and Princeton, 
has been the recipient of his bounty, and they all testify to 
the eflSciency of his labors toward the removal of debts. 
In this latter field he has labored most assiduously, but the 
world may never know of the agency through which many 
such beneficent results are accomplished, so modestly and 
unostentatiously does he act. His religious sentiments are 
liberal, and combine the excellencies of the Orthodox 
Friends, Methodists, Evangelical Episcopalians, Open Com- 
munion Baptists and Presbyterians. Exacting as an em- 
ployer, he places eveiy young man upon his own merit, but 
his active sympathy with all that concerns them draws 
them near to him and makes them feel that in him they 
have more than a friend. To the world generally he is a 
pleasant, courteous and benevolent gentleman. 



AGNER, GENERAL LOUIS, Insurance Broker, 
was liorn in the city of Giessen, Germany, August 
4lh, 183S. He attended school in his native 
country for five years, but his parents, in 1849, 
soon after the German Revolution of 1848, came 
to the United States and settled in Philadelphia, 
where he completed his education, finishing at the Zane 
Street Grammar School. After leaving school, he served 
an apprenticeship of four years as a lithographic printer, 
with L. R. Rosenthall, of Philadelphia; upon attaining his 
majority, August 4th, 1859, he married Hattie Slocum, of 
Philadelphia, and engaged in business on his own account, 
so continuing till the outbreak of the Rebellion, 1861. He 
entered the service of his country in August, 1 861, as First 
Lieutenant of Company L, Eighty-eighth Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers, and, in recognition of his services, was promoted 
through the successive grades until he became Colonel of 
his regiment and Brevet Brigadier-General of United .States 
Volunteers. He was severely wounded at the second Bull 
Run, August 30th, 1862, and, though still suffering from the 
effects of his injury, rejoined his regiment in January, 1S63, 
and p.articipated in the battle of Chancellorsville, after 
which his wound broke out afresh, and he was compelled to 




102 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.-EDIA. 



retire from field ser^•ice. He was delachcd to organize | the Creek and Seminole Indians, he was commissioned a First 
Camp William Penn. where he recruited the firit colored Lieutenant \>y President Andrew Jack'^on, June 1st, 1S36, 



troojw who enlisted in the United States service, and, dur- 
ing a (wriod of two years, raised over thirteen thousand five 
hundred men. Since the war, he has l>een engaged in the 
insurance business in partnership with his brother, George 
E. Wagner. He has received many evidences of the public 
appreciation of his gallantry and patriotism. I le represented 
the Twenty-seconil Ward in Councils from 1867 to 1S73, 
and was President of the Common Council during 1869-70 
and '72, by which he became, ex officio, a memlier of the 
Park Commission and of the Board of Public Trusts, 
the latter position comprehending the duties of a director 
of Girard College. He was ap|»inted a member of the 
Board of Public Education by the Court of Common Pleas 
of Philadelphia, for three years, in May, 1S73. During hjs 
life he has alw.nys manifested the greatest interest -in all 
movements looking to moral reform, and w.as early identified 
with the temperance cause. He joined Friendship Division, 
No. 19, Sons of Temi>erance, in 1862, and eiiiered the. 
Grand Division in 1S63, where he held the office of Grand 
Worthy Patriarch in 1865-6. He presided at "the State 
Temperance Convention which organized, the Pennsylvania 
Temperance Union, in February, 1867, and was Chairman 



of the Twenty-second Ward Local Option Executive C^ni 
mittee, in which position he labored with great a.ssi_dij^iyr 
and effect. He is a member of the Independent Order o£ 
Good Templars, and Grand Worthy Cliief Tcmpl.-tf of Penn- 
sylvania. He organized an<l conim«nded the Pennsylvania 
Grand Army of the Republic,' and seVved as Junior and 
Senior Vice Comm-ander-in-CUfiC. of tht United States for 
two years. He is Brigadier-General of the Fifth Brigadf 
of the First Division Nation.il^arditjf iPennsylvania. .' He 
has been a member of the Anciejit, York M.-i^ns^since 1 865, 
and has advanced to the Grand "hoflgj and Grand Chapter. 
He is a prominent and active member of IheMarkct Square 
Presbyterian Church in Germantown, .and_ is the efficient' 
Superintendent of the S.ibbath school connected/therewith. 
Thus, by the force of his great natural ability, added to his 
indomitable perseverance and strict integrity, he has risen 
to high social and public position. 



"ADDOX, WILLIAM A. T., Captain and Assist- 
ant Quavtermaster of United Stales Marine Corps, 
\va.s born in Charles county, Marylaml, Faljruar-y 
2Sth, 1815. He is the son of WTIllam R, Mad 
dox; and his family, who are of Engllsli and 
Scotch extraction, were among the very first 
settlers of Maryland. His mother was of the old and well 
known Skinner family, of his native State. He was edu- 
cated at the Columbia College, at Washington, District of 
Columbia, .and at Kenyon College, Ohio; he studied medicine 
during one full course. Having volunteered in the war with 



and commanded a company of volunteers under General 
Jessup, United States Army. Having irobilwd a love for 
militar)' life, and desiring to reap the advantages of the sea, 
he sought and obtained, in the face of the strongest compe- 
tition, a commission as Second Lieutenant United Stales 
Marine Corps, October 17th, 1837,10 take rank from October 
I4lh, 1837, and reiwrlcd at headquarters October 23d, 1837. 
After active service in various stations, including a cruise to 
the Mediterranean, he was assigned to the sloop " Cyane," 
Pacific Station, August loth, 1845, '*"'' landed at Monterey, 
Oilifornia, July 4lh, 1846, where the American flag wa.s 
hoisted and the country taken possession of; he re€mbarked 
on the " Cyane " July 26lh, 1846, and on the 29th, with his 
^wn hands, raised the American flag at San Diego. On 
.\ugi5a iSth, he landed at .San Pedro with a guard of 
marines, and marched on foot to ihe Puebla de Los 
Angelos;,-after remaining there three days, he was appointed 
^j Commodore Stockton to the command of two conqianies 
of vOTflrtte'cr mounted riflemen, with orders to proceed to 
the north^in pur?;uit of General .■Mvarado. In a skirmish at 
SjuiJ.^uis Obispo, he captured and paroled a large number 
of prisoners, including fifteen ofiicers, among whom were 
Generai Baptisic Alvarado, Colonel Manuloti Castro and 
Caiit.iin Peaco. He arrived at Monterey, after a march of 
500' miles, on September loth. 

The Arijiy of Caiifornia w.xs org.anized by Ihe following 
General Order : 




Besides the GovcrnM and Commander-in-Chief, there 
will' be from this day a*Slililarj' Commandant of the Terri- 
tory of Cnlifoi^nia, whosejjuly it will be to superintend and 
direct ati the military riptf.alion-i in Ihe Territory, according 
to the dircclions that he $ay.fn)m time 10 lime receive from 
the Govprnor, to whom he \y4ll report all his proceedings. 
The Territory will hercifler be divided into three military 
deparlmenls, to e.ach of w'hrcli will lie appointed a Mditary 
Com'maiYrtant, who will receive instructions from, and be 
re.spoijsible to, the Military Ccmimand.ant of the Territory. 
R. F. Stockton, 
Governor and Commander-in-Chief 
of the Territor)' of California. 

Ciudad de los Angeles, Stpt. 2, 1S46. 
He received instructions as follows: 

Monterey, Sf/>/. 22, 1846. 

Sir : — I herewith enclose to you your commission as 
^Military ^Comm.andaiit of this Department. Martial law 
will (joiitinue in force throughout the whole Territory until 
otherwise ordered by the Governor of the same. Notw ilh- 
standing, however, the existence of martial law, you will 
permit the civil officers of the Government to proceed in the 
exercise of Iheir proper functions; nor will you interfere 
with Iheir duties, except in cases where the peace and safety 
of the Territory require your aid or interference. You will 
lake care that my proclamation of ihe I7lh be strictly ob- 
served throughout this Department, except as to those per- 
sons who may be exempted by your written order from the 





CAP r S AO.M - U S.M.C. 



Er/ORiTfD fly A J WilLTEfc tBILA 








O <r/ fy7. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP.EDIA. 



103 



operation of its provisions. You are authorized, wlienever 
it can be prudently done, to give written permission to per- 
sons Ivnown to l)e friendly to the Government, to he out 
themselves, and to send their servants out, before sunrise in 
the morning. You are likewise authorized to grant permis- 
sion when you see fit, to persons known to be friendly, to 
carry arms with them, whenever it appears to you tliat they 
stand in need of them for their own or their servants' pro- 
tection. The Alcaldes and all the civil officers of the Gov- 
ernment within this Department, which have not been 
elected by the people or commissioned by me, will be ap 
pointed by Judge Colton, subject to my approval. He will 
have at his disposal, in Monterey, three constables to do the 
ordinary business of his court, and ytju will afiord any as-' 
sistance that he may require and which you can give, with 
the forces under your command, to apprehend or detain 
prisoners; or in any other way to support his authority as 
Judge of this district. I enclose to you a General Orfier, for 
the organization of the Army of California. Whenever op- 
portunity offers, you will write to me as to the state of the 
country and the feelings of the people within this ''Depart- 
ment. Faithfully your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton, ■ — 
Governor and Commander-in-Chief. 

To Lieut. Wm. A. T. Maudox, 

Military Commandant of the Middle Department. 

The following acknowledgment of his services was en- 
closed : 

Knoit) all men by these presents. That ' I, Robert F. 
Stockton, Governor and Commander-in-Cht^f of 'the Terri- 
tory of California : Reposing special conlidence in file ability 
and patriotism of Lieutenant William A. T. Maddox, of the 
United States >Lirine Corps, do hereby appoint him to be 
the Military Commandant of this Departni'jnt.' That"is~ to 
say, of the Territory of California, extending from San Yues 
at the south to Santa Ci'uz at the north. ' To have and -to 
exercise all the powers and privileges of that office until the 
Governor of the said Territory shall otherwise direct. "There- 
fore by these presents I hereby command all civil and mili- 
tary ofiicers and citizens to obey him accordingly. 

Given under my hand, at Monterey, this twenty-third day 
of September, A. D., one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
six. R. F. Stockton, 

Governor and Commander-in-Chief 

of the Territory of California. 

He discharged his high official functions with commend- 
able efficiency until he was relieved by a force of artillery, 
on February iSlh, 1S47, under the following complimentary 
General Order : 

The Commander-in-Chief has great satisfaction in an- 
nouncing to the inhaliitants of Monterey, that from informa- 
tion received from various sources, he has every reason to 
believe that the disorders which have recently disturbed the 
'I'erritory of California are at an end, and that peace and 
security are restored to this district certainly, and he hopes 
to the whole Territory. The improved state of affairs in the 
district and the arrival of a company of United States artil- 
lery, under Captain Tompkins, has enabled the Commander- 
in-Chief to disj^ense with the services of the company of 
Mounted Volunteers, under Lieutenant Maddox, of the 
Marine Corps. The patriotic settleis who compose this 
con'ii>any nol>ly stejiped forward in the time of danger, and 
stood between the flag of the United Stales and the defence- 
less women and children of Monterey on the one hand, and 



bands of lawless disturbers of the peace on the other. For 
such disinterested conduct the companj of Mounted Volun- 
teers, under Lieutenant Maddox, of the Marine Corps (act- 
ing as Captain), is tendered the thanks of the Coniniauder- 
in-Cliief, and will without doubt receive applause and due 
recompense from the General Government. 

Given on board the United States ship " Independence," 
Harbor of Monterey, February I, 1S47. 

W. Bradford Shubrick, 

Commander-in-Chief. 

He subsequently accompanied Commodore Stockton, with 
a party of men, overland from Ensanada, Southern Cali- 
fornia', south to Santa Tomassa, and thence to the Rio 
Colorado, to intercept the Mexican force expected by that 
route, and returned to Monterey May 15th, 1847. He was 
brevetted ^Captain October 24th, 1848,10 take rank from 
January 3^ 1847, for gallant conduct at Santa Clara on that 
date, and in suppressing the insurrection at Monterey while 
he was Military Commandant. He was commissioned 
Captain, United -States Marine Corps, March 7lh, 1857, 
to take rank from September 27th, 1S56, and commanded 
the Second Company of the Marine Battalion that fired on 
the mob it^ June, 1857, at Washington, District of Columbia; 
he assisted in the capture of the cannon of the " Plug Ugly " 
riotVs, 'and in the suppression of the riot. He married Miss 
Monghon, of Georgia, ;Pctober glh, 1850, and, after having 
seeij hjs full propoitiorj of .sea .service, he was influenced by 
tlve d^icatg/liealth of his wife to seek a stafl^ appointment, 
.which deprived him of further promotion in the line. He 
was accoriliijgly commissioned Assistant-Quartermaster, 
United' States Marine Corps, October 6th, 1857, to take 
rank from September 28th, 1857; and since the 26th of 
October following has had charge of the Quartermaster's 
Department in Philadelphia. The staff duties appertaining 
thereto during the war were veiy onerous, and thereby pre- 
vented him from taking a more active part in the suppression 
of the Rebellion. Had Captain Maddox remained in the 
line of promotion, he would now be the Senior Colonel and 
next to the General Commandant. The distinguished ser- 
vices of this gallant officer have won for him the repeated 
and flattering encomiums of his brother officers, also the 
Government officials, and he has reduced the business of the 
Assistant-Quartermaster's Office to a model of system and 
economy. He is commanding in person, and possesses much 
dignity of manner, but is very attractive in society, and a 
man of much benevolence. 



-^^t|^] OGERS, WILLIAM D., Carriage-builder, was 
born in Baltimore, Maryland, July 19th, 1821. 
He served an apprenticeship to the carriage- 
building business in Philadelphia, and worked at 
the same in various New England cities, together 
with others in the West and South. He visited 
Havana, likewise. He met with success and disappointment, 
alternately, but finally returne.d to Philadelphia with a 



I04 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCI.OP/KDIA. 



small amount of means, and a ihorough knowledge of his 
u.ide, aci|iiiic<l under some of the most skilful master work- 
men. Uc then went into business on his own account, and 
eniployed ten hands the first year, which numbered fifty, 
two years later, and thereafter gradually increased year by 
year. From a small Iwgiiining, he built up a great business, 
and raised himself to a level with Watson, the leading 
manufacturer of Philadelphia. His vehicles were sought 
for and shij'ped to every ciiy in the Union; France, Eng- 
land, Italy, .ind Germany became f.miiliar with his name. 
For fiiurteen years he prospered, but at the outbreak of the 
late civil war, he encountered adversity through filling large 
orders from the South. Me met misfortune bravely, and 
immediately arranged for the unreserved sale of all his 
real and personal estate. His creditors, sixty in num- 
ber, gave him a written and unconditional release; and 
many of his friends, more fortunate than himself, came for- 
ward,with offers of pecuniary help. He however declined 
these kindly proffers, and bravely begin the world for the 
second time. When the auction sale took place, in order 
that the contents of the factory might not be sacrificed, a 
creditor's fund w.is instituted, and most of the unfinished 
work, apparatus, and tools were bought in; and he pledged 
himself to work for the fund, at a salaiy for six months. 
At the end of that period, the stockholders received seventy 
and one-half per cent, on their investment. They then 
transferred the tools, machinery, and unfinished work yet 
remaining to him, with the understanding that payment for 
the s.ime was to be made at his own time and convenience. 
With this properly and S285 c.-\sh capital, he went to work 
again with renewed hope and energy. Prostrated by the 
first shock of disaster, and for some time confined to his bed 
by illness, he put forth all his energies, fully discharged his 
obligations, over §60,000, completely re-established his 
business, repaired his broken fortunes, and his standing in 
the mercantile community became higher than before. 
Having suffered from the credit, he changed his policy to 
the cash system. In 1870, he leased the factory formerly in 
the occupancy of George W. Wntson & Co., in the same 
business; and in 1871, entered into partnership with Joseph 
Moore, Jr., son of the President of the National Bank of the 
Northern Liberties, and thoroughly reorganized its various 
departments to fulfil the growing demands of the trade. 

C^-i/^RESSON, JAMES, Manufacturer, was the son of 
James and Hannah Cresson. He was born in 
Philadelphia on October loth, 1806, and was 
educated in the Friends' Schools of his native 
State. He cng.iged in mercantile pur^iuits in 
Pittsburgh, in 1826, and remained there until 1829, 
when he returned to Philadelphia and subsequently engaged 
in the hardware business. On May 22d, 1832, he was 
married to Mary J. Leedom, the daughter of Jonathan Lee- 




dom, of Philadelphia, and continued to reside in Philadel- 
phia until 1839, when he purchased a farm in Montgomery 
county, and removed thither. There he lived until 1850. 
On June 6th, 1848, he associated with D. O. & H. S. Hit- 
ner, and purchased the William Penn Furnace, at .Spring 
Mills, Montgomery county. He managed that alone until 
1856, when they built William Penn No. 2, and continued 
the operation of both works until 1859, when he retired 
from business. But his disposition ccu'.d not long endure 
a retirement from the active duties of life, and, having as- 
sociated with Francis Bacon, he purchased the mill on Ford 
street, Norristown, on January 2d, 1864, and continued to 
lend his energy and large business experience to its opera- 
lion until his de.ith, January 30lh, 1872. He early imbibed 
Abolitionist principles, and, during the existence of slavery, 
he was among the most earnest advocates of its eradication. 
Of generous nature, his ample means were largely expended 
in benevolence. He was descended from members of the 
Society of Friends, and was himself a member from birth. 
His consistent and beautiful life was a living exposition of 
the doctrines of his sect. Upon the division of the Society, 
he adhered to the Orthodox branch, and was a prominent 
and useful member thereof to the time of his dece.ose. 
During the last few years of his life, he was much troubled 
with vertigo, and for two weeks prior to his death had been 
an anxious and unceasing attendant at the l>edside of a 
sick wife, while the cares of a large manufactory pressed 
upon him heavily. Under this burden his wearied and 
overtaxed brain gave way, and he died. 



^iOr IMPSON, JOHN ALEXANDER, Lawyer, was 
5S^llL born in Wilmington, Delaware, February 17th, 
1824. A few years later, his parents removed to 
Philadelphia and placed him at various schools 
in that city — that kept by Mrs. Mundel, in Fifth 
street, above Prune, the model school in Chester 
street, then conducted on the Lancasterian system, and a 
grammar school in 1837. When fifteen years old, as he 
was now well grounded in a solid English education and 
manifested uncommon aptitude for mechanics, his parents 
placed him in the establishment of Messrs. Garret & II.iy- 
cock, w.itch-case makers, in order to learn that trnde. There 
he remained until he was of age, when he commenced as a 
silversmith, and later, with his brother, as a watch case 
maker, and, in 1 850, opened a watch and jewelry store. 
Anxious, however, to exchange these pursuits for a profcs 
sional life, he obtained, in 1852, the position of appear- 
ance clerk in the Sheriff's office, and devoted his leisure to 
the study of law. Previous to this his interest in political 
questions had secured him, in 1850, an election from the 
Whig party to the Board of Commissionei's, and, in 1851, 
the Assessorship of the .Second Ward of the Northern 
Liberties, to which he was re elected in 1852 and 1853. In 




r.ior,RArnicAi. ENXvcLor.EniA. 



loj 




the latter year he was achnitted to the bar and was a candi- 
date for the legislature, but was not successful in obtaining 
this office until the following year. As School Director 
of the Twenty-fourth Ward he was elected successively in 
lS6o, 1S63, 1S66, 1869 and 1872, and was put in general 
nomination for Congress in 1870, but unsuccessfully. When 
delegates were chosen to the Convention for remodelling 
the State Constitution in 1872, he was elected to that office, 
by perhaps the heaviest majority cast for any one member. 
As a ready debater, a keen advocate, and a gentleman of 
liberal views and courteous demeanor, he has gained many 
friends and won a wide reputation. In 184S, he married 
Mary A. Atmore, of Philadelphia, and has four children. 



,OTT, COLONEL HENRY SPEERING, Mer- 
chant and Politician, was born September 23d, 
iSil, at Easton, Northampton county, Pennsyl- 
vania. His paternal ancestry were English 
Quakers, his grandfather having emigrated from 
the old country to Philadelphia. His father, 
Edward Molt, studied law in Easton and moved to Pike 
county, where he married Elizabeth Speering. This lady 
was the daughter of Henry .Speering, who, from the rank 
of fifer in the patriot armies of the Revolution, rose to the 
position of General in those of the war of 1812, besides 
holding the offices of .Sheriff and Prothonotary of Northamp- 
ton county. With such ancestry, his tendency to political 
life was hcreditaiy. Although he commenced as a mcr 
chant, and until his twenty-fourth year followed that calling, 
no sooner had he attained his legal majority than he was 
commissioned Justice of the Peace by Governor George 
Wolf, an office he held until 1838, when he voluntarily re- 
signed it, to lake the position of Sheriff of Pike county. His 
election to this post was, however, not recognised by Gover- 
nor Bitner, and no commission was sent him. When 
Governor Porter was elected he immediately commissioned 
Colonel Mott as Prothonotary and Clerk of the Courts of 
Record, which offices he continued to hold without inter- 
mplion and almost without opposition for seven years. 
In 1851, his party elected him to the State Legislature, and 
in 1854 again, by a majority of l8S,ooo, to the office of Canal 
Commissioner, which he filletl three years, leaving behind 
him a most honorable record. The three years, 1860-1863, 
he was State Senator, and in the legislation of that trying 
period has left many marks of his infle.Nible devotion to 
the principles he considered essential to the well-being of 
the Commonwealth. When the Constitutional Convention 
of the State was convened in 1872, he was sent as a dele- 
gate, and in the arguments held there bore a conspicuous 
part. Early in life he married Hannah Bull, of Orange 
county. New York, by which union he had three children. 
In 1844, lie was united in second marriage to Belinda 
Peters, by whom he has two sons, still surviving. In 1S72, 

■4 




he lost also this companion, and now resides with his chil- 
dren in the town of Milford, one of the most beautiful sites 
in northern Pennsylvania. Of tall and robust figure, sound 
constitution, and undiminished vigor, he promises still many 
years of useful labor to the State in whose growth he h.is 
always been so profoundly interested. 



OWRIE, WALTER H., Jurist, was born March 
31st, 1820, while his parents were en route from 
Cumberland county to Pittsburgh. Matthew B. 
I^wrie, his father, was of Scotch descent, and 
Sarah Emmerson, his mother, of Scotch-Irish 
lineage. Living in Pittsburgh as a boy, he was 
placed at the best schools of that city, and received an aca- 
demical education at the Western University. Choosing to 
pursue the profession of law, he entered the office of Judge 
Forward and was admitted to practice after the usual exami- 
nation. His rise at the bar was rapid, and, in 1848, he was 
appointed President Judge of the District Court, and, in 
1857, was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Supreme 
bench as Associate Justice. In 1870, on his election to the 
President Judgeship of the district in which Meadville is 
located, he removed to that town and has since made it his 
home. Early in life he married Rachel Thompson, and 
has three children. Still in the vigor of his years, and with 
a reputation for knowledge and ability which extends 
throughout the Slate, he may reasonably look forward to 
many years of usefulness. He has always been an earnest 
Presbyterian, taking an active part in church matters, and 
held ihe office of Presiding Elder in the Second Presbyterian 
Church of Pittsburgh. 



OWARD, HON. THOMAS, Lawyer, was born 
in Rome, New York, August 28th, 1818. His 
father was an eminent minister of the Baptist 
Church, and with his family moved to Crawford 
county, Pennsylvania, in 1828. There, at the 
early age of thirteen, his son, with no means and 
but such education as could be obt.ained in the old log 
school-house, set out on foot for the lake shore, and walked 
up to the waters of Erie, a distance of eighty miles, with 
all his patrimony upon his back. At Erie he entered a 
store, and engaging for his leisure hours a competent teacher, 
soon acquired a sound education. At the age of nineteen 
he started for Pittsburgh, and there studied law with John 
Williamson, and, in 1843, ^^^ admitted to the bar. In 
the outset of life he affiliated with the Democratic parly, 
but seeing reason to change his views, he supported Fre- 
mont in 1S56, and has since been an earnest and active 
Republican, starting with that organization at the hour of 
its christening. In 1861, he was selected by Secretaiy of 




io6 



UIOGRAl'llICAL ENCVCLOlVliDIA. 



State Seward to go to San Juan del Sud, in Nicaragua, 
where, after seven months of faithful service he resigned 
the consulate and resumed the practice of his profession in 
Pittsburgh. In 1869, he was elected to the Stale Senate, to 
fill the une]i|iired term of Hon. Russell Errctt. resigned, 
and served one year. Soon after this he began to suffer 
from ill health, and for two years was so much of an invalid 
th.at he could take but little interest in politics or public af- 
fairs. He therefore held no other office until 1S73, when 
he wxs elected to the Convention called for the purpose of 
amending the Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania. 
In that body he proved himself to be a fine speaker and a 
fearless and bold statesman, taking the front rank in favor 
of radical reform. He is of medium height, with a fine 
head, and is so youthful in appearance th.it it is hard to re- 
alize that he is the father of Hon. Jay T. Howard^ now 
consul in Italy. - *■ * > 



y 



f 



'ORSOX, GEORGE NOR.MAN,*,Lawyer, was, 
lorn March Illh, 1834, in Softth Providence 
township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. The 
family is one numbering amosg its«ieml)*i-s seve- 
ral men of eminence in scieniilic tirclesi his uncles, 
^ Drs. Hiram Alan and William "Corson,. having 
long been distinguished as practitioners and wnttrs on pfo- 
fessional subjects. His mother's nanie u'as SaKtn Eglierl, 
ami that of her mother was NormitrijfrfiiS whomJiis middle 
name is derived. The occupation of his father, Charles 
Corson, being that of a far«iei','he.<-cccived his ««rly c^luia- 
tion at country schools, subs^r|ucmly being serittoSteeinont 
Seminary, in Norristown, .then i.conducled-'hy' the Rev. 
Samuel Aaron, and Freelandjbeminaiiy'auhe Ttappe,inthe 
same county. With a'lauda^ Ijve of independence, he 
commenced leaching at the age of. seventeen, in order to pro- 
vide himself means to study law, and enli;re4 fojfll^^t pur- 
pose the office of James lioyd, of Nori islown, Ijjrcoming a 
fellow student of Charles Hunsicker, December -5lh, 1853. 
Three years later he was .admitted to the bar, and soon com- 
manded a respectable ])ractice. In 1S62, he received from 
Liovernor Curtin the appointment of Notaiy Public, and in 
1S62, was appointed Register in liankruptcy, upon the 
recommendation of Judge Chapman, James Boyd, and the 
Hon. Simon Cameron. This office he held until elected a 
delegate to the Constitutional Convention called for the pur- 
pose of remodelling the Constitution yf the State of Pennsyl- 
vania in 1872-1873, when he resigned the former responsi- 
ble trust. He w.as also nominated for the office of Presi- 
dent Judge of the Seventh Judicial District, receivijig tl>% 
unanimous vote of the Convention, but owing to the fact 
that the district was Democratic, and he Republican, he 
w.as defeated. He has always taken an active and ardent 
part in politics. In 1861, at the outbreak of the Rebellion, 
lie was instrumental in raising a regiment under the call of 



the President for 75,000 men, and scr\ed himself as a private 
soldier from 21st of April, 1861, to the expiration of the 
term of enlistment — three months. He is a thorough Re- 
publican, having served his party in various responsible 
capacities, and having been chosen as delegate to several 
county and St.ate conventions. The presidency of county 
conventions has been assigned him, and as a member of 
State and county committees, he has been frequently en 
gaged as a cami>aign speaker since Ajgust, 1S56, often 
speaking every night during a canvass. In 1870, he made 
an extended tour through Europe, corresponding during 
his absence with the Norrislnvn lltrald, his letters attract- 
ing much attention. Literary efTorls in fact, were by no 
means strange to him, as he had been a frequent contri- 
butor to the periodicals of the day, had written a number 
'of articles for Apfilelon^s American CyclopttMa, and w,is 
for..soifie years editor of the A'orristmun InJfpcnilciit, in 
whiuliicapacily he had manifested a decided ability in jour- 
naiismA. The first editorial advocating General (since Gov- 
ernor) Hartranft was written by him, and he was one of 
the Ixaaidning committee who admitted the General to the 
bar. He is the author of the Pen Portraits of delegates to 
llie Constitutional Convention of 1873, published in the 
Philacl^lphia Press. .\s a popular and entertaining lecturer 
"bis services have often been solicited by literary associa- 
tions, even as f.ir as New 'England, but the increasing de- 
mands of his l..\v practice have obliged him to limit his 
labors in this line to the vicinity of his home. He married, 
September 29th, 1859, Maria S. Hurst, daughter of Alfred 
Hurst, formerly of Philndplphia, now of Norristown, and is 
the Ihl^er of ftnir chHdrcn; It is a characteristic boast of 
his that behas^uppoitetl Iiimsclf since he was filteen years of 
age, and that his present hafldsome fortune is the result of 
his own4ar)o^,'^as he has never inherited or married a dollar. 



ARNL'M, JOHN. Merchant and Manufacturer, 
was born in Uxbritlge, Worcester county, Massa- 
chusetts. He w.as a citizen of Philadeljihia for 
some thirty-seven years, .actively and extensively 
engaged in mercantile pursuits up to the time of 
his death. The complications of business during 
the disastrous year 1857, and the failure of those indebted 
to him, obliged him also to succumb. Having effected a 
settlement with his creditors, he recommenced business, 
which he pursued with unabated energy and signal success. 
Not satisfied with a legal discharge, he determined, as soon 
as in his powef, to satisfy every equitable claim upon 
him; his death prevented him from accomplishing this 
himself, but by his will his executors were directed to carry 
out his intentions. Although largely eng.aged in manufac- 
turing concerns, which neces.saiily dejv.anded his close at- 
tention, he still found time to devote to objects of charily, 





4/0.0 i^c^e. '^, 'C?i 



'7 



€>->^2MU^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOIVILDIA. 




and he was coniiecled with many of our leading benevolent 
instilulions. He took a great interest in the Pennsylvania 
Hospital and Haverford College, in each of which he was a 
manager ; was for many years a manager of the House of 
Refuge, and at the time of his death a vice-president. He 
was elected a director of the Pennsylvania Institution for 
the Deaf and Dumb in 1843, and a vice-president in 1872. 
He was sole owner of the Conestoga Mills, in I^ancaster, 
Pennsylvania, and, both as a merchant and manuftcturer, 
his name has always stood in the front rank. As a member 
of the Society of Friends, he held an influential position, 
being earnest and steadfast in his principles both in public 
and private life. He participated freely in all undertakings 
looking to the advancement of the trade and commerce of 
Philadelphia, and was ever in favor of an enlarged and 
liberal policy. He died June nth, 1S71. 



HASTINGS, FULTON W., A. M., Professor, was 
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, September 30th, 
1825. His ancestors were of English and Irish 
descent. He was educated at West Alexander 
Academy, and subsequently took a course of pri- 
vate instruction with a view to a special and tho- 
rough preparation as a teacher. He engaged in teaching in 
1853, and in 1854 became the principal teacher in West 
Alexander Academy, at that time under the care of the 
Synod of Wheeling. In response to a cordial invitation 
from his friends, he opened an academy at Wilkinsburg, 
Pennsylvania, in 1856. This institution, under his care, 
grew from a mere handful to a prosperous school of more 
than one hundred pupils. He was married on the 7th of 
July, 1859, to Mary E. Elder, the daughter of Colonel 
Samuel Elder, of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. In Sep- 
tember of the same year, at the earnest solicitation of Rev. 
John McCluskey, D. D., his former preceptor, and other 
friends, he organized Mantua Academy, in West Philadel 
phia, with but five pupils. The number increased each en- 
suing ye.tr, until more than one hundred were in daily at- 
tendance. His school is always filled to its utmost capacity, 
and many who seek admission find every available space 
pre-occupied, and are forced to wait for a vacancy. A visi- 
tor is at once struck by the rapidity, accuracy, and thorough- 
ness with which the pupils do their work, indicating the 
most efficient drill and discipline. This gifted teacher owes 
much of his eminent success to his ability to make study at- 
tractive to the youth committed to his care, and to tlie active 
sympathy which exists between him and his pupils. Many 
young men have gone out from under his care to enter upon 
brilliant careers in life, carrying with them the moral, as 
well as the mental force, which they gained there. The 
students from his Academy usually stand among the highest 
in the colleges of our land, whose rolls of honor testify to 
tlie careful culture and accurate drill of those prepareil under 




his care. He was a member of the Board of Publication 
for many years previous to the reunion of the two branches 
of the Presbyterian church. He was one of the prime 
movers in the establishment of the Presbyterian Hospital, 
and of the committee on Hospitals and Homes, appointed 
by the Presbyterian Alliance'of Philadelphia. He was or- 
dained an elder in the Princeton Presbyterian church in 
1861, and has since contributed much, by his counsels, to 
\he spiritual welfare of that people. He has been for many 
years the able superintendent of their Sabbath school. He 
became a member of the Hoard of Education in June, 1872, 
and has since been an active promoter of that valuable aux- 
iliary of the church. 

Is / 

OUGHERTY, JAMES, Manufacturer, was born 
in Cecil county, Mai7land,in October, 1815. He 
is the son of Dennis Dougherty, who emigrated 
from Ireland, where he had been engaged in the 
manufacture of woollens, and pursued the same 
calling in the new world. He received but a 
veiy limited education in the common schools of the day, 
and when quite young removed to Dayton, Ohio, wdiere he 
found employment for a time in the dry goods and grocei-y 
store of Harker & Co. Here his pleasing manners and 
steady habits attracted the attention of Mr. Cleg, an iron- 
founder, who induced him to learn the business. He re- 
mained with him for two years, but, in order to become 
thoroughly acquainted with the craft, received further in- 
struction at the establishment of Graham & Coon, Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. When but twenty years of age he went to 
Louisville, Kentucky, where he was given the responsible 
position of manager in the foundry of Shreve cS: Co. He 
afterwards effected an engagement with Leads & Co., of 
New Orleans, where he remained one winter, and gave so 
much satisfaction that he was tendered the superintendency, 
which he declined. In the spring of 1857 he came North, 
and sought employment in Boston, New York, and Phila- 
delphia. It was a season of great financial depression ; the 
banks had all suspended specie payments, and trade was 
completely demoralized. Finally he obtained the position 
of general superintendent in George Wolfs foundiy, Colum- 
bia, Pennsylvania. About this time he was experimenting 
on a new invention, wdiich eventually proved successful, 
and which he patented. This was the " double-plate car 
wheel," from which modifications have since been made. 
In 1S40, he came to Philadelphia as manager of Wolf's 
Foundry, Thirteenth and Buttonwood streets, wdiere cast- 
ings were made for Eastwick & Harrison, and also for Nor- 
ris & Co.'s locomotive works. By the latter firm he was 
engaged, in 1842, to erect and superintend a foundry for 
them ; and so successfully did he fulfil his engageiiient, 
that he was induced by them to proceed to Vienna, Aus- 
tria, and act as the superintendent of their establishment 



lo8 



ISlOGRAl'llKAL EXCVCI.Ol'.KDIA. 



ill that city. I)unng his absence in Europe, he was Ihe 
recipient of several offers, one being to Russia, in the 
great manufactory of Harrison & Co., but all these were de- 
clined. He sojourned in Vienna for two years, during which 
time he made large additions to Norris & Co.'s works, be- 
side superintending the castings of the " retaining plates" 
for the great suspension bridge over the Danube at Pesth, 
Hungary, being the largest work of the kind ever under- 
taken in Austria. In 1848, he returned to the United 
Slates after a tour through various portions of Europe. 
During his absence, he found that his car-wheel patent had 
been infringed u))on ; and commenced suit against the par- 
lies in Hoston. He had for his counsel Hon. Daniel Web- 
ster and Hon. Hcnjainin Curtis, who gained the case. Soon 
after this the patent expired, and was not renewed. He 
next engaged as manager of Merrick & Tosvne's foundry in 
Philadelphia, in which city, after a two years' residence, he 
constructed the extensive works of Reancy, Neafie & Co., 
in which concern he was given an interest, until 1853, when, 
in company with William 15. Bement and others, he laid the 
foundation of the " Industrial Works," which name he him- 
self bestowed upon the new enterprise. To this almost un- 
rivalled establishment he devoted his whole time and energy. 
To the great regret of his partners, he retired from the firn) 
ill 1870. He manifested no interest whatever in politics 
until the inception of Ihe Municipal Reform Club, with 
which movement he deeply sympathizes. One thing is 
worthy of notice, occuring during the Rebellion. When 
General Lee invaded our State, he was the first to respond 
to Covernor Curtin's call for troops. He raised a company 
from the " Industrial Works," and his liberal and generous 
heart propipted him to provide for the families of its mem- 
bers until their return. Since his retirement from business 
he has visited California, and is now preparing fur a two years' 
tour througli Eurojjc. 

V 

|EAKl,r.\', JAMKS M., I,;iwyer and Editor, was 
born April I2lh, 1839, in Dickinson township, 
Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, of Scotch- 
Irish ancestry. Receiving but the ordinary edu- 
cation of country schools, he commenced teaching 
at the age of sixteen, devoting his leisure to self- 
culture. On his arrival at manhood, he chose the legal pro- 
fession, and registered himself as a student in the office of 
William H. Miller, of Carlisle, with whom he read, and 
after the required examination was admitted to practice in 
1861. His abilities soon brought him business, and having 
a natural love of using the pen, in the summer of 1864, he 
became connected with the Carlis/i Jfcra/i! z^ editor, a post 
he continued to fill until the year 1874. Under his care this 
paper has largely increased in circulation and influence, and 
i<; now regarded as one of the most prominent in the Cum- 
berland Valley. In May, 1869, he was appointed by Gover- 




nor Geary, Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth, and in 
this position continued until 1872. By that time he had 
become well known as an ardent Republican, and in 1871, 
he received the nomination of his party for Ihe Slate Senate 
from the Nineteenth Senatorial District, embracing the 
counties of Cumberland and Franklin. The m.ijority at his 
election was unexpectedly heavy, a result due chiefly to his 
own personal popularity. While thus engaged in editorial 
and political avocations, he has not penni'.ted their demands 
upon his time to divert his attention from the pursuit of his 
legal occupation, and continues to maintain a high )>osition 
at the bar of his district. His marriage occurred several 
years ago, and he at present resides with his family in Car- 
lisle. 




ETZ, JOHJ< F., Brewer, was born in Muhringcn, 
Kingdom of Wirtemberg, April 8lh, 1831. In 
the following year, his parenis, hoping to belter 
their fortunes, emigrated to the Uniled States, lo- 
cating in Pennsylvania. He received his educa- 
tion in Schuylkill Haven and Poltsville, Pennsyl- 
vania, assisting his father during his sexsons of vacation. 
When but thirteen years old he entered the brewery of D. 
G. Vuengling in the latter city, and remained there eight 
years, during which time he acquired a full knowledge of 
the business. Having devoted himself continuously to his 
vocation and won the confidence of his patron, during the 
last three years of his engagement there, he was entrusled 
with the practical management of the brewery. In 1852, 
he visited Europe, and remained for some time in Stuttgart 
to familiarize himself with the method of malting and brew- 
ing in vogue in that city ; and he afterwards made an ex- 
tended tour through Ihe Continent, visiting Patsburgh in 
Austria, and passing through Hungary, Germany, Italy, and 
France to England, and thence to the United States. On his 
arrival in New York, he entered into business wilh his uncle, 
with whom he remained four years. In 1S65, he leased 
the brewery, of which he had become sole owner, to his 
brother, lie next visited Richmond, Virginia, and in con- 
nection wilh Vuengling and Byer, erected a large estal>- 
lishment, known as the James River Steam Brewery ; 
here he remained until 1867, when he sailed for Europe, 
and sojourned abroad until the autumn of 1868, when he 
once more returned to the United States. Taking up his 
residence in Philadelphia, he leased the establishment long 
known as Gaul's Brewer)', in New Market street, which he 
still holds, and where he has done a large and rapidly in- 
creasing business to ihe present lime. Possessed of but few 
early advantages, either of property or education, but en- 
dowed wilh a sound mind in a healthy organism, and wilh 
a mature and practical judgment, he has met with constant 
success in all that he has undertaken. Upright in all his 
dealings, he combines the cautiousness of the Teuton will) 



r 




^fiXhi 



CjL 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



109 




the liberality of the American ; and his plans are charac- 
terized by enterprise and generosity. A large block of 
buildings known as " Betz's Block," was erected by him in 
New York City, on Ninth Avenue, extending from Forty- 
fourth to Forty-fifth streets ; and he has offered repeatedly 
to become one of a hundred, in Philadelphia, to improve 
and beautify Broad street in Philadelphia, on an extensive 
and princely scale, by each placing a mansion on that noble 
avenue which should cost, when finished, $100,000. 



C\;^HURCH, HON. PEARSON, Lawyer, was born 
in Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, 
March 15th, 1858. He is the son of Hon. Cay- 
lord Church, who was President Judge of the 
.Sixth Judicial District from 1S42 to lS5I,^nd in 
1S58, an associate Judge of the Supreme Court 
of Pennsylvania. His mother, Anna B. Pearson, als9 cjme 
from a legal family, being the sister of Hon. John J.. Pear- 
son of Harrisburgh. Having been educated in the best 
schools of the neighborhood, and finally graduated- with 
credit at Alleghany College, in July, 1S56, he commence^d'' 
the study of law with his father. In his office he not pnly 
enjoyed the best of instruction, but also an immediate initja" 
tion into one of the most extensive legal practicesiln that 
section of the country. In 1858, he w.as admittejirto the 
bar, and at once became closely absorbed in the hiisiiigss.of 
his profession. More or less of his time ha|, always ^een 
taken up by various offices of trust and honor ,^n theJinaii- 
cial world, having been Director in various corporations 
and local associations. He was elected a de!egatQ.^to. tlje 
Constitutional Convention of 1872 and 1873, \vher&' he 
proved himself active in debate and indefatigable on com- 
mittees. A Democrat in politics, and an Episcop.alian in 
religion, he is socially a polished gentleman, courteous and 
obliging to all. In 1S68, he married Kate Law, of New 
York, and has two children. His present residence is in 
Meadville, where his family have long been thoroughly 
identified with the interests of that section of the State. 



/ 



I RICE, HON. ELI KIRK, Lawyer, was born 
July 20th, 1797, in East Bradford, Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, two miles south-west of the town 
of West Chester, in view of the Brandywine 
battle-field. He is a son of Philip and Rachel 
Price, one of a family of eleven children, ten of 
whom — five sons and five daughters — grew up and married. 
His ancestry on both sides were members of the Society of 
friends. He received his primar}' education in a country 
school, which was supplemented by a year's residence at 
the West-Town Boarding School, then and now under the 
patronage and direction of the Friends. On lea\'ing the 



latter, he entered the store of his brother-in-law, John W. 
Townsend, at West Chester, where he remained for a twelve- 
month. In the spring of 1815, shortly after the receipt of 
news that a treaty of peace had been signed between the 
United States and Great Britain, he repaired to Philadelphi.i, 
where he obtained a position in the counting-house of 
Thomas P. Cope, a leading shipping and commission mer- 
chant in the Liverpool trade, with whom he remained for 
sometime; when, having resolved to pursue a mercantile 
career, and desirous of being familiar with the details of the 
China trade, he passed a year in the silk store of Isaac C. 
Jones, Oakford & Co. During his tutelage in mercantile 
life he devoted his leisure hours to readings in commercial 
law, the study of general history, and lessons in the Latin, 
.Spanish, and French langu.iges, becoming quite a proficient 
in the latter. Besides all this, he attended courses of lec- 
tures on Natural Philosophy, Chemistiy, and Anatomy. 
Thus he acquired his education, and when he had attained 
his majority, he had decided to make his start in the world, 
but foundjhe times were unpropitious. The return to specie 
payments, ^hich had been suspended during and sometmie 
after the ^'.War of 1812," had caused a great mercantile 
reaction j,:!!)^ importations had ceased, and trade was every- 
where-^i^lenressesj.^ Having already some knowledge of 
Commercial Law, he resolved thenceforth to devote himself 
to "the legal jffofessibn, and in 1819, entered the office of 
■Hon^John S?igeanjj.^t. th.at time regarded as one of the 
-igadersoT the^PhiladelpTii&Fbar. Here he applied himself 
so^clt^ly^o study as to seviously impair his health, to re- 
store which hejool^a trip to Europe in 1S21, being absent 
aSout s^x months, nearly half of which time was passed upon 
the ocean, voyages in those days being dependent solely 
iippnthE winds. Shortly after his return, he was admitted to 
practise at the bar. May 28th, 1S22, where, for over a half 
century, he has pursued his calling in the civil courts, and 
is yet (1873) an active member of the profession. Though 
deeply versed in all that relates to mercantile jurisprudence, 
yet his specialty is the law of real estate, the examination 
of and the perfecting of titles, especially where the latter 
are in any way defective. In this department, it may be 
remarked,' that-Iie stands at the head of his legal brethren, 
not 6n]y as, farsa^ age and long practice are concerned, but 
for ripe experience and thorough comprehension of the sub- 
ject matters under consideration, however intricate they 
may seem even to a practiced eye. He is no politician, al- 
though he has filled office on several occasions, having been 
a member of the first Board of Revenue Commissioners in 
1845; and again of the Second Board in 1848, being the 
author of the Report of the latter body to the State Legisla- 
ture. In 1850, he was sent in conjunction with Judge 
Cadwalader to Harrisburgh, and placed before the mem- 
bers of both houses, assemljled in conference, several 
weighty arguments why the city and county of Philadelphia, 
then consisting of a dozen separate and distinct municipali- 
ties, should be consolidated : but no definite action was 



l;iO(JK.\I'IllCAL KNCVCLOP/V.niA. 



laken .-It that time. The inhabit.-inls of the "city proper" 
had been subjected to a bitter experience by the incursions 
of Ihe lawless, and riot, arson, and murder were const.intly 
on the increase. The volunteer fire department had to 
be.ir a great deal of the blame, for, a.s then constituted, it 
seemed as if an alarm of fire was the preconcerted sijjnal 
of a general riot, which w.as sure to take place if any rival 
companies trespassed on the other's line. The consequence 
wa.s that a numlier of leading citizens met in council, and, 
forgetting political differences, labored side by side for the 
common good. It was early seen that nothing but the 
most stringent legislative action could effect the end desired ; 
and the committee who had the mailer in charge, insisted 
that to the subject of this sketch should be confided the re- 
presentation of the old city in the St.ite Senate. Though 
he was exceedingly averse to this position, yet through the 
influence of his friends, and, above all, by an eloquent let- 
ter written with this view by Hon. Horace Binney, he re- 
luctantly yielded, though with the proviso that the other 
candidates on the reform ticket should be committed to the 
cause of consolidation. He was triumphantly elected, and 
his first act, after the organization of the Senate was effected, 
was to place before that body a carefully prepared memo- 
ri.al, urging consolidation of the several municipal districts 
and townships of the county with the (old) city of Philadel- 
phia. The iiiU was formed in a committee of which he was 
chairman, and was in great part his work. He reported it 
to the Senate, and in favor of its adoption made a len^ithy 
and exhaustive argument; and, on the l8th of January, 
less than a fortnight after the meeting of the Legislature, it 
passed the upper house unanimously. Subsequently, with 
a few alterations, which the Senate accepted, it passed the 
lower house, and on the 2d of February following became 
a law. DilVing this, his first term of legislative life, he ap- 
jilied himself so closely to his duties as to somewhat injure 
his health ; to recuperate, he devoted his vacation to a trip 
to Europe, where he was absent five months. Reluming to 
the scene of his public duties with renewed strength, he 
again encountered the heavy routine business at the Capitol. 
He was abundantly prepared by his long and varied prac- 
tice at the bar, to discern wherein changes in the law were 
required. During his three years' service in the Senate he 
was instrumental in perfecting, beside the great Act of Con- 
solidation, several important st.itutes for the improvement 
of the law, especially with a view to the security of Land 
Titles and to the unfettering and freer alienation of Real 
Estate. His great services in the Legislature are attested 
bv the many wise and benificent general laws emanating 
from his pen, passed while he held his seat there. Promi- 
nent among these is the Act of April 1 8, 1853, " Rel.ating 
to the sale and purveyance of Real Estate," which is to-day 
known throughout the legal profession a.s the " Price Act." 
Notwithstanding the fact that he never enjoyed the ad- 
vantages of a regular collegiate education, yet he has 
studied deeply and well. His career has been most success- 



ful, and he attributes it to a sound and vigorous constitu- 
tion, leading a strictly temperate and regular life, indus- 
triously filling all his time with work or study, frequent 
and regular exercise in the open air, and t.aking a due amount 
of refreshing sleep. He has furnished the profession with 
a work On Limilalions and Liens, and the jiuhlic with nu- 
merous essays and addresses published in pamphlet form, 
and in the present year (1873) with T/ie City's Consolidation. 
Many of his arguments before the Supreme Court from 
1825 to the present time, are printed in the Reports, and are 
scattered through the one hundred and twenty-one volunu's 
that have been printed since that date. He has also pre- 
pared and printed, for private circulation, T/ie Life of 
Philip and Rachel Price, his parents, (1852,) one hundred 
and ninety-two pages ; Rebecca, (1861,) being the life of his 
daughter; and The Family, as 3.n element of government, 
being two essays read before the American Philosophical 
Society, in which work is also contained an account of his 
ancestry read before a meeting of the family descendants, on 
the occasion of the centennial anniversary of his father's 
birth. He is a member of the American Philosophical So- 
ciety; of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; of the 
Numismatic and Antiquarian Society, and, at present, its 
presiding officer ; besides of several charitable bodies. He 
is also a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and q 
commissioner of Fairmount Park, serving in the latter as 
chairman of the committee on land purchases, and as such 
has assisted in all purchases of land, beside ex.amining 
fully and critically the several titles which have passed to 
the city of Philadelphia. He was married in June, 1828, 
to Anna, daughter of James and Rebecca Embree, of Ches- 
ter county, whom he survives. By this union he lost his 
membership in the Society of Friends, although he is in 
the habit of worshipping with that society on every first day 
in the week. 



ORTON, GEORGE FIRMAN, M. P., Physician, 
was born at Terrj'town, Bradford county, Penn- 
sylvania, January 2d, 1806. His father, Major 
John Horton, was a native of Orange county, 
New York, and descendant of Barnabas Horton, 
who emigrated from England in 1638, settling in 
Long Island in 1640. His mother, Deborah Terry, wa.s a 
native of Long Island, and also of English descent. She 
belongs to the history of the country, having been one of 
the inmates of the famous Forty Fort, the night after the 
battle and massacre of Wyoming, in 1778. He himself re 
ceived his elementary education in the Log School-Houses 
of Bradford county, and, after following the avocation of 
teacher for a few years, entered the Rensselaer school (now 
known as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) at Trov, 
New York, where he graduated in August, 1827. He 
studied medicine under Dr. Samuel Hargani, of Luzerne 
county, Pennsylvania, and commenced practice in the au- 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



tunin of 1S29, at Terrytown. lie soon acquired an exten- 
sive reputation as an alile physician and skilful surgeon, 
and has continued in the practice of his profession to the 
present day. Settling in a wild region, he carried on his 
business on horseback, and still prefers a horse to any other 
mode of locomotion. Though constantly engaged in the 
duties of his profession, he was not indifferent to those he 
owed to society iii other directions. For twenty years he 
acted as Postmaster; was County Auditor in 1836, and 
Township Treasurer and Town's Clerk for ten years. Be- 
sides these, he was Surgeon of the 15th Regiment Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers in 1831. He was elected delegate from 
the Fourteenth Senatorial District to the Constitutional 
Convention for revising the Code of Pennsylvania, in 
1872-3. In the Convention his course has been bold and 
honorable. He has spoken on the question of Women's 
Suffrage, in support of which he advances Bible arguments. 
On the 4lh of June, 1832, he was married to Abigail Terry, 
by whom he has had eight children, five of whom still live. 
He has never taken an active part in politics, though firm 
in his anti-slavery principles, and thinks himself fortunate 
in having kept aloof from professional politicians and rings. 



i;OX, HON. DANIEL M., Conveyancer and E,k- 
Mayor of Philadelphia, was born in that city, 
June i6lh, 1809, as were also his forefathers for 
several generations previous. His maternal 
grandfather figured conspicuously in the War 
of the Revolution, having been present with 
General Washington at Germantown, Pennsylvania, New 
Brunswick, New Jersey, the Highlands, New York, and 
shared the sufferings during the memorable winter at Val- 
ley Forge. He was also at the siege of Yorktown, and 
witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis. While campaigning 
in the Jerseys, he was captured by the British as a spy, 
taken to Philadelphia, where he managed to effect his 
escape and rejoin his comrades. At the close of the war, 
he settled in the old Northern Liberties of Philadelphia, 
where the paternal grandfather of the present subject also 
resided. Here the parents of Daniel M. Fox, namely, 
John and Margaret Fox, were born, and here he was 
reared, educated, and still continues to' reside. Though 
his parents were of limited means, still they provided a 
liberal education for their son, which he improved by self- 
culture. After leaving school, he entered a store as sales- 
man, and remained there for several years. He then 
turned his attention to conveyancing, the study of which he 
pursued closely for five years in the office of one of the 
most successful practitioners in the city, and graduating 
thence with credit, commenced business for himself. At 
the age of twenty-one, he was elected a School Director of 
the Northern Liberties, and for many years prior to 1854 
was President of the Board ; he also represented the district 




in the Board of Health, and was chosen by City Councils 
a Director of (jirard College. For three years he repre- 
sented the Twelfth Ward of the city in Select Councils, 
commanding the respect of all parties, his influence being 
especially felt on all subjects of economy and retrench- 
ment, which he advocated with the most careful regard for 
the public weal. In 1S61, he retired from Councils, and 
in the following year, as well as in 1865, was nominated 
for the mayoralty by the Democrats, but was unsuccessful 
at the election. Receiving the nomination a third time, in 
1868, he was elected by a small majority. In all these 
campaigns he was tret^ted with the greatest respect and 
consideration by his political opponents. On January 1st, 
iS6q, he was inaugurated, and his first official duty as 
Mayor was to formally receive, on behalf of the city 
authorities. General Grant, the President elect. The re- 
ception took place in Independence Hall, in the presence 
of Councils and a large number of other citizens, and was 
conducted, on the part of the new Mayor, with grace and 
elegance. His municipal administration was marked by 
many reformatory and sanitary improvements, especially in 
those portions of the city where the impurity of the deni- 
zens hazarded the health of more respectable neighljor- 
hoods. It was during his official term that the Volunteer 
Fire Department ceased to exist. It had been his practice, 
during its closing life, to attend all conflagrations for the 
double purpose of holding a moral check on the lawless, 
and to stiinulate the police in their duties of keeping the 
streets clear for the free exerci.se of those who desired to 
extinguish the flames. The passage by Councils of the 
ordinance establishing a Paid Fire Department created a 
profound sensation in the city, arousing the feelings of 
many of the volunteer firemen to an ardent degree, and 
kindling an intense anxiety on the part of the people gene- 
rally as to the fate of the bill, when it reached the hands 
of the Mayor. He retained it for a fortnight unsigned, 
evidently desiring to soften the feeling engendered by its 
passage, and also to perfect such arrangements as would be 
necessary to meet any emergency: the latter being accom- 
plished, he formally approved the ordinance, and it hecame 
a law. This course was very unpalatable to the riotous 
element of the volunteers, who manifested their feelings by 
suspending the effigy of the Mayor in several engine 
houses; but no other violent demonstration of any moment 
occurred, as the steps taken by the police department proved 
effective and vigorous : these, eouple<l with the cooperation 
of many of the discreet firemen, enabled the new " Paid 
Department" to go into operation without any disturbance 
whatever, and the city has ever since rejoiced in an efficient 
system, without any of the former accompaniments of noise, 
riot and public disturbance. Indeed, its workings at this 
time are so effective that it is but seldom one learns of the 
-occurrence of a fire — unless in the immediate neighborhood 
.if the accident — until it is read in the next morning's 
p.ipers. A startling attempt at assassination occurred during 



BlOGRArillCAI. liNCYCI.Or.KDIA. 



hU incumbency, in llic shooting of United States Revenue 
Detective, James lirooks, in open day, in a Front street 
store, liy certain miscreants, at the time unknown, sup|K)sed 
to have liecn instigated liy seizures of liquors made by the 
oft'iccr in the course of liis duly. The case was at once 
taken in hand by the Mayor, who, by stimulating the pobce 
and offering heavy rewards, caused tlie arrest of the parties; 
their conviction soon followed, to the great satisfaction of 
the public and the prompt vindication of outraged law. The 
great fire at Chicago, the destruction of the State Govern- 
ment house at Richmond, with loss of life, and the misery 
of the sick and woumled in the Franco- Prussian war, were, 
with others of like char.acter, distinguished occasions, show- 
ing the power and influence of the Mayor with the people 
of Philadelphia on aj^peals to the benevolent. Indeed, 
during his term of office, there was never a call made that 
did not meet with a generous response. Whenever any 
question of grave public importance presented itself, it was 
his practice to invite conferences with the most prominent 
citizens, at his office, as to the best course to be pursued : 
thus, while showing a true devotion to the public interests, 
and enabled to act with great sagacity, he also brought to 
his support a strong moral power which added much to his 
popularity. He did not hesitate to exercise the veto power 
whenever he differed with Councils, and during his lerni he 
transmitted to those bodies ihirly-two mess.ages of this char- 
acter, the majority of which were sustained by the Cham- 
bers. His official term ended in a most gratifying manner, 
both the Select and Common Councils p,assing unanimously 
resolutions of thanks for his able and energetic administra- 
tion of the city affairs. This was followed by a grand ban- 
quet at the Academy of Music, tendered him by a large 
number of his prominent fellow citizens of both political 
parlies. Within the past two years he has been called upon 
to take d leading part in the great movement to celebrate 
the Centennial of American Independence, to which he h.as 
cheerfully responded. In two successive State conventions 
of his party, he has received complimentary vot£S for nonii- 
n.ation of Governor of Pennsylvania. Personally, he is 
courteous, affable, kind and benevolent. He is dignified, 
and of a presence that comm.ands the respect of his fellow 
men. Not only in the secular, but in the Sunday school, he 
manifests the deepest interest, and devotes a large portion 
of hl.-i time in contributing to the welfare of the young. 

I ULLITT, JOII.N C, Lawyer, wa^s born in Jeffer- 
son county, Kentucky, February loth, 1824. 
He is the son of William C. and Mildred Bul- 
lit, being on his father's side of Huguenot 
descent, and on his mother's of English blood. 
The latter counted among her ancestors Joshua 
Fry, who had emigrated from England prior to the Revo- 
lution, and held 3. iironiinenl position in the Colonial 




history of Virginia. At the time of his death, he was in 
command of the Colonial trooiw, and was succeeded liy 
General Washington, who w.is then a Lieutenant-Colonel. 
His paternal grandfather, Alexander S. Bullitt, removed to 
Kentucky .about 17S3, and w.as President of the convention 
which framed the first Constitution of that State ; his father 
was a member of the last Constitutional Convention, and 
has always taken an active and prominent position in its 
affairs. The Bullitt family has been among its most dis- 
tinguished citizens, and Joshua Fry Bullitt, a brother of the 
present subject, was at one time Chief Ju.stice of the Court 
of Appeals of the State. He himself received a liberal 
education in the best private schools, and having matricu- 
lated at Centre College, in Danviilc, Kentucky, passed 
through the regular curriculum, and graduated in a most 
creditable manner to himself and the institution. He chose 
the legal profession, and having given close attention to all 
its intricacies, especially that .portion known as commercial 
law, was admitted to practice at the bar in Louisville, Ken- 
tucky. In the spring of 1S49, ^^ removed to Philadelphia, 
where he almost immediately became a member of the bar, 
and has ever since continued in the active pursuit of his 
profession. At the very commencement of his career, he 
was entrusted by the Bank of Kentucky with the charge 
of all the .assets derived by them from the .Schuylkill Bank, 
by whose failure while acting as their agent they were em- 
barrassed. These amounted in value to nearly a million 
of dollars. The trust was wound up to the satisfaction of 
his clients, and proved his faithfulness and astuteness as a 
practitioner. Like other young men of his native Slate, he 
was educated in the political faith of the Whig parly, as 
promulgated by Heniy Clay, and to believe that the doc- 
trines he promulgated were the only true principles for the 
construction of the Federal Constitution and the adminis- 
tration of national aff.\irs. But after examining the m.ilter 
critically, aided by the perusal of the contemporaneous de- 
bates and discussions of the body which framed the Con- 
stitution, he was led to abandon the faith he once held and 
attach himself to the Democratic party. This change was 
an unpopular one in Philadelphia, and during the late war, 
in common with many others who held similar views, he 
was made to feel the force of that public opinion which 
ostracised all those who were sincere and bold enough to 
acknowledge such sentiments. He believed, however, 
that he was right, though he neither approved of .Secession 
nor of the extreme views held by the Republican parly. 
He was convinced that the war was precipitated by I he 
madness of contending factions, and united with the 
Democrats of Pennsylvania in the effort to restrain the 
dominant parly within legitimate and conservative bounds: 
but when he found that war was inevitable, he felt that his 
first obligation was to Pennsylvania, and he carefully en- 
deavored to do his duty as a citizen of that Slate. Though 
he has eschewed [Xilitics, he has not shown himself indif- 
fereni to liieralure, and is widely known as ihe author of 



%- 




5«li>xv Sub Co 




BIOGRAPHICAL E.\CVCL0P.T:DIA. 



'13 




Ibe most powerful answer to the Monograph of Horace 
Uinney during the Habeas Corpus controversy of 1862. 
He stands to-day in the foremost rank at the Philadelphia 
bar, and is the leader on commercial law. His distinctive 
characteristics are a sound judgment, a clear head, a thor- 
ough knowledge of the law, indomitable energy and a 
spotless integrity. These qualities have placed him high 
in the ctmlidence and estimation of the community. For 
many years lie has been the principal of the legal firm of 
Bullitt & Fairthorne, so favorably known throughout the 
United .States and in Europe. He is also counsel for the 
mojit prominent business houses, as well as for many bank- 
ing and insurance offices in Philadelphia. Though always 
avoiding public office, he consented to serve as a'delegate 
to the Convention to revise the Constitution : a body' which 
posterity will regard as having been called from, the best 
men of the country. He isSmarried and has seve'n chil 
drcn, four sons and three daughters. 



[-<^ ARGEN'T, RUFU.S, M. D., Physician, was born 

in Essex county, Massachusetts, on April i6ih,' 

1824. His ancestors came Jrpm ^England, and 

took up a large tract of territory Jn what*is noAv 

the town of Amesbury. ,«-A ijpr^on,5f,said,ti:^l 

of land came to his father 3s a farm, and was iji'^ 

liirlliplace of the subject of this sketch., ^Being-Jeft an 

orphan at an early age, he was placed undej tiie care of 

friends in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and commenced his 

' - ■ ^ f 

education in the public schools of that place; continued it 
at Benjamin Greenleaf's celebrated seminary, and finished 
his academic course at the Worcester Classical Hif»h 
.School. He next taught an academy for one year in Barn- 
stable county, after which he selected the profession of 
medicine, and entered upon its study with Dr. George 
Coggswell, of Bradford, Massachusetts, a surgeon of great 
reputation, who had travelled extensively and devoted 
some time to the study of his profession in Paris. The doc- 
tor was one of those kind-hearted, genial men, which char- 
acterized the old school of gentlemen. With the kindness 
of a father, and the thoroughness of a scholar, he led his 
pupil through his medical studies. After attending a course 
of lectures and spending some time at the Tremont Medical 
School and General Hospital, in Boston, he visited Phila- 
delphia for the purpose of finishing his medical 'studies, 
and there attended a course of lectures, and graduated in 
1S51. It was during this year that he had his attention 
called to the homoeopathic system of practice, and coin- 
nienced its investigation and study. In 1852, he graduated 
from the Philadelphia Homoeopathic College. He re- 
moved to Bordentovvn, New Jersey, w'here he soon estab- 
lished a large practice. He was invited to Philadel- 
phia, in 1857, by Professor A. E. Small, and introduced to 
his practice, which he was about to relinquish for a moie 
>5 



desirable field in Chicago. During this year he married 
Anna R., youngest daughter of Hon. Nathaniel Bullock, 
of Bristol, Rhode Island. She died about two years after. 
Soon after the commencement of the late civil war, he 
entered the army as Surgeon. He was with the Army of 
the Potomac during the Peninsula campaign ; and after the 
evacuation of the Peninsula, he was detailed to take 
charge of a General Hospital at Yorktown, Virginia, where 
he received many flattering testimonials from his superior 
officers. He was next ordered to Charleston Harbor, and 
participated in most of the militaiy operations at that 
place, when his health yielding under the heavy pressure 
of duties, he asked to be relieved, and was placed on duty 
at Point Lookout Hospital, and also at Mount Pleasant 
Hospital, Washington. He was afterwards ordered to 
Cpnip Reynolds, near Pittsburgh, and, having discharged 
the duties of'lhat post for a few months, was ordered to the 
city of Pittsburgh as Post Surgeon, where he remained 
until the close of the \v.ar. On leaving the United States 
service^iie spent a few months in recruiting his health, after 
which he resumed the practice of medicine in Pliiladelj)hia, 
\vhere«4q^ found . his former friends and patrons ready to 
receive him. He married in 1872, Esther R., daughter of 
J»hn Abbott, a highly esteemed citizen of Philadelphia. 
He ■^"s. a mall ofj acknowledged worth and ability, a pro- 
found ihinlcer aftd of -clear judgment, alw.iyr. discharging 
the duties' of lt!s profession in a thoroughly conscientious 
manner. *" • - •. ' . 



.WANX, WILSON C, M. I)., Physician and Phil- 
anthropist, was born in the city of Alexandria, 
(at that time) District of Columbia. He is a 
son of Thomas .Swann, a distinguished lawyer, 
who was United States Attorney for the District, 
having been appointed thereto by President Mon- 
roe, which office he held until the close of General Jackson's 
administration, when he retired to his estates in Loudon 
county, Virginia, where he ended his days. He himself is 
the only survivor of a large family, with the exception of 
his distinguished brother, Governor Swann, of Maryland. 
At an early period he entered the University of Virginia, 
and there completed his education. The institution h.ad, at 
that time, , been opened under the auspices of President Jef- 
ferson, and was considered one of the best colleges in the 
United States. -H« thence proceeded to Philadelphia, and 
matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania, where he 
pursued his studies in medicine, and, these completed, 
graduated with the degree of M. D. He returned to Vir- 
ginia, and his father having conveyed to him a rich and 
beautiful island in the Potomac river, completely stocked, 
together with a large number of valuable negroes, he settled 
down, and for many years cultivated the estate; but finding 
it unhealthy, he purchased a tract of land on the Virginia 
side, adjoining his father's estate, where he erected a mag- 




114 



HKJGkArillCAL ENCVCI.OlMiUIA. 



nificciU mansion. In 1847, '"^ visileil Pliil.ulrlpliia, anil 
haviiif; mailc llie acquaintance of one of the greatest belles 
at that clay, was, ijf, October of that year, united to lier. 
For some time thereafter he was in ihc habit of dividing 
his time between Philadelphia and Virginia; but finding 
his estates suffering frofti his repeated absence, and his 
wife's health too precarious for travelling, he disposed of 
his landed property, and, being unwilling to sell his negroes, 
emancipated them all, forty in number, bringing the women 
and children, together with the old men, to IMiiladelphia. 
The children he provided for in one of the ])ublic institu- 
tions, colonizing the rest in the State of New Jci-sey, where 
lie rented a house for their reception. He was now a 
gentleman at large, with ample fortune; but the active 
character of his mind would not permit him to remain pas- 
sive ; and it was not long before he was sought after by the 
members of charitable and public institutions, and was 
cleclol a member of nearly all that were worthy of his 
support in his adopted city. He brought to their aid not 
only the a.ssistance of generous liberality, but the resources 
of an enlarged mind and the highest culture. But while 
his services have thus been of the greatest value, in many 
respects, so quiet, retiring and unobtrusive is his dispo- 
sition that he has discouraged the fiequent attempts of his 
friends to place him in positions of prominence before the 
public. Some of his works of benevolence and usefulness 
have been distinguished by their originality. His first ef- 
fort was to endeavor to reform the late hours of Phila- 
delphia society, andjuing its evening entertainments within 
the limits of propriety and common sense. He has always 
adhered to this course himself, and in his receptions has 
ever strictly observed an early closing. He next turned 
his attention to the establishment of a society to benefit 
art ; especially for its development and proper support. 
He succeeded in enlisting a number of gentlemen favorable 
to the cause; but the effort failed, owing to the lukcwarm- 
ncss of the artists themselves. And it may be added, that 
no one has done more than he to develop a taste for art, 
and he has always been ready to aflnrd assistance, having 
particularly in view the fostering and nurturing of native 
talent. This latter inclination, however, has not prevented 
his being the generous patron of artistic importations. 
Indeed, so familiar are the leading merchants with his 
lesthetic inclinations, thai they are wont to advise him early 
of the expected reception of anything particularly beautiful. 
In this way, as well as by special agents in Europe, he has 
secure<l a unique collection of objects of art and Vfi/u. He 
was elected the first President of the Society for the Pre- 
vention of Cruelty to .Animals, and has ever proved a warm 
advocate of the association, to which he has contributed 
with his purse and pen. From the latter has flowed a 
stream of literature, particularly in the shape of little stories 
ftir the young, designed to inculcate in their nnnds a tender 
regard for the brute creation. Some of these are especially 
excellent, and have been introduced into Sunday school 



libraries. His essays and addresses, of course, take a 
higher rank in the field of letters, but it is doubtful if they 
command more real influence than his touching appeals to 
the youthful heart in these stories, and to adults in his 
opening address at the first meeting of the society. After or- 
ganizing this association, and putting it into proper working 
order, he retired, leaving to others the completion of the 
work he had commenced. Following upon his labors in 
this direction came his noble conception of ]>roviding for 
the wants of man and beast in our crowded streets, emlxjdied 
in the Philadelphia Fountain Society, which is the work 
of his own hands, and sustained by his indefatigable labors 
and enlarged liberality. It is less than four years since this 
idea took proper form and shape, and over fifty fountains 
have been erected in different parts of the city, affording 
refreshment for the weary animal during the sultry days of 
summer, beside being a powerful an<l silent advocate to the 
citizen in behalf of temperance and cleanliness. In one 
section of the city, the low malarial fever, supposed to be 
inseparable from that locality, has, since the establishment 
of fountains, entirely disappeared. On tlie outbreak of the 
Rebellion, he was among the first to join the Union League, 
and contributed towards the erection of their magnificent 
club-house on Broad street. For some time he was Chair- 
man of the Committees on Reception and Election. After 
the surrender of General I,ee, he advocated a different 
policy, declaring himself in favor of peace and the kindest 
treatment of the Southern ])eople. Personally, he is of 
manly form, with a fine intellectual face, in which the re- 
fleclive faculties predominate. His esthetic tastes have 
found large expression in his house. A prominent feature 
is a gallery of art, in which many of the great names of 
antiquity, Rubens, Titian, Paul de Veronese, Leonardo da 
Vinci, Murillo, Angelica Kauflman, Vandyke, with many 
of modern dates, Hamilton, Lcutze, etc., are represented. 
Bas-reliefs, bronzes and entire scenes of delicate carvings 
fill all available spaces, while the ceilings are adorned with 
the fmesi frescoes. The sumptuous upholstery is in har- 
mony with the Greek ideal, and, with the elegant furniture, 
is the product of Philadelphia industry, the designs being 
furnished by the owner. 

ACKENZIE, R. SHELTON, M. D., D. C. L., 
Author and Literateur, was born in the county 
<,f Limerick, Ireland, in 1808. He is the second 
r o,/-> son of Captain Kenneth Mackenzie, the author 
<r a » of a volume of Gaelic poetry, published in Glas- 
gow in 1796. When his primaiy education w.is 
completed, he entereil the Medical Department of the Uni- 
versity of Dublin, where, after pui-suiug the usual course 
of study, he graduated with distinction, receiving the de- 
gree of Doctor of Medicine. The technicalities of the pro- 
fession, however, interested him little, and he never 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENXVCLOP.EDIA. 



iiq 



attempted to practise it. A life devoted to literature was 
more consonant with his tastes, and as early as his 
eighteenth year he had undertaken the editorship of a 
newspaper in England. In this capacity he was engaged 
in various localities until 1S45, when he became the Lon- 
don secretary of a railroad company, and held this position 
until 1 85 1, when the company broke up Meanwhile his 
leisure time was employed in contributing largely to lead- 
ing periodicals in England and America. From 1834 until 
the cessation of the paper, he was the regular European 
correspondent of the New York Evening S/ar, and in this 
connection was the first salaried European correspondent 
of the American press. His abilities and the value of his 
literary productions were soon recognized by his contem- 
poraries, and as a testimony of this general appreciation, 
the University of Glasgow conferred upon him, in 1834, 
the degree of Doctor of Laws, and by the University of 
Oxford, in 1844, he was created Doctor of Civil Law. An 
enumeration of his principal works will amply justify the 
conferring of these distinctions. In 1828, he published 
Lays of Palestine, and wrote a considerable portion of the 
Georgian Era, in 1832-34. He subsequently produced 
Titian, a Venetian Art A'air/, three volumes, in 1843; a 
Life of Giiizol, prefix to a translation of Democracy and its 
]\Iission, in 1846; Partnership "en Comrnandite,^^ a legal 
commercial work, in 1847; and Mornings at Matlock, a 
collection of stories, three volumes, in 1850. Anxious to 
find a more extended field for his literary labors, he came, 
in 1852, to the United States, and settled in New York 
city. There he immediately became connected with the 
newspaper press, and also edited, in 1854, with very copious 
notes and original biographies of the authors, S/ieiPs 
Sketches of the Irish Bar, two volumes, and the Nodes 
Anibrosiance, of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, five 
volumes ; De Quincey's Klosterheim, and the Life of Citr- 
ran,\\\ 1855; Lady Morgan's 0'' Briens and O'Plaherties, 
two volumes, in 1857 ; Dr. Maginn's Miscellaneous Works, 
five volumes, in 1S55-57. Besides this extraordinary 
amount of labor, he has also published, since his arrival in 
the United States, several original works: Bits of Blarney, 
in 1S55 ; Tressilian and His Friends, in 1857; and new 
editions of several of his former works. In August, 1857, 
he removed to Philadelphia, and assumed the duties con- 
nected with the foreign and literary editorship of The Press 
newspaper, then just started by Colonel John W. Forney. 
This connection is still maintained, and the sustained repu- 
tation of that journal is due in no small measure to his 
intimate acquaintance with foreign affairs, political and 
otherwise, the critical accuracy and wide erudition that 
have always characterized his conduct of the literary de- 
partment, and his generally pleasing and attractive qualities 
as a writer. Much of his life has been passed in corres- 
pondence and personal intimacy with the leading literary 
and public men of this and the last generation, and the 
reminiscences and living; trails that he is thus enabled to 



weave into his descriptions of tnem and their works, impart 
to them a vividness and life rarely equalled. This is 
especially noticeable in his edition of the A'octes Ambro- 
sianin. Had he contributed nothing more to American 
literature than the last mentioned work, he would have 
done sufficient to cause his name to be held in grateful re- 
membrance by all readers of the immortal collection. 
Nothing more complete of its class has ever been produced. 
Taking his edition, the reader is brought into familiar ac- 
quaintance with all the remarkable characters that ligure 
in its pages, and to intelligent appreciation of every allusion 
made to or by them. With the editor's interesting and 
comprehensive notes, much that would otherwise be ob- 
scure is made perfectly distinct, and what, under other 
circumstances, would at the best be lint an intermittent 
pleasure, is rendered a continual enjoyment. As a general 
writer, Doctor Mackenzie is singularly easy and graceful, 
possessing a copious vocabulary and evincing much choice^ 
ness in his mode of expression, while always equal in force 
and dignity to the occasion. As a critic, his reviews of new 
books are considered markedly impartial, always entertain- 
ing, and often uncommonly exhaustive and brilliant. In 
1870, five weeks after the death of Charles Dickens, he 
produced a biography of that great writer, which has passed 
through several editions. In 1871, Sir Waller Scott: 
the Story of his IJfe, with personal recollections of " The 
Great Unknown," was his contribution to the Centennial 
Celebration of the Author of " Waverley." 



RICE, WILLIAM, Merchant, was born in Ar- 
dara, county Donegal, Ireland, November, 1821, 
where he was reared and received his preliminary 
education, subsequently attending a private school 
in the neighboring town of Killybegs. On leav- 
ing the latter, he entered his father's store, where 
he acquired a thorough knowledge of business affairs; but 
desirous of change, turned his face westward and landed in 
Philadelphia, June 24th, 1842. He arrived at a most un- 
propitious time. The recent failure of the United States 
Bank (of Pennsylvania), together with the financial disasters 
that were precipitated upon the country, rendered it ex- 
tremely difficult for any one to find employment, as so many 
business houses were tottering. He, however, managed to 
obtain a position in a book store, but in less than a month 
it was sold out by the sheriff. He next found a situation in 
a retail groceiy store ; but this latter soon closed its doors, 
and for nearly a year thereafter he was unable to make any 
business engagement. In the summer of 1843, ^^ '^^'^ ^"^' 
ployed by Doctor Henry Pleasants, of West Philadelphia, 
as gardener, with whom he remained eighteen months, 
giving every satisfaction. Through the influence of his 
patron and Doctor Pleasants' cousin, Doctor George Fox, 
he obtained the position of Superintendent of the Surgical 




il6 



I5IOGR APH ICAL ENCVCLOP/KDIA. 



Ward ill llie rcnnsylvaiiia llnspiial. lie remained here 
five years, and ihen resigned to fill a position with Mordecai 
Lewis, willi whom lie remained till the latter's death, in the 
autumn of 1850. lie then opened a grocery store at the 
southeast corner of I'ourth street and Marriott's lane, where 
he remained aliout a year. On January 1st, 1852, he formed 
a co-partnership with John Kater, in the Produce and Pro- 
vision Commission business, their location being in " Cen- 
tral Block," in Wroad street near Kace. In 1855-56, this 
firm erccte<l tlic packing house and market house on South 
street near Fifteenth. In 1857, the partnership was dis- 
solved, and in August of the same year the firm of William 
Hrice & Co. was formed, to conduct the same business 
at No. 8 South \V,atcr street, Ch.irlcs ^Jagec, his shipmate 
and friend, being the silent partner, and so remaining until 
1866. In 1859, William ]•". llanna (now Secretary and 
Treasurer of the Ilannisville Distillery Company )7then..in 
the employ of the firm, w.-is admitted to an interest in the busi- 
ness, and in the fall of that year.'riiey r^gjnOved. to No. 15, 
and in 1862 to No. 23 Soitlh Water. street, their jpr<isent 
location. In 1870, Mr. Ilanria retired fromjhe firm, and 
in January, 1S71, liphraini,- son of William Hrice, was ad-, 
mitted to a p.)rtnership. .In .1872,% Wilfi.inr Bric^ w;" 



in which capacity he has served with'entirc s.ttisfaction to 
the members of the same. - He h.is been, chosen as one of 



though never yielding his determination to learn a trade. 
Undaunted by constant refusals, he finally, in July, 1843, 
secured a situation in a brass and iron foundry, to learn the 
moulder's trade, with comiiensation sufficient to pay his 
board and the privilege of working at nights to pay for his 
clothing. His prospects, however, were clouded in Decem- 
ber, 1843, by the sudden death of his employer and the 
closing of the business; but in January, 1844, he became an 
apprentice with Charles W. Warnick & Co., Stove and 
Hollow Ware Founders, and devoted himself to the thor- 
ough mastery of the business. By careful attention to the 
peculiarities of material, he soon became familiar with the 
nature, strength and qualities required to produce the best 
results, and proved such .1 valuable accession to his em- 
ployers that, at the expiration of his .ipprenticeship, he was 
tendered a journeyman's position, with the .assurance that 
while they had work he should have it. He remained in 
lheir*mploy till the dissolution of the firm by the death of 
Cliarlt* W. Warnick. Feeling the need of education, he 
flcfoled-most of his evenings for four years to study, and 
secured the benefits' of various musical, beneficial and chari- 
Ulile associations. Having read of Scotland's Building 
.\ss<Jtiations, dating back to 1815, and examined the one 



elected President of the Commercial Fxchange .'\ssociati5ri7 org.anized'ih'Fr.inIffoW, in 1831, he united with others 

the' estalilishmtnt of a .Savings and Building Association. 
In%44g, hie secured a- lot on Sixth street below Girard 
the Commissioners for the erectiorf of the'Publte,BuiMings*j ttl-muie, biiilt a house,'' .and, marrying in 1850, has since re- 
he is also a Director of»tIfe 'Union Bankin'gXompanyj^qf siJt)tfihcre."^-Kxamiilition convinced him that general part 
Ihe H.annisville Distillery Company; arid is a Trustee of'the' nSrBii^Kvarc ^>raeral)le to corporations, and, in 1859, h( 



he 




Building Fund of the n"(»»-M«s»»4C Temple.'^As a citizen, 
he is public spirited, and as a merchant, clearhe.ide{l, high- 
minded and honor.iblf.'"' lie.!! 'e'riTphaltcaliy a'selt-mal' 
man. ■" < .'■•se***. '- 1^ •• * 

} I IKI'I'.AKIJ, ISAAC '^''.'-•Miifuracttirer, was Jiorn 
in Cumberland couftlp^WVcxv'Jei^.ey,' July lith,T 
1826. His early educaticm.iw5s such as ciiM ^e~ 
obtained at the common coui1lfy'!*hodls of'thal 
)ieriod. At 'the age of eleven yeaiN, he began to 
earn his own living by working upon a farm, at- 
tending school during the three winter months. In Ihe 
s|>ring of 1840, his parents, hoping to advance the interests 
of their children, removed to Philadelphia, where his 
mother shortly after died, and the family was scattered, Isaac 
being thrown upon his own resources. In this emergency, 
the e.-irly teachings of his excellent mother proved a shield 
and support to him. Having determined, from observation, 
that mechanics enjoyed many advantages over, other classes 
of the laboring commut<ity, he resolvetl tf> leaniVtrade, but 
the h.ird times incident "to the tiitancial»flisaster5 Jrf Jhat 
period rendered it diflicttit 'to -obtain. .slich3:"JpJoy'3}cnt. 
Despising idleness, he served as errand Iwy in a shoe store, 
worked in a bakery, shipped as cabin Iniy of a coasting 
vessel fur one voy.ige, and laboretl in various capacities. 



a^ 
l<<i 



' Mi»Jonalhan S. Riddle, James C. Horn, Wil- 
li and'John Shecler, as Is.a.ac A. Shcppard & 
'■ a business ISciilion at Seventh street and 

.' Al'lt'ey subsequently admitted Thomas Wal- 
brook and Daniel Weaver? and, having purch.ased machin- 
W'y'ahd patteiri'^'ehgaged in' misiness, but met the most 
determined •*opp*tlion from older establishments, which 
iS>ld ihe'irgoods below' cost to drive Ihe products of the new 
firm fronfthfe I'narkift; Fitted by earlier trials and experi- 
ences to ineel -these unexpected difficulties, his purpose 
ncver'wavered ; though they coriTpeted against the combi- 
nalions of large capital, they firmly established themselves 
by the end of the third year. He was elected, by a large 
m.ijority, to the Legisl.ature in 1858, by the " People's Parly," 
taking his seat in January, 1S59; he proved a useful and 
influential member, and aided in the p.ass.age of many well 
known acts for the public good. He was twice reelected, 
and in January, 1861, became Chairman of the Committee 
of W.ays and Means, giving the weight of his position and 
influence to important measures for the support of the 
General Government. In March, i86l,he became Speaker 
>/;o /<•;«., and for a lengthened period exercised llie func- 
tions of that ofliicc with dignity and credit. In May, 1861, 
he was one of the comniilte5"that prepared and reported the 
bill entitled, "An Act to Create a Loan and Provide for Arm- 
ing the Stales," under which the Pennsylvania Reserves 





..a, 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EUIA. 



were organized. He was chairman of tlic Committe on 
the Attack upon Citizens of Pennsylvania in passing through 
Baltimore en route to Washington, and made an able re- 
port thereon. During the dark days of the war his ener- 
getic management sustained his business, and his perceptive 
faculties enabled him to predetermine the result and pro- 
vide for the needs of the South after the termination of the 
struggle. The works in Philadelphia became too small 
for the supply of their rapidly-increasing trade, and, in 
fanuary, i866, it was determined to erect a foundry in 
Baltimore, which was opened the following August, and 
operated especially for the supply of the Southern Irj^e, 
largely increased by the change in the social condition of, 
the negro. Although this relieved the Philadelphia estab- 
lishment for a time, the business so increased that, in June, 
1871, they purchased of the Frankford and Southwark 
Passenger Railway Company the entire square of over two 
and a half acres, included within Third and Fourth, 
Berks streets and Montgomery avenue, with the capacious 
buildings thereon. The works employ about four hundred 
men and turn out from 45,000 to 50,000 stoves, beside 
heaters, ranges, and a large quantity of other casting.s, per 
annum ; they stand as a noble example of the fruits of, 
energy and perseverance. In the fall of 1870, he^ united 
with others in the organization of the -National Securi^tv 
Bank, of which he is the Vice-President. He has been for 
many years an active member of the Independent Ch;der of 
Odd Fellows, of which he is a hi"h official, and other kin- 
dred societies. By election of Councils he has forjnqjiiy 
years served as Trustee of the Northern Liberties^ Gas 
Company. -s - 

_"> '., / 

'EREDITH, HON. WILLIAM MORRIS, Law- 
yer and Statesman, was born in Philadelphia, 
June 6th, 1799. He was the son of William 
Meredith, a lawyer of no mean ability and 
standing, though more familiarly known as the 
President of the Schuylkill Bank ; his maternal 
grandfather was the celebrated Governor Morris, of New 
York. His youth was marked by his precociousness in 
learning, since he was but thirteen years of age when he 
graduated from the University of Pennsylvania as Bachelor 
of Arts, receiving the second honor in his class, which en- 
titled him to the delivery of the valedictory oration at the 
commencement. Like his parent, he chose the bar for his 
profession, and, after having given the closest attention to 
his studies, was admitted to practice, December i6th, 1S17 ; 
but for several years was not favored with a single case. 
During this period of seeming inaction he was a hard stu- 
dent, familiarizing himself with every matter which might 
be of use to him in the vocation which he had selected. 
At the age of twenty-five he was elected a member of the 
State Legislature, ami, from 1S24 to 182S, was successively 
chosen each year to represent, in part, the (old) city of 




Philadelphiii in the lower House. Here, notwithstanding 
the fact that he was almost the youngest member in point 
of years, he took a front rank, and practically became the 
leader of his party. Although elected as a Whig, still he 
found himself arrayed in opposition to the late Thaddcus 
Stevens of the same party, the latter being strongly imbued 
with Anti-Masonic principles : in a celebrated debate, which 
excited great interest at the time, his argumentation was 
so perfect as to triumph over the " Great Commoner," as 
Stevens was called. It was not, however, until he had 
been a member of the bar for fifteen years that his success 
ivas recognized. He had been associated with the late 
John Sergeant and the now venerable Horace Binney in the 
celebrated Girard Will case, and when these eininent men 
retired from Ihe bar, which they had adorned for so many 
years, their niantles seemed to descend upon their youthful 
coadjutor.^ The first case of im|>ortance in which he was 
interested wa<; the well-known suit of The Commonwealth 
vs. Alburger, invplving the right to a burial place in Frank- 
lin Squa/e, ; where the - German Reformed Church had a 
cemetejj secured to them by a patent granted by the descen- 
dants of_ William Penn, notwithstanding the fact that their 
great ancestor had dedicated this tract of land, when the 
citjtwg^laid o_utjj"_to be kept a green forever." The case 
Ijad been in court;, for many years, and though able pleas 
were, made by. thejinost talented attorneys, yet the city was 
defeated in e^-eiy^ iiistance. At last, the subject of this 
sketch was added, to the list of the city's solicitors, and he 
immediately.bi;pached a novel idea, which was to prosecute 
the officers fpr^jnaintaining a nuisance. The case came 
before a jury,^nd .this young barrister presented his argu- 
ments with such irresistible force and brilliancy as to in- 
sure a triumphant verdict for the Commonwealth, which 
was affirmed by the Supreme Court, to which tribunal the 
ejected party had appealed. Thus the gordian knot, which 
so long puzzled even the most talented Philadelphia law- 
yers, was easily and surely cut ; and a precedent was estab- 
lished which has been observed since that time in this and 
other States, in all those questions which have arisen in re- 
gard to public grants. His case was so ably conducted 
and satisfactorily terminated, that public attention was 
drawn to the rising and ingenious advocate. Business 
flowed in upon him, and his success was assured ; and it 
may be added, that in all the important cases argued in this 
State since 1840 he has been concerned. From 1834 tu 
1839, he was a member of the Select Council of the (old) 
city of Philadelphia and its presiding officer. In 1S37, he 
was chosen as one of the members to represent the city in 
the Convention which assembled in 1837-38 to amend the 
Slate Constitution. Here he took a leading part in the 
various debates, and was the originator and author of many 
important reforms. In 1845, he was the choice of some 
of his partisans for the office of United States Senator, but 
his claims were overlooked by the majority of the Legisla- 
ture, who elected Hon. James Cooper to that high position. 



ii8 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCI.OP/EDIA. 



This circumstance was much regretted by his friends then 
and since, as his talents peculiarly fitted him to shine in 
that sphere. When General Taylor was inaugurated, in 
March, 1S49, l"^ "'^^ selected by the President as a mem- 
ber of his Cabinet, with the portfolio of Secretary of the 
Treasury. He held this office until the death of the Presi- 
dent, in July, 1850, when he resigned, and returned to his 
native city, to the successful practice of his profession. In 
1S61, he was ap|>ointed by Governor Curtin a member of 
the celebrated " Peace Congress," which proved such a 
stupendous failure, notwithstanding the fact th.it so many 
learned and able men were members of that body. In the 
same year he was selected, by the same authority, Attorney- 
General of the Commonwealth, which position he filled 
with acceptability until 1867, when he resigned. His whole 
course of service in that important office was marked by 
the rarest ability and the most profound knowledge of the 
law, especially when it is remembered that the Rebellicm 
occupied a greater part of those years. During his term 
of service he initiated some most important and successful 
icforms. In 1870, President Grant tendered him the posi- 
tion of Senior Counsel of the Unitc<l Slates at the Geneva 
Tribunal for the Arbitration of the " Alab.ama Claims; " he 
accepted and assisted in preparing the case, but resigned 
afterwards, deeming the required winter residence in Europe 
unnecessary. In 1S72, he was nominated and elected on the 
Republican ticket as one of the delegates " at large " to re- 
present the State in the Convention convened to amend the 
Constitution. On the assembling of that Iwdy at the Capitol, 
November 1 2th, 1S72, his previous services in a similar Con- 
vention and his pre-eminent abilities were recognized by his 
unanimous election to the position of presiding officer, party 
lines being wholly obliterated. His great experience as a 
parliamentarian, with his thorough knowledge of the laws 
and usages which obtain in deliberative bodies, enabled 
him to discharge his responsible duties with the most per- 
fect impartiality and faithfulness. He was firm in the en- 
forcement of the rules, and strict in his adherence to the 
prescribed routine of business, thus saving valuable time; 
besides, he compelled an observance of the courtesies and 
amenities of debate, that secured for him the respect of 
his associates. Though his health was gradually and surety 
deteriorating from day to day, accelerated by the confine- 
ment of the position he occupied, yet he was most punctual 
in his attendance on the Convention, and was at his post 
long before the hour of opening. His decisions as Presi- 
dent were always sustained by the Convention, though 
some of the rules from which they were deduced had 
grown old and rusty. His position as President prevented 
his being heard in the debate, but on several occasions, in 
Committee of the Whole, he appeared on the floor as advo- 
cating some important reforms. Among these may be men- 
tioned the one demanding a proper representation of the city 
of Philadel])hia in the two houses of the Legislature. His 
last speech before the Convention, and perhaps his last 



public address, was made April 29th, in opposition to the 
proposed " Inlermediar)' Court." He temporarily resigned 
the chair. May I5tb, but returned to it again on the 26th, 
of the same month, when he re-occupied it until June gih, 
which w.as the last d.ay he appeared in the Convention. 
From that time he was confined closely to his residence, 
gradually grew weaker and weaker, and after a few weeks 
of sufiering, frequently very intense, he quietly breathed 
his Last, on Sunday morning, August 17th, 1873. His death 
excited feelings so profound and general that it may well 
be said, he was regretted and mourned by his fellow citi- 
zens of the city. Slate, and N.ition. 



AMPBELL, JOHN H., Lawyer, was born in 
■fllll Philadelphia, March 31st, 1847. He is the son 
of John Campbell, bookseller and publisher, liolh 
parents being of Irish birth. He received his 
^~/^j' education in the public schools, and graduated 
with honor in Februaiy, 1S64. He immediately 
entered upon the study of the law, ami upon attaining his 
majority was admitted to the practice of his profession, 
April 4th, 1868. He was very soon offered the editorial 
chair of the Legal Gazette, of Philadelphia, which position 
he accepted, and in it displayed so much energy that he 
has succeeded in making the journal one of the foremost 
and most influential serials of its class in the Union. Upon 
the passage of the bill calling for a Convention to revise 
the Constitution of Pennsylvania, his rising reputation at 
once suggested him .as a proper candidate to his party for 
the position of delegate at large, and he was chosen by the 
Democratic State Convention, in May, 1S72, being the 
youngest man ever selected for such an important situation 
in the State of Pennsylvania. In the following month of 
October he was duly elected, and in November of the same 
year took his seat in the Convention, which primarily met 
in Ilarrisburg. From the outset he took an active part in 
that body, being i)laced on two committees of the highest 
importance — those on Suffrage and Elections, and Railroads 
and Canals. He is an earnest champion of the " Rights of 
Woman." He submitted in the Convention a minority re- 
port from the Committee on Suffrage and Election, signed 
by himself and Messrs. Rooke & Cassidy, dissenting from 
the majority re|x)rt limiting the right of suffrage to the male 
sex. During the two evenings appropriated by the Con- 
vention for listening to those women who desired to plead 
for their own rights, he took the entire management of 
.affairs on himself; and by his courtesy and tact removed 
all those obstacles which are so apt to impede novices in 
public affairs. He strongly favors restrictions upon the 
enormous power exercised by the great railroad and other 
corporations of the State, his vote being always on the side 
of reform. He has ever been an earnest advocate of tem- 
pcr.ince, believing not so much in prohibitory laws as in 



BlOGRAraiCAL ENCYCLOIVEDIA. 



'19 



ihe influence of moral suasion. He has taken ail active 
interest in the Roman Catholic temperance movement, 
organizing many societies, and bringing into them hundreds 
of men, I)oth young and old. Himself the President of the 
leading total abstinence society in Philadelphia, he has been 
conspicuous in the temperance conventions of his church ; 
and by his knowledge of parliamentary usages and practical 
organization, has aided materially in furthering the cause. 



I RICE, JOHN SERGEANT, Lawyer, was born 
in Philadelphia, June nth, 1831. He is the son 
of Eli Kirk Price, an eminent jurist, whose 
sketch also apjiears in this volume. He received 
his theoretical education in' private schools of 
his native city, after which he became a student 
at law with Joseph B. Townsend, and was admitted to the 
bar, April 8lh, 1854. He graduated in the Law Depart- 
ment of the University of Pennsylvania, July 9th of the 
same year, and has since been actively engaged in the 
practice of his profession. He has been chiefly occupied 
in the adjustment of titles to real estate and the necessary 
processes appertaining to its security and transfer, also in 
the care and management of decedents' and trust estates. 
Although his large clientele claims the most of his time, 
he finds intervals to devote to the promotion of public bene- 
fac.ions. He is Secretary of the Board of Managers of the 
Pennsylvania Institution for the Ins^-iiction of the Blind, 
Treasurer of the Preston Retreat, a member of the American 
I'hilosophical Society, and is connected with various other 
corporations of local importance. 




jOWE, DAVID WATSON, Lawyer and Soldier, 
was born November I2th, 1S36, in Greencastle, 
Franklin county, Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish 
parentage. James Watson, his mother's grand- 
father, was a Colonel in the patriot forces in the 
Revolutionary war; and .another of his ancestors, 
named McKinney, is recorded to have been killed in a 
skirmish with the Indians near Chambersburg, in 1S56. 
The schools of his native town gave him the requisite pre- 
paration to enter Marshall College, then situated at Mer- 
cersburg, Pennsylvania, since removed to Lancaster. At 
this institution he remained until advanced to the junior 
class, when he left it in order to commence the study of 
law, with William McCIellan, of Chambersburg. The 
degree of Master of Arts was, however, conferred upon him 
by Marshall College, in 1869, in testimony of his earnest 
pursuit of humane studies after his departure from it. 
Passing the usual examination, he was admitted to the bar, 
August I5lh, 1857, and commenced the successful practice 



of his profession in Chambersburg. He was thus peace- 
fully employed when the war of the Rebellion broke out. 
At the very first call for troops, on the iSth of April, 1S61, 
he joined the army as a private soldier, in Company C, Se- 
cond Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. A 
week later he was made Sergeant-major of the regiment, 
and a few weeks afterwards First Lieutenant of company 
C, in which position he continued until the expiration of 
his term of service, in July, 1861. At that time many pre- 
dicted the early termination of the struggle, and for a year 
he remained undecided whether to take up arms a second 
time or to resume his professional duties. When, in July, 
1862, another urgent call for volunteers was made by the 
central Government, he hesitated no longer, but at once be- 
gan to recruit a company at Greencastle. It. was filled by 
the fifth of August ; on the evening of that day he was 
married, and the next morning on the road to Harrisburg 
in command of his company. It was attached as company 
K to the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment 
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, of which regiment he was 
commissioned by Governor Curtin Lieutenant-Colonel. 
During his term of service as a soldier he was never absent 
from his regiment a day, and was always by it in every 
battle it entered. Popular as an officer among his men, he 
also was the recipient of flattering testimonials to his gal- 
lantry from his superior officers. In the official reports of 
Chancellorsville and Frederickslmrg he is mentioned in the 
highest terms by General Tyler. When the war was over 
he returned to his profession with renewed ardor and soon 
obtained an extensive practice. In 1868, he was appointed 
by the Governor, and subserpiently elected by the people. 
Additional Law Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District 
of Pennsylvania, embracing the counties of Franklin, Ful- 
ton, Bedford and Somerset, for the term of ten years. This 
office he is now holding. At first a Democrat in politics, 
he was a delegate, in 1860, to the State Convention at 
Reading, which nominated Foster for Governor; but in 
that same year, though voting for Foster as Governor, he 
cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln as President, and 
took his position with the anii-slavery men. Political pre- 
ferment has not been the object of his ambition, and the 
only two offices which he ever sought were those directly 
in the line of his profession — the District Attorneyship and 
the Judgeship. As an author he wrote, at the request of 
Mr. Bates, State Military Historian of Pennsylvaiiia, a 
Historical Sketch of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth 
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, a little work 
of one hundred pages, one thousand copies of which were 
printed. -\t the assembling of the Constitutional Conven- 
tion, in Philadelphia, January, 1873, a draft of " // Consti- 
tution of Pennsylvania, Designed to Show chiefly how the 
Benefits of local Self-government may be Extended and 
the Evils of Special Legislation may be Curtailed," was 
furnished to eacn member and attracted general atten- 
tion. This was from his pen. 



BIOGRAPIIICAI, E.NXVCLOP.EDIA. 




Chambers, colonel andrew r.. Mer- 
chant, was liorn at Trenton, New Jersey, Dccem- 
l)cr 27th, 1804. lie was the younj^cst son of 
Captain Chambers, a soldier of the Revolutionary 
War, who fought under General Washington at 
the battle of Trenton. When Andrew was fifteen 
years of age, he was placed in the establishment of Jesse 
Walton, at Frankford, Pennsylvania, to learn the tanning 
Iiusiness; and having been fully instructed in the various 
branches of that crafl, upon attaining his majority, he con- 
cluiled to locate in Philadelphia, and opened a leather ware- 
house. In 1826, he established himself on Fifth street 
below Walnut, next door to the African Church, from which 
he removed to (old) No. 29, and subsequently thence to 
(old) No. 67 Chestnut street, in the first store ever erected 
in the city possessing a granite front. Here, by industry, 
perseverance and close attention to his business concerns 
for the period of twenty-two years, he acquired a fortune 
of over a quarter of a million dollars, and on January 1st, 
1848, disposed of the warehouse to his two nephews, who 
continue the establishment under the firm of Chambers & 
Cattell. He was emphatically one of the old style of 
Philadelphia merchants; enterprising, conservative, of ster- 
ling integrity, firmness of purpose, and at all limes with- 
standing financially the various storms, panics and com- 
mercial distresses which arose and continued during his 
many years of active business life, particularly those oc- 
curring in 1837, 1841, and later. He was a high minded 
and conscientious man, especially noted not only for his 
probity as a merchant, but for his universally benevolent 
disposition. Although the youngest of eight children, yet 
he acted more like a parent to his brothers and sisters, and 
their children, by giving them all a helping hand to enable 
them to pass through the battle of life; by kind words and 
sound advice; and also by those substantial means which 
are needed by every one, young and old, at various times 
and seasons. He took an earnest part in the "Commercial 
Room" of the Philadelphia Exchange, having served as an 
active member for over forty years. He was likewise, for 
many years, a Director of the Farmers' and Mechanics' 
liank, under the presidencies of Palton, Taggarl, Mercer 
and Lewis. In politics, he was an old line Whig, and as 
such was elected to and served in the City Councils from 
1845 to 1S50. When the Whig party was dissolved, he 
united with the Republicans. During the recent Rebel- 
lion, he was a firm supporter of the Government, and be- 
came a member of the Union League from its inception, 
and throughout his entire life continued an active, influen- 
tial and prominent member of the same. His title of 
Colonel was derived from his having been appointed by 
Governor Johnston his Aide-de-Camp; he also served on 
ihe staff of General Hennelt, with the rank of Colonel. 
For many years he was a constant attendant upon the ser- 
vices of Calvary I'lesbyterian Church, and was noted for 
his repeated benefactions and unobtrusive charities. He 



died December 3d, 1871, in the sixty-seventh year of his 
age, leaving a large estate to heirs and relations, beside 
making many liberal bequests for benevolent and religious 
purposes. 




/ 



COTT, COLONEL THOMAS ALEXANDER, 
First Vice President of the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road Company, was born in the township of Lou- 
don, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, December 
2Sth, 1824. His education was only that afforded 
by the village school, with its solitaiy master, 
and embraced only his earliest childhood. When but ten 
years of age, he lost his fath(;r, and then went to reside 
with his eldest sister, whose husband kept a country store 
near Waynesboro', where he remained eighteen months ; 
subsequently he lived a short lime with his brother, James 
D. Scott, who was likewise in business at Bridgeport, in 
the same county : and passing from these, he was employed 
by Metcalfe & Ritchie, merchants, of Mercersburg. In 
all these situations, though so young, his industiy, energy 
and pei-severance won the respect and confidence of his 
employers. His brother in-law. Major James Patton, 
had been appointed Collector of Tolls on the State Rail- 
road, at Columbia, Pennsylvania, and the latter gave him a 
position in his office as clerk, where he remained for some 
years, and then was offered a berth in the extensive for- 
warding establishment and commission warehouse of Leech 
& Co., in the same town, where he gave every satisfaction 
to his employers. In 1847, ^^ came to Philadelphia, as 
chief clerk under A. Boyd Cummings, Collector (of Tolls) 
at the eastern end of the Pennsylvania Public Works, 
where he remained for three years, till finally, he entered 
the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in 1S50, 
and was appointed the General .\gent of the Eastern or 
Mountain Division of that corporation. When the Western 
Division of the road was opened, he was called upon to act 
as Superintendent of the latter, and continued in this posi- 
tion until the ill health of General Lombaert compelled the 
latter to resign, when the entire control of the road was 
placed in his hands. In 1S59, at the death of Hon. Wil- 
liam B. Foster, Vice President of the Company, he was 
elected to the vacancy, which he filled until elected Presi- 
dent, 1S74. It was during the early d.iys of the Rebellion, 
when all was confusiim in the matter of transportation of 
men and war material, that (jovernor Curtin of Pennsyl- 
vankl sought his advice and aid. He repaired to Harris- 
burg, and brought order out of chaos. With marvellous 
skill he unravelled the tangled condition of affairs, and 
soon had everything in admirable working order. The re- 
markable facility with which he solved the difiicult prob- 
lem involved in the rapid movement of large masses of 
men, attracted the attention of Secretary Cameron, who re- 
quested him to go to the N.ilional Seat of Government. 
He went to Washington, and was at once appointed As- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



sistant Secretai'}' of War, in chnrr^e ofmilitnry trniT^porlntioii. 
With his advent ca!ne order and success. Me had the 
ofifice put in telegrapliic communication with every camp, 
dep6t and railway station in the loyal State*, when supplies 
were sent wherever needed at the right time, and in proper 
quantities, so that the administration was relieved of an 
immense amount of lahor and trouble. For months he 
labored day and night at this arduous calling, until he was 
recalled to Philadelphia to attend to the duties of his offi- 
cial position in the railroad company. His singular ability 
to comprehend what was needed, and his promptitude in 
supplying that need, together with his knowledge of men, 
enabling him to select efficient assistants, CQntriliuted to 
his great success. Prior to his return to Philadelphia, he 
received the thanks of the Government, as expressed i(i the 
following letter : 

Washington, D. C, War Department, jiiiic I, 1S62. 

Dear Sir : In taking leave of you, in consequence of 
your resignation of the office of Assistant Secretary of War, 
it is proper fur me to express my entire satisfaction with the 
manner in which you have discharged your duties during 
the whole period of our official relations. Those ^Snties 
have been confidential and responsible, requiring" energy^, 
prudence and discretion, and it gives me iMeasuv«J to say 
that tr> me you ha\'e proved to be in every p.articiilar an 
able and faithful assistant. Yours truly,'' 

I:dwi.n M. Stanton, Secretary of \yar.- ^ 

Colonel Thomas A. Scott. ' •' ; ' .- 

Again, when it was necessaiy, after the battle of Gettys- 
burg, to transport two entire army corps from the seaboard- 
to Tennessee, President Lincoln sent for him to superintend 
the great task, and gave him plenary powers. In less than 
ten days, twenty thousand men, with all their trains, sup- 
plies and material, reinforced the Army of the Cumberland, 
having passed over a route exceeding one thousand miles 
in extent. Such a movement h.as never been excelled in 
the annals of any war. But not only in matters of trans- 
portation is he celebrated : he has effected remarkable 
changes in the financial conditions of railway companies. 
When the Union Pacific Railroad was involved in trouble, 
he was summoned to its relief, and became the head of that 
corporation. By the use of his name, and through his 
earnest labors and popularity, confidence was restored, its 
securities advanced in value, and its success was assured. 
This was his personal work, being entirely nnassociated 
with the interests of the Pennsylvania Railroad, yet it 
changed the fortunes of over one thousand miles of road. 
The " Pennsylvania Company," the corporation which 
manages the entire network of railway west of Pittsburgh, 
owned or leased and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad 
Company, and embracing some three or four thousand miles 
of road, an amount which is continually increasing from 
month to month, is also directed by his powerful mind. 
So also those great Western enterprises, now in course of 
survey and construction across the continent, receive the 
Iti 




benefit of his counsel and advice; and he likewise inspires, 
with his sympathy, confidence and co-operation, the suc- 
cesses of another great corporation, the " Southern Railway 
Security Company," presided over by James Roosevelt, 
which proposes to reorganize various Southern lines, in 
order that they may be worked together harmoniously and 
effectively, infusing into them a new life, their existence 
having been almost annihilated by the disasters of the late 
civil war. The new route between Baltimore and Wash- 
ington received its most powerful impetus at the hands of 
Colonel Scott and his associates, and the old monopoly of 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad ceased to exist from the 
moment that the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad, under his 
patronage, was inaugurated. He is emphatically a self-made 
man. His energy, foresight, thoroughness of action and 
abilHV to o\«ercome all obstacles, are proverbial. Nothing 
that he undertakes is a failure; from the very moment that 
he grasps an enterprise — be it regarded by the world as a 
chimera, or, at best, but of douljtful expediency — from that 
moment it a"<;quires a life, a character and a success. 



i;WKUM,i:T,-' COLONEL JOHN, Architect and 
Yni lij'.tck .Manufacturer, was born in Eich, 
Gjand DucliV.TQf Hesse Darmstadt, in the autumn 
t ivx>-s °^ 1827. His father was a Government officer 
■:Mr{^ "^before his removal to the United States, and held 
several important positions of trust. He was also 
quite celebrated as an architect, and while a resident in this 
country designed and erected some very fine buildings. 
His son, John, received his primary education in his native 
town, which he completed in the cities of Darmstadt and 
Worms. His special studies were those pertaining to 
architecture, and, having passed a successful examination, 
he was assigned by the Government as an Assistant Archi- 
tect to the city of Mayence. A few weeks after accepting 
this position, he became identified, in common with many 
other students, in the "Republican movement of 1S48,'" 
and, on the failure of the popular revolutionary schemes, 
was obliged to make hi:; escape from the cuuntiy. He 
took passage in a sailing ship, which had the misfortune to 
be stranded on the coast, and subsequently totally wrecked. 
By this accident he lost all his means. He made his way, 
however, to New York, and upon landing, repaired at once 
to Philadelphia, which city he had selected as his future 
residence before leavi.ng his native land. Here he was 
obliged to seek employment in the humblest caviacity, as 
he was entirely without resources artd -a stranger in a 
strange land. He finally effected an engagement as a far- 
mer's hand, and labored faithfully in this capacity for some 
time. He was next employed as a bricklayer, and in this 
occupation soon made known his capacities as an architect. 
In eighteen months thereafter he founded the " Fire-brick 
Works" in the District of Richmond, but after remaining 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP>EDIA. 



there a while, found the location unsuitable, and finally, m 
1856, erected the establishment at the comer of Vine and 
Twenty-third streets, where he prosecuted his calling with 
diligence and success. At the outbreak of the Rebellion, 
he became very much interested in the struggles of the 
period, and when the rebels invaded the Stale of Pennsyl- 
vania, after the second battle of Hull Run, he raised a regi- 
ment of infantry, by request of Governor Curtin. Pulling 
himself at their head, he was active in leading his men for- 
ward to the defence of his adopted Slate. On the declara- 
tion of peace, he returned to his avocation, but his healtlj. 
wa.s completely shattered. He therefore sailed ^ Elfrope,. 
hoping that by relaxation from all business flails, as'w'ell 
as other impediments to a perfect quieludc;Ji» might recu- 
perate his bodily health. On his return Id; the United 
St.ales, he associated with him in busincssjiis brother- 
Philip. Shortly afterwards his health completely failed 
him, and he became seriously ill from softening of the 
brain, which eventually had a fatal termination, May.Slh, 
1869. He married, in 1852, Caroline Kurtz, who survives 
him with one daughter. In politics, he was an ardent Re- 
publican, although he was no pujitician, never Sesiring or 
seeking any public office. In business, he was notedVfor 
his strict integrity, and (oc his custoin^f'exacting" the same 
from all tliose with whom hej^aft. ." Socially"/ he' won "a 
host of warm and devoted friends. 



not a can<lidate for any office, he received several compli- 
mentary votes for the nomination of Auditor General of the 
State. In the same year, he was chosen to represent the 
Third Senatorial District in the Constitutional Convention 
of Pennsylvania, and proved himself an active and efficient 
member of that body. He is also an active member of the 
Americus Club, and Chairman of the Democratic City Exe- 
cutive Committee, having been rtS'.ected Septemlier Sth. 
1873. He has been a member of the Democratic State 
Central Committee. 





ONG, Z.\CHARIAII II., Farmer and Politician, 
was born June 30th, 1819, in Jacksonville, Le- 
high county, Pennsylvania, his parents being 
Henry Long, who emigrated from Norrislown at 
the age of twenty, and Mary Magdalene Har- 
mony. Receiving a fair education at the neigh- 
boring .schools, he removed to Schuylkill county in 1840, 
where he commenced business on his own account, and 
subsequently moved to Carbon county. In 1859, he was 
elected to the State Legislature, and reelected in 1863. 
He has held many offices of local importance, such as As- 
sessor oPTiWtes, President of the School Board of his 
district. In 1872, he w.is elected delegate to the Constitu- 
tional *Convenlion<if the State, in the deliberations of which 
body he 'took a prominent part. A strict member of the 
Lutheran Church, he is also a thorough temperance advo- 
< jcat-; and a consistent Christian. His marriage took place 
'EMPLE, BENJ.VMIN L., Lawyer, was born $Io-;^-,„ 1849, to Miss Ahrner, of Schuylkill county. At present, 

■ ' -■ " . :..- /-^ A„_. iind for several years pxst, his residence has been at Lehi'jh- 

ton. Carbon county, in which town he has been engaged in 
business. With an excellent constitution, inured to toil in 
early life, and preserved by regular habits and strict 
sobriety, he promises to be a useful citizen of our Stale 
for many years to come. 



vcmber l6th, 1842, al Templeville, Queen Anne 
county. Eastern Shore of Maryland. His ances- 
tors were English, and the family is quite nume- 
rous and prominent in the Stale of Maryland. 
His father was engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
and filled various offices in his native county. After ac- 
quiring a common English education in the schools of his 
vicinity, he spent two years in Fairfield Seminar)', Herkimer 
county. New York, and, in 1858, entered the Sophomore 
class of Union College. He pursued his studies in that 
institution until i860, when he left on account of the Rebel- 
lion in the Southern States, which suspended the college. 
In 1S62, he removed to Philadelphia, and commenced the 
study of law in the office of David Paul Brown. After 
spending nine months in this office, he entered that of 
George M. Wharton, and was admitted to the bar in May, 
1864. He has ever been a diligent student, and by appli- 
cation and industry has achieved a good position and grati- 
fying success in his chosen profession. He has been active 
in politics, and is highly esteemed as a leader in his parly. 
In 1868, he was a zealous supporter of Furman Sheppard 
for the position of District Attorney for the city and county 
of Philadelphia. In 1869, he w.as a candidate for Select 
Council for llie Tenth Ward, but was defeated by William 
B. Hanna. At the Reading Convention, in 1872, though 




ARLINGTON, HENRY TOWNSEND, Journal- 
ist, was born in Birmingham, Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, September 17th, l8.-2. He is a 
son of Edward B. Darlington and Hannah Shar- 
pies, a grandson of Edward Darlington, member 
of the State Legislature from Chester county for 
several terms between iSoo and 1810, and a nephew of 
Dr. Wdliam Darlington, the distinguished botanist. His 
family, who are members of the Society of Friends, came 
to this country from England soon after the arrival of Wil- 
liam Penn. He received the greater part of his education 
in the common schools of his native county during the 
winter months, but attended for a short time the school of 
A. Bolmar, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He remained 
with his father upon the farm until he was seventeen yeatS 
of age, when he entered the IWa^f Record office, at West 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/F.DIA. 



123 



Chester, as the apprentice of Henry S. Evans. His father 
having died in 1853, he returned to the farm, where he 
continued for two years, and then associated himself in 
partnership with Enos Prizer, also of the Record office, un- 
der the firm name of Prizer & Darlington. Having pur- 
chased the Bucks County Intelligencer of John S. Brown, 
they removed to Doylestown and assumed the management 
of that paper, February 15th, 1S55. He was married Sep- 
tember 9th, 1857, to Susan Darlington, a daughter of Abra- 
ham Darlington, also of Chester county. The partnership 
of Prizer & Darlington continued till the death of the 
former, in November, 1864, when his interest was pur- 
ch.ased by the surviving partner, who has since controlled 
the entire business, which, under his energetic and effective 
management, has been greatly extended and enlarged. He 
has been, as a journalist, somewhat active in politics, but 
has never held a public office of greater importance than 
Town Councilman ; he has been a frequent delegate to 
Republican State conventions, and has taken a leading part, 
as the editor and publisher of the principal Republican 
newspaper in the county, in all local party operations. He 
served in the State militia in 1S62 and 1863; at the time 
of the battle of Antietam, his company was interrogated by 
the captain as to its willingness to cross the border and 
participate in the engagement, and he was one of six who 
stepped forward, saying, they came to do their duty in any 
position or anywhere; in the latter year, he served two 
months as a private in the division of General W. F. Smith. 
He has been for many years the Secretary of the Bucks 
County Agricultural Society, and an officer of various otlier 
corporations, iie has always been foremost in promoting 
the local interests of his community, ant^, in 1869, was one 
of the most active promoters of the erection of water-works 
in Doylestown. By the energetic prosecution of his busi- 
ness, he has acquired a fair estate; he lives upon a small 
farm in the eastern part of Doylestown, but devotes most 
of his time to office duties. He is widely known as a man 
of the strictest integrity, great geniality and true benevo- 
lence. 



jEESE, M. MESIER, Merchant, was born in 
Philadelphia, in 1833. He comes of an old 
English stock, his father, George B. Reese, the 
. . late well-known merchant, being of British de- 
(s V^ scent, while his mother's, M.ai-y Mesier's, ances- 
tors were of Huguenot lineage. Educated in 
the best schools of his native city in his childhood, he w.as 
sent in early youth to Yale College, where he graduated 
with high honor. After graduation, he made the tour of 
Europe, and, upon his return to Philadelphia, entered into 
his father's establishment as an importer of English goods, 
where he remained until after his parent's death ; he ulti- 
mately succeeded to the business. From early life he has 
always taken a deep interest in the Protestant Episcopal 





Church. The Church of the Messiah, at the corner of 
Broad and Federal streets, Philadelphia, has be»n built 
principally through his efforts. He is a fine musician, gives 
his services gratuitously to the church as organist, and de- 
votes much time and energy to encourage and promote the 
study of music, especially church music. He has trained a 
choir of young and fresh voices to a degree of perfection 
which has elicited high praise from those best able to judge 
of their merit. As a member of the Masonic fraternity, he 
has made his mark, being a prominent member of Mozart 
Lodge — a lodge principally composed of musicians. He is 
an extensive property holder on South Broad street, and has 
done much for the improvement of that section of the city. 
Though persistent in refusing to accept political office, he 
is a liberal supporter of those men and measures his judg- 
ment approves. He is a generous friend, a good citizen 
and enjoys a happy home, surrounded with an affectionate 
family. He married Miss Burch, and the union has been 
favored with five children. 



OPE, THOMAS PYM, Merchant, was born about 
the year 1767, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, 
where his father possessed valuable lands inheri- 
ted through his ancestor, Oliver Cope, one of the 
first purchasers from William Penn. On his 
mother's side, he was descended from the Pyms, 
who claim as an ancestor the celebrated parliamentarian, 
John Pym, who was contemporaneous with Strafford and 
the Cromwells. His early education was conducted in the 
schools of his neighborhood, where he acquired a compe- 
tent knowledge of English, German and Latin. His mind, 
naturally well balanced, was well disciplined for the work 
to which he devoted his life, and the foundation was solidly 
laid for the fine literaiy taste which subsequently adorned 
it. In 1785, he was sent to Philadelphia, to prepare him- 
self for mercantile life, and entered the countijig house of 
his uncle, Thomas Mendenhall, where he devoted himself 
industriously to the attainment of proficiency in his business. 
His evening hours were given to the improvement of his 
mind. His habits of financial management were formed at 
an early day; he had received no aid from his father, and 
when it was offered him, after his arrival in the city, was 
declined with thanks, and returned as unnecessary. On 
his becoming of age, he was admitted into the firm, and 
was so successful as to be able, in 1790, to erect the store- 
house at the corner of Second street and Jones' (then 
Pewter-platter) alley; in which and the adjoining building 
he conducted his business with such signal ability that the 
reputation of the house was assured. In this locality he 
conducted a large business in foreign importations, beside 
giving his efforts to encourage domestic manufactures, es- 
pecially in hosiery, which, at that time, was the staple pro- 
duction of Geimantown, and also in domestic cottons and 



124 



BlOGRArUKAL KNCVCI.OP.tDIA. 



mixed cloths, which were ihcn conspicuous for excellence. 
In 1793, the yellow fever visited Philadelphia, and great 
numbers of the citizens fled to avoid the contagion ; but as 
he was possessed of great courage and benevolence, he re- 
mained, though he did not escape from an attack of the 
epidemic. In 1797, when the scourge again made its ap- 
pearance, he tarried in the city, and accepted from the 
Mayor the office of Almoner, and ministered directly to 
those suffering fron» <lestitution, in consecpience of the sus- 
pension of liusiness. In 1807, he commenced building a 
ship, with a view to opening an extensive trade with Liver- 
])ool. Ilis first vessel was named for his native county, the 
" Lancaster," of 290 tons. Previous to this date, he had 
engaged in the valuable trade <ipened to our merchants by 
the French Revolutiim, and the destruction of British and 
French shipping. His trade w.is peculiarly hazardous, but 
his operations were cautiously conducted and were gene- 
rally successful. His whole career as an importing mer- 
chant was characterized by uniform discretion and steady 
success. He was generally his own insurer, and so self- 
reliant was he that, on the breaking out of the war of 181 2, 
he refused to insure beyond the ordinary risks, and thus 
.saved largely in the profits. Although no politician, his 
interest in the city and State led hiin to accept offices to 
which he had been nominated and elected. In 1S07, in 
times of high parly excitement, he was elected to the Leg- 
islature on the Conservative ticket, and commanded, by 
his fidelity and strict integrity, the respect of th.at body and 
the public. He had already served in the City Councils, 
and was one of the minority who advocated and urged the 
introduction of Schuylkill water into the city. This measure 
encountered a formidable opposition in and out of Conn- 
cils, but his firmness, and the confidence reposed in his 
judgment, overcame all opposition, and the purchase of 
Lemon Hill and a<ljacent ]irroperties was effected as essen- 
tial to the success of the water supply. Though repeatedly 
urged to become a candiilate for Congress, when it was a 
high honor to be a member of that body, he steadily de- 
clined the earnest solicitations of his friends. He served, 
however, in 1837-38 as a member for amending the State 
Constitution, and with his conservative, but progressive 
views, exerted a salutary influence upon its proceedings. 
In 1810, he removed his place of business to Walnut street 
wharf, where his grandsons still conduct the Liverpool line 
of packets formed by him in 1821. This was the pioneer 
line between I'hil.idelphia and any European port, and 
not only never failed while under his care, but still con- 
tinues with the prospect of a future as bright as the past. 
He was one of the originators of the Mercantile Librarj', 
and gave his earnest advocacy to the Chesapeake & Dela- 
ware Canal, and also to the Pennsylvania Railroad. He 
filled also the position of President of the Board of Trade; 
and was President of the Overseers of the Poor, and of the 
Colonization Society of Pennsylvania. Much of his time 
outside uf bubiucs^ hours was employed in arbitration. 



In his family, his fund of humor, and his nicely stored 
mind imparled vivacity to the household gathering. He 
was twice married. He died November 22d, 1854, leav- 
ing behind him a spotless record, immense wealth and a 
numerous family. 



^VOWXSEND, HEXRV CLAV, Ijwyer, was bom 
* ll "' ^^'^''' Chester, Chester county, Pennsylvania, 

"^/Vl February 22d, 1822. His parents, John W. 

J[p^^ Townsend and Sibylla Price, were worthy mcm- 
CQ^ bers of the Society of Friends. He attended the 
West Town Boarding-school, in Chester county, 
and subsequently spent five years in the French .\cademy 
of A. Bolman. at West Chester, where he prepareil for the 
sophomore cl.iss in Yale College, entering it in 1839. His 
cla.ss graduated in 1S42, but ill health prevented him from 
continuing to the end of his course. In appreciation of his 
ability and character, his alma mater conferred upon him 
the honorary degree of M. A., in the summer of 1873. He 
became a student of the law in the office of Eli Kirk Price, 
in 1841, and was admitted to practice at the bar of Phila- 
delphia, September 4th, 1844, where his lalwrs have been 
almost unremitting. He was married July 21st, 1847 
During the war he was an active promoter of the Union 
cause, and was appointed by Governor Curtin a commis- 
sioner for the care of soldiers' orphans. Although he has 
taken an active interest in public and political affairs, he 
has never been an aspirant for official honors, and has uni- 
formly declined all political preferment. He is an indus- 
trious worker in office business, chiefly in connection with 
the settlement of lalates and care of trusts. He is an active 
manager in various corporations and charitable institutions, 
to the usefulness of which he h.is contributed much by his 
counsel and business abiliiv. 



EEliE, M.WLV C, Lawyer, was born M Fabius, 
Onondaga county, New York. His parents 
were natives of New England, but of English 
and Welsh descent. After receiving his edu- 
cation at the Fabius Academy, he removed to 
Pennsylvania, at the age of eighteen, where he 
pursued the avocation of teacher, until his twenty-second 
year. He cpialified himself for the practice of law, in 
Pleasantville, Venango county, Pennsylvania, and now oc- 
cupies a high rank in his profession ; his character for 
honesty and benevolence being also well known and ap- 
preciated. He early occupied himself with municipal 
afj^irs, and, when still very young, w.-is in the positions of 
Justice of the Peace and Burgess, and has always been a 
director of the public schools. From the commencement 
of his career, he h.is taken an active part in politics, voting 
originally with the so-called old line Whig party, but with 





I 



■^^^5?T^. /^^ y/'a^^^>^^^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



I2S 



Strong anti-slavery convictions, which induced him to poll 
his first vote for John P. Hall, as President of the United 
States. He afterwards joined tlie Republican party, being 
one of its pioneers in Venango county, where he materially 
assisted in the defeat of the Democrats, who had thereto- 
fore been predominant. He has always displayed a lively 
interest in the public school sy.stem, especially since its re- 
vision in 1854, and was elected as the first county superin- 
tendent under the new system, serving in that capacity for 
three years. From 1861 to 1864, he represented his dis 
trict in the State Legislature; in 1872, was nominated as 
delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and elected by a 
veiy large majority. In that body he has shown himself 
animated in debate and indefatigably industrious on con?"- 
mittees. His political honesty is so well known that, even 
in the most closely contested elections, he has never had 
more than three votes cast against him. His beneyolepce 
is on a par with his honesty ; his purse is always ^en to 
the afflicted, and, during the war, his handsome mansion, 
near Pleasantville, was the headquarters of the sick and 
wounded soldiers. At the age of twenty-four, he' w«s 
married to Maria Tebhits, of Manlius, New York, sr-Iady 
universally esteemed. The issue of this marriage has been 
four children, two only of whom are living. -" «^ 



HORNTON, JOSEPH DYSON, Builder, was 
born in Frankford, Pennsylvania, December 2Ist, 
1828. His parents came from England to the 
United States a short time previous to his birth 
and settled in Frankford. After receiving a 
limited education, he worked upon a farm from 
his tenth to his si.\teenth year, receiving two months school- 
ing each winter, and then became an apprentice to the 
carpenter's trade, with George W. Search, of Frankford. 
Having finished his trade and attained his majority, in 1849, 
he removed to Philadelphia, where he took small contracts, 
and so continued in business until 1861, having in the 
ftSantinie, on Januaiy 13th, 1S51, married Anna E. Ensor, 
' of P)\tlapdelphia. In i85i, he resolved to engage in busi 
ness on a^rh'ge scale, and began to erect houses for him- 
self. Strifggling against all discouragements, he persevered 
until his ability and energy won for him the implicit confi- 
dence of the community. From 1863 to 1870, he was in- 
timately assqiiieted in business with the late Amos Ellis, 
and within ten years he erected about one thousand dwell- 
ing houses' in the northern part of the city. He has made 
his own iSrtune, and well deserves the success he has won. 
Blocks of„ handsome edifices stand as testimonials of his 
!«kilVprogr&sf«liergy and great business capacity. 




.OYD, COLONEL JAMES, Lawyej-,_was hbnj^m 
Fayette county, Pennsylvania, March 2Qih, 1^3- 
His parents were Virginians, descended fr.onji an 
old English stock, and gave their sou ajliberal 
education, which was commenced at Crawijprd's 
Academy, Philadelphia, and completed at the 
Haddington College, Germantown. At this early age, he 
evinced that talent for wit and humor, with that quickness 
of perceptive faculties, which have characterized his legal 
career. On leaving college, he commenced the study of 
law, and, after passing his examination with much credit, 
was admitted to the bar in Montgomeiy county, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he has practised with much success for thirty 
years. His physical powers are uncommon, as, during the 
whole of that period, he was never absent from court a 
.single day on account of illness. He was elected as dele- 
gate to the Constitutional Convention of 1S72-73. In poli- 
tics, he was an " old line Whig," until that party was united 
with the Abolitionists. Since that junction,'h^ has stea^ 
fastly abstained from holding polititttl oflice, though by no 
means neglecting his duties as a citizen, having served the 
section in which he resides in various capacities. Wealthy 
and generous, he has been of much service In puljllc move- 
ments, especially so in sustaining the Centennial Commis- 
sion and the Fountain Society, both with his purse and 
his influence. In 1848, he was married to Sarah, daughter 
of Jeremiah Jamieson, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and 
by that union has two sons, Wallace and Howard. 




A rs( iJirsGEORGE W., Carriage Builder, the 
■•ihii-d' soji ofXhafles C. Watson, was born in 
.'Philadelphia, March i, 1S05. His grandfather 
*' \yas a n;lti^e of England, and for many years car- 
.*ri&"^''afriron foundry, which he had erected in 
Kensington, Philadelphia. He was educated in 
his native city, finishing his coui-se in Tathem's Boarding- 
school, near Frankford. After leaving school he became 
an apprentice with Thomas Ogle, a coach maker, with 
whom he remained until after he attained his majority, when 
he engaged in business for himself, in Prime street, and 
subsequently removed to Laurel court, now Levant street. 
His close attention to business and mechanical genius 
readily acquired for him a steadily-increasing business in 
this location, and at the death of his former preceptor, 
Thomas Ogle, he became associated with the son, William 
Ogle, and removed to the factory on Si.\th street, above 
Chestnut. This partnei^^ip was dissolved after some years, 
and tl^e iiusiness c^tiniied by^ Gw>i^e W. Watson, who 
pmcliased the property of the heirs of Thomas Ogle. He pur- 
sued this prosperous career, occupying a factory at the Falls 
of Schuylkill, and subsequently building the establish- 
ment at Thirteenth and Parrish, now occupied by William 
D. Rodgers, but still owned by his heirs. About the year 
1850, he erected the buildings on Chestnut street, above 
Twelfth — ^now occupied by Jacob Laudenslager, who was 
connected with him from 1837 until his death, and by whom 
the business is still continued — and Concert Hall, which he 



126 



BIOUKAI'HICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




purposed to w^e as a repository and for show-rooms. He 
thus became the business pioneer of west Chestnut street, 
and his prosperity proved the wisdom of his movement. He 
was the first successful builder of the light trotting wagon, 
and excelled all others in the malhem.-itic.tl precision of 
his wheels and the accuracy of their revolutions, for his ex- 
perienced eye was able to detect the slightest defect in a 
moment. His fame spread far and wide, so that his in- 
dustry and skill reaped the reward of a handsome estate. 
He married on October I5tli, 1840, the daughter of William 
Christie, of Philadelphia. His death occurred in February, 
1857. I le was devoted to business, but found time to assist 
in the promotion of public enterprises and interests. Though 
not a politician, he w.ts an adherent of the old Whig party 
and an earnest advocate of its principles. For many years 
he was an active member of the Pennsylvania Fire Company 
and the Washington Greys. 

/ ^^^ 

[OLTON, GENERAL WILLIAM JORDAN, 
Machinist and Engineer, was born in Norris- 
town, Pennsylvania, October 22d, 1833. He is 
of English and French descent, and his family 
were members of the Society of Friends. He 
wxs educated under the care of Samuel Aaron, 
at the Treemont Seminary, Norristown. After le.iving 
school, he served his apprenticeship to the machinist trade, 
in the repairing shop of the Jamieson Cotton Mills, and, 
subsequently, bec.ime the engineer at the rolling mill of 
James Hooven. Previous to the breaking out of the war, 
in 1861, he had been the junior second Lieutenant of the 
Wayne Artillery. Ujion the resignation of all his superior 
officers, he was elected Captain, and with his command en- 
listed as Company A, Fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, being 
mustered into the United St.ites service for three months, 
on the igth of April, 1861. At the expiration of his term 
of service he returned to Norristown, where he enlisted the 
first men for the Fifty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers, again 
becoming Captain of Company A, which was the first to 
reach the rendezvous at Camp Curtin, having arrived there 
September loih, 1861. They were equipped and mustered 
into the United States service on the 12th. His merit as 
an officer soon manifested itself, and his company was al- 
ways the best drilled and equipped of the regiment. He 
took part in all the battles of his regiment, and while par- 
ticipating in the g.allant charge of the Fifty-first at Antiolam 
bridge, September 17th, 1862, he fell severely wounded by 
a minie ball, which shattered both his jaw-bones. For 
gallantry in this and previous actions, he was commissioned 
M.ijor, September 17th, 1S62. Having recovered from his 
wound, in J.inuary, 1863, he rejoined his regiment, which 
he commanded at Knoxville. He wa.s commissioned 
Colonel, June 26lh, 1864, to fill the vacancy caused by the 
promotion of Colonel Hartranft. He was severely wounded 



on the 30th of July, 1864, by a ball which entered his cheek, 
passed down his neck and lodged in his shoulder — where 
it still remains — when about to lead a charge against the 
enemies' works at Petersburg. After much suffering, he 
was able to rejoin his regiment, on the first of October fol- 
lowing. On the 13th of March, 1865, he was promoted to 
be Brevet Brigadier-General, under the following compli- 
mentary order : 

War Department, Washington, yunt l$fA, 1865. 

Sir: You are hereby notified that the President of the 

United States h.Ts appointed you, for gallant and meritorious 

services during the war, a Brig.idier-General of Volunteers, 

by brevet, in the service of the United States, to rank as 

such from the 13th day of March, 1865 

(Signed) Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of Slate. 
Brevet Brigadier-General W. J. Bolton, U. S. Vols. 

At 2 A. M., April 3d, 1865, he detected signs of the eva- 
cuation of Petersburg, and after sending a single man to 
reconnoitre, he advanced his regiment, which was the first 
to enter the city. After the surrender of General Lee, he 
led his regiment to .\lexandria, where he was appointed 
military Governor, May 27th. His regiment w.as mustered 
out July 27th, 1865. On the 25th of February, 1868, he 
was married to Emma Rupert, of Bloomsburg, Columbia 
county, Pennsylvania, and on the 26th of the same month, 
was appointed by Governor Geary High Sheriff of Mont- 
gomery county, Pennsylvania, and served in that cap.acity 
until November of the same year. He received the ap- 
pointment of Major-General of the Second Division of 
National Guards of Pennsylvania, from Governor Hart- 
ranft, January 24th, 1S73. He possesses many interesting 
relics of the war. 



LLEN, HENRY RIGLER, Merchant, was bom 
in Frankford, Pennsylvania, February 9th, 1836, 
and is the son of Captain John and Alice Ann 
Allen. He was educated in the public schools 
of Frankford, .and, when sixteen, was preparing 
for the High School; but was compelled to 
abandon his intention, and closed his studies in 1852. He 
then entered the employ of Henry B. Quidssell, who was 
engaged in purchasing sheep in New Jersey for the Phila- 
delphia markets. He soon became so valuable an assistant 
that his employer gave him an interest in the business, 
which he continued to follow until after attaining his ma- 
jority. On the 20ih of January, 1858, he conducted, over 
the Frankford and Soulhwark road, the first city passenger 
railway car that was ever run through the streets of Phila- 
delphia. He continued this occupation until 1861, when 
he went to Perryville, Maryland, and obt.iincd an appoint- 
ment, on October iSth, as w.agon-master, under the com- 
mand of Captain (now Brigadier-General) C. S. Sawtelle, 
of the United St.ates army. By him, and subsequently by 
Brigadier-General R. Ingalls, Chief Quartermaster of the 






^?:t^C^A^'*t^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



127 



Army of the Potomac, he was raised, through the various 
grades of the civil service, to the superintendency of the 
Quartermaster's Department of the same army. Under the 
direction of the above named officers, he managed the de- 
pot of supplies, furnishing the entire Army of the Potomac 
with all their land transportation, forage and quartermaster's 
stores; as many as 25,000 horses and mules frequently 
passing through his hands in one month. The workshops 
for repairs, which were under his control, employed about 
150 wheelwrights, 200 blacksmiths, 100 carpenters and 
about as many saddlers, together with from 300 to 500 
laboring men. They followed the army, kept transporta- 
tion in running order, and the animals (consisting of 1000 
teams, of six mules each) properly shod. After the close 
of the war, he was transferred to New Orleans, where he 
became superintendent of the Quartermaster's Depajlment 
of that district, under Generals Canby and Sheridao.' ■ In 
i856, he returned to Frankford and formed a partnership 
with Hemy W. Ditman, under the style of Ditman & Allen, 
for the prosecution of the lumber and coal busings, at 
Bridesburg. His partner dying, on January 7th, 1^72, he 
purchased his interest and remained sole proprietor of the 
business. In politics he is a Democrat; has always been a 
firm and consistent advocate of the principles of that party, 
and is ever ready to assist in any public movement th.iT 
promises to benefit the people. He is a 'director in various: 
corporations, and has contributed muifh to publfc improve- 
ments. He was married on November iSth, 185S, to Mary 
Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Thomas Thorn, of Frankford. 



C2*lllHt ALTON, .SAMUEL D., M.inufacturer, was born 
in the old district of the Northern Liberties, 
Philadelphia, on September 8th, 1816, of parents 
in moderate circumstances. His ancestors were 
Friends, and among the first settlers of Byberi-y, 
adjacent to Philadelphia. His education, com- 
mon to that of children of that time, was limited to the 
elementary branches. He evinced in early life an aptiturde 
for trading, making small wares in his father's cabinet- 
maker's shop, and disposing of them in person. -At the 
age of fifteen, he indentured himself to learn the trade of a 
h.itter to one of some celebrity at the time in that line, 
Paul Bremond, a native of France, then located on Chest- 
nut below Third street. At the age of twenty, being 
thrown upon his own resources by the failure of his em- 
ployer, in co-partnership with a fellow workman, he com- 
menced business at the then No. 61 South Third street, 
directly opposite the Girard Bank. His companion soon 
becoming discouraged, he continued the business alone, 
and by his industry and courteous manners soon won the 
confidence of many of our best citizens, laying the founda- 
tion of his future success. About the year 1851, finding 
his energies cramped, the nature of the retail business 



being such that it could not be increased sufficiently to 
meet his expectations, he sold out, and, in company with a 
partner, engaged in the manufacturing, at wholesale, of 
cloth hats and caps, at Nos. 125 & 127 North Third street. 
In the year 1859, he became interested as special partner 
in the manufacturing of felt hats, at No. S22 Lawrence 
street. His partner, W. O. Beard, dying, the conduct of 
the establishment devolved upon him, and, by his energy 
and good management, he soon placed it in advance of its 
competitors. On account of failing health, he retired from 
active business on November 1st, 1871, and died at Aiken, 
South Carolina, February 20th, 1872. He was at various 
times a-director in passenger railway companies and banks, 
and at^he»period of his decease Vice-President of the City 
National Bank. His distinguishing characteristics were, 
attention t(? business, strict honesty, economy and high 
moral tone. " During all the varied events of an active 
business life of thirty-si.x years, he never suffered any one 
with whom he had dealings to lose a dollar, by any failure 
on his part to meet his obligations, though three times dur- 
ing tlint period he was on the verge of insolvency. Careful 
in- his dealings, he was simple and unostentatious in his 
ihabils, and retiring in disposition. His good qualities were 
recognized by_those who knew him; his opinions sought, 
"andhis judgmenfaiccepted to a remarkable extent. 



I^-.'V|^RY,_S. GROSS, Railroad Promoter, etc., wa 
©•CJ' 3 " in th^ village of Trappe, Montgomery c 
i_2)|jj- Pennsylvania, January 24lh, 1832. His 



as born 
county, 
s father, 
Hon. Jacob F17, generally known as "honest 
Jacob Fry," was a public man of much promi- 
nence; a member of Congress during the admin- 
istrations of Jackson and Van Buren ; member of the Leg- 
islature during several sessions, and Auditor General of 
Pennsylvania. He was a popular candidate before the 
Democratic State Convention of i860 for the nomination 
for Governor, but the Convention deeming it prudent to 
nominate a Western man, his old friend and associate, 
Hon; H.>D. Foster, was chosen. S. Gross Fry, on his 
mother's side, is the grandson of Hon. Samuel Gross, also 
a member of Congress from the Montgomei-y district, from 
about the close of the war with Great Britain until Jack- 
son's first term. Francis R. Shuuk, one of the Governors 
of Pennsylvania, was a proteg^ of Mr. Gross. S. Gross 
Fry received an academic education, and subsequently, 
until reaching his majority, was engaged in his father's 
store, in his native village. Although but twenty-four 
years of age, he was at that time elected one of the first 
directors of the Bank of Pottstown, then incorporated. He 
was also elected one of the managers of the Black Rock 
Bridge Company, and held many similar positions of trust 
and responsibility. He succeeded his father, and carried 
on the business until 1S60, when he removed to Philadel- 



128 



BIOGRAI'IIICAI, ENXYCLOP.'nDIA. 



phici. The change proved a judic'n'us one. His energy 
and marked ability enabled him lo succeed in whates-er he 
undertook. City passenger railways soon altracled his at- 
tention, and he was chosen by the stockholders of the 
Spruce & Pine Street Company as Secretary and Treasurer. 
In the following year; he and Charles Thompson leased 
the road, and so admirable was his management that on 
the expiration of the lease, he wr.s elected President of the 
company, and was re-elected every year until 1870, when 
he declined to hold the' position any longer. Four years 
previously, he had been chosen President of the Phila- 
delphia & Darby Railroad Company, and Treasurer of the? 
Schuylkill Railway Company, the duties of which pi^itidriS 
he still continues to discharge with manifest ndviltltage lo 
the corporations. He is also largely interested iilthe staple 
industry of Pennsylvania — iron production. *^^. retiring 
fiom the Presidency of the Spruce & Pine .Strectf'Raihvajf 
Company, he was unanimously elected by the stockholders 
in the Emaus Iron Company to preside over t"he manage? 
ment of its affairs. This comjiany has its works^vlych are 
of a very extensive character, on the line of the E^ Penn- 
sylvania Railroad, in Lehigh county, near Allentown.^he 
progress of this concern, under his direction,, led to his 
being elected, some time during the"follo^jjiig..year, Presi- 
dent of the Lehigh Mountain Iron CeiQi^aiv, an extensivft 
mining corporation. To railroad, projecls he has also given 
considerable attention, lie togok an active i)art in tnb pro- 
motion of the Perkiomen Railroad scheme, designed to 
connect the trade of the Lehigh ^vilh'!>tlte Schuylkill 
Valley, and to have its eastern terminus near ttie -Einaus 
Iron Works. To its construction he pon(rilnj|fea con- 
siderably in money and time, and is a'n\emhCr-if the 
Board of Directors. Politically, he is a Democrat, and h.as 
always devoted himself energetically to promoting its for- 
tunes. He, however, never came before the public as an 
aspirant for office until 1S64, when he was unanimously 
nominated for the Legislature. The nomination was in- 
tended simply as a compliment lo his worth and in recog- 
nition of his labors on behalf of the party, for his district 
had always cast a large Republican majority. Subsequently 
nominations were tendered him for. \"vious positions, but 
he always declined them, his refujil oi^^one occasion being 
b.-ised upon the circumstance that 'M»e convention and its 
work had met with much advers^^ criticism in the party. 
Upon entering political life, he resolved never lo become a 
candidate before the electors unless unanimously supported 
by his party, and to this resolution he has always adhered. 
In the convention of 1871, he received a unanimous nomi- 
nation for the office of City Treasurer of Philadelphia, and 
though defeated ran ahead of his ticket in many wards of 
the city. His nomination was warmly commended by the 
Democratic and Inde)>endent press, while even the princi- 
pal Rcpuh'ican papers bore testimony to his high character 
and fitness for the office. In the Democratic State Con- 
vention of 1872, he was chosen an Elector at large, and in 




the ensuing election received a larger number of votes than 
any of his colleagues. Ilis religious affiliations are with 
the Lutherans, as were also those of his parents. He was 
baptized in infancy, and confirmed by Rev. Henry S. Mil- 
ler, in the old church of " the Trappe," built in 1743. a"d 
used by Washington as a temporary hospital during the siege 
of Clermantown. He is an honored member of the church ; 
holds, and has held, many positions of high trust. From the 
organization of the Lutheran Publishing Association, in 1861, 
he has been its Treasurer; is a Director in the Theological 
.Seminary of Philadelphia ; President of the Lutheran Mis- 
.sioji.and Church Extension Society; and Treasurer of the 
jiieiittal Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
North -America. 



y 



IDDLE, CHARLES JOHN, L.awyer, Soldier, 
Congressman and Journalist, a member of an 
old and honored family, was born in Phila- 
. dclphia, in 1819. On completing his prepara- 
.tor)' i^ucation, he entered the College of New 
Jersey, al Princeton, from which institution he 
graduated.- He then studied law with the Hon. John 
Cadwallader, and. was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 
1S40. ♦He entered upon a professional career which gave 
'ptomise of being v^y succ^si^Jul, and was enjoying a large 
and qunst»nUy incr.flj^ing^ practice when the war with 
Mexi£»l>r6ke out. Congress! bavyig .authorized, immediately 
after the. declaration of w«i,r, iht addition of ten regiments 
to Irregular army, he promptly raised a company for the 
servfte I^fiis'native city. This company was assigned to 
the logimentof Voltigeurs, under the command of Colonel 
F. P. .Aivlrews, subsequently Paymaster-Cleneral of the 
army, and Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph E. Johnston, who 
ac(|uired a pnmiinent position in the Confederate service. 
The regiment actpiiited itself nobly in battle, and was con- 
spicuous in all the actions of the campaign for its bravery 
and discipline. He led the assault at the storming of 
Chapultepec, leaving a sick bed, against the advice and 
remonstrances of his commanding officer, to take part in 
the struggle. In th^ official report of the battle, he was 
coipmcndeii by Oeneral f^M as " one of the first in the 
a.ssati'k." He wa? also.«ientioned by General Worth in 
honorable terms, in the latter's report on the battle of 
Moliiio del Rey. For his "gallant and meritorious ser- 
\'ices," he received the brevet of M.ajor, an<l was selected 
by General S. W. Kearney as his aide-de-camp. Returning 
home at the conclusion of the war, he resumed the practice 
of the law in Phil.idelphia, this cng.aging his time until the 
outbreak of the Rebellion. " A Committee of Safety " was 
organized by the citizens of Philadelphia, of which he be- 
came a member, and devoted much lime and labor to the 
duties of the position, in raising troops, and organizing and 
drilling them, at a time when there were few officers whu 
were qualified for such work. On the organization of thi: 






r 



! 




^U^OAjUdM^b. /QoCUd 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.-EDIA. 



Thirteenth Reghiient of Pennsylvania Reserves, so well 
known under the familiar title of " the Hucktails," he ac- 
ccjrteil the colonelcy, and was assigned at the same time 
to the command of Camp Ciirtin. The strictness of his 
discipline, in his endeavor to organize the troops daily 
arriving at the camp, and to prejjare his own regiment for 
active service, did not prove acceptable to the new recruits, 
and gave rise to considerable murmuring in their ranks; 
but wli-'n their experience in their severe campaigns and 
on the field of battle led them to perceive the wisdom that 
had dictated his course, with soldierly magnanimity they 
awarded him due credit for the lessons in military- duly 
which they had learned at his hands while in camp at 
Ilarrisburg. On June 2lst, lS6l, he was, in obedience 
to a call from General Scott, placed in charge of a detach- 
ment of the Reserve Corps, consisting of his own regiment, 
the Fifth, and a battery of the Pennsylvania Artillery. -'\t 
the head of this force he left Camp Curtin, to defend the 
borders of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Il-is command 
met and dispersed several parties of the enemy, and by 
their activity and efiliciency in cooperating with the forces 
of General McClellan, then in command in Western Vir- 
ginia, elicited the warmest praise from the latter, who, in 
his official report of his campaign in that region, com- 
mended " the great activity and intelligence displayed by 
Colonel Charles J. Biddle." The estimation iri'which he 
was held at home was shown by his election to represent 
the .Second District of Philadelphia in Congress, during the 
period of his military service. He accepted the position, 
but ab.sented himself from the lirst session of the term for 
which he had been elected, in the belief that he could 
render more efficient service to the coun'.ry in the field. 
At the commencement of the second session, his regiment 
being then in winter-quirters in front of 'Washington, he 
responded favorably to a request coming from his consti- 
tuents that he would take his seat in Congress, and re- 
signed his commission in the army, his resignation being 
accepted by the Secretary of War, on IJeeember I2th, 1861. 
During his Congressional career, while he opposed the 
policy of the Administration on many points, he favored all 
the measures for carrying on the war to a successful issue. 
At the time that the enemy, from its position at Manasses, 
threatened the National Capital, he held the position of aid 
to General Andrew J'orter, who was then in command of 
'.he troops that garrisoned Washington city. In 1 862, he 
went to the field again with the Pennsylvania militia, ac- 
companying the first detachment that crossed the State line 
into Maryland, in the campaign of Antictam. In 1863, he 
was chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee, 
and was again active and efficient in raising troops for the 
defence of the State, during'the invasion which was termi- 
nated with the rout of the enemy at Gettysburg. As a 
gentleman, a soldier, and a man of letters, he was held in 
high esteem by all who knew him. In March, 1S71, 
he became the responsible editor of The A^e, having 
17 




been for some time previously on the edito.'ial staff" of that 
paper — a journ.al which is demonstrative in its advocacy of 
the principles of Democracy, and which he conducted 
with signal ability until his death, on September 28th, 1873. 
He also made occasional contributions to general literature, 
one of his productions being a critical review of the case 
of Major Andre, in reply to the strictures of an English 
historian upon General Washington, which is very highly 
spoken of by Dr. Allibone, in his Diclionary of Authors, 
under the title of "Lord Mahon." 



OLLIS, GENERAL CHARLES H. T., Soldier 
and Lawyer, is a native of Ireland, descended 
from a prominent Episcopalian family, numbering 
among its members two of the most eminent bar- 
risters at the Irish bar and one of the most cele- 
brated surgeons of Great Britain. His father 
was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and came to this 
country with his son when the latter was quite a child. 
The remainder of the family perished in the ill-fated steamer 
" City of Gl.asgow." After leaving school he found him- 
self dependent wholly on his own exertions, but succeeded 
by diligent indu.stry in supporting himself with his pen 
while he prosecuted the study of the law in the ofifice of 
the Hon. J6hn M. Read, later one of the Judges of the 
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the 
bar February 4th, 1859. No sooner had the war of the 
Rebellion broken out ^ihan he determined to throw his 
whole energies into the Union cause, and was at once 
mustered into the service as sergeant-major in Colonel 
William D. Lewis's Eighteenth Pennsylvania Regiment. 
For three months he was on duty in Baltimore, when he 
received authority from the Secretaiy of War to recruit a 
company for special duty in the Valley of the Shenandoah. 
Of his company of picked men, which were known as 
Zouaves, he was commissioned captain, and proceeded, in 
October, iS6i,lo join General Banks, at Darnestown, Mary- 
land. F>om this time to the close of the war his career 
was one of exceptional brillhrncy and rapid promotion. In 
the latter days of May, 1862, he with his command, by a 
series of skilful and daring manoeuvres protected the critical 
retreat of General Banks from Strasburg with such ability 
that the General addressed him, through his chief of staff, 
a formal recognition of this important service in the fol 
lowing words : 

*' The manner in which your single company stood up at 
the stone-wall at Middletown and boldly checked the ad- 
vance of a whole regiment, while threatened with being 
outflanked by another regiment of the enemy, would seem 
incredible to any one who h.ad not witnessed it, and I con- 
sider it a great honor to have selected you for a position 
you so well defended. The quiet, steady coolness 
displayed by the men was admirable. 1 only regret 
that you had not a regiment of such brave fellows, 



BIOORAPUICAI. KNCYCLOP.tniA. 



when ihe foe would have had litllc to congratulate himself 
upon." 

The wi>h here expressed was soon acted on, and at the 
solicitation of licneral Hanks, the Secretary of War and 
Governor Curtin directed him to increase his command to 
a rc'jiment, which he did within a few weeks from the date 
of the order, and a^ain joined the Army of the Potomac at 
the head of the One Hundred and Tourtecnih Regiment 
I'ennsylvania Volunteers, well known as " CoUis' Zouaves." 
Their first engagement was at Fredericksburg, where they 
came at a timely moment to the relief of the Pennsylvania 
Reserves, and in the words of the General commanding 
(General Sloneman), " charged most nobly, under a ver)' 
galling fire." At the des|ierale contest at Chancellorsville, 
M.1V, 1S63, the One Hundred and Fourteenth participated 
in the verv- hottest of the struggle, as w.is only too well 
indicated by the fearful loss of over three hundred men in 
killed, wounded, ami missing in the engagement. For his 
gallant coniluct here, Ihe field officers of the brigade united 
in requesting his " permanent assignment to the command 
of the brigade." This promotion was delayed by an un- 
fortunate personal controversy, and later by an attack of 
typhoid fever, which latter also kept him aljsent from the 
h.-ird-fought field of Gettysburg. He rejoined his command, 
however, in August, 1S63, and was at once assigned by 
General Birney to the command of a Pennsylvania brigade, 
consisting of the Fifty seventh, Si.\ty -ei^hih, One Hundred 
and Fifth, One Hundred and Fourteenth, and One Hundred 
and Forty-first regiments, which troops he commanded in 
all the sulisequent engagements, including " Auburn," 
" I^ocust Grove," " Mine Run," " Kelly's Ford," and 
" Rappihannock." At the engagement at " Auburn," his 
brigailc was attacked while on the march by Stuart's Cavalry 
Bri;jade, but the rel)el horsemen were dispersed by a skilful 
dis|xjsition and intrepid charge of the Pennvvlvanians, and 
the road was secured for the rest of the aniiy, ha.slcning 
from Culpejier to Ccntreville. Upon the reorg.tnization 
of the anny, in 1S64, preparatory to Grant's cam]>aign 
.igainst Richmiinil,the One Hundred and Fourteenth Regi- 
ment was selected by General Meade for special duly at his 
head-quarters. Colonel Collis being left in comman<l of his 
brigade in Birney's division. At this time Generals Birney, 
French and Meade, unitetl in recommending the Colonel's 
promotion; Birney staling that "the brigade deser^•ed a 
general officer to comm.ind it, promoted for services in it." 
There were no vacancies, however, in the list of general 
officers, and he received in rcs|xinse to these recommenda- 
tions only the hm-el rank of Brigadier-General, but was 
assigned to dniy as a general officer, and placed in com- 
mand of an indejiendent brigade, held for special service 
at the hea<lquaners of the Commanding General, consisting 
of five regiments of infantry and cavalrv'. With this com- 
mand he parlicip.ited in the camiaign from the Rappahan- 
nock to Petersburg, remiering especial senice in repulsing 
»n all >ck made by Filzhugh I^c's cavalrj- uptm the head- 



quarters of Generals Grant and Meade. At the battle of 
Petersburg the Ninth Corps having been driven back from 
the line of works they had so gallantly captured during the 
morning of April 2d, 1S65, he came up to their relief, and 
leading the charge of the Sixty-eighth and One Hundred 
and Fourteenth Pennsylvania, and Sixtv-firsl Massachusetts 
regiments in person, succeeded in retaking the lost ground, 
though at a terrible loss of life. For his conduct on this 
occasion he was breveted Major-General, at the special re- 
quest of Lieutenant- General Grant. In June, 1865, his 
regiment returned home and was mustered out of service. 
He at once resumed his practice, and bestowing upon it 
the same zeal and care which had secured him such a 
striking military career, he rapidly advanced in the estima- 
tion of the public and the olher memlwrs of the bar. The 
duly of every citizen to take decided |iosiiion in political 
questions was one he early recognized, and hxs alwaj's con- 
sisiently acted upon. His sympathies are, and have alwaj-s 
been, with the views of the Republican party. Even Ixjfore 
he attained his legal majority he was a worker in political 
canvasses, and on his return to civil life after the war he 
aided, by his personal exertions and addresses, to organize 
the party and carry the State for the principles of his adop- 
tion. This combination of legal and political talent led to 
his selection by the Hon. F. C. Brewster, in 1866, xs As- 
sistant City .Solicitor, and after Ihe close of the campaign 
in 1S6S he w.-ts recommended by the l)cnch and the bar ■)f 
Phil.idclphia as United Stales District Aitomey, and later 
he was tendered the |»siiion of Deputy .Attorney-General 
of Pennsylvania, which, however, he declined. In 1S71, 
he was nominated upon the first ballot, by a vote of 223 out 
of }i}f>, for the office of City Solicitor by the Republican 
Convention. The campaign was an animated, even a bitter 
one, but he was elected by a majority of nearly 10,00a 
He at present fills this responsible position, and has earned 
the commendation of the bar and the press for the cames'- 
ness with which he carries out the duties of the office. In 
1S69 he was appointed a member of the Board of Directors 
of Public Trusts, and to him the public are indeUetl for the 
only accurate and complete history of the charitable tnists 
held by the city of Philadelphia which has ever been pub- 
lished. 

- - LI.EX, HARRISON, M. D., Ph)-sician, Professor 
and Author, was Ix>m in Philadelphia, April 
17th, 1841. He comes of Quaker parents and 
anccstr)'. After receiving a sound preliminary 
education, he graduate<l in medicine from the 
University of Pennsylvania, in 1861. Soon after 
his graduation he was appointed one of the Resident Ph}-si- 
cians to the Philadelphia Hospital. In July, 1862, he en- 
tered the regular army as assistant-surgeon, and remained 
in the service until November, 1S65, p.-\ssing through a very 
varied and valuable experience. His retirement from the 





0»l»xy Vuh. Ca Phil«d» 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



131 



army was consequent on his election to the Pioressorship of 
Comparative Anatomy and Medical Zoology in the Medical 
Dep.irtment of tlie University of Pennsylvania. He returned 
imniediately to Philadelphia and entered upon his duties. 
In 1867, he was elected Professor of Anatomy and Surgery 
in the Philadelphia Dent.-il College, and, in 1870, to the 
position of Surgeon to the Philadelphia Hospital. In con- 
nection with these duties he has always conducted a general 
practice in the city. His tastes have led him to contrilnUe 
freely to the literature of his profession, and .several of his 
writings have attracted general attention. In Zoology, ^ 
wliich he has given much study, his articles have beeiij;on- 
fined to the mammalia. His l\Ionos:rnbli on the North 
American Cheiroptera was published by the Smiti^onian 
Institute, in 1S64, a fact wliich of itself is a suffici^it in(li-_ 
cation of its valuable character. Other papers on zqplogical 
subjects have appeared in tlie Proceedings of the Academy 
of Natural Sciences, hara 1861 to 1S69. In purel»,n\^ical 
matters, his researches and writings have added to the know- 
ledge of osteomyeletis, human osteology, and. the morbid 
anatomy of camp diseases. In 1869, he published his _^«/- 
lines of Comparative Anatomy and Medical Zoo^gy, which 
has attained standard rank as a text book..^ JEslending the 
principles of anatomical science to the stu^jy of tjj^ d^'vej^p- 
ment of the fine arts, he has delivere(l_}jefore__the ArasiTjaiv 
Philosophical Society and other learned bq^ljt^^eyeraLjail- 
dresses on the Origin and History of Art-^lesignslljacingjlitau 
to anatomical archetypes, and-thus,_;^hro\wng -^n ^nyrelji 
new and instructive light on this interestiijgi^ubicg^jj^^ 

f '.'tn.y .^ 

|INE, JESSE M., Banker, was born in Lehigh 
county, Pennsylvania, August 25th, 1815, and is 
of German extraction. His father, Joseph Line, 
was a farmer, and he himself was brought up on 
the farm. His education he received in the 
ordinary district schools. Farming, however, was 
not the line that he preferred to pursue during life, and, ac- 
cordingly, on reaching his nineteenth year, he removed to 
Allentown, where he was-apprentifed for some four y^ars 
to the cabinet-m.aking business/ At tloe expiration of .that 
term he entered a dry-goods and grocery store, remaining 
in that employment until 1846. During this time he took a 
deep interest in the politics of the day, and made so good a 
mark as to receive the appointment of Deputy .Sheriff and 
County Clerk, which he held for seven years. Subsequently 
he went into the banking and farming business, undertaking 
also contracts in New York for grading sidewalks and other 
works. In these pursuits he proved eminently successful. 
On the establishment of the Allentown State Bank he was 
chosen one of the directors, and on the organization of the 
First National Bank of Allentown he was selected as its 
cashier.and is still connected with that institution .as a director. 
lie is now a member of the banking firm of Willi.im H. 




Blenner & Co., and also carries on a large private banking 
business. He has always manifested public spirit, and has 
contributed materially to the improvement of Ihe city and 
county. He was one of the ' promoters of the Local Gas 
Works, and continues to hold a large interest therein. He 
was married, in 1851, to Mary L. Pretz, of Allentown. 
Since his fourteenth year he has led an epiinently busy life, 
and the honorable position to whicli. he has attained has 
been won by his own unaided and indefatigable efforts. 




U^AiyCHUR-ST, JOEL, Merchant and Banker, was 
,_ hotn in Marlborough, Cheshire county. New 
^Hainp^hire, April Sih, 1800. He was one of a 
'q ffisily ^^ seven sons and two daughters, children 
o^ Major John Parkhurst, of Massachusetts, who 
served in the Revolutionary war, but afterwards 
renioved.to the State of New Hampshire. Though of slen- 
der. friyne, he_w.as Jjrqught up to labor on a farm, and had 
ill youth only, the educaiional advantage of a few months in 
winter at J.he- common schools of his vicinity. He was, 
h6weve_r,-a^Higgint^student, and employed his leisure time 
so effectively lhatj,a,S!i,the age of seventeen he obtained a 
^ualioii to teach. ^ common school at Loyalsock, near 
Wi^liamspo^t, Peiig^bpania. The next year he taught at 
Long Reach, vn^ii^Jjr^cy Shore, Pennsylvania, and after- 
wards at P.aiftfi^l^cfit',..^ew York. In 1822, he was teach- 
inj5ifchool.ii^!iJtur!i,-New York, and devoting his leisure 
tjrne to the study of medicine, which profession he reluc- 
t.intly consented to adopt, at the earnest soltcitation of his 
father. In the spring of 1822 he was employed to go to 
Michigan as a surveyor of Government lands. With an 
assistant, he took passage at Buffalo on the second steam- 
boat that ran on Lake Erie. The machinery of the boat 
getting out of order, the captain put into Cleveland for re- 
pairs, and as the period of delay at this point was likely to 
be indefinite, he shouldered his baggage and walked as far 
as Steubenville, Ohio. At that place he bought a horse 
and accoutrements for/orty-five dollars, and started for New 
Hampshire, stoppiiig ^t Viltsbiirg to visit the coal mines, 
and also for a short time m Tioga county, Pennsylvania. 
Reaching Richmond, New Hampshire, he obtained a mer- 
cantile clerkship, with a .salary of one hundred and fifty 
dollars per annum. After a few weeks' trial, his employer 
was so well pleased with him that he commissioned him to 
purchase goods for the store, and gave him a general over 
sight of the business. At the end of two years he was paid 
for his services in goods of the value of three hundred dol- 
lars, to transport which he bought a horse and wagon on 
credit, and, crossing the Green Mountains, went to Rich- 
mond, now Mansfield, Tioga county, Pennsylvania. After 
a short stay at this place, he, in 1826, removed to I.awrence- 
ville, in the same county, with six hundred dollars worth 



'32 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



of goods, and entered inio a copartnership with his brother 
and brothers inlaw. At the end of two years the partner- 
ship was dissolved, and he received as his share one thou- 
sand dollars, with which, in 1828, he removed to Elkland, 
in the same county, where he continued in business as mer- 
chant and farmer until 1853. For the lirst two years he 
associated with himself John Ryan ami Robert Tuffs. After 
buying out his parlneN he established branch stores at West- 
field and at Hronkfield, in the same county. From 1853 to 
Ihc present time he has been engaged in banking, having 
the entire control of an extensive business. He hxs some 
highly improve<l farms, and though not able to devote much 
jwrsonal attention la agriculture, he takes great pleasure in 
their general m.inagement. He was the principal promoter 
of, and a large subscriber to, the stock of the Cowanesque 
Valley Railroad ; was elected its President on the organiza- 
tion of the company, and h.as held the position ever since. 
A cou'iervativc in politics, his popularity and prominence 
have caused him to be sought after to till public positions, 
which he h.as most frequently declined. He was postmaster 
of the village in which he lives for twelve ye.ars; h.is held 
the position of burgess for a long and almost uninterrupted 
period, and h.as been often nominated and elected to posi- 
tions of trust against his wishes. He was a candidate for 
the Stale Legislature in 1847, and for Congress in 1852. 
Ills recognized fairness and aversion to disputes are illus- 
trated by the fact that he never had but one case in a court 
of law, and in that th- jury, under instructions from the 
Court, rendered a verdict without leaving their box. His 
own practice and his advice to others have unifor.i.ly been 
to settle disputes without a resort to legal process, where it 
can be done wTthoul a sacrifice of principle. He has been 
a member of the Presbyterian Church since his youth, and 
is an elder and liberal supporter of the denomination, and 
a zealous worker in the .Sunday-school and Hible cl.ass. His 
charities have been extensive and varied, their objects in- 
cluding churches, institutions of learning, and private per- 
sons. He contributed nearly all the means required to build 
a handsome edifice for the Presbyterian church at Elkland, 
and was the largest subscriber to the fund for the erection 
of a Methodist house of worship in the same place. He 
ha-S been a zealous worker in the cause of temjierance, and 
has held the principal offices in societies devoted to this 
object. He married, in 1835, Emeline daughter of Edwin 
Allen, of Cortland Village, New York, by whom he had 
seven children, only one of whom suaives. His wife died 
in 1853, and in 1855 he married Martha II. Steele, daughter 
of the l.ate Benjamin Harrower, of Lindley, New York. By 
her he h.as two children. He is of a highly social and 
genial nature, and though so closely devoted to business, 
h.as found time for considerable literary culture. His man- 
ners arc unostentatious, cordial, and sympathetic. In per- 
son he isxjf medium height, .\lthough as old as the cen- 
tury, he still retains, in a remark.able degree, his mental and 
physical powers. 




EXCYCLOP.EDIA. 

•93 1^ 

LISSON, OLIVER S., Rear-Admiral of the 
United States Navy, was bom in Ohio, and ap- 
pointed Midshipman from Indiana, November 
1st, 1826. Having been ordered to sea, as was 
the custom prior to the organization of the Nava] 
Academy, his first cruise was made during the 
ye.ars 1827-28 in the sloop of war " John Adams," from 
which he was transferred to the corvette " Falmouth," and 
served in that vessel in 1829-30. From the latter he was 
ordered to the schooner " Grampus," and remained on her 
through the two ensuing years; all these vessels comprising 
a portion of the West India Squadron. On June 4th, 1832, 
he was promoted to the grade of Passed Midshipman, and 
for three years after served on the ship of the line " Dela- 
ware," which w.as the flagship of the Mediterranean fleet. 
On his return to the United Slates, in 1S36, he was assigned 
to duty in the Navy Yard, at Norfolk, Virginia, where he 
remained, however, but a short time. On February 9th, 
1837, he received his commission as Lieutenant, and having 
joined the sloop of war " Fairfield," he served on that ship 
— o»the Brazil station — until the year 1840. On his return, 
he W.1S detailed fiir duty at the Norfolk yard, where he re- 
mained but one year, and was then ordered to the " Marion," 
of the West India Squadron, where he spent one year, re- 
turning to the Brazil Squ.adron, and serving other two 
years on the corvette " Saratoga," thus closing with the year 
1844. During the Mexican war (1847) he was placed in 
command of the schooner " Reefer," and when peace was 
declared with that Republic, he was again detailed for shore 
duty, at the Navy Yard, Norfolk, where he remained until 
the close of 1S50. During the two following years he was 
on " special duty," and, in 1852, was again ordered to sea, 
being attached to the steam-frigate " Powhatan," of the 
Japan Expedition, under Commodore Perry, and was Exe- 
cutive officer of the frig.ite " Powhatan," when the treaty 
w.as signed, which opened ih.at ancient Empire to the com- 
merce of the world. During this cruise he received his 
commission as Commander, September I4lh, 1855, and was 
at once placed in ch.arge of the store-ship " John P. Ken- 
nedy," of the East India Squadron. On his return to the 
United Slates, he passed the three yeai-s from 1857 to 1S60 
inclusive on duty at the Naval Asylum, Philadelphia. On 
the breaking out of the Rebellion, he was assigned to the 
command of the purchased steamer " Mount Vernon," of 
the North Atl.antic Blockading Squadron, and while in this 
vessel rendered valuable service. The United States trans- 
port " Mississippi," bound to New Orleans with General 
Butler, and 1500 men on board, was designedly run on 
Frying-pan Shoals, North Carolina. By the timely assistance 
of the •" Mount Vernon," a great disaster was prevented, 
and the troops were enabled to reach their destination in 
lime to participate in the battle. Again, while blockading 
the port of Wilmington, North Carolina, he burned a light- 
boAl under the guns of Fort Caswell ; and so close did he 
run his boats lo the fort, that the voices of the scnlinel> were 




'^ //.///// ^^ /////^ 



■// / 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



»33 



plainly beard on board. This ligbt boat was quite ready 
to receive her battery of eight guns, and, in a few days, 
would have started out to cruise against our commerce. 
He received his Captain's commission July i6th, 1S62, and 
during that and the year following commanded the steam 
sloop " Mohican," which vessel was employed in chasing 
the rebel privateer " Alabama." He was ne.xt assigned to 
the command of the purchased steamer " Santiago de 
Cuba," and in her was present at the two attacks on Fort 
Fisher, December, 1864, and January, 1S65. He com- 
manded tiie Third Division in both engagements, and was 
recommended by Admiral Porter for promotion, for gal- 
lantry displayed in covering the landing of the troopS;.;md 
leading his division into action. He was commissioned as" 
Commodore July 25th, 1866, and was in command of the 
Naval Station at League Island, Pennsylvania, K^ 1867 
to May 1st, 1870. In June of that year he recel^'ed his 
commission as Rcar-Admiral, and was at once ordered to 
the command of the European fleet. During this, his final 
cruise, he was everywhere received with marked attention, 
and was the recipient of many distinguished honors; *At 
length, having reached the age prescrilied by tli^MVaval 
Regulittions, after so many years of active ser\^c^ dn seS 
and land, he was placed upon the ReTii^d'-'Li^,-^J^uar\* 
l8th, 1S71. During his long serviiie'Dfj fopt^-'fiv'^^'S-sJ'llg' 
was ever prompt to execute all 'ofdei-s to^wfiicT? 



fy^, h 




assigned. He was always rea'dy.wil^* liis''^mni:^nd;*and 
during tlie civil war, carried out, by Tffis'Stergf^^odoiiSn- 
agement and gallantry, many underTakings*'iff'4pife 'of 
seemingly insurmountable difficulties.* His"sSvi?eT'lia've 
been as brilliant as they have been valuable. 

/ — .0^ 

[E SCHWEINITZ. LEWIS DAVID, Clergyman 
and Botanist, was born at Bethlehem, Pennsyl- 
vania, Februaiy 13th, 17S0, and was the son of 
John Christian Alexander de Schweinitz, and 
of Dorothea, by birth Baroness de Waterville 
and grand-daughter of Count Nicholas Lewis de 
Zinzendorf. He received a thorough education at the 
Moravian school, Nazareth Hall, and in the Moravian 
Theological Seminary at Niesky, Prussia. He went to 
Europe to complete his education in 1798, and remained 
there in the service of the Moravian Church and pursuing 
his botanical studies until 1S12. While in Germany, in 
1805, in conjunction with the late Bishop de Albertini, he 
-published, at Leipzig, his first botanical work, entitled, 
Cotispecttis Ftingorum Liisalice Superioris. He was, in 
1S12, appointed a member of the Executive Ecclesiastical 
Board of the Southern Province of the American Church, 
and returned to America that year, after his marriage with 
Louisa Amelia le Doux. He settled at Salem, North 
Carolina, where he wrote a work entitled. Systematic Ar- 
raii^iviiLfnt^ ctc.^ of the Cryt'to^aitious P/ijnts of Ki-rth 



Aiiu-iiia, which was published at Raleigh in 1821 ; and 
also Synopsis Fiingorum Carolince Superioris, published at 
Leipzig by Dr. Schwaegr'chen. In 1S22, he was appointed 
to a seat in the Executive Ecclesiastical Board of the 
Northern Province of the American Moravian Church, 
when he removed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While 
there he wrote a number of botanical works, the most im- 
portant of which are: Monograph of the Linnean Genus 
Fiola, Philadelphia, 1822; Analytical Table of the Genus 
Carex, Philadelphia, 1823; Monograph of the Genus 
Carex, New York, 1825 ; and Synofsis Fungorum in 
Aiiuricd Boreali, his most valuable contributions to botani- 
calcS2ieiice. He was a member of several associations of 
scHolars'and men of science in America, Germany and 
Fr.ance. ' The University of Kiel, in Denmark, conferred 
upon him the honoraiy degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and 
T)r. Elliot named for him a genus of newly-discovered 
plants,- the Schw'einitzia Odorata. In addition to his 
botanical ^studies, to which he devoted himself from Ijoy- 
hoc5'd*he was a diligent student of philosophy and theology, 
.sii' clj^juent preacher, and one of the most influential and 
■distinguished divines of the Moravian Church. He died 
at BethTOi'em, February 8th, 1834. Outside of the Mora- 
vian ciiniT^ct&n, he will be chiefly remembered and es- 
teeineil for' Bis valuable contributions to botanical science. 
His ■lieMjirilftft,'wfiich"'kf the time was one of the largest 
p.nvate''colliection!f1n*th"e' United States, he devised to the 
Acade'hiy of NaturaJ -Sciences, at Philadelphia. He added 
nearly fourteen' hundred new .species to the stores of botani- 
cal "kiYowledge, Jiid of these more than twelve hundred 
were'of North American fungi, previously little known or 
studied. ■ 



ILBUR, ELISHA PACKER, Banker, was born 
at Mystic, Connecticut, January 31st, 1833, and 
is a son of Heniy Wilbur, and Eveline, sister 
of Judge Asa Packer, of Pennsylvania. When 
he was' six years old, his father removed to the 
Lehigh Valley and connected his fortunes with 
those of his illustrious kinsman. After completing his 
studies at a common school, he w.as furnished employment 
by Judge Packer at the Nesquehoning Mines, where he 
retained a responsible position until 1851, when he was 
sent to school for five months at Woodbridge Hall, Perth 
Amboy, New Jersey. He then returned to the employ- 
ment of his uncle in Mauch Chunk, where he remained 
until 1856. During this period he assisted H. N. S.ayre, 
civil engineer, in surveying the route of the Lehigh Valley 
Railroad, and after this kept the accounts of Judge Packer, 
disbursing all the funds required to contractors and others 
connected with the enterprise. In 1856, he was sent by 
his uncle to Philadelphia, where he entered the office of 
E. A. Packer & Co. Two years later, he married .Stella 
I M. Abbott, cf Bethlehem, and removed to that place. 




"34 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCI.OPvEUIA. 



whs:e, in 1870, he opened the banking house of E. P. 
Wilbur & Co. Since 1858 he has had ihe entire charyc 
of Ju<lge Packer's varied and extensive financial operations, 
and has been his confidential secretary. The extent and 
variety of these transactions, and the admirable manner in 
which they have been managed, furnish sufficient proof of 
his cimiprehensive intellect and thorough business capacity. 
He has also found lime to serve as Treasurer and Manager 
of the Kr.mklin Coal Company, President of the South 
IJelhlehem Gas and Water Company, Burgess of .South 
Bethlehem, and Treasurer and Secretary of the Norlhamp 
ton Iron Company, in which he is a large owner. lie is 
heavily interested in coal and iron mines and limber lands, 
and is engaged with a son of Judge Packer in developing 
the resources of Bradford county. He is also a director in 
several large iron and coal companies, and a Trustee of 
Lehigh University. His reputation for financial .ability and 
integrity is so extended that he has pro!>ably been made 
the custodian of more important trusts than any other per- 
son of his age in his section of the country. His enter- 
prises have been characterized by boldness, originality and 
remarkable success. 



JINNEV, HORACE, Jr., Lawyer, born in Phila- 
delphia, January 21st, 1809, was the eldest son 
of the eminent Hon. Horace Binney. Having 
received the elements of a classical education in 
his n.itive city, he entered Yale College, where 
he graduated in 1828 with Ihe highest honors. 
He then commenced the study of law in the office of his 
father, and was in due time admitted to the bar. His 
tastes fitted him less for the position of a pleader than that 
of a counsellor, in which capacity he was judicious and 
accurate. Hence his really profound acquaintance with 
legal principles secured him rather the confidence of those 
who consulted him, than the plaudits of the public, too 
often the triumphs of mere superficial display. Nor were 
his hours passed merely in professional pursuits. Deeply 
interested in classical and modern literature, he cultivated 
a singularly correct taste in style and thought. The accu- 
racy of his knowledge of Greek was finely displayed on one 
occasion when he pronounced a Greek ode, ostensibly the 
production of the early Eolian poet Alcoeus, to be modern, 
pointing out with great acumen where it differed from 
classical Greek. It proved afterwards that it had been 
written by an Oxford scholar on a wager that no one in 
that famed university was sufficiently familiar with the 
style of the early Greek jioets to detect the counterfeit. 
Through such critical studies of classical models his own 
style was formed. Their strong and simple language 
taught him a profound dislike for that mode of presenting 
a subject which is rhetorical or sensational, and this senti- 
ment is strongly impressed on what few productions he has 
left behind. Naturally, his appreciation of a finished edu- 




cation was correspondingly high. As a Trustee of the 
Protestant Episcopal Academy, a post he filled for nearly 
forty years, and as a Trustee of the Univei-sily of Pennsyl- 
vania, he unceasingly insisted upon the value of classical 
studies in every scheme of liberal culture. Although of a 
retiring and reflective nature, when the rioters of 1844 had 
to be met by armed resistance, he did not hesitate to assume 
the uncongenial duties of a captain of a volunteer comjuny. 
At the outbreak of the Rebellion, he gave his whole influ- 
ence to the Union cause. He was one of the founders of 
the Union League, of Philadelphia, and identified with its 
history and progress, endeavoring by all means in his 
power to maintain a {>ublic opinion in sympathy with the 
Government. But his activity did not stop here. He 
heli)ed to build th.at great monument of American civiliza- 
tion, the United Stales Christian Comrais.sion, and was con- 
spicuous in shaping its policy so as to secure the harmonious 
cooperation of the army officials. The branch association 
of Philadelphia chose him for its President, and under his 
wise leadership v.ist supplies were collected and forwarded 
to the suflfering soldiers. In his religious opinions, he was 
a conservative member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
and he had studied its principles and history with a close- 
ness rarely found even in those who make it a subject of 
special attention. Inside the Christian faith he looked for 
the only possible cheering future of the race, and had little 
hope for it beyond the pale of those teachings. He held 
numerous- positions of trust and honor in its conventions 
and in the congregation of which he w.ts a member. Its 
principles he carried into the daily transactions of his life, 
and lived and died as one knowing well whereon his hopes 
were founded. His life, it has been said by one who knew 
him long and well, was nurtured and strengthened " by 
the two great principles out of which all true excellence 
springs, Trust in God, and Devotion to Duly." His death 
occurred, in consequence of a paralytic stroke, February 
3d, 1870; though his illness was of short dur.ition, no one 
can doubt he was fully prepared to meet it. He left a 
widow — the <laughter of the late William Johnson, of 
New York, the eminent reporter — and seven children. 



yiii|| OLLE, REV. SYLVESTER, Clergyma.i, was 
■'* ' born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, 
March 1st,. 1816, his father being John F. Syl- 
vester, and his mother Sabina W., daughter of 
Judge Henry. He was educated at Nazareth 
Hall, and in the collegiate and theological semi- 
naries of the Moravian Church. After graduating, he 
married Sar.ih Caroline, daughter of Jacob Rice, merchant, 
of Ikthlehcm. In 1829, he was ordained a deacon in his 
church, and was jdaced in charge of a congregation at 
Scholnock, near Nazareth, where .he remained until 1S31, 
when he removed to Gradcnhallen, Ohio, famous for an 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.IIDIA. 



Indian massacre in 1772. He had sole charge of the Mo- 
ravian congregation at this point until 1S49, when he was 
appointed Inspector, or Principal, of a seminary for young 
ladies at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His energy and busi- 
ness ability were immediately made manifest in an in- 
creased attendance and invigorated finances of the school. 
He also reorganized the course of study, and introduced 
some of the best native and European teachers. A west 
wing was added to the building, and soon after a similar 
addition was required for the east side. The Souvenir^ 
published under his direction, and compiled by William \V. 
Rechel, gave a complete history of the seminary, and of 
the county in which it was situated, with a catalogue of the 
teachers and pupils of the institution from its foundation. 
He remained in this position until 1861, when he was suc- 
ceeded by his brother, Francis, who still continues at the 
head of this progressive educational institution. In 1S60, 
he was chosen Director of the Executive Board of the 
Moravian Church, and still remains its Treasurer and 
Financial Agent, having control of its home and foreign 
missionaries. Since 1867, he has been President of its 
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the 
Heathen, the oldest missionary organization in this country. 
He is an earnest Christian, and has fully sustained the 
reputation of his distinguislied family as one of the most 
energetic and efficient workers in the Moravian connection. 
His biography and that of his church, since his connection 
with it, are inseparably connected, and, so long as the 
Moravian denomination endures, his name will not be 
forgotten. 

""" EBSTER, DAVID, Lawyer, was born in Phila- 
delphia, on March 31st, 1823. He received his 
rudimentary education at the Philadelphia " Mo- 
del School," conducted by John L. Reese, a 
well-known teacher, now deceased, under the 
Lancasterian system, wliich was borrowed from 
England but abandoned in this counti-y after some fifteen 
or twenty years of trial. It took its name from Joseph 
Lancaster, an English educational reformer, belonging to 
the .Society of Friends; but the system itself had been ori- 
ginally introduced into England from India by Dr. Bell. 
The principle on w^hich it was founded was, mutual ins:ruc- 
tion. However much the method of both public and pri- 
vate instruction may have been improved since, there can 
be no doubt of the fact, that those who were early trained 
under the Lancasterian system in the " Model School " of 
Philadelphia, as it was called, acquired, if not a complete 
education, at least the gr,ound work of it; and laid in their 
minds the sure foundations of a greater development. They 
were, moreover, early schooled to habits of thought and 
study, and imbued with a spirit of emulation that always 
loi.ked forward to high aims and good fruits. Like a good 
many other boys, David Webster was obliged to leave 




school when quite young, and, like others similarly placed 
and attending the same school, he has since, by dint of his 
own exertions and that self-training which very early in 
life became with him a necessity, won success in the pro- 
fession of the law and acquired an enviable distinction. 
Daniel Dougherty, of the Philadelphia bar, was one of his 
school fellows. Before he was sixteen years old, he was 
placed with Samuel H. Perkins, of the Philadelphia bar, 
then in full practice, as office boy. There must have been 
much promise in the boy, or that gentleman would not 
have at once adopted him as his own, nor would mere 
smartness have sufficed for so rigid a disciplinarian. There 
must have been a frankness that abhorred cunning, — a 
morality founded upon virtue, and a love of truth and 
honesty early stamped on his character, to win the confi- 
dence of such a preceptor. A year had hardly elapsed 
before his employer sent for his father, and proposed to 
take the boy into his ofiice under indentures of apprentice- 
ship, for the study of the law, until he should attain the age 
of twenty-one years. Probably no one ever came to the 
bar of Philadelphia in such a manner. Usually the student 
enters a lawyer's ofiice to study the science of the law for 
a course either of two or three years, paying his preceptor 
a certain sum for the novitiate. In England, attorneys and 
conveyancers take apprentices, not students. Those who 
aspire to become barristers are entered at the Inns of Court, 
and there complete their educaliim. The articles of inden- 
ture in question are so novel as connected with the study 
of the law here in Philadelphia, that they properly find a 
place here. They are as follows : 

"Articles of agreement made and entered into at the city 
of Philadelphia, this first day of April, A. D. one thousand 
eight hundred and thirty-nine, between Thomas Webster 
for himself and his son David Webster, of the one part, 
.and Samuel H. Perkins, of the other part. The said 
Thomas Webster covenants and agrees to and with the said 
Samuel, that his said son, David Webster, shall faithfully 
serve the said Samuel H. Perkins as a clerk in his office till 
he arrives at the age of twenty-one years, which will be on 
the thirty-first day of March, A. D. one thousand eight hun- 
dred and forty-four, and shall, during all that time, faith- 
fully and to the best of his ability perform all such reason- 
able services connected with the profession and business of 
the said Samuel as shall be required of him. And during 
all that time, he, the said Thomas, will furnish and provide 
the said David with all necessary and suitable clothing, 
board, lodging, washing and nursing. In consideration of 
the above, the said Samuel covenants and agrees to pay to 
the said Thomas the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars 
per annum for the first two years, and two hundred dollars 
per annum for the last three years for the said David, in 
quarterly or monthly p.iyments, either to the said Thomas 
or the said David, the receipts of either of them sufficient. 
And also within that time to give the said David sufficient 
knowledge of the principles and practice of the law to 
qualify him for admission to the bar of the State. In wit- 
ness whereof, etc. 

These covenants were faithfully kept by both parties. 
The said Thomas Webster, on his part, did " furnish and 



136 



BlOGRAnilCAL ENCVCLOP.KDIA. 



provide the saiil U.ivid «iih all necessary and suilable 
clolhing, board, lodj;inj;, washing and nursing." And Ihe 
said Samuel 11. I'crkins did, on his part, during ihe five 
years of his apprenticeship, " give the said David sufficient 
knowledge of the principles and practice of the law to 
qualify him for admission to the bar of the Slate." While 
yet a student in this office, he became the editor of the 
Pcnmyivania Law Journal, AwX coniifuied to be its e<litor 
during the years 1844, '45 and '46. An article from his 
pen, in volume three, written before his admission to the 
bar, on the Baiikrtifil Law of 1841, attracted much atten- 
tion at the time. During the year 1844, in association with 
II. v.. Wall.ice, he established the Legal In/elligenctr, a 
weekly piper still continued by that gentleman. He was 
admitted to the bar on April 3d, 1844. The Board of Ex- 
aminers, bef'ire which he passeti, had before them, at the 
s.inie time, .\lcxan(ler Henry, Jr., afterwards mayor of .the 
city of Philadelphia. In the list of those who came to the 
bar in the year 1844, will be found the names, Fred- 
erick \V. .S. Gr.iyson, William E. Lehman, F. Carroll 
Brewster, Henry C. Townsend, William Henry Rawle and 
Craig Bidille. Three days after his admission to the bar, 
he tried his first case before a jury in the Court of Common 
I'leas, and won it for Ihe defence. It had been kept for 
him by his friend, the late J. -•Vltamont Phillips. His d(bul 
was a marked success, as it gave him an opportunity to 
show his t.ict and al>iliiy. He at once acquired a practice, 
which incrc.nsed daily. Before reaching his m.ijority, he 
had become iiretly well known to a large circle of friends 
and aciiuaintances, by joining literary and debating societies 
and students' law schools, and by often speaking in public. 
He was, moreover, a young and active member of the 
iJemocratic party, and a frequent attendant in the evenings 
at the Democratic Rea<ling Room. All these methods 
were but the development of the l.ancastcrian system of 
education — mutual instruction, emulation and competition. 
A young lawyer, in the first instance, gets practice through 
the friends whom he has made, and from the confidence 
which his habits of life and his talents have inspired in 
them. It w.Ts so in his case; for he gained a fine livelihood 
for himself from the day he was admitted to the bar. He 
was at that early period ap|X>intcd Solicitor for the Adams' 
Express Company at a small salary; that company, like 
himself, having then just started in its career. This office 
he has held, with increasing emoluments, to the present 
time — a period of twenty-nine years. Going forward suc- 
cessfully as a lawyer, and becoming well known as a poli- 
tician and as a speaker, at the end of two years after his 
admission to the bar, he received the distinction of ap- 
pointment to the office of Deputy Attorney General for the 
City and County of Philadelphia. On June 23d, 1846, 
Hon. John M. Read, now Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court of Pennsylvania, w,is appointed Attorney General, 
and on the receipt of his commission, he walked directly 
to David Webster's office and tendered him the position, 



which, since then, under the elective system, has been 
named the District Attorneyship. No surprise could have 
been greater to the recipient, since he had never thought 
of such an honor, much less applied for it. He accepted 
it with many misgivings as to his ability to fulfil the duties. 
At the end of six months, his chief, owin^ to certain [wliti- 
cal diflerenccs with Governor Shunk, re-igned his office, 
when Hon. IJvnj.imin Champneys, of Lancaster, since de- 
ceased, was appointed Attorney General in his stead. On 
December 24th, 1846, he continued his predecessor's de- 
puty in office by appointing him anew. After that he 
prosecuted the Pleas of the Commonwealth for the further 
period of eighteen months. He then left the position along 
with Attorney General Champneys, who was succeeded by 
Ihe Hon. James Cooper, with William D. Reed as deputy. 
After leaving these duties, it would have been natural for 
him, having for a period of two years been prominently 
before the public, in the prosecution of criminals both great 
and small, to acquire a lucrative practice on the other sitle 
in Ihe Court of Quarter Sessions. Bui such was not the 
case. He at once became actively engaged in Ihe courts 
of civil jurisdiction, and the many cases, which are reported 
in the books, in which he has been Counsel, will afford 
some idea of Ihe extent of his practice and its imporLint and 
lucrative character. His fii-st case before the Supreme 
Court was argued at Ihe December Term, 1850, Greaner 
vs. .Mullen, reported in 3 Harris, 200; his List reported 
case, Decend)er Term, 1870, Howard Express Company vs. 
Wile, 14 P. F. Smith, 201. In this l.-iller case, which wxs 
a reversal of the decision of the District Court, ihe Supreme 
Court affirmed all the points made by him in his argument, 
and broadly laid down Ihe law, that the doctrine of a scin- 
tilla of evidence being sufficient to leave a case to Ihe jur)', 
w.as exploded; and that, where a verdict is contrary lo the 
charge of the court on a question of l.iw, it must be set 
aside, whether it be the second or second hundredth time 
it has been rendered. Under resolutions passed on the 
iglh of April, 1S58, the Governor of Pennsylvania was 
authorized to appoint three commissioners " to collect all 
acts and statutes relating lo the penal laws of the Common- 
wealth, lo arrange .the same systematically under proper 
titles, divisions and sections ; lo suggest to the Legislature 
any contradictions, omissions, defects and imperfections 
whioli may appear in the statutes to be revised, and the 
mode in which the same may be reconciled, supplied, im- 
proved and amended ; lo designate such acts or statutes as 
ought lo be repealed, and lo prepare and submit lo the 
Legislature new acts and statutes, as such repeal may rentier 
advisable or necessary." These were duties of the most 
exalted and onerous character. To be faithfully performed, 
it required Ihe selection of commissioners who could bring 
to their high office a long experience in the criminal justice 
of the Commonwealth, and a familiarity with its various 
penal laws. Especially did it reipiire of them, not learning 
merely, but a power of analysis and condensation, in order 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



137 



to bring into form, meaning and system, the vast body of 
ciiminal law, passed in the shape of separate statutes, from 
the organization of the government down to the time of 
codification. Under these resolutions. Governor WilHam 
V. Packer appointed three commissioners : Hon. Edward 
King, who had been for upwards of twenty years President 
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Court of Oyer 
and Terminer, of Philadelphia; Hon. John C. Kno.x, who 
had filled successively the offices of Deputy Attorney Gen- 
eral, member of the Legislature, President Judge of the 
Common Pleas of the Clearfield District, and Associate 
Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and who, at the 
time of his appointment, was Attorney General of the State ; 
also David Webster. After these appointments had been 
in.ade, on November 15th, 1858, he formed a law co-part- 
nership with Attorney General Knox, and by that means 
they were able to be constantly together, at work at tlicir 
practice, and at work on the revision of the penal laws of 
the Commonwealth. The revision of these laws was 
chiefly committed to the Hon. Edward King. The "Code" 
may be said to be his crowning labor and monument. This 
may be recorded without any disparagement to his coadju- 
tors. Indeed, although rendering valuable aid, they would 
be first to accord to Edward King the credit which marks 
the labor, learning and wisdom of that body of penal law 
and system of practice. It was reported by the commission 
and adopted unanimously by the Legislature, as the Act ol 
31st of March, i860. As a work of codification, it will 
compare with any labor of the kind in any State or country. 
Said the venerable Eli K. Price, at the meeting of the Bar 
of Philadelphia, held on May 9th, 1S73, to testify their re- 
spect to the memory of Hon. Edward King, who had died 
the preceding day : " He bec.ime a great criminal Judge, 
and when, after his retirement from the bench, he and 
Judge Knox and Mr. David Webster were appointed Com- 
missioners to revise and form the Criminal Code of the 
State, the latter, after due consultations, wisely placed the 
pen in his hands to write out the code, which stands to-day 
a legal monument to his name, and their united wisdom." 
Judge Knox continued to be Attorney General until the 
expiration of the term of G^n'ernor Packer, January, 1861 ; 
but the law partnership alluded to lasted under the firm 
name of Knox & Webster until the year 1807, when, suffer- 
ing from impaired health, Judge Knox retired from business 
altogether. Since then David Webster has continued his 
practice alone with great success. Of his political record, 
but little can be added. Politics, in early life, were a help 
to him, but he never made them a means or a pursuit. He 
did, in 1871, accept the nomination of both the Democratic 
and Reform parties of the Twenty-second Ward for Com- 
mon Council ; but the Republican majority of the ward 
being about 1400, there was little chance of his election. 
However, against a party majority of that figure for the 
general ticket, the majority against him was less than 500, 
showing in what favor he stood with the people of a ward 

18 




in which he had but recently taken up his temporary resi- 
dence. He was married in the year 1849, ^o Mary Ancora, 
daughter of Peter Ancora, an Italian who established him 
self in the early part of the present century as a teacher 
of drawing in Philadelphia; and has had two children, one 
of them a daughter, married to Lieutenant Dominick 
Lynch, Jr., of the United States Army. It is not the least 
interesting incident in his life, that the dwelling house 
across whose threshold he first entered as an office boy be- 
came his own property a few years after he had been ad- 
mitted to practice. It was there that he made his home, 
and established his office, and it was there, loo, that his 
children were born. 



ORTON, REV. HENRY JACKSON, D. D., Cler- 
gyman, was born September 28lh, 1807, at the 
(then out of town) residence of his father, adja- 
cent to the city of New York ; Morton street now 
indicates the locality. He was one of a family 
of seven sons, two daughters intervening ; chil- 
dren of Major General Jacob Morton, who had married 
Catherine Ludlow, both of the city of New York. General 
Morton was an intimate friend of Alex.mder Hamilton and 
other distinguished men of his day. He was an eminent 
lawyer for many years in that city, and there held judicial 
station with John Wells and Samuel Jones, afterwards 
Chancellor of the State. He was Major General of the 
State Militia from 1812 to 1836, the. period of his death. 
Dr. Morton received his primary education in New Y'ork 
city, and afterwards passed some years in academies at 
Stratford, Connecticut, and Jamaica, Long Island, finally 
preparing for college at a classical school in his native city. 
He matriculated at Columbia College, then under the 
presidency of the erudite and talented Rev. Dr. Samuel 
Harris, whence he graduated with credit in 1827. After 
the close of his collegiate course, he read law for a brief 
period, which formed a judicious and important prepara- 
tion for that higher vocation which he contemplated. In 
this connection, with the profession upon which he finally 
settled — though none other had been seriously thought of — ■ 
may be noticed his remarkable talent for drawing. This 
was of early development, and had attracted the favorable 
attention of senior friends who were acknowledged artists. 
Among the latter may be mentioned Professor S. F. B. 
Morse, Inman, Cole, and others whose auguries of emi- 
nence for their younger friend, of making their art his 
vocation, were as gratifying as disinterested. His not 
doing so suggests something of analogy to the incident 
mentioned as to Murray, afterwards Lord Mansfield, who, 
when about devoting himself to the law, bade farewell to 
the Muse in numbers, which drew from Pope a tribute, 
expressed in the line, 

" How fine a Poet was in Murray losl." 



M3 



BIOGRArilKAI. ENCVCI.OP,tDIA. 



Having decided lo consecrale his talents to the sacred 
work of the ministry, he entered the General Theological 
Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the sub- 
urban village ijf Chelsea, New York, whence he graduated, 
ill 1830, as Bachelor of Divinity, and in July of the same 
year, was admitted to the Diaconate by Bishop Hobart. 
Immediately after his ordination, he officiated in a church 
at Bloomingdale, a few miles beyond the city limits, during 
the absence of the Rector, the Reverend Dr. William Rich- 
mond, who was in Eurpoe. Towards the close of 1830, 
he received and accepted a call to become Assistant Minister 
of St. James' Church, Philadelphia, which church had then 
recently l>ecn detached from the parish of Christ Church, 
which still retained as its remaining " Chajiel of Ease" the 
present church of St. Peter's. This call was to fill a vacancy 
caused by the Rev. Francis L. Hawkes' withdrawal and 
removal to another sphere of duty. In 1831, he was or- 
ilained Priest by the venerable Bishop While, .nnd continued 
for some years faithfully in the discharge of his duties, 
until, in 1836, his health became somewhat impaired. By 
the considerate kindness of the vestry and the congregation, 
he was afforded a sea.son of relaxation, and visited England, 
Scotland, and Italy, reaching home after a year's absence. 
Upon his return, he found that he had been elected Rector 
of the Parish, and, in 1837, fully assumed this position, in 
which he still remains, showing a connection with one and 
the same parish for over forty years. The early time of 
life at which he identified himself with Philadelphia, and 
the more matured age of the distinguished men in divinity, 
law, medicine and commerce, render a sketch of his career 
most interesting. Among the earliest of his parishioners 
may be named the gallant heroes Commodores Hull and 
Bainbridge, who had known him as a mere youth, when 
partaking of his father's hospita'ities in New York. Other 
honored and conspicuous men in law and medicine, such as 
Dallas, Hopkins, Binney, Sergeant, Rawle, Biddle, of the 
former, and Drs. Physic, Chapman, Jackson, Dewees, 
Hartshorne, of the latter, placed themselves under his 
pastoral charge; of all these but one survives, the vener- 
able Horace Binney. The first St. James' Church was 
crecte<l by the Parish of Christ Church, as its second " Chapel 
of Ease," in 1807-9, !" ^^^ northeast corner of Seventh 
street and St. James (now Commerce) street, where it re- 
mained till the advancing tide of traffic, and the removal of 
the greater part of the parishioners westward, made a change 
necessary. The present edifice at Walnut and Twenty- 
second streets is sufficiently central to answer the desired 
end, beside afibrding a favorable field for city missions, 
and without the probability of disturbance by business afv 
proachcs. There are sittings for nearly one thousand per- 
sons, and its congregation requires all its accommodations j 
il contains many whom the Rector baptized, and the de- 
scendants of many whom he has committed to the ground. 
The relation of pastor and friend, cemented by reciprocal 
regard and early a.ssociation, results, as might be expected, 




in a happy unanimity. He was elected a member of the 
Standing Committee (or Council of Advice) of the Diocese 
of Pennsylvania many years ago, and hxs been its President 
for more than twenty years. He received his degree of 
" D. D." from the University of Pennsylvania, of which 
institution he is the senior trustee. He is also trustee of 
the Protestant Episcopal Academy ; and serves as a mem- 
ber of the Board of Managers of the Episcopal Hospital, 
Church-Home, and Philadelphia Dispensary; likewise a 
member-of the National Academy of Arts and Design, in 
New York. He was married, in 1831, to Helen, daughter 
of Henry McFarlan, of New York. She died in 1849, 
leaving a son and three daughters ; the former is the wtU- 
known scientist and lecturer, Professor Henry Morton, 
Secretary of the Franklin Institute, and editor of its journal. 



SHMEAD, JOHN E., Merchant, was born in 
Philadelphia, November 27th, 1S27. He is the 
son of John (sixth) and Ann Lehman Ashniead. 
On his father's side he is dcscemlcd from an 
old English family, and bis mother traces her 
birth from an ancient German source. Many 
descendants of the former branch, according to reliable and 
authentic records, were in prominent positions as military 
and civil officers for generations, taking an active part in 
the formation of the original government, and in the con- 
duct of affairs subsequently. The history of this branch is 
very interesting. Seven generations back one of the original 
settlei-s of Pennsylvania was John Ashmoa<l, a native of 
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, where he was born 
in 1648. He married Mary Courier, daughter of William 
Courier, of the same place, October 14th, 1677, and his 
first child, a son, born July 12th, 1679, was named John 
(the second one of that name). At or about this period, 
William Penn had received a grant of land from King 
Charles the Second, in compensation for debts due by the 
Crown to his father. Admiral Penn, and was preparing to 
colonize the Province. Prior to Penn's advent to the New 
World, he sold 'various tracts of land to those anxious to 
settle in the Colony, an<l among the rest, John Ashmead 
tiecame a purchaser. Accompanied by his wife and young 
son, he left England and landed in the infant Colony, in 
the year 1682, some six months prior to the arrival of the 
proprietor, William Penn. He settled in that part of the 
present Montgomery county, termed '• Cheltenham," seeking 
to perpetuate the name of his birth-place by bestowing it 
upon his new residence. He died October 2lst, 16S8; his 
widow on the following day; both were buried at the 
Friends' Meeting House, Abingdon. John .\shniead the 
second, at the age of twenty-four — sometime during the 
year 1703 — was united in marriage to Sarah, daughter of 
Samuel Sellers, of Darby, Chester (now Delaware) county, 
Pennsylvania. About the year 1710, the family removed 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCL0P.*:DIA. 



139 



to Germ.Tiitown, w'here lie died, October 7lh, 1742. Here 
Samuel Ashniead, son ot John (second), was born, March 
4th, 1710. He was a Justice of the Peace, a high distinc- 
tion in those days, was subsequently elected to and served 
as a member of the Provincial Assembly ; and, at a more 
mature age, when the tyranny of the British King, and the 
adverse action of his Parliament to the best interests of the 
Colonies, had created great dissatisfaction among the in- 
habitants, he, with several others, was selected as a Com- 
mittee of Correspondence to draw the Colonies together in 
consultation. After a long life of usefulness and honor, 
he died March 19th, 1794, in the eighty-fifth year of his 
age. Jacob Ashmead, son of Samuel, was born in Ger- 
mautown, May 30tli, 1742, and became in later years a 
captain in the First Battalion of Continental troops, raised 
by Congress. He served and fought with much distinction 
under General Washington in all of his battles. He died 
July loth, 1814. John Ashmead (third), the first son of 
John Ashmead (second), was born in Germanlown, May 
I2th, 1706. He married Ann, daughter of James Rush, 
of Byberry, Pennsylvania, August 29th, 1734. She was a 
paternal aunt of Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of 
the Declaratioh of Independence. John Ashmead (third) 
died July 30lh, 1750. Captain John Ashmead (fourth), 
son of the foregoing, was born in Germantown, September 
29th, 1738. He was an East India merchant and captain, 
having made one hundred successful voyages to Europe 
and the East Indies. He was an eminently religious man, 
never indulged in profane language himself, and would not 
permit any one on board his ship to use it. Whenever 
compelled to act on the defensive, he never called in the 
aid of cruisers to protect him, but fought his own ships, 
and always came off victorious. Captain Ashmead married 
Mary Mifflin, a niece of General Thomas Mifflin, and re- 
sided, when not at sea, in Philadelphia. He had the honor 
of representing one of the Original States in the great 
Federal procession of 1788. He died June 6th, 1S18, 
in the eightieth year of his age. His son, John Ashmead 
(fifth), was born in Philadelphia, in the year 1762, and 
died February 1 6th, 1803. His wife was Arabella King 
Ryves, daughter of Heniy Ryves, Commissary in the 
American Revolutionary Army. John Ashmead (sixth), 
son of the last named, was born 19th November, 1783. 
In early life he was a commission merchant. He married 
Ann Lehman, October 27th, 1806. In the year 1822, he 
received from Governor Heister a commission as Auc- 
tioneer. In later years he paid much attention to real 
estate and lands. He died February 9th, 1857. Just prior 
to the battle of Germantown, the British army encamped 
in Ashmead's road, now School House lane. The Ash- 
meads were all on the Whig side in those troublous times. 
Later members of this family have held high offices of 
honor and trust, several having been foreign Ministers, 
Congressmen, etc. On the maternal side, the subject of 
this sketch is descended from John George Lehman, Far- 



mer-General of the Revenues and Lands of the Manor of 
Tribigen, in the Electorate of Saxony. His son, Philip 
Theodore Lehman, emigrated to America, and became 
Secretary to William Penn. lie was distinguished as a 
man of letters and learning. While acting as Secretary to 
the Proprietor, he wrote the celebrated letter to the Indians 
of Canada, dated June 23d, 1692, the original of which is 
framed and displayed at the Capitol in Harrisburg. God- 
fried Lehman was born in Germany, October 9th, 1688, 
and came to this country at an early date, settling in Ger- 
mantown. He died in the year 1756, and was buried in 
his own garden. Just one hundred years after, in May, 
1856, there was found, four feet below the surface of the 
ground, in the rear of Charles Weiss' coal yard, in German- 
town, a fiat marble stone, indicating where his ashes then 
reposed. Further search being made, his bones were un- 
covered, and Benjamin Lehman conveyed the remains to 
the Tunkers' burial-ground, whcie they were re-interred. 
This proceeding attracted much attention at the time. 
Christian Lehman, son of Godfried, was Ijorn Novembei 
7th, 17 14. He was a man of considerable accomplish 
nients in reference to both times and country, being con- 
versant with the Hebrew, Greek and Latin languages, and 
also speaking fluently German and English. He cultivated 
the higher Mathematics and Astronomy with remarkable 
success. Possessed of an ample fortune, he was enabled 
to devote himself to the pursuit of science and literature. 
He died December 28th. 1774. His son, Dr. George 
Lehman, was born in Germantown, August 2d, 1753. He 
served seven years as Surgeon in the American Revolu- 
tionary Army. He was with General Washington at 
Valley Forge, Staten Island, Perth Amboy, etc. He was 
finally captured on the "Fair American," taken to Eng- 
land, and confined in the celebrated Dartmoor prison for 
two years, whence he was liberated when peace was de- 
clared. He died at Philadelphia, March 14th, 1793, in 
his fortieth year. His nephew, William Lehman, was 
born September loth, 1779. He was a man of literary 
tastes, carefully and religiously educated, who passed with 
credit through the University of Pennsylvania. At the age 
of thii-ty-five, he was elected to represent (in part) the city 
of Philadelphia in the State Legislature, and w-as annually 
returned as a member of that body, fifteen years in all, 
until his death, which took place at Harrisburg, in his 
fiftieth year. By his Will, dated 26th July, 1827, he be- 
queathed to the Athenaeum of Philadelphia ten thousand 
dollars, for the construction of a suitable building. Ann, 
the daughter of Dr. George Lehman, and mother of John 
E. Ashmead, was born in Philadelphia, January 13th, 1788. 
She is yet living, in her eighty-sixth year, with her mental 
faculties unimpaired. He himself, after receiving private 
literary and classical instruction, entered the Philadelphia 
High School, and, after the usual course of study, gradu- 
ated from that institution July 15th, 1845. A few weeks 
thereafter, he entered upon his business career in the 



V 



I40 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.KDIA. 



Gridcr, for ihc purpose of general merchandising, and 
with limited means, but an inexhaustible fund of en- 
ergy, entered upon his novitiate as a man of business. 
The firm of Gridcr & Lerch dissolved in February, 1S57. 
Before this, in August, 1855, he had married Sarah E., a 
daughter of Joseph li. Jones, of Bethlehem township, liv 
whom he had three sons, two of whom died in early child- 
hood. In the spring of 1857, he set out in business on his 
own account, and by dint of new energy and " push," suc- 
ceeded in soon establishing and then enlarging a trade, 
which year after year grew under his hands, far beyond his 
jekpcctations, until eventually it exceeded that of any simi- 
lar house in that section of the country. When, in Feb- 
ruary', 1865, he gave an interest in his concern 10 Joseph 
A. Kice, a Son of his former employer, he laid the founda- 
tio'h~orth^.present wi<Iely-known mercantile house of John 
Lerch & Co., popularly called "The liee Hive," which, in 
the fall of 1871, occupied the handsome and commodious 
store on Main street, erected in order to meet the wants of 
their rapidly growing trade. As a merchant, he has always 
AijSyed a reputation for the strictest integrity, and hence 
hits the full confidence of those with whom he is brought 
into business relations. As a citizen, he is eminently 
public-spiiilcd and progressive, manifesting a lively interest 
in the prosperity of- the home of his adoption, and aiding 
•her instirulions' and' "Vvorthy charities from a liberal hand. 
In the late vVar^Mhe fi.>bellion, he not only on two occa- 
sions — in September rtf 1S62 and in June of 1863 — 
shouldereil'hi's musket to meet the invader, but constantly 
and generously contributed from his means towards the 
relief of such as were sufferers in the hour of their 
country's peril through their efforts to comp.ass safety. 
Modesty, frankness, benevolence and a love of justice, are 
leading features in his character. He is a prominent mem- 
ber of " Christ " Reformed Church, of the borough of 
the .academy of Kirkpatrick & Horn, he passed his boyhood I Bethlehem. His successful career as a merchant is a 
on his father's farm, availing himself of such opportunities j result of his unwavering faith in the ultimate triumph of 
for mental improvement as the common schools of the industry, energy, prudence and probity, 
neighborhood then offered. In the stmimcr of 1844, he 
was placed in the store of George Weber & Son, at Krei- 
dersville, a busy little settlement lying half a mile from the 
homestta<l. Hence, in the fall of 1846, he rrmovod to 
Bclhlehiin, at that time a town with a population of some- 
what a little over 1000 souls, nearly all Moravians. There, 
in the employ and under the judicious guidance of the late 
James A. Rice, an enterprising and energetic young mer- 
chant, he received a mercantile training of more than ordi- 
nary excellence, and such as eventually provctl to him of 
incalculable benefit. Bringing into this school of discipline 
great natural abilities, he soon became a valuable assistant, 
and on the sudden decease of his employer, in 1850, he 
was called upon to conduct the business on behalf of the 
heirs, until the settlement of the estate. This he did with 
credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his employers. 
Thereupon, in 1S51, he associated himself with Rufus .V. 



mercantile house of Smith & Way, jobbers of dry goods, in 
order to gain a knowledge of the business. By strict and 
persevering attention to his duties, he soon rose to the 
position of chief salesman, which he filled for eight years. 
His services were then eng.aged by the dry goods commis- 
sion house of Treilick, Stokes & Co., where he secured the 
same standing and success. For the past six years, he has 
conducted the domestic business of the dry goods commis- 
sion house of Lewis & Co., completing nineteen years of 
connection with the dry goods commission business. He 
was one of the original members of the First Regiment of 
Gray Reserves, of Philadelphia, no one having a better- 
record as a soldier. As such he served with that command 
in their different campaigns during the war. He js no^ff 
attached to Company I) (Old Guard), of the First R^hVieiil- 
of National Guards of Pennsylvania, of which he is a con-' 
stituent and very prominent member. He is an oUl*and 
active member of the Mercantile Beneficial Association; 
and also holds a membership in the Fountain Society. He 
is also one of the original members of the Gettysburg 
Memorial Association. 



[ERCH, JOHN, Merchant, was borirOttober 1 6th, 
1829, in Allen township, Norlnam^ftVI county, 
Pennsylvania. His ancestors jmmii;raled from 
the Palatinate in the inler'val betwecit 1725 and 
'735' '" which period of time a large and desir- 
able element was being infused into lift popula- 
tion of the Province from the agricultural districts of 
Rhineland. The Lerchs first settled in the Slaungton Valley, 
whence John Lerch, a son of Anthony Lerch, removed to 
a farm in .Mien township, tn the year 1773. John Lerch's 
son, Joseph, was the father of the subject of this sketch. 
Excepting a few months, which were spent in E.aston, at 





ICKLEY, MORTIMER H., Druggist, was bom 
» in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, November 
Slh, 1831. He is the son of Jacob Bickley; and 
his parents are of German descent. His grand- 
parents emigrated to America about a century 
ago, and settled in Philadelphia. The family 
tr.ace their lineage b.ick to William the Conqueror. Being 
left fatherless when a mere child, his grandfather assumed 
the parental office. He attended the common schools of 
his native county, and subsequently studied at a select school 
at Norristown, Pennsylvania, being in the intervals engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. These failed to present attractions 
enough to induce him to adopt them for his avocation in 
life, and he accordingly entered the drug .store of S;inuicl 



BIOGRAPIIICAI- ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



141 



Simes, at T\ve:Kh and Cliestnut streets, Philadelphia, in 
Jane, 1849. After remaining some two years as an appren- 
tice, he accepted a situation in the slore of J. M. Allen, in 
Chester, Pennsylvania; and having entered upon the regu- 
lar course, at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, gradu- 
ated there in 1854. Having associated with his employer, 
Tanuaiy 1st. 1856, the business was conducted by the new 
firm of Allen & Bicldey, until January ist, 1S59, when he 
became sole proprietor. His energetic management so in- 
creased his business that it necessitated enlarged accommo- 
dations, and he accordingly erected a handsome structure 
at Fourth and Market streets; it is 163 by 26 feet, five 
stories in height, surmounted by a m'ansard roof, and was 
occupied November 20th, lS6g, He is a public spirited 
and liberal man, has served his city in councils, and has 
been a warm friend of public enterprise and improvement. 
He was one of the originators of the Pennsylvania Military 
Academy, at Chester, as well as of the Chester Rural 
Cemetery Company, and is in the Board of Managers of 
each institution. He has been a Director of the First 
National Bank of Chester since 1S70. He married Rebecca, 
daughter of Samuel Weaver, late Prothonotary of the 
courts of Delaware county. 



cL{7i|-u I. LISON, WILLIAM C, Car-builder and Tube- 
G' /l ' manufacturer, was born in Chester county, Penn- 
sylvania, in the year 1817, and is of Quaker 
parentage. When he was six years of age he 
lost his father, and ten years later his only sur- 
viving parent died, thus leaving him entirely 
dependent upon his -own resources. Being possessed of 
inclomitalile industry and perseverance, he started on his 
own account, when but nineteen years old, in the business 
of a wheelwright and wagon builder, in Philadelphia. 
Hardly had he established Iiimself in this calling ere the 
great financial crisis of 1837 occurred, \\'hich left its mark 
upon the business community for several years thereafter, 
paralyzing all kinds of industries, and carrying down in the 
wreck many a theretofore staunch and thriving firm. He 
bore up nevertheless until 1S4I, when he too gave way; but 
his f.iilure may be said to have been a blessing in disguise, 
as it brought forth the latent strength and capacity of his 
nature, although it left him penniless. Arising from this 
disaster, with determined energy he was soon actively en- 
gaged, and was enabled to discharge all his former indebt- 
edness, thus giving an evidence of the sterling quality of 
honesty which has ever actuated him in his business pur- 
suits. In 1S51, he formed a business connection with John 
Murphy, and the firm of Murphy & Allison erected very 
extensive shops on Market street, west of Nineteenth street, 
where they were largely engaged in building cars for the 
various railroads centering in Philadelphia; especially for 
the Pennsylvania Railroad, then in course of constiaiction 



and equipment. In 1S56, they purchased what is now 
known as the " Girard Tube Works," and commenced the 
manufacture of pipes for gas, water, and steam purposes, in 
addition to their former business ; and their productions soon 
gained a high reputation for excellence, and the demand 
became so great as to necessitate an enlargement of the 
works. Tliey now added to their manufactures at the Car 
Works, the building of City Passenger Railway cars, of 
which they constructed a very large number. In May, 1863, 
the Car Works were destroyed by fire, but in less than a 
fortnight after they had extemporized another building in 
which their employees completed their unfinished contracts. 
This was during the rebellion, which period was one of 
marked activity among mechanics, especially'car-builders. 
The firm was dissolved, November 28th, 1866, by the death 
of the senior partner, and the surviving member purchased 
the other's interest from the heirs. He had been previously 
engaged in adapting one of the buildings of the new works 
for the manufacture of lap-welded iron tubes, which was 
commenced in April, 1867. In July, 1868, he associated 
two of his sons with him, constituting the firm of W'. C. 
Allison & Sons, whose property " The Junction Car Works 
and Flue Mill" comjirises ten. acres of ground, half of 
which is covered with buildings, and is situate in West 
Philadelphia, between the tracks of the West Chester and 
Philadelphia, and the " Connecting Railway," the works 
being placed in communication with private sidings and 
turn outs. Here seven hundred men are constantly em- 
ployed, and the manufactures amount to about two million 
dollars yearly. The senior partner is a Director of the 
Third National Bank, of which he is a considerable share- 
holder. 

^^UNGLISON, ROBLEY, Physician and Professor, 
was born January. 4lh, 1798, at Keswick, Cum- 
berlandshire, England. His mother was very 
remarkable for her intellectual powers, and she 
b \3 bestowed unusual care in the training of her son. 
He commenced the study of medicine in his 
seventeenth year, at fii-st in his native town, and after- 
wards in London, Edinburgh and Paris. Having passed 
his examination at the Royal College of Surgeons in the 
first named city, he was admitted to practice in 1819. In 
1S24, he graduated by examination at the University of 
Erlangen, Germany, and in the same year commenced 
lecturing on practical midwifery. By this time he had 
already acquired an unusual reputation for a man of his 
age by various contributions to the periodical press, and 
his name reached the ears of F. W. Walker, who had been 
sent to England by Ex- President Thomas Jefferson, to 
select professors for the University of Virginia. An offer 
having been made to him, he accepted the same, and left 
London in October, 1824. His connection with lliis in- 
stitution extended o\'cr a period of nine years, durin ' 



142 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.l-DIA. 



which time he delivered numerous courses of lectures on 
nearly every branch of medical science, and laid the foun- 
dation uf a solid and enduring reputation as a great author. 
He became the intimate friend and professional adviser of 
Jeflferson and Madison, and his home at Charlottesville 
was the centre of a refined and charming circle of friends. 
In 1S33, he accepted the chair of Materia Medica, etc., in 
the University of Maryland, and remained in Baltimore for 
three years, thence removing to Philadelphia, where, in 
June, 1836, he was appointed Professor of the Institutes of 
Medicine in Jeflfcrson College, a chair created expressly for 
him. This school, not long after, entered upon a career 
of prosperity unequalled in the annals of medical teaching. 
At the outbreak of the war, the class numbered six hundred 
and thirty, being the largest ever assembled on this conti- 
nent. As Dean of the college, and instructor in ope of its 
most important departments, he remained at his poSt, wvk- 
ing faithfully for the interests of science until ill-htalih, in 
the spring of 1S68, compelled him to resign. He waj cre- 
ated Professor Emeritus, but did not long enjoy that honQ{. 
His health continued to fail until his death, A'pril ist, 
1869. His world-wide reputation had secured him many 
testimonials — altogether about one hundred — of respect 
from me<lical, scientific and literary ass6ciatioi|gain thi 
country and Europe. From Vale College he^celvcU, in 
1825, the degree of M. D., and Jefferson Coll^^'e that of 
LL. D. in 1852. He w.is without doubt the"r.' 
nous medical author of his day, and all hi- 
characterized by profound scholarehip, afturate'Juilgiu^u, 
beauty and correctness of style. ' '•"- •■ 



Jo^ ANNAN, BENJAMIN, Journalist and Political 
^.tiXL^ Economist, was born in Union township, Berks 
county, Pennsylvania, April 22d, 1S07. His 
/athcr was a farmer and teacher, occupied in 
agricultural pursuits during the summer, and 
'^ teaching in the winter season. He died when 
his son w.is but eight years old. Benjamin went to school 
for a period of about two^eai-s altogether, diiring kjie next 
seven years, for at that lime scLooLs were'onVy open in "the 
winter season for some three months at a time. It was at 
Unionvillc where he wasjnspirSH with the idea of becom- 
ing a printer and editor, from j:ca4lng the Village" Rccof 3, 
to which the teacher subscribed. Having learned the ut- 
most that was taught in the schools of that day, at the age 
of fifteen he was indentured to learn the printing business 
in the office of the Berks and Schiiytkilt fournal, of which 
George Getz was proprietor, where he remained six yeai-s. 
During his term of service the same industry and honesty 
of purpose and action which has characterized his whole 
life, as to win the highest regard of his preceptor, resulted 
in an offer to become his associate and partner in the 
business. Meanwhile, at the close of his apprenticeship. 



he had repaired to Phil.adelphia, where he worked in 
several priming offices, finally being engaged in the estab- 
lishment of Lawrence Johnson, the celebrated typefounder, 
where, after receiving the necessary instructions, he added 
the art of stereotyping to his knowledge of printing. After 
a visit to Reading, where he had received the offer, already 
noted, he thought it for his interests to decline it, and 
directed his course to Pottsville. On his arrival there, he 
found the ofTice of the Miner's Journal m the hands of the 
sneriff; and, believing that this was a fair opi>orlunily and 
his future field of operations, concluded to purchase it. 
Almost all his ready funds were embarked in this enter- 
prise; and the subscription list numliercd but two hundred 
and fifty. This took place in April, 1829, and he was 
connected with this one paper for a period of nearly forty- 
four years.- On July 1st, 1866, he disposed of one half of 
•his interest in the establishment, and on January Ist, 1S73, 
sold the other moiety to the present publisher. The sub- 
scribers had increased to over four thousand, and its 
weekly circulation was only excelled by three other politi- 
cal). jounJ|ls in the Slate outside of the large cities. His 
first \o^ was j:r^t for John Quincy Adams for President, 
in iSjS.'aml he has voted at every Presidential election 
id, and'always in opposition to the Demo- 
o..^... '• ' '"ring his whole life, he has never voted 

lor a D' 'icre there w.ts a contest between the 

UtinBlipiiiK-i. v_H^- has always been a firm and undevi- 
n;-Tiup|iorter-o^Protection to American Industry, and 
proposed tind. organized the first Tariff League, in 1840, 
after the disastrous effects of the Compromise bill h.ad be- 
come apparent, which led to the adoption of the Tariff of 
1842, the most beneficial measure ever p.Tsscd by Con;;ress. 
In 1841, and also in 1861, he collected signatures to the 
longest petitions ever laid before the N.ational Legislature, 
praying for protection to home industry. For a period of 
fifteen years he held the position of School Director, and 
for fourteen yeare was President of the Board. During 
this period he suggested to Governor Pollock the present 
admirable Normal School system of the State in all of its 
Retails, wjiich was aftonwa^ds adopted. He also can 
cl^im— .IS far b:^ck as 1S57, whfn he first proposed it, and 
published a sw'ies of Articles on the subject — the plan for a 
National Currency ., _Hi;» views were communicated to 
scv'eriir prominent bankei's, who acquiesced in his sugges- 
tions, -and who admitted that it would be the best currency 
obtainable; but it could not be carried out, as the Stales 
had usurped the power from the General Government, and 
as the (.itler had acquiesced in it so long, that the States 
would never surrender. He even prepared circulars, em- 
bodying his views, and distributed them through the two 
Houses of Congress, but it received very little attention 
from any of the members. Four years elapsed, and the 
war of the Rebellion broke out, and a National Currency 
became a necessity. He communicated with Secretary 
Chase, and afterwards visited the latter, recalled his 




Salax-/ Puh. C» Philada, 




^^^fx7^fyi<^(^t^cy' 



BIOGRAPHICAL EXCVCLOP.EDIA. 



'43 



circular and compared it wilh the bill '.vliicli S3Cretary 
Chase had prepared, and it was found to be in perfect 
accordance with his proposed plan of 1857, except in a few 
unimportant particulars and one important feature, which 
was not incorporated in the bill, i. e. introducing an expand- 
ing limit. This was not done, as it was impossible to foresee 
what the exigencies of the country might demand. The 
idea of having an issue of currency in proportion to the 
wealth of the country, and expanding it on that basis, seems 
to have been original wilh him. It was submitted to the 
late Stephen Colwell, of Philadelphia, who was also a 
writer on currency, and who had collected all tlie works 
written on currency and money in all languages from all 
countries, numbering upwards of seven hundred volumes 
and pamphlets, and in none of them had he observed a 
similar proposition or idea broached. As a writer and 
thinker on important public matters, he has earned for 
himself an honored and respected name among the ad- 
vanced and progressive sentiment of the country, and 
wherever he is known, whether at home or abroad, his 
opinion and advice are solicited and made use of. As a 
practical reformer, he belongs to an advanced school, being 
foremost in proposing and carrying out ideas and projects 
tending to the improvement and advancement of his fellow 
men, particularly of the laboring classes. As a writer on 
matters pertaining to the coal trade, his experience of over 
forty-foiu" years in the anthracite region has fitletl him with 
peculiar and special qualifications. The great work which 
he undertook to publish, and which he had prepared for 
publication principally by Samuel II. Daddow, Mining 
Engineer, he only furnishing the statistics and outlines for 
the same, is entitled, Coal, Iron and Oil. It was the most 
expensive single volume issued by any publisher during 
the Rebellion, reflects great credit upon him, and has 
elicited from the London Mining yoitrnnl the statement, 
that no single volume ever published in England affords so 
much information on the subjects treated of in that publi- 
cation. Suggested by the peculiar circumstances of the 
time, he has, within a few months past, published a 
monograph on Our National Currency and /w7V to 
Improve it, which takes the ground, as originally suggested 
in his first circular of 1S57, of adopting an expanding 
limit to its issue, keeping the paper issue unconvertible 
into coin on demand hereafter, but allowing a proportion 
of it to be received in payment of duties; the legal 
tenders of the Government to be received in payment 
of taxes and debts due to the Government ; and the 
issue of national bank notes to the several banks in pro- 
portion to their wealth ; the fractional currency to be 
cancelled, and a debased silver coinage substituted, which 
would therefore always remain at home; this was done 
in England some forty years ago, and the consequence 
has been that they have always retained the silver. 
These features may be somewhat novel and startling 
at fii'st reading, but he has discussed his propositions 



so clearly and forcibly that by many it is believed they 
will be received with more favoi- as they are studied 
and comprehended by an impartial, unbiassed mind. 




/ 



^ 1^; ELLEY, WILLIAM DARRAH, Lawyer and Pol! 
tician, of Philadelphia, was born April 12th, 1S14, 
in the Northern Liberties, Philadelphia county. 
He is the youngest son of William and Hannah 
(Darrah) Kelley, and grandson of Major John 
Kelley, of the Revolutionary army. PI is birth 
occurred, it will be noticed, during the ** War of 1S12," and 
when business of all kinds was depressed. When peace 
was declared, the financial embarassments still continued, 
and almost every family w\as thereby affected, some being 
utterly wrecked in fortune. This was the fate reserved for 
the Kelley family, and to add to their distress, death re- 
moved the husband and father, leaving the widow without 
any estate, and with four little children to provide for and 
educate. Right nobly did she struggle against adversity 
and accomplish the great charge ; and, it may be added, she 
lived to witness the brilliant course pursued, and the honor- 
able stations filled, by her distinguished stm. Until he was 
eleven years old he attended school, and then made his first 
start in the battle of life, first as an errand hoy in a book- 
store, and afterwards as a copy-reader in the Inquirer office. 
Finally concluding to learn a trade, he was indentured as 
an apprentice in the jewelry manufactory of Rickards & 
Dubosq, with whom he remained until 1834. At this par- 
ticular period, there was an intense political fever pervading 
the whole country, and young Kelley was affected by it. 
He embraced the tenets of the Democratic party, and was 
so outspoken in their favor as to interfere with his efforts to 
obtain his daily bread. He therefore proceeded to Boston, 
where he effected an engagement with Clark & Curry, and 
remained there several years, laboring with the greatest in- 
dustry at his trade, and employing his leisure hours in study, 
contributing also to the periodical press, besides achieving 
no small fame as an eloquent lecturer and debater. He 
returned to Philadelphia, in 1S39, and shortly after entered 
the office of Colonel James Page, as a student at law. He 
was admitted to practice at the bar, April 17th, 1841, and 
at once attained an honorable and lucrative practice. In 
January, 1845, ''^ ^^^* appointed Deputy Prosecuting At- 
torney for the .State, and in March, 1846, was commissioned 
by Governor Shunk one of the Judges of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas. Here his course was put to a severe test in the 
celebrated contested election case of Reed vs. Kneass, where 
the Democratic party lost their case. For this act, he was 
ostracized by those with whom he had formerly sympathized. 
In 1S51, the Judiciary was made elective, and having been 
nominated on an independent ticket he was triumphantly 
elected, the people, to whom he appealed, thus confirming 
and vindicating liis course. During his last years of service 



144 



l;|(>(,I<ArMlirAI. ENCVCI.OP/KDIA. 




on the bench, the political horizon was disturlic-d hy ihc 
Rrpcal of the Missouri Compromise, lie saw his party 
hul become sectional in character, and he abaniloncil it 
forever. He may be termed one of the founders of the 
National Republican Party, his maiden speech on " Slavery 
in the Territories" having been delivered in 1S56. He 
was nominated for Congress in that year, but the party was 
too young to achieve success. He resigned his position as 
Tudge, and returned to the practice of his profession. In 
(»ctol)er, 1S60, he w.is returned as Rcpresrnt.ative in Con- 
gress from the Fourth District, and hxs ever since held that 
position. During his entire course in the National Legis- 
lature he has always stood in the advance line of his party, 
and is now regarded as one of its most prominent leaders. 



1 ACKER, HON. ASA, Railroad President, was 
born in New London county, Connecticut, in 
1S06. His paternal grandfather was Elisha 
Packer, the leading business man of his town, a 
farmer, tanner and shoe manufacturer; also a 
prominent member of a Christian church. The 
father of Asa w.is Elisha Packer, Jr., who was noted for 
good sense and industry, but was unsuccessful in business. 
The son was at an early age employed in the tannery of 
Elias Smith, of North Stonington, where he soon became 
the confidential friend and adviser of the proprietor of the 
establishment. This connection being severed by the 
death of his employer, the young man entered the service 
of John lirown, a farmer. At the age of seventeen, he 
resolved to seek fortune elsewhere, and accorilingly started 
on foot for Pennsylvania. He reached the town of Brook- 
lyn, Susquehanna county, with only a few dollars in his 
pocket, and his remaining possessions in a knapsack on his 
shoulder. Here he apprenticed himself to a carpenter and 
joiner, and, after acquiring the tr.ide, followed it industri- 
ously for several years. With l,abits of temperance and 
economy, he was enabled to save a consideralile jmjportion 
of his earnings, with which he purchased land on the 
upper Susquehanna, and thus laid the foundation of the 
princely fortune which he has since acquired. Here he 
entered upon the arduous and frugal life of a pioneer, 
clearing Land with his own hands and building the hut in 
which he resided for eleven years, and to which he con- 
ducted his young wife, a d.iughter of Joseph Blakeslee, one 
of the pioneers of Northern Pennsylvania. In the spring 
of 1833, he left his farm in Susquehanna county and settled 
pennanenlly in the Lehigh Valley, with whose interests he 
has ever since bciin most prominently identified, and whose 
immense resources he has done so much to develop, The 
great we.alth of this section in coal, iron, timber, lime, ce- 
ment and slate, had been made partially available by the 
improvements introduced by Josiah White and Erskine 
Hazard, of Philadelphia. With a few hundred dollars 



capit.il, he engageil in boating coal from Mauch Chunk to 
Philadelphia, acting as master of his own boat, and displ.iy- 
ing that energy and perseverance which have ever been his 
marked traits. His business talents brought him to the 
notice of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, with 
which he became connected, greatly to his advantage, and 
with which he remained associated for many years. He 
then, in company with his brother, Robert, went into a 
general merchan<lising business in Mauch Chunk, the firm 
name being A. & R. W. Packer. The house rapidly ac- 
quired prominence, and soon became extensively known 
for its large transactions both on the Lehigh and Schuyl- 
kill rivers. Through his coal mining oper.ations, he was 
brought into close relatii>ns with the late Commodore Stock- 
ton, between whom and himself there sprang up a wann 
and enduring friendship. These relations were of great 
service to him, especially when he was pushing to comple- 
tion that great enterprise, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, when 
Commodore Stockton, the New Jersey Railroad Company, 
and other rich corporations which were to be bencfiierl by 
this improvement, came forward and made large advances 
by subscriptions to its stock and bonds. The Lehigh Valley 
Railroad was completed and delivered to the company, Sep- 
tember 4th, 1855. The addition which this railroad has 
made to his fortune is computed by millions. To his sug- 
gestions and efforts were mainly due the extension of a line 
of railroad through the Susquehanna Valley, the great table- 
lands of the State of New York, and connecting with the New 
York and Erie Railroad. In 1865, on his return from a visit to 
Europe, he endowed that excellent and widely-known insti- 
tution, the Lehigh University, donating for the purpose sixty 
acres of Land and $500,000 in money. His intention was 
to found an institution where yimng men coulil pursue the 
study of any branch of knowledge which they might desire. 
The University was formally opened, September 1st, 1866, 
and has so far fully realized the intentions of its founder, 
and is a source of pride to the State in which it is located, 
as well .as a m.agnificent monument to the taste, judgment 
and liber.ility of its projector. It has already taken rank 
among the foremost educational establishments of this 
country. The energy and skill with which he h.is carried 
out his great railroad and mining enterprises have won for 
him a position second to none in his Stale as a developer 
of the great natural resources of the commonwealth and a 
promoter of her material prosperity. His popularity, and 
the entire confidence which his fellow citizens repose in his 
integrity, have caused him to be much sought as a candi- 
date for various public offices. He has served in the Legis- 
lature of th'e State for several years, acquiring a praise- 
w-orlhy reputation as an efficient working member. In 
1843, he was elected Judge of the County Court, for the 
county in which he resides, and held the position for five 
years. He represented his district for two consecutive 
terms in the Congress of the United States. In 1868, he 
polled a veiy heavy vote as nominee of the Democratic 




A 



//^Xyir^M^c^-^^e 



'e^-a-i^.^ 



RIOGRAPIIICAI. F.NXVCI.OP.EDIA. 



•45 




ptirty for Governor of Pennsylvania, Imt ihe Slate was too 
RepulilicaTi in tone to admit of his election. An energetic 
business man and the possessor of a magnificent fortune, 
he has gained a national reputation by his various public 
enterprises, and especially by his liberal endowment of 
Lehigh University. 

•'^^^OMLY, SETII I., Merchant, was born in Phila- 
delphia, in 1815. He conies of the old stock of 
orthodox Quakers. His father, Charles Comly, 
was a prominent merchant of Philadelphia, 
having been the senior partner in the firm of 
Comly & Allen, one of the largest and most 
influential shipping houses in the city. During the financial 
crisis, that extending from the year 1814 to 1818, caused 
such widespread disaster, the firm failed. Charles Comly 
then removed from the city to Milton, Northumberland 
county, in the same State ; commenced business again, in 
1820, as a general merchant, and proved very successful. 
In seventeen years he had amassed a competeijpy and re- 
tired. He only lived to enjoy his well-earned Case for 
three years, his death occurring in 1840. A man of the 
strictest commeixial probity, singular ability, niaiijj virtues, 
and kindliest disposition, he commanded the higli.est^^i 
of all with whom he came in contact. His'.Jon lecgjy^ a 
sound education at the Milton Academy, glU^hl(A*R«vj 
Ijr. George Judkin, as President of the Boird,pJE Trusteies, 
and Rev. David Kirkpatrick, as Principr^, \vere' the then 
controlling authorities. Among his ,- school-mai^s .-w^.i;)? 
many who have made themselves honpred-_n.^iies in politics; 
commerce, literature or science. Governors '• Pollack and 
Curlin, with his brother Joshua W. Comly, the distinguished 
lawyer, being some of the more prominent. Leavingschool, 
at about the age of eighteen, he was taken by his father into 
the business at Milton, and on the retirement of the latter, 
in 1S37, he carried on the establishment with marked tact, 
enterprise and success. Ten years later, desiring a some- 
what more extended sphere of action, he removed to Balti- 
more, Maryland, and opened an office as commission mer- 
chant. He remained there but three years ; came to Phila- 
delphia, and in a short time entered the flour, grain and 
produce commission business, as a member of the firm of 
Budd & Comly. This copartnership, after continuing for a 
period of sixteen years, was dissolved by the retirement of 
H. Budd. The remaining partner then associated with 
himself his nephew, Charles C. Norris, and the style of the 
firm was changed to S. I. Comly & Co., by which title it 
still remains known to, and gieatly respected by, the com- 
mercial community. This choice of a partner has proved 
very judicious, the new member showing himself a tho- 
roughly informed man of business, prompt and energetic, 
honorable, and pleasing in manners. The firm occupies, 
and has occupied for some years, extensive stores on Market 
street, below Twenty-first, four adjoining buildings being 
19 



included in the establishment. Its senior partner has oc- 
cujiicd some important positions of trust in Philadelphia. 
In 1S71, he was elected President of the Commercial Ex- 
change Association, and continued to discharge the respon- 
sible duties of that office with entire acceptability to all the 
members of the association until the beginning of 1873, 
when he retired therefrom. He is also Vice-President of 
the Girard Life Insurance and Trust Company. Although 
he has never manifested any deep interest in politics, he 
has always performed his duty to the country as a consistent 
member of the Republican party. During March, of 1872, 
the office of the Collector of the port of Philadelphia being 
vacant through the retirement of Colonel J. W. Forney, he 
was appointed by the President to fill the vacancy. Having 
as a business man been long and favorably known to the 
community, the news of his appointment was received with 
much satisfaction by the merchants of Philadelphia. A 
well-destrved compliment was paid to the sterling integrity 
and high reputation of the appointee by the United States 
Senate, the nomination being unanimously confirmed. The 
able and impartial manner in which he has so far discharged 
?he duties df'lhe position eminentlyjustifies the Presidential 
choice. With natural advantages, improved by a superior 
education, ahd''combined with wide experience in business 
and Knowledge' of the world, he is thoroughly qualified 
for jiublic positions of trust. He is very systematic in 
his busini^''haBits,»and possessed of rem.-irkal)le adminis- 
trative aMlify.*' As a spe::ker he has won honors of no mean 
d(?|;iVe.* ^()n the o?cS.sioh of hVs inauguration as President 
of the Commer^al Exchange, again on the reception of 
Piesidei^i&.G'rant at the Chamber of Conmierce, and on his 
retiremeirt from the office "bf President of the Exchange, he 
delivered .addresses evidencing a full appreciation of the 
Commercial position and prospects of Philadelphia. 



ONALDSON, HON. WILLIAM, Merchant, was 
born in Danville, Pennsylvania, on July 28lh, 
1799. His father was John Donaldson, and his 
grandfather William Donaldson, a soldier of the 
Revolutionary war, throughout its entire period. 
.'Vt the age of seven years he was left fatherless, 
and with his widowed" mother and several sisters struggled 
successfully for support, ahd in addition acquired a fair Eng- 
lish education. He learned the business of a merchant with 
the late Matthew Newkirk, in Philadelphia, and soon after- 
wards started in his native town of Danville. There his ex- 
tensive operations in the purchase and sale of grain and other 
products of the country, then sent to market in aiks on the 
Susquehanna river, made him widely and favorably known 
to all the leading merchants and dealers in the Valley of the 
Susquehanna, as far south as Baltimore. In 1829, he 
married a daughter of John Conden, a merchant of Northum- 
berland, Pennsylvania. In 1837, he became the principal 



140 



UllHiUAl'lIICAL ENCVCLUIMCDIA. 



owner of a very large body of coal laiuls in ihc western 
part of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. At that time this 
portii)n of the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania was 
undeveloped and in a stale of comparative wilderness. Al- 
most wholly unaided, he grasped the project of developing 
this portion of the coal field. Its accomplishment by the 
construction of a railroad and the erection of colliery im- 
provements necessarily involved the outlay of a very large 
amount of c.ipital and a delay of years of lime. Nothing 
daunted, this work was undertaken. The Swatara Rail- 
road was commenced with him as president. The Donald- 
son Improvement and Railroad Coitipany was organized 
with the same president. The town of Donaldson was 
l.iid out on the properly. Soon the railroad was finished 
which connected these and vast bodies of other coal lands 
with the Mine Hill Railroad and Union Canal, while nume- 
rous extensive .and costly collieries were erected on the land. 
Machine shops, hotels, churches, and houses to accommo- 
ilate a population of several thousand inhabitants, now make 
lip the town of Donaldson. The borough of Tremont, one 
mile south, and of about equal population and industries, 
was also the direct result of these improvements inaugurated 
and carried to completion by the same leadership. Thus a 
wilderness was converted into a productive territory that 
iiflfords support to thousands of inhabitants by his almost 
sin'de-handed efforts. lie remained in the control of the 
Swatara Railroad Company and of the Donaldson Improve- 
ment and Railroad Company until 1S63, when he retired 
from their management. While at Danville, he was ap- 
puinted an Associate Judge for Columbia county by Gover- 
nor David R. Porter, entirely without solicitation on his 
part or that of mere personal friends. This appointment 
was confirmed by the Senate unanimously. In politics up 
to this time, and for a long period afterwards, he was a 
Democrat of the " old school," but never sought office. 
He and the late Justice Grier of the United St.iles Supreme 
Court pajticipatcd in the first meeting in support of General 
Andrew Jackson for the Presidency ever held in Danville. 
Afterwards he co-operated with the Democratic party until 
about 1848, when he was made elector on the " Free Soil " 
electoral ticket. Since then he has been a member of the 
Republican party. Since 1863 he has almost entirely re- 
tired from actual business pursuits — of a vei"y active mind 
and temperament, he has not however been by any means 
idle. No truer or firmer friend ever lived, and in the de- 
fence of what he believed to be right he has always been 
unyielding and uncompromising. His family consists of a 
son and three daughters. The eldest married Theodore 
Garrettson, the second James B. Beatly, both coal operators, 
and owners of extensive collieries, and the youngest Colonel 
H. K. Nichols, resident engineer of the Philadelphia and 
Reading Railro.ad Company. He has been for over fifty 
years a member of the Grand Lodge of Ancient York 
Masons, of Pennsylvania. The charter for the Danville 
Lodge, No. 224, was granted to him .as Woi'shipful Master. 



He still retains his place as a member of that lodge. He 
is an active participant in the affairs and management of the 
Presbyterian Ghurch. The congregation at Pottsville, or- 
ganized in 1857, and now under the pastoral charge of the 
Rev. Dr. Smiley, formerly of the Rev. Dr. Plummer, re- 
ceives his especial interest and support. It is known as 
the Second Presbyterian Church. 




RODHKAI), CHARLES, President of the Beth- 
lehem and Stroudsburg Railroad, was born at 
Conyngham, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, Au- 
gust 4th, 1824. He is descended from Daniel 
Brodhead, of Yorkshire, England, who was a 
captain of grenadiers under Charles II., and 
joined Colonel Nichols' expedition which took possession 
of the New Netherlands, in 1664, after which event he 
settled in Ulster county, New Jersey. He had a son, 
Richard, born in 1666, whose son, Daniel, born in 1693, 
removed to Brodhead's Creek, near Stroudsburg, and died 
at Bethlehem in 1755. Another son. Garret, was an officer 
in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war, 
while a third son, Albert Gall.itin, the father of the subject 
of this sketch, still living at Bethlehem, was a prominent 
merchant at C" r.ngham for many years, and was a mem- 
ber of the Pennsylvania State Legislature from 1832 to 1S34. 
Charles Brodhead gr.aduated at La(;»yetle College, then 
under the control of President Junkin and Professor You- 
mans, after which he entered the law office of his uncle, 
Richard, then a Representative in Congress from the Tenth 
District. Having completed his studies in the office of 
David Hoffman, of PhiKidelphia, he was admitted to the 
Northampton bar, in 1846, and continued his practice at 
this place until lS49,bLing Solicitor under Sheriff llillman. 
His uncle, Richard, being elected to the United Stales 
Senate, in 1S50, Charles enlerod into a law partnership wilh 
him, but reliie<l after three years and located in Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania, in 1854. Foreseeing the future importance 
of this valley, he bought from Mr. Joseph Hess what was 
known as the Jacobi farm, consisting of one hundred and 
three acres, for which he paid $200 per acre. He also 
bought ninely-seven .acres from the old Duckenback farm, and 
extended Mr. C A. Duckenback's plan of Augusta, changing 
the name to Welhcrill, in honor of Colonel Samuel Weth- 
erill, founder of the Prince works at that place. Excepting 
seven acres given to Lehigh University, all of this land is 
now covered with the streets, manufactories, and dwellings 
of south Bethlehem, the main avenue from the university 
to the railroad depot being named Brodhead. In the sum- 
mer of 1S58, he married Camilla, only daughter of General 
Conrad Shinier, a State Senator, and the largest owner of 
farm lands in the county where he resided. In 1S62, he 
projected a railroad from Bethlehem to Stroudsburg, of 
which he has ever since been President. In connection 



i 




' 



BIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCL0P.4iDIA. 



'■17 




with A. Wade and William Chapman, he, in 1S64, organ- 
ized the Chapman Slate Company, which has produced 
more slate than any other company in the country. He 
was also an original corporator of the Belhlehem Iron 
Company, one of the largest rolling mills in the State, and 
the founder of other successful industries which have added 
greatly to the population, wealth and power of his section 
and State. He is a consistent and resolute Democrat, but 
was never a candidate for olBcc until 1 87 1, when he was 
elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of 
Pennsylvania. He is a man of eminently progressive 
ideas, of great industry and enterprise. Probably nb ofe 
has done more than he to develop the resources of the 
section in which he resides. 



ANDENBERGER, MARTIN, Manufacturei-, was 
born at Ebengen, Germany, in 1S18. Hi^fa^her, 
who was engaged in the same business at Woir- 
temburg, was able to give his son a good educu; 
tion ; and, believing it to bt;, for his childr^i'-s 
benefit, emigrated to this couftlty and esUiblished 
himself at once in Philadelphia, where he^.j;;^rt^liced'his 
son to M. Drenshaw, a native of P'ranoe^A\*h()-\tt^'-carryLug 
on the manufacture of hosiery, in Delawatef. AftM^enjjinj. 
ing there two years, he entered theemployiupji^fpjosq^i 
liutton, of Germantown, who was the i)roprietor of the first 
factory ever established in the vjcjuity of_ Philadelpjjia: 
With him he worked steadily and indiislriqublj',.and,-^y 
the year 1843, had saved from his wages suflicient.mgjvej; 
to buy himself a loom, and began business on hisp.wn ac- 
count. That was a period of "hard times," and, though 
he felt the pressure, he was not disheartened, but redoubled 
his activity, and was rewarded, at the end of one year, by 
having to employ three journeymen in his business. The 
panic of 1847, which proved so disastrous to S9me others, 
was a source of benefit to him ; for, having cash on hand, 
he look advantage of the depression in the wool market to 
make extensive purchases, and found his investment to be 
eventually a most profitable one. In 1849, ^^^ order to 
meet the increasing demands of his business, ^he moved 
into a new building, containing eighteen loon}S, and. at the 
same time built a house for Jumself at\d family, ojjposite to 
the factory, having been married three years previously. 
Although his means at that time were insufficient to enable 
him to introduce steam power into his establishment, he 
still continued to prosper, his business increasing annually, 
till, in seven years from his taking possession of the new 
premises, he found them too small for his needs, and he 
also felt the imperative necessity of employing steam power. 
Accordingly, in 1S56, he purchased the siCe on which the 
present factory now stands, and erected upon it one of the 
most commodious and extensive stocking factories in the 
country. The building is fi->rty fi\ e bv two hundred feet, 



four and a half stories high, and complete in all its details. 
About this lime he admitted into partnership Charles 
Wyler, and his two sons, Martin and Charles Landenberger, 
the present name of the firm being Martin Landenberger & 
Co. Besides the factoiy above alluded to, two others are 
owned by the firm, which they purchased in 1S62. These 
branch mills are situated at Landenberg, Chester county, 
and are driven by water power, which, at that place, is as 
good as at any point in the State. In the comparatively 
brief space of thirty years, this business has increased enor- 
mously; the manufacture, which, during the first year, 
am(JuDt«4 I^t Siooo, now reaches to near $1,000,000, and 
the" thcfce, mills employ from 1000 to 1200 hands. All the 
saleT'B.re effected through the agency of a commission house 
in Ne»!;'^1t.* 

f* «^ ■■'■ .;. . 

EljO^ BENJAMIN, Artist, was born at Spring- 
field, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, on October 
loth, 1738. He came of Quaker parentage, and 
(^/rtj rained his •connection with the Society of 
Friends through the whole of his life. When 
fjnite ,a Small boy, he astonished his family by 
itecidei,! evidjgnces,(5{- stuong artistic talent, and he received 
yich c6ra]Bi'ti\dati(?ns-/o7'hi3^intutored efforts that he deter- 
mined,. iiiSBpixisitipit to The Wishes of many of his friends, 
tO' become i asp^iater. . Aththesiearly age of seventeen, he 
remov;p(^to4'hi,lad?^ll>liiaia.ndi commenced to paint portraits, 
and.H'as^iiieasi'.r.ably.sucGessful, although his performances 
¥'ej"e,ve.fy .crudejsuld :uncultured. As there were abso- 
lutcli>rno -facililics-^br the proper study of art on this side 
of ,the-A.tlantic, so soon as he could obtain the means, he 
went to Europe, and in 1760 found his way to Rome, for 
the purpose of studying the masterpieces of Raphael, 
Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and other great 
artists, there preserved. Shortly after his arrival in Rome, 
he made the acquaintance of Raphael Mengo, the distin- 
guished German artist, and speedily a warm friendship 
sprung up between the two. Mengo aided the young 
American very materially by directing his studies and by 
giving him good advicei. From Rome Mr. West proceeded 
to London, where hcv^pened astudio, and in a compara- 
tively short time won his ^^;ay to,, the favor of the most 
aris)pcratic-ptQtni'e;buyers,N^i'ho purchased his works at 
liberal jiric'es. ^ Ifis: pictitreof Agrifpiiia^anding with the 
AshcSf'ii/Gei'manictis having met the eye of George III., 
that., "monarch ^begame much interested in him, and finally 
made him the Court Painter. The honor of knighthood 
was offered him by the king, when he succeeded Sir Joshua 
Reynolds as President of the Royal Academy, in 1792, but 
the Quaker principles of the artist would not permit him to 
accept. The king, however, continued to be a generous 
patron, purchasing pictures at large prices himself, and in- 
ducing others to do so. The work which brought him 
prominently into notice as an able and original artist wai 



ms 



ItlOGRArillCAI. 



his Death of IVolfe. In lliis he departed from the absurd 
cu.stom of ihc historical painters of the day, of representing 
modern heroes in antique garb, and he endeavored to give 
a spirited and faithful representation of the actual scene. 
The picture, which was a wonderfully fine piece of compo- 
sition, was a brilliant success, and it not only made the 
artist's reputation, but it completely revolutionized the art 
of historical painting. The favor with which this work 
was received encouraged him to undertake another elabo- 
rate composition, and he accordingly painted his great 
picture of Clirisl J/ealing the Sick, which is now in the 
British National Gallery, and a copy of which, presented 
by the artist, belongs to the Pennsylvania Hospital. His 
large picture of I'aiil and Barnabas, now in the possession 
of the .\cademy of Kine Arts, was presented by his son to 
the city of Philadelphia, and was given by the city to the 
academy in exchange for Mr. Sully's portrait of Lafayette. 
The academy also possesses one of his most elaborate and 
important works. Death on the Pale lloise ; also a fine full 
length portrait of himself, painted by himself, llie Bailie 
of La Hogiie; Regiiliis a Prisoner with the Carthaginians ; 
The Departure of Regulus ; Penn's Treaty with the 
Indians; The Death of Sir Philip Sidney; Py lades and 
Orestes; 7 he Death of Bayard ; I/aniilear Swearing the 
Infant Hannibal at the Altar ; King Lear ; and IlamUt 
and Ophelia are the subjects of sofne of his most ini|)ortant 
works. lie died in London, in 1820, at the ripe age of 
eighty two. He was a man of extreme amiability of dis- 
l>Qsition, spotless purity of character, and was greatly 
beloved by all who had the honor of his acquaintance. He 
was especially cordial with young artists, and such as had 
merit could always command his assistance in their efforts 
at advancement. He h.id an originality and vigor of con- 
ception far superior to any of the Knglish artists with whom 
he was associated, but he was not always successful in 
giving his ideas exiiression. Mis knowledge of drawing 
was imperfect, his style of painting thin .and poor, and he 
frequently burdened himself with tasks beyond his powers. 
It was unfortunately the fashion during his time to paint 
huje pictures tilled with life-size figures, under the crrone- 
<uis idea that grand effects could only be produced on large 
canvases, and it is certain that his reputation of today 
would be much higher than it is had he painled smaller 
pictures and different subjects. His genius did not natu- 
rally incline to the heroic, but to the idyllic; and some of 
his minor works, ui>on which he placed but a small value, 
are now prized more highly by connoisseurs than his elabo- 
rate comiiositions. Had he lived in this time, he would 
doubtless have been a genre painter of great excellence; 
but xs it was, his talents were to a great extent wasted. 
In spite of their defects, however, his large pictures have 
merits of no common order, and his painting of Death on 
the Pale Horse, in particular, h.is a certain grandeur of 
conception that even the feeble execution of a large portion 
of it cannot altogether obliterate 




EN'CVCLOl'.ICDIA. 
^ V 
EAGLE, JOHN, Artist, was born in Boston, on 
the 4th of November, 1799. His parents were 
Philadelphians, and were on a visit to Boston 
when the future portrait p-ainter came into the 
world. At a very early age he conceived a great 
fondness for art, but most likely had but little 
idea originally of adopting it as a profession. He selected 
coach painting as the trade by which he proposed to make 
his living, and it is probable that the manipulation of colors 
stimulated his natural t-asles and encouraged him to study 
for the purpose of becoming an artist. In 1818, he began 
to paint portraits in Philadelphia, but his efforts did not 
meet with the desired jiecuniary success, and he accord- 
ingly removed to Lexington, Kentucky. There he con- 
tended for a long time against many advei^e circumstances, 
until at length he achieved a lucky hit with a )X)rtrait of a 
wealthy sitter, who urged him to go to New Orleans, 
where he would undoubtedly be able to find abundant 
patronage. In New Orleans he made both re]>utation and 
money, and when he returned to Philadelphia, in 1820, he 
was in a position to command his own prices. He there 
married a daughter of Thomas Sully, and settled down for 
life. .\ certain vigorous j)ictures(pieness of style, combino<l 
with an extraordinary faculty for catching a likeness, in- 
duced many eminent pei-sons to sit for him, and to the end 
of his life he remained one of the most popular portrait 
painters in the country. His best work is his portrait of 
Pat Lyon, the Locksmith, now in the jKjssession of the 
Pennsylvani.-i Academy of Fine Arts. It is an exceedingly 
fine specimen of truly artistic portraiture, and had an im- 
mense effect in extending the painter's reputation. This 
picture was painted in 1826. Another notable work is his 
portrait of Ilcnry Clay, in the possession of the Union 
League Club, of Phil.adelphia. This is the best portrait 
of the great Kentucky Statesman in existence, and it gives 
a most spirited representation of him as he appeared when 
at the height of his popularity. In addition to the portrait 
of Pat Lyon, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts also 
(losscsses one of Mi-s. Wood, the singer, in the character 
of" Amina," in the opera of" La .Sunnambula." A por- 
trait of Washington, from his pencil, is in Independence 
Hall, .\niong the distinguished persons who sat to this 
artist may be mentioned Matthew Carey, Dr. Chapman 
and Conmiodore Harrow. His death occurred in 1865. 



<E^^;^OMLV, JOSHUA W., Lawyer, was born in Phila 
delphia, November l6lh, 1810. His parents, 
Charles and Sarah Wright Comly, were members 
of the Society of Friends, and his primary edu- 
cation was received at the school of Isaac Taylor, 
a teacher connected with that body. His father 
having removed to Milton, Northumberland county, the 
boy was placed in the school of J. D. Byles, of that town. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



149 



but afterwards entered tlie academy of David Kirkpatrick, 
under whose tuition he was prepared foi" his entrance into 
Princeton College. In 1826, he joined the Junior Class in 
advance, in that institution, wjiere he graduated in the fol- 
lowing year. On leaving college, he commenced the 
study of law, in tlie office of Samuel Hepburn, of Milton,- 
and was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county 
November I7lh, 1 830. He began the practice of law at 
Orwigsburgh, Schuylkill county, continuing to reside there 
till 1S34, when he returned to Milton. In 1835, he re- 
moved to Danville, which has since been his residence and 
place of business. In 1S51, he was nominated to the 
Judgeship of the Supreme Court of the State, but failed to 
obtain an election. At the commencement of his profes- 
sional career, he experienced many difficulties, and was 
obliged to struggle hard to obtain the position which he 
subsequently won, that of one of the most eminent barris- 
ters of Central Pennsylvania. His practice, at the present 
time, extends to all the courts, and comprehends a wide 
circuit. He is the brother of S. I. Comly, Collector of the 
Port of Philadelphia. In private life, he is distinguished 
for his scholarship, cultivated taste and the generosity of 
his character. 

(^ ^ ^^^ 

^■^^^ETERSON, T. B., Publisher, of Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania, was born in that city on January 
14th, 1S23, of American parents. His first busi- 
ness experience was obtained in a dry-goods 
store and as clerk in a shipping house on the 
wharf; but, being dissatisfied with his prospects, 
he fortunately resolved to learn the printing and stereo- 
typing business. He made such rapid progress in these 
arts that, when in his twentieth year, he became foreman 
in the office of the Saturday Evciiitig and Spirit of the 
Times, a journal published by George R. Graham and C. 
J. Peterson, the latter his elder brother. He retained that 
position for two years, when he determined to commence 
business for himself. He began, in 1845, in a small store 
at No. 302 Chestnut street, with a capital of less than ten 
dollars, and, in the following year, issued his first regular 
publication. The Divorced, by Lady Charlotte Bury, at 
twenty-five cents, when the London edition cost over seven 
dollars, and from that time to the present has continued 
publishing and stereotyping most of the popular American 
and English books. In 1S53, requiring more room, he re- 
moved lo the large store at No. 306 in the same stieet, 
where his business increased largely, and was still further 
developed, in 1S58, by the admission into partnership of 
his younger brothers, George and Thomas, who had been 
trained in his store. The firm now became T. B. Peterson 
& Brothers, and, under the judicious guidance of the senior 
member, combined with the strenuous exertions of the 
juniors, has grown to be the largest publishing house of 
cheap books in the country. The firm owns the copyrights 



and stereotyped plates of over one thousand works, in 
various departments of literature, which they are con- 
stantly republishing. This immense collection of plates 
cost over half a million of dollars, and, for safely, is kept 
in fire-proof vaults under ground. Their stock of books, 
bound and unbound and in sheets, is also veiy large and 
valuable, and, on an average, numbers about a million 
volumes — new editions of works being seldom reprinted 
under a thousand copies. The house publishes twenty-two 
different editions of the works of Charles Dickens, at prices 
ranging from ten to one hundred dollars a set, and is also 
the sole publisher of the novels of Ann S. Stephens, Mrs. 
Southworth, Charles Lever, Alexander Dumas, and many 
others : in fact, hardly any novelist of repute is unrepre- 
sented in its publications. The founder of the house did 
not achieve this eminent success without the most unremit- 
ting industry. For years after the commencement of his 
enterprise, he was constantly at his store, from 7 in the 
morning till 9 at night, or even later, and examined manu- 
scripts at home after business hours. 



AWRENCE, GEORGE V., Farmer and Poli- 
tician, was born in Washington county, Penn- 
fsylvania, in the year 1818. He sprang from a 
family eminent in public service, his father, 
Joseph Lawrence — long in political life in Penn- 
sylvania — having been sent to the Legislature 
from 1S19 to 1826, and from 1834 to 1836, appointed State 
Treasurer in 1837, and in Congress for two terms. In 
1842, he died, while sei-ving his term in Congress. His 
uncles, John and .Samuel Lawrence, were sent to the 
Legislature from Beaver county. Having obtained his 
education in the best schools the country afiforded, with the 
addition of one year at Washington College, from which 
he retired on account of ill health, he applied himself to 
farming, doing much of the labor there with his own 
hands, and directing the scientific cultivation of the soil. 
In 1844, the citizens of his district elected him to the 
Legislature, and a second time, in 1847. So well satisfied 
were they with his actions, that they urged him to accept 
the nomination for the Senate, in 1 848, to which he con- 
sented, was elected, and sei-ved faithfully for three years. 
In 1858, he was again elected to the Legislature, and re- 
turned in 1859, when his brother, William C. Lawrence, 
was Speaker, having been elected three terms successively 
from Dauphin county. He was elected to the Senate ' 
from Washington and Greene, in i860, overcoming 1000 
Democratic majority, and served until 1863, being Speaker 
during the session of 1862. His brother, Samuel Law- 
rence, was in the House as a member; during part of the 
last term in the Senate. In 1864, he was elected to Con- 
gress from the Twenty-fourth Congressional District, com- 
posed of the counties of Greene, Washington, Beaver and 



ISO 



BIOGRATHICAL ENCVCLOP/tDIA. 



Lawrence, and reflected in 1866, serving on important 
committees in all the deliheralive bodies of which he was 
a meml)er. In October, 1872, he was elected as one of the 
delegates at large to the Convention to amend the Consti- 
tution of the Stale, and was Chairman of the Committee on 
Counties, Horoughs and Tov»iishi[is. This year completed 
his fifteenth of public ser\'icc. He was a Whi-;, and then a 
Kepublican ; has attended many Slate conventions, and was 
the President of two Republican Conventions of the State 
of Pennsylvania. He married, in 1839, Elizabeth Welsh, 
daughter of William Welsh, a prominent citizen of 
Wxshington. This lady dying, he married a second time, 
in 1S57, Mary Reed, daughter of Rev. John Reed, an emi- 
nent minister of the Presbyterian Church. That lie comes 
of a thoroughly Presbyterian stock is evinced by the fact 
thai there are connected with him by blood and marriage 
scvcnleen ministers and twenty-four elders of that denomi- 
n.ition. 



I OI.LOCK, JAM ES, Lawyer, Ex-Governor of Penn- 
sylvania, was born in Milton, Northumberland 
county, Pennsylvania, on September Ilth, 1810, 
of American parents. When he was seven years 
of age, his father (William) died, leaving his 
education to the care of his mother (Sarah), whose 
strong intellect and sincere piely left a marked impress on 
the character of her child. He enjoyed the advant-ige of a 
liberal education, which was terminated at the college at 
Princeton, New Jersey, where he graduated in September, 
1831, with the highest honors of his class and the degree 
of A. B. He also obtained from the same institution the 
degrees of A. M. and LL. D., and, in 1857, the last honor 
was again conferred on him by the Jefferson College, 
I'ennsylvania. After pursuing a course of legal studies 
under Samuel Hepburn, of Milton, he was adn\ilted to the 
bar of Northumberland county in November, 1833, and, 
in April of the following year, he opened an office in the 
same town, practising his pfofession till 1835, when he was 
appointed District Attorney for his county, and served as 
such for three years. During his tenure of this office, he 
was married, on December 19th, 1837, to Sarah Ann, 
daughter of Samuel Hepburn. Though a Whig in politics, 
he was elected, in 1S44, to Congress frmi the then strongly 
Democratic Thirteenth District, and was twice reelected. 
His career in Congress, both in the House and in com- 
niiltee, left him an honorable record for warmly advocating 
' all the great commercial and industrial movements of the 
day. He took a prominent part in the discussions upon 
the bills relative to the organization of new Territories and 
the question of slavery involved therein, displaying, in his 
speeches on those subjects, broad and national views. In 
the Thirtieth Congress, he offered a resolution for the ap- 
pointment of a committee to inquire into the feasibility of 
constructing a r.oilroad to the Pacific co.ast. The committee 



being appointed, he was chosen its Chairman, and in June, 
1848, submitted a report recommending the building of the 
road ; this being the first favorable official act, on the part 
of the United .States Congres*, on this subject. In the same 
year, he predicted, in a public lecture, that in less than 
twenty five years a railroad would run from New York to 
San Francisco, and a line of steamers ply between th- 
latter port and China and Japan. His prediction has been 
verified within the given time. In 1S50, he was appointed 
President Judge of the Eighth Judicial District, and held 
that office till, by an amendment to the Constitution, it was 
required that the judges should be elected by the people. 
He refused to become a candidate, and retired from the 
bench to resume his practice of the l.iw. In 1854, he was 
nominated for Governor of Pennsylvania, and elected by a 
large majority, being inaugurated in January of the follow- 
ing year. He, however, served but one term, declining to 
become a candidate for reSlection. His administration 
was marked by the passage of many important acts. A 
plan was adopted for the reduction of the State debt, 
and nearly $2,000,000 «ere applied thereto, as well as 
57,500,000, a sum received from the Pennsylvania Central 
Railroad Company for ihc purchase of the " public works." 
Acts, increasing the efficiency of the common schools and 
providing for retrenchment and reform in the various de- 
partments, were also passed. On the expiration of his 
term, he again resumed his practice at the bar, and, in 
lS6o, was appointed as representative from Pennsylvania 
to a conference held between delegates from the Northern 
and Southern States, to endeavor to settle political diffi- 
culties and avoid an appeal to arms ; and, in the subsequent 
discussions of that body, he bore a conspicuous part. He 
held the office of Director of the United States Mint, at 
Phil.adelphia, from M.ay, 1S61, to October, l86b, when he 
resigned ; but resumed the position, by commission from 
the President, in 1S69, with its present title of Superintend- 
ent. It was by his suggestion that the motto, " In God we 
Trust," wan placed on certain of the national coins. As a 
politician, his course has been most prosperous and philan- 
thropic. He has been a constant advocite of popular edu- 
cation, temperance, improvements in prison discipline and 
the diffusion of the Bible, and enjoys a well merited popu- 
larity, which, though undemonstrative, is warm and general. 



RETZ, CHRISTIAN, Merchant, was born in 
Heidelberg township, Northampton (now Le- 
high) county, Pennsylvania, April 29th, iSoi. 
Philip Pretz, his father, emigrated to this country 
from Windesheim, near Kreutznach, on the 
Rhine, about the year 1785. A careful education 
at various academics, at Easton, Morristown and Phila- 
delphia, was given him, and he was then pl.nced with a 
firm in the wholesale dry goods business in Philadelphia, 




LIOGKAPIllCAL ENCVCLOP.-KDIA. 



151 



as salesman. Having remained there two years, he engaged 
as clerk with White, Hants & Hazard, of Maunch Chunk, 
and a year later as salesman again with David R. King & 
Co., at Allentovvn. This firm he and his brother subse- 
quently bought out, and there he has continued unintor- 
ruijtedly for thirty^seven years, with various changes in 
partners, but with a generally constant prosperity which 
has brought wealth and influence. In 1S30, he served a 
year in the Legislature of the State, having been sent there 
on the Anti-Mason ticket. Since then, he has been elected 
as Member of Councils, School Director, and has also been 
Treasurer and Secretary of the Allentown Rolling Mill 
Company for several years. His marriage occurred in 1821, 
and he has five sons and one daughter. 



?HARPLESS, TOWNSEND, Merchant, was born 
in Philadelphia, in 1793, his parents, Jesse and 
Joanna Sharpless, being both members of the 
,. Society of Friends. He was educated in the city 
V^y of his birth, where he started the dry goods busi- 
ness, on his own account) in 1S14, with a capital 
of $1000. By strict attention to busine.ss, he gradually en- 
larged Tiis operations until, at the time of his retirement, in 
1S48, they had reached ^325,000 per annum. At this date 
the business was transacted under the firm name of T. 
Sharpless & Sons. They were succeeded by Sharpless 
Brothers, whose business amounted, in 1S63, to S 1,500,000 
per annum. From 1S64 to 1S72, the house was managed 
liy C. L. Sharpless alone, but in 1S72 the latter took his 
two sons into partnership with him, as Sharpless & Sons, 
their business at that date reaching g2, 250,000 per annum. 
He was aii Old Line Whig in politics, and since the break- 
ing up of that party he has been in hearty sympathy with 
the Republican organization. He has been associated in 
the management of many of the benevolent institutions of 
I'hila.lelphia. 



EIRCE, WHXIAM S., Jurist, was born at New 
Castle, Delaware, September 3d, 1S15. He be- 
longs to one of the oldest families in that State, 
his ancestors having settled there about i68o, at 
which early day they removed from New Eng- 
land, where the family names are found among 
the promoters of the Plymouth settlement, and patentees 
of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in the years 1620-23. H^ 
received his preliminary education in New Castle, where, 
besides the ordinary branches of an English education, he 
commenced the study of Latin and Greek. When he came 
to Philadelphia he entered the High .School of the Franklin 
Institute, where he completed his educational course. On 
its completion, he engaged at once in mercantile pursuits, 
but (ound time to gratify an ardent taste for books, by 



hoarding up his leisure moments and devoting them to 
reading and self-culture. His vigorous and adaptable mind 
became stored with information on literature, arts and 
sciences, subjects which a subsequent laborious professional 
life has never induced him to neglect. After an honorable 
mercantile career of a few years, he concluded to enter 
upon a line of life more congenial to his tastes, and com- 
menced the study of the law with Hon. Charles Chauncy 
and Henry Chester, of Philadelphia. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1S45, and from his first entrance upon the prac- 
tice of his profession he evinced more than ordinary ability, 
energy and perseverance. He was an early and earnest 
advocate of the emancipation of the slaves, and was the 
counsel for the slave in nearly every fugitive slave case 
which occurred after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. In 
February, 1866, he was appointed Judge of the Court of 
Common Pleas for the city and county of Philadelphia, by 
Governor Curtin, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the re- 
signation of Hon. Joseph Allison. In October, 1866, he 
was elected by the people to fill the same oflice for a 
term of ten years, from the first Monday of December, 
1866. He has now labored steadily at his profession for 
twenty-eight years; of sound and vigorous health, he is at 
the present day able to endure as much mental and physical 
labor as the youngest of his professional brethren. In the 
midst of the multitude of engagements which naturally 
crowd upon him in the line of his duties, he finds leisure 
to devote to stra.ngers, whom he receives with unvarying 
politeness and affability. The refinement of his t.astes and 
the culture of his mind are attested in his home surround- 
ings, especially by the many copies of the old masters which 
adorn his walls. 



IGLER, WILLIAM, Ex-Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, was born at Shermansburg, Cumberland 
county, Pennsylvania, in December, 1813. His 
parents were of German extraction, and whilst he 
was very yomig removed to Mercer county, 
having purchased a large tract of land there. 
The title of this territory, however, proved defective, and 
they lost all but a small farm. This reverse so affected his 
father that he died from grief, leaving his wife to bring up 
a family of nine children, a duty which she nobly accom- 
plished. In 1830, after receiving a common school educa- 
tion, he entered the printing oflice of his brother, John, at 
Bellefonte. From this office was issued the Centra/ Demo- 
crat newspaper, and he remained in it till 1833, when, by 
the advice of many of his friends, he removed to Clearfield. 
There he commenced the publication of the Clearfield 
Democrat, which he continued to manage with great suc- 
cess till a short time after hi,s marriage with Maria J., 
daughter of Alexander B. Reed, wdiich occurred in 
1S36, and by which he became the father of five sons, 
three of whom are still living. After disposing of his jour- 




niOGRAPlllCAI, KNCVCLOr.EDIA. 



nal.lie entered iiitu llie lumber business, in connection with 
his father-in-law, and was so successful in that enterprise 
that he soon look a liigh rank amongst the lumber dealers 
of that district, and later, that is from 1845 '*' •^S'^i *=** 
the largest producer of lumber on the west bank of the Sus- 
(juehanna. Previously to this, however, in 1S41, he was 
nominated to the Slate Senate, and, though much to his 
pecuniary disadvantage, accepted the nimiination and was 
elected, by a majority of over 3000, having received every 
vote but one in Clearfield county. In 1843, he was elected 
Speaker of the Senate ; was re-elected in the session of 
1844, and, in the following October, returned for a second 
term, although he had repeatedly declined the nomination. 
In 1848, he was brought forward as one of the Democratic 
nominees for the Governorship; but, though receiving a 
l.irge vote, his rival, Morris Longstrelh, was successful. 
The latter, however, was defeated at the [Xjlls by William 
I'. Johnson. In the next year he was appointed one of the 
Revenue Com.iiissioners, whose duly it was to adjust the 
amount of tax.ition to be r.aised in the different sections and 
counties of the State. In 1 85 1, he was nominated for 
Governor, by acclamation, and, after a warmly- contested 
canvass, elected by a large majority. It is worthy of note 
that his eldest brother, John, was simultaneously elected 
Governor of llie State of California. He entertained rigid 
views of his responsibility as chief magistrate of the State, 
and his administration of that office was marked by the 
strictest integrity and economy, and by the careful watch he 
kept on all bills presented to him for signature. He was 
specially opposed to the wholesale chartering of banks ; on 
one occasion he vetoed eleven such acts in a single message, 
and sent to the Senate thirty messages containing similar 
vetoes in one session. He was again un.inimously nomi- 
nated for Governor, in March, 1854, but this time was de- 
feated by the so-called Native American party, by a large 
m.ajority. In January, 1855, a few d.iys after the expiration 
of his term of Governorship, he w.as elected President of the 
Philadelphia and Erie Railroad Comp.any, and, at the same 
time, w.is elected to the United States Senate, in which body 
he served for six years. During this period, he was placed 
in a position of much delicacy and difficulty as he was sup- 
jxjsed to have a great amount of influence with President 
lluchanan, and a large share of the responsibility of the 
lalter's appointments was charged to him, causing the im- 
I'ortunities of office-seekers to become exceedingly harassing. 
At this time there was a division in the Democratic parly, 
brought about by the serious troubles in Kansas, and he 
found hin\self pilled against a formidable riv.il, in the per- 
son of Judge Douglass. He w.is a member of the Com- 
mittee of Thirteen, to which were referred the compromise 
mij^sures of Senator Crittenden, and he uniformly sustained 
their adoption. In 1872-73, he was elected a delegate to 
the Constitutional Convention for remodelling the laws of 
the State, and, at the same time, became a member of the 
Centennial Commission, to which body his services have 




been invaluable, from his executive ability and his inlim.nte 
knowlctlge of men from all parts of the country. As a pub- 
lic man, his policy has always been honest and straightfor- 
ward, and he is universally popular, even among his political 
op|X)nents. 



OOPER, CHARLES \V., Lawyer and Banker, 
wa-s born in Lehigh county, April 2lsl, 1826. 
His father, Peter Cooper, was a prominent con- 
veyancer in the same county, and a much-respected 
citizen. The elements of a sound education were 
given him at the Pennsylvania College, and by 
private instructors, after which he selected the legal profes- 
sion, and for that purpose visited Philadelphia, where he 
entered at the Law School, and read in the office of the 
Hon. George M. Stroud. Having passed ihe usual exami- 
nation and received admiltaiice to the bar, he returned to 
Cooperstown, in his native county, and passed his time in 
the practice of his profession and in farming. In his various 
transactions he soon acquired such a reputation for fman- 
ci.il ability, and thorough acquaintance with monetary affairs, 
that when, in 1S55, the Allenlown State Bank was orga- 
nized, he was at once offered the i)ost of Cashier. He ac- 
cepted it, and removed to Allenlown, where he has since 
remained, giving his alienlion to the cashiership, and 
rapidly gaining the reputation throughout the State of pos- 
sessing unusual powers as a financier. Educational topics 
have always had for him a strong attraction, and though 
generally eschewing politics, he has been Su|)erintendent 
of Pulilic Schools, Trustee of the College, School Director 
and Controller. He married, in 1857, the eldest daughter 
of Hon. Jacob Erdman, of Lehigh county. In religion, he 
is a prominent member of the Reformed church. 



SHMEAD, ISAAC, Printer, was born in Ger- 
mantown, December 22d, 1790. He was 
descended from a highly patriotic family, whose 
early history was closely identified with the sellle- 
ment of Phil.adelphia. His father was an officer 
under Washington during the Revolutionary 
war; antl he himself served in the war of 1812. His mother 
was a woman possessed of many remarkable qualities, and 
exercised a lasting influence in the formation of the character 
of her son. After the usual course of education customary 
in those d.iys, he w.ts apprenticed to Bradford, of Philadel- 
phia, to learn the trade of printer. Whilst learning his 
trade, he enjoyed many facilities for the study of cl.assic 
literature, and being endowed with a good memory, ready 
wit and quick perception, he soon became a well-read man. 
About the year 1821, he established himself in that business, 
which he carried on till his death, founding what is now 
the oldest printing est,rblishmcnt in Philadelphia. When 




niOGRAI'IllCAL ENCVCl.OP.IiDIA. 



'53 



about twenty years of a^e, lie became a member of tlie 
Second Presbyterian church, sulisequeiUly joining the Fifth 
Presbyterian church, where he was respected as a consistent 
Christian. He was also -for many years an elder in the 
Coates street church, and afterwards was connected with 
the GreenhiU Presliyterian church, of which he was a mem- 
bc until the day of his death. He was one of the origina- 
tors of the movement which resulted in the formation of the 
American Sunday School Union, and evinced his zeal in 
behalf of his fellow citizens by many other good works. 
Amongst these may be mentioned, the Auxiliary Evangelical 
Society, and the Institute for the Improvement of .Appren- 
tices, which, in connection with others, he established. As 
a business man he was intelligent and enterprising, and 
many important improvements in press-work are due to his 
energy. He set «p the first power presses ever used in 
Philadelphia, and introduced the composition roller. He 
was also the first to make use of the hydraulic press for 
pressing printed sheets, and was generally deeply interested 
in all mechanical contrivances tending to lessen the neces- 
sity of employing manual labor. Although during his busi- 
ness career he suffered under more than one crisis of financial 
embarrassment and loss, he bore his misfortunes in a manly 
and uncomplaining spirit, and passed through his troubles 
without a stain upon his character. Of a generous disposi- 
tion, he was yet scrupulously exact in his dealings. He 
died March 1st, 1870. 

V -— — 

WAIN, WILLIAM M., Journalist, was born at 
Manlius, Onondaga county, New York, May 
I21h, 1809, his parents being natives of the same 
State. His father was a soldier, and died during 
the war of 1812. His education was partially 
obtained at Alb.iny, New York, and subsequently 
completed in New York city. After leaving school, he 
supported himself for a while as a teacher in New York 
State; but subsequently he determined to learn the printing 
trade, and, for that purpose, entered as an apprentice a 
printing establishment in Utica, New York. Here he re- 
mained until he became sufficiently acquainted with the 
art of printing, when he purch.ased the balance of his time 
and went to New York city, where he was employed on 
the New York Sun as a journeyman. After a while he 
was induced to remove lu Philadelphia, in company with 
two of his fellow workmen. On the 25th of March, 1836, 
he commenced the publication of the Public Ledger, in a 
building on the southwest corner of Third and Chestnut 
streets, laying the foundation of that powerful journal 
which has since grown to be a national feature, and over- 
shadowed by its success, justly due to the liberality and 
ability with which he always conducted it, eveiy other 
journalistic enterprise outside of the State of New York 
Under his management the Public Ledger became almost a 
bouseliokl necessity. He was the first to employ straw in 
20 





the manufacture of the paper used in printing the Ledger, 
and, Vi'ith his usual enterprise, was the first in the city to 
print a newspaper by means of the Hoe Rotary Press. He 
was tlie first President of the Magnetic Telegraph Com- 
pany, and continued to hold that office for a period of 
twelve years. He disposed of his interest in the Ledger on 
December 4th, 1863. His eldest son, William James 
Swain, a few years ago, commenced the publication of the 
Public Record in the old building formerly occupied by the 
I^edger. Great enterprise, energy and liberality have been 
manifested in the conduct of this journal, and it is fast 
winning its way in public estimation. In the origination 
of a newspaper and obtaining for it a large circulation, 
more difficulties must be encountered than appear on the 
surface. To succeed in doing this, in the teeth of the hot 
competition which now exists, requires more than ordinary 
business qualities. These were possessed by the father, 
and have been inherited by the son. The former died, 
February i6th, 1868. 

/ "^^ 

EARY, GENERAL JOHN W., Soldier and 
Ex-Govei'nor of Pennsylvania, was !)orn in West- 
moreland county, in that State, in the year 1819. 
He was of Scotch-Irish extraction, though both 
his parents were natives of this country. His 
father's affairs being much embarrassed, he was, 
at an early age, compelled to seek his own livelihood, and 
on the death of that parent, it became incumbent on him 
to provide for the support of the family. His education 
fitting him to become a teacher, he was for sometime master 
of a village school ; but, subsequently, engaged as clerk 
in a wholesale house in Pittsburgh. By using strict economy, 
he was able to enter Jefferson College, where he acquired 
a thorough knowledge of civil engineering, and practised 
that profession with great success in Pennsylvania and other 
Slates. He w.as appointed Assistant Superintendent of the 
old Portage Railroad, Cambria county, a position which he 
held at the outbreak of the war with Mexico. His popularity 
enabled him to organize a volunteer company, which he 
called the American Highlanders, and he was elected its 
captain. The company wa.s afterwards mustered into the 
Second Pennsylvania Regiment, when he was elected 
Lieutenant-Colonel. With his regiment he joined General 
.Scott at Vera Cruz; and subsequently distinguished himself 
at the battles of La Hoja, Cerro Gordo, Chapultepec and 
Garita de Belen. On the death of Colonel Roberts, he was 
appointed to the command of the regiment, and after the 
conquest of the city of Mexico was placed in command of 
the citadel. At the close of the war he returned home, 
and was appointed, by President Polk, Postmaster of San 
Francisco, a position he retained till the accession of General 
Taylor to the Presidency, when, for political reasons, he 
was relieved. About this time, he was appointed First Al- 
calde of New Mexico, by General Riley, who was then or- 



>54 



LIOGKArillCAL ENCVCl.OlVliDIA. 



ganizing a territorial government, and fulfilled the multifa- 
rious duties of that oftice so satisfactorily that, at the close 
of the first year, he was unanimously re-elected, and re- 
tained the position till the office was abolished. In May, 
1850, he was elected the first Mayor of San Francisco, and 
during his residence in that city California was admitted 
into the Union; he largely aiding in framing the Constitu- 
tion under which this was effected. Me left California, 
in 1852, and, in 1856, was appointed territorial Governor 
of Kansas, where he exerted himself beneficially in restoring 
peace. f)n the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, he 
was at his home, in Westmoreland county. ISeing com- 
missioned by President Lincoln to organize a regiment, he 
proceeded to Philadelphia, where he received applications 
from sixty-six companies desirous of joining his command, 
and in view of this popularity, was permitted to raise his 
regiment to the standard of sixteen companies, with a bat- 
tery of six guns, known as " Knapp's Battery." He was 
ordered to proceed to Harper's Ferry and report to General 
Hanks, who assigned him the command of the M.iryland 
Heights, where he fought the battle of Bolivar, on October 
l6lh, 1861. During the engagement he was wounded in 
the knee and his command much cut up, but they were 
victorious. At the battle of Leesburg he held the advance 
and earned the appointment of Brigadier-General. He 
p.irticipated gallantly in the battles of Antietam, Cedar 
Mountain, and Chancellorsville, being dangerously wounded 
in the latter. He also distinguished himself at the battle of 
Gettysburg, gained a victoi^ at Wauhalchie, and, after re- 
ceiving the surrender of Savannah, was appointed its mili- 
tary Governor, by General Sherman. During the Rebellion 
he was engaged in sixty-fuur battles, w.is four times 
wounded, and before its close was appointed Major-General. 
In 1866, he w.as elected Governor of Pennsylvania, and 
wa.s re-elected in 1869. During his tenure of office he 
acipiilted himself with marked ability and patriotism, ever 
keeping in view the interest of his native .State. In per- 
sonal appearance, courteousness of manners and antecedents, 
he was well fitted for the jxist, and few men have filled 
that position with a larger share of popularity. 




V 
;H0MAS, general WILLIAM H., Merchant 
and Manufacturer, was born in Upper Merion 
township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, 
May 25th, 181 1. In 1832, he succeeded to his 
father's business, as a miller, in the establish- 
ment known as the " Gulf Mills," which he 
conducted, with the exception of a short interval of one 
)ear, till 1843, when, desirous of enlarging his sphere of 
action, he removed to Philadelphia. There he began the 
manufacture of flour at the mill situated at the corner of 
Thirteenth and Willow streets. These premises, however, 
proving too small for his increasing business, he supple- 



mented them by the addition of another mill, at Thirteenth 
and Buttonwood streets, at the same time enlarging the 
original establishment; at a subsequent period, he intro- 
duced a new engine of three hundred horse power, making 
a total of three engines, with an aggregate force of four 
hundred horses, moving twenty-four paire of burrs, and 
capable of producing twelve hundred barrels of flour daily. 
He was one of the founders of the Corn Exchange Associ 
ation (now known as the Commercial Exchange), of 
which he was chosen the first President ; served as 
such for two terms, but declined a further re&ection, 
though still remaining one of the leading members of that 
body. He is also a prominent member of the Board of 
Tra<le. Originally associated with the Democratic party, 
he subsequently became a " Free-soiler," and finally a Re- 
publican and firm supporter of President Lincoln's admin- 
istration. Under the auspices of this latter party he was 
elected to the Common Council, where he manifested all 
the qualities of a wise and efficient legislator. The organi- 
zation of the political club known as the " Republican 
Invinciblcs" was mainly due to his efforts and influence. 
On the breaking out of the civil war, he enrolled himself 
in the Hon. C. M. Clay's company, and soon afterwards 
was tendered, and accepted, the Colleclorship of the Port 
of Philadelphia, introducing into the Custom House many 
reforms whereby the cost of collecting the duties was 
greatly diminished. In 1862, in view of the imminent in- 
vasion of Pennsylvania by the Confederates, he organized, 
among the officials under his control, two companies, 
termed the " Revenue Guard," which he armed and 
equipped at his own expense. He was elected captain of 
one of them (Company A), and immediately tendered his 
services to Governor Curlin, being ordered to report him- 
self at Harrisburg, and was afterwards promoted to be 
Colonel of the 20lh Regiment of Pennsylvania, which 
went into camp at Hagerstown, and subsequently to Green- 
castle, where the men sufiercd much from the imperfect 
organization of the quartermaster's dejiartment, and their 
colonel was obliged to supply them with rations from his 
private means. In 1863, he was one of the first to respond 
to the call of the President and Governor for more troops, 
reporting himself and regiment to General Couch, at Har- 
risburg, when the duty of guarding the NorAern Central 
Railroad was assigned to him. He was appointed to the 
command of all the troops in York and its vicinity, and 
ordered to interpose every obstacle to the advance of Gen- 
eral Early, which duty he faithfully performed. In the 
campaign of 1864, he once more took the field. Having 
obtained leave of absence, as Collector, he organized the 
I92d Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, numbering 
1500 bayonets, which was ordered to garrison Fort Mc- 
Henry. With his coinmand he was afterwards employed 
in various duties on Lake Erie, on the Ohio river and in 
Western Virginia till the expiration of their term of service. 
Shortly after his return to Philadelphia, he was elected 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



^S5 



Brigadier-General of the Fourth Brigade, First Division of 
the Pennsylvania State Guard, which ranlc he still holds. 
The sense of honor was so nice in his mind that, on one 
occasion, he refunded to the Treasury the sum of 565,000, 
which had been abstracted from the Custom House by a 
defaulting cashier during his absence, though under no 
obligation, either legal or moral, to do so. In his milling 
operations, he has established a species of community of 
interests, by assigning to the principal men in his employ a 
share of the profits of the business. 







Vif^DWARDS, MATTHEW, M.anufacturer and Mer- 
chant, was born June 7th, 1824, in Baltimore. 
His parents, of .Scotch-Irish descent, were limi- 
ted in means, and removed, about 1830, to 
Pittsburgh, where they apprenticed him to a 
ghass manufacturing house. The native business 
ability he possessed led to his rapid advancement, and he 
soon owned an interest in the works. This he retained 
until 1861, when he withdrew from this branch of trade 
and engaged in developing the oil regions of Pennsylvania. 
In this also he was eminently fortunate, and rapidly accu- 
mulated a handsome competency. Meanwhile, he was 
not neglectful of his duties as a citizen. He acted as 
school director, member of the Board of Health, and of the 
City Councils of Pittsburgh for nine years, and in 1872 
was sent as a member from that city to the State Legisla- 
ture. In the latter year, he was also appointed a delegate 
to the Constitutional Convention, held for the purpose of 
remodelling the Constitution of the State, — a high and well- 
merited compliment to his discretion and abilities. His 
influence there has been felt and respected. In 1847, he 
married Mary E. Hay, a member of an old Pittsburgh 
family, and is the father of five children, three sons and 
two daughters. 



LRICKS, HAMILTON, Lawyer, was born at 
Oakland Mills, in Lost Creek Valley, then 
Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, in June, 1S06. 
His family is probably the oldest in the State. 
His ancestor, Pieter Alricks, came from Holland 
with despatches for the Dutch Government, on 
the Delaware, in 1660. Immediately on arrival, he was 
given command of the Fort, and soon after was despatched, 
in company with D ' Hinnayossa, as envoy to negotiate peace 
with the Governor of Maryland. In 1665, the Enf^lish 
having conquered the Dutch, his estate was confiscated. 
Subsequently the Dutch regained their power on the Dela- 
ware and over Fort Amsterdam, now New York city. 
When, in 1674, Fort Amsterdam was surrendered to the 
English Governor, Andross, all the magistr.-ites in office at 
the time of the Dutch coming there, were reinstated on 




Delaware river, except Pieter Alricks, whose zealous 
loyalty to the Dutch was accounted a sufficient bar to his 
retention in office. William Penn, however, on his arrival 
on the Delaware, in October, 1682, showed a different 
spirit ; for, in appointing a Court of Judicature, consisting 
of six justices, the second person he named was Pieter 
Alricks. When, in 1685, Penn bought out the title of the 
Indians in a large tract of land lying between Philadelphia 
and Wilmington, extending back from the Delaware river 
as far as a man "can ride in two days with a horse," 
Pieter Alricks was the first witness to the deed. The 
grandson of this early settler, Hermanns Alricks, settled 
in what became Cumberland county, and was the first 
member of the Legislature, at the organization of the 
county, in 1749-50. When he returned home to " Letort 
Springs," now Carlisle, at the close of the brief Legislative 
session, he took with him a commission appointing him 
Prothonotary, Register, Recorder, Clerk of the Courts, 
and Justice of the Peace. The chief of these offices he 
held during his life, a period of nearly twenty-five years. 
The father of the subject of this sketch, James Alricks, 
a man of extensive reading, was a magistrate and nolaiy 
public for many years before his death. His mother was 
a daughter of John Hamilton, a gentleman of wealth for 
that day, who settled in Harrisburg the next year after that 
town was laid out, and carried on business on a very ex- 
tensive scale. Hamilton Alricks, who was nanie<l after 
him, was educated at the Harrisburg Academy, a collegiate 
education, owing to the general depression that prevailed 
through the country from 1816 to 1S26, being out of the 
question. Although there were thirty students of the 
classics at the academy, only one of them went, or could 
afford to go, to college. After leaving school, and studying 
history, he commenced the reading of law with Samuel 
Douglas, afterward Attorney General, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1828. He immediately commenced practice, 
and has labored steadily at his profession until the present 
time. During his career he has seldom missed a term of 
the court, being engaged in the trial of many of the most 
important civil and criminal cases, and in numerous suits 
in the Supreme Court. Shortly after entering upon prac- 
tice, he was engaged as counsel by the plaintifl' in the im- 
portant case of Gest m. Espy, 2 Watts, 266, after Thomas 
Elder, a senior member of the bar, had abandoned it, upon 
a verdict being found for the defendant. He took it to the 
Supreme Court, and obtained a reversal of judgment. 
When, in 1815, 'he State Legislature had under considera- 
tion the impeachment of Hon. W. N. Irvine, Judge of the 
York and Adams Judicial District, that official had him as 
his only counsel, and he defended him with such skill and 
ability that the committee refused to report articles. On 
several occasions he has been engaged to argue cases on 
the part of the Commonwealth, involving questions of Con- 
stitutional law. His argument in one of these, Butler ct. al., 
late Canal Commissioners, t'.t. the Commonwealth uf Penn- 



IS6 



lilOGRArmCAI. ENCYCLOIVKDIA. 



sylvania, before ihe Unitcil Slates Supreme Court, rcixjrled 
in lo Mo«ar<I, 402, has always been regarded as a sound 
dermiilnn of a contract within the meaning of the Tenth 
Section of the First Article of the United States Constitu- 
tion, and of the power of the Legislature to create and 
abolish offices, to impose taxes, etc. It exhibits deep re- 
search and marked legal ability. He has never t.iken any 
very active part in politics. He is and has always been a 
Democrat. His district for thirty years has been Republi- 
can. For one year he was a member of the Legislature, 
and he was a member of the Chicago Convention of 1864, 
that nominated Clcneral McClellan for President. In the 
latter capacity he drew up and presented a series of reso- 
lutions of great force anil interest from a Democratic stimd- 
point. During his professional life, he ha* hcoii a very 
hard worker. He rises and commences his labors at five 
o'clock in the morning, but he is mindful of the needs of, 
the body, taking much exercise in the open air and ^ivin^ 
careful heed to hygienic principles. Despite intense study, 
he is therefore a hale, hearty gentlemv'- In manners,' lie 
is singularly winning and gracious; during his long.career,' 
he has never violated the amenities of discussion, by a 
single personal controversy with aiiy-niemljer.of -the bar. 
Socially, he is of a hospitable and genial disposition.^ «3"hc 
high position he holds as a lawyer and a citizen in Dauphin 
county, has been won entirely by his own talents, integrity 
and industiy. He began the world without a dollar. 



fO.VTES, GEORGE MORRLSON, Merchant, was 
born August 20th, 1817, in Philadeljihia, in an 
old mansion situate on ' Market street below 
Second, next door to Franklin's printing-office. 
The family trace their lineage back to the re- 
nowned Percys of England, who so warmly 
supported Charles L in his disputes with his Parliament. 
Many relics of this unfortunate monarch arc still in Ihe 
])ossession of the branch of the family who emigrated to 
this country. Their removal was due to their union with 
the " people called Quakers," and it was in company with 
William Penn that they came to America and took up 
their residence in the^<ity which he/ounded. His parents 
gave him the best .education theft "to :be otaai.ne;(l at, the 
schools of their sect, .ind at the age of twenty-one~proviile<t 
him facilities for entering the dry goods business, oh Sec- 
ond street above Market street. This he conducted with 
success for twenty years, until 1859, when he gave it up 
and engaged in the wool trade with his brother. About 
ten years later, they established a publishing house, the 
widely known firm of Porter & Coates. The former con- 
cern is one of the largest of its kind in the city, and it is 
the ambition of the partners that the same shall ere long be 
said of their publishing house. The business talents which 
he displayed in the successful development of three such 




diverge lines of trade, he h.is also shown even more strik- 
ingly in his connection with the Pennsylvania Railroad 
Company, of which he has been a director for many years. 
At a time when this now immense corporation was feeble 
and apparently failing, and when most men feared to in- 
vest in it, he resolutely took it in hand, persuaded his 
friends to supjiort it, and was instrumental in inducing the 
city of Philadelphia to subscribe 55,000,000 toward its 
completion and equipment. The present power and 
wealth of the corporation, unequalled in m.-ignitude on the 
continent, arc due in a measure to his earnest effi^rts at this 
critical juncture, and bear impressive testimony to his 
sagacity. Although thus immersed in extended business 
operations, he has never neglected those duties as a citizen 
which devolve upon every one in our country. Through 
out tifca Rebellion, he gave his hearty support to the Union 
caus?i :and was one of the earliest and most enthusiastic 
members of the Union Le.igue, which did so much toward 
niaiiildining a loyal spirit throughout the North while our 
»rni?Cs wtre fighting in the field. Though often asked to 
become a'candidate, he has uniformly declined any office 
which 'returned compensation, but has, however, been 
Pre9idential Elector in three consecutive campaigns, that 
of Lincoln and John.son, 1864, of Grant and Colfax, 1868, 
and of CJrant and Wilson, 1872. In this capacity he has 
probably had more vutes-ca.st for him than any other man 
in the United Staie!?.V'His marriage occurred in 1840, and 
hfjlias the pleasure of witnessing his advancing years sur- 
rounded by an interesting family. His children, all sons, 
are exemplary business men and enterprising members of 
the community. They are associated with him in business. 
He was a member of the Bo.ard of Health, by appointment 
of the Court of Common Pleas, from 1863 to 1S70, and a 
member of the Directory of the Board of Trade for many 
years, having resigned about four years ago. He is still 
vigorous, with the promise of many and useful days in the 
future. The unswerving integrity which marks all his 
transactions, and the kindliness of his manners to the 
numerous employes in his various enterprises, render him 
at once respected and loved throughout a wide circle of 
ac<|uaintances, 

"'■■-- ETZf;l^R^JO'HN.J., Lawyer, was born June iSlh, 
183^, in, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, of 
German ancestiy, who, since the settlement of 
the county, bad been eng.aged in farming. His 
tastes leading him to a diffi;rent pursuit, when he 
had finished his education at Dickinson .Semi- 
nary, Williamsport, he entered himself as a student of law 
in the office of A. J. Dietrick, and was admitted to the bar 
in April, 1861. The following year he w.xs elected District 
Attorney of Lycoming county, which office he held for 
three years, and was offered a renomin.itionby his conslilu- 
ents, with Ihe certainty of reelection, but declined. Various 





^■-'^'^^^^/fTd. -^^<^r?'->x^.t-vt^/<x^<<^ ^--^ 



t 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



157 




municipal offices were conferred upon him, such as school 
clireclor, member of councils, etc. The parly with which 
he uniformly voted was the Democratic; and in the choice 
of a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1872, that 
party nominated him from the Fifteenth Senatorial District, 
and he was promptly elected. This responsible charge he 
carried out with a fidelity and integrity which entirely sat- 
isfied his constituency. In the fall of 1858, he was united 
in marriage to H. M. Hess, whom he lost by death, March 
28th, 1870, leaving him five children. 



' kENRV, MORTON P., Lawyer, was born at Gib- 
raltar, February nth, 1S26. He is a son of the 
late Bernard Henry, a highly respected citizen of 
Philadelphia, who at the time was serving as Con- 
sul of the United States. He was educated in 
Philadelphia, and is a graduate of the University 
of Pennsylvania. On the completion of his academic 
studies, he chose the law for his profession, and entered, as 
a student, the office of the late Benjamin Gerhard. He was 
called to the bar in June, 1847, and, devoting himself more 
particularly to admiralty and commercial law, he soon be- 
became recognized as a leader in that branch of juris- 
prudence. His qualities as a Lawyer are of a very high 
order. His judgment is calm and deliberate, his percep- 
tions clear, his knowledge of business extensive and of law 
precise and accurate. His manner before a court and a 
jury lends additional force to his arguments, conveying, as 
it does, the impression of great candor and sincerity. Al- 
though he watches with close interest the course of public 
affairs, he has never allowed himself to be withdrawn from 
his profession to engage in the more exciting scene of 
politics. His tastes are refined and scholarly, and his ex- 
cursions in the fields of literature have been extensive. In 
addition to his merits as a lawyer, he is universally re- 
spected for his integrity as a citizen and his qualities as a 
man. 



ILLY, GENERAL WILLIAM, Coal Operator 
and Politician, was born June 3d, 1S21, in Pen 
Yan, New York, his father, Colonel William 
Lilly, being a well known citizen of that vicin- 
ity. Having obtained a substantial education, he 
removed with the remainder of his father's 
fimily, in April, 1838, to Pennsylvania, where he obtained 
employment in the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company. 
With this corporation he remained six years, leaving it in 
1S44 to fill a more important post in the Hazleton Railroad 
Company. His abilities were demanded for various posi- 
tions of this nature until 1859, when he engaged with A. 
Pardee & Co. and G. B. Markle & Co. in coal mining, a 
business which he prosecuted with very satisfactory success. 




From early youth he took an interest in military subjects; 
and in 1841 was elected colonel of one of the regiments of 
State militia, and a few years later, in 1S46, brigadier- 
general in the same organization. At the outbreak of the 
civil war, he was strongly in favor of suppressing the 
Secession faction by force of arms; and, although prevented 
by various causes from entering the field himself, gave 
liberally of his means to assist the Union cause, and at one 
time had five paid substitutes in the field, for whose 
families he provided during their absence. Although pre- 
vious to this national event he had acted for the Demo- 
cratic party, and hact represented it in the State Legislature 
in 1850 and 1851, he found, during the Rebellion, the 
position assumed by the Republican party more consonant 
with his own views of what the country demanded, and 
consequently gave in his adherence to them. His inlimale 
acquaintance with the industrial interests of the State, his 
ready power in debate, and his capacity for forcible reason- 
ing, led him to be placed in nomination as a candidate for 
the Constitutional Convention in 1872, and he was 
promptly elected delegate at large. In the debates of that 
body, he has fully justified the preferences of those who 
voted for him, and has taken a conspicuous part in the 
action of the convention, for whose establishment he had 
long before urged weighty reasons. As a member of the 
Order of Free Masons, he is well known in the State, and 
has acted as one of the District Deputy Grand Masters. 
He resides at Mauch Chunk, where he has a wide circle 
of appreciative friends. 



ALLS, JOHN, Merchant, was born at Halifax. 
Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, August 24th, 
iSoo. His parents, being in humble circum- 
stances, could only afford him an ordinary 
education, obtained in the schools at Halifax 
and Harrisburg. When about eighteen years 
of age, he entered a commercial house in the latter town, 
as clerk. Here his natural aptitude for business soon be- 
came apparent. He was a most efficient salesman, and 
shortly made himself so valuable to his employers that he 
rapidly rose to an important position in the concern, fre- 
quently receiving tempting offers, of a more lucrative 
nature, from other houses. After occupying this position 
for two years, he removed to Milton, in 1827, and entered 
into partnership with John McCIeary, of that place. While 
at Milton, he obtained some important contracts from the 
Pennsylvania Canal, then in course of construction, to fur- 
nish a portion of its supplies; and, furthermore, established 
branch stores at Muncy and McKeefe's Falls. In 183 1, 
he dissolved his partnership and removed to Lewisburg, 
where he opened a store. In the following year, he was 
married to Margaret A., daughter of General Albert Green, 
who, after becoming the mother of ten children, died in 
1S58. About this time he entered into partnership with 



158 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCI.OP/EDIA. 



Paul Getlers, under the name of Wall & Getters. This as- 
sociation tenninated in i860, being succeeded by another, 
which he formed with his brother, and which lasted till the 
latter's decease, in i860. After this event, he entered into 
the firm of Smith, Walls & Co., a name which it still 
bears ; his interest in the same being a large and active 
one. In 1861, he was married a second time, to a daughter 
of William Wilson. Ilis well known business qualifica- 
tions have frequently thrust upon him unsought positions 
of responsibility and trust, lie was for many years one of 
the directors of the Northumberland Bank. In i860, he 
wxs elected Associate Judge, and, in 1864, was sent to the 
State Senate, where he has left an honorable record. The 
county in which he resided w..s largely Republican, usually 
giving a majority of 800 for that party; but, though the 
Democratic nominee, he carried ihc election by a majority 
of 300 votes. Although his life has been chiefly that of a 
private citizen, his well known character and position have 
not failed to exercise a marked influence over his fellow 
townsmen, lie is now in his seventy-third year; still, 
however, in the enjoyment of robust health. He has been 
engaged in business for upwards of half a century, and is 
now the oldest merchant on the Susquehanna river. 



, UFFEE, WASHINGTON JOSEPH, M. D., Phy 
sician, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
March iSth, 181 5. Ilis parents were of Scotch 
and Irish descent, and, as old residents of that 
cily, were highly respected. His education 
commenced early, at the school of Thomas Wal- 
ters, on Pine street; but his roving inclinations induced 
him to make a voyage to England as a sailor boy. Being 
satisfied with a few years' experience of seafaring life, dur- 
ing which he gained the esteem of his commander, he 
returned home and seriously began the study of medicine 
and surgery, under the instruction of Dr. George McClellan, 
f.ithcr of General George B. McClellan. He commenced 
the study of his profession in his eighteenth year, and at 
twenty graduated at the Jefferson Medical College. Soon 
after receiving his diploma, he was elected Vaccine Physi- 
cian in his native city, and subsequently was appointed 
Public Dissector for the City and County of Philadelphia. 
This position procured for him many remarkable experi- 
ences; such, for instance, as dissecting the brains of some 
of the rioters of 1844 and one or two of the coroners, by 
whom he had been appointed. He rapidly rose in his 
profession, and gained much reputation by a successful 
amputation of the hip joint, said to be the first on record 
in this country. This dangerous operation was performed 
on a woman in the Blockley Almshouse, and the patient 
subsequently became the mother of fine children. His 
system has since been taught in the medical schools of 
Europe and Americ.i, and is known ,is Duffee's method. 




On the bre.-iking out of the war, he was appointed by Gov. 
ernor Curtin as Surgeon of the 29th Regiment of Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers, and, after the battle of Ball's Bluff, was 
ordered before the Army Medical Board, at Wa.shington, 
for examination for the post of Brigade Surgeon. His 
knowledge of his profession, and his practical skill, more 
than satisfied the board, and, upon their recommendation, 
his commission was signed by President Lincoln. Being 
captured during the war, he was taken to Richmond, and 
forced, in spite of a fr.-ictured thigh, to attend professionally 
on Jefferson Davis and some other distinguished Southern- 
ers, not being allowed to proceed North, although he had 
a pass from General Johnston. In 1869, he was appointed 
Professor of Surgery in the Philadelphia University, suc- 
ceeding Drs. McClellan, Neil, and other eminent surgeons. 
He w.as married to Mary Ann Woods, daughter of M.ajor 
William Piper, a gentleman distinguished In the service of 
his country, and belonging to one of the oldest and most 
respected families of Bedford, Pennsylvania. This lady 
was also great granddaughter of Colonel James Piper, of 
Revolutionary fame and civil note, as having been the first 
sheriff of Bedford county. She was a celebrated beauty, 
and has given her husband three children, one of whom 
alone survives. 

fj'^IOCKEFELLER, WILLIAM M., Lawyer and 
/r Judge, was born in the town of Sunbury, Penn- 
sylvania, August iSlh, 1830. He is a son of 
David and Catherine Rockefeller, the former 
having been widely known in that section of the 
Commonwealth as a surveyor for upwards of fifty 
years. He is the eldest and the only surviving member of 
a family of five brothers, one of whom, at the time of his 
prcm.nture decease, possessed a rapidly growing reputation 
in the legal profession. He was educated at the Sunbury 
Academy, and, during his vacations or absences from this 
school, varied his occupations by working on a farm, or 
acting as clerk in the store of Ira Clement, then, as now, 
one of the foremost business men in the town, and also by 
instructing the youth of his neighborhood. In 1847, ^^ 
entered upon the study o( the law in the office of J. B. 
Packer, of Sunbury; and, upon the election of the latter 
gentleman to the Legislature, he transferred his studies to 
the office of Judge Jordan, in the same town, under whose 
direction they were continued until his admission to the 
bar, in 1850. He commenced the practice of his profes- 
sion i:; Mincrsville, Schuylkill county, where he remained 
about one year, and then returned to his native town, 
where he opened an oflice, and where he has since re- 
mained. In early life, as is commonly the case with cur 
countrymen, he entered the field of )x>)itics, and was a 
prominent member of the Democratic party. In the guber- 
n.itorial campaign of 1851, he was Secretary of the Biglcr 
Club of Schuylkill County, and in 1S52 w.is President of 





(^^^^* 



^(^£^i^. 



c^t. ^le^^c^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.-EDIA. 



the Pierce and King Club of Nonhumberland County. 
He also held the office of Chief Burgess of the Borough 
of Sunbury for several years. In 1871, he was.elected to 
the office he now holds, President Judge of the Eighth Ju- 
dicial District, one of the largest in the State. Although 
this district, which includes Montour and Northumberland 
counties, is strongly Democratic, it was carried, in this in- 
stance, l)y a Republican majority of over fifteen hundred. 
The Legal Intelligencer, at the time of his election, re- 
marked, that " our State Reports, from i Casey to 14 P. 
Y. Smith, show that he has been counsel in the most im- 
portant cases from his district." An innate fondness for 
legal studies has, for some years past, inclined him tg give 
these his almost exclusive devotion. He is married and 
has three children. 



■^(!^ORDAN, ALEXANDER, Lawyer, was born in 
Ayesburgh, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, May 
19th, 179S. When four years of age, his parents 
removed to Milton, where they resided unfil tteir 
"'la^ 'l«»"'s. at a very advanced age. In 1812, their' 
son entered a store in Milton as clerk, whjre'he 
remained for three years. While so engaged^tIjV\*arS^ 
1S12 broke out, and the Governor, of Pennsylvania,., in 
common with those of other States, issued.i calf;fcr troojl, 
both militia and volunteers. Then about fou.rt^en^ years 
of age, he responded, and went witl»-th« Toi%i>m9 far as 
Meadville, in the capacity of Deputy Commissary;^ After 
an absence of a few weeks, he returned, and jesunled lus 
duties in the store. In 1815, he repaired to "-;^iinbl;^, 
where he became a clerk in the Prothonotary's.gfljce gf 
Northumberland county, then held by Hugh Bellus. 
With the discharge of the requirements of the office just 
referred to, the latter gentleman, who subsequently achieved 
one of the foremost positions at the Northumberland bar, 
combined a successful practice of the law. While a clerk 
in this office, he determined to study under the direction 
and with the cordial interest of his superior, for the le<Tal 
profession. The decision was attended with some irreso- 
lution, in consequence of a natural bias toward mechanical 
and artistic purstiits. The fondness and fjc»Ity for, these 
latter survived'Jiis choice, and has affijrded him, through 
life, a pleasant and useful recreation during his leisure 
hours. As his duties in the Prothonotary's office required 
all his attention during the day, he was limited to the night 
for his studies. It is a good evidence of diligence and 
earnestness in his studies, that, although they were prose- 
cuted under these circumscribed conditions, he exceeded, 
even with such disadvantages, the present demands in this 
respect for admission to the profession. After the resigna- 
tion of his patron from the position he had occupied, he 
contiuued to serve under his successors. Dr. George W. 
Brown (appointed by Governor Finley, and who lived but 
one year thereafter) and Andrew Albright. In 1S20, he 



«59 

was admitted to the bar, and most successfully practised 
his profession in Union, Northumberland and Montour 
counties. The bar of Northumberland county, at this 
time, was composed of some of the most distinguished law- 
vers of the State. Hall, Bradford, Bellus, Greenough, 
Hepburn and Man, all belonged to a high order of legal 
acquirement and ability. In 1S50, he was elected Presi- 
dent Judge of the Eighth Judicial District, without oppo- 
sition. At the close of his first term (of ten years), he was 
urged by his friends to become a candidate for reijlection, 
and he consented; and obtained a handsome majority over 
his opponent. He was likewise solicited, when his second 
term was ending, to be nominated for the third time, but 
declined, on the score of feeble health. He was married 
May nth, j|20, to Mary, daughter of Daniel Hurley; and 
a second iim;|,Octol,er 13th, iSso.to Hannah Rittenhouse, 
of Philade)i)bia, but has no children. 




^OLEMAN,"G. DAWSON, Iron Manufacturer, was 
^ bffrn in Philadelphia, January 13th, 1825. His 
parents- as also all the rest of the family, be- 
r f?>/pi '°"Sfift4 Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He 
Jf^ . '■'""^"^'^''?J^''-'''' ^'^hools in Princeton, New Jer- 
"^ ,. *. ''^y. and Phlfedelphia, and graduated in the Col- 
legialV^Dep^rtn-^nt of Jie University of Pennsylvania, in 
^ffe-class'-of 184^^?; On his attaining his majority, he en- 
tered into the;manufucjure of iron, and erected furnaces at 
^"°''''iyebaiio^;nd nlimed' them the" Lebanon Furnaces." 
Tn^this*entcr'prise he wa?-associated jointly with his brother, 
Vho remained with him until 18^2, when he retired, and 
since that period has resided in Paris. He has given, in 
all these years, except when absent in Europe, which he has 
twice visited, his undivided attention to the furnaces. In 
fact, he is in the fourth generation of those of his family 
who have made this their calling. His great-grandfather 
followed ,t m Lancaster county. His grandfather made 
shot, shell, and steel for Washington-Curing the Revolution, 
receiving " prisoners of warn' in paySeot, who were after- 
wards redeemed by the British ifl coin, which they paid to 
h.m. .H.S father w^Qjie ofyhose^^ho suppHed the United 
States Government with the same description of ■' iron 
castings " which were made use of in the " War of 1812 " 
with Great Britain; and he himself, during the Rebellion, 
followed ,„ their footsteps, not only in supplying the Gov- 
ernment with these deadly missiles, but in largely contribut- 
ing o h,s i^ivate means towards furnishing the men who 
would use these same ■' castings." For one regiment alone 
-the 93d Pennsylvania-he expended over Sio.ooo to 
equip them He has passe,! five years in the Legislature, 
including three yeai. in the Senate, having been elected 
thereto, ,n 1857. He is also prominent as an agriculturist 
having a large farm and one of the finest dairies in the 
State. He pays likewise great attention to the improve- 



i6o 



mOGRAPIlICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



nicnl of callle, and is the owner of a large number. A 
lierd of one hundred cows furnishes an ample supply of 
milk to llie cheese factory which is in operation on the 
csLale. lie is likewise much interested in the manufacture 
of Ilessemer steel, and is a large stockholder in the Penn- 
sylvania Steel Company. He is, furthermore, an able 
financier, and for some time past has filled the position of 
President of the First National Bank of Lebanon. In re- 
ligiou-s matters he takes a deep interest, having been for 
many years a pious and devoted churchman. For the ex- 
press acconimodalion of his many, work-people, he has 
erected a fnie ch.ipel on the estate. He has also, in Phila- 
delphia, donated the lot — formerly occupied by the house 
where he first saw light — together with a large sum of 
money, to St. Peter's Church.- It is situated at the south- 
west corner of Front and Pine streets, and in the present 
year (1873) there has been erected a sdbstantial three-story 
plain brick edifice, together with a commodious ba-scmcnt, 
which is called " St. Peter's House." The first floor is oc 
cupicd by a spacious hall, filled up for the accommodation 
of the Cuilds, and other religious and charit.ible societies 
belonging to the parish. A tablet on the wall attests to 
the munificent act of the donor, while a large memorial 
window of beautifully-stained glass at the eastern end 
serves to adorn the apartment. The upper rooms are in- 
tended for the accommodation of seamen and olheis wfio 
may be un.ler the care of the parish. IJe is a mcml)ei^o£ 
the Board of Charities of the State of Pennsylvani.i, and 
has been indefatigable in his laboi-s in this capacity, seeking 
by every means in his power to secure satisfactgry manage 
mcnt in all the charitable institutions of the State. lie- 
sides this, he takes a prominent pav(^ in jjroyidiiig for the 
wants and attending to the cornforLs . of the poor^and in 
sane. In every good work he is "ready to give, and 
glad to distribute." He w.is marrjed, in 1852, to Miss 
Brown, of Philadelphia, and has a.family of seven children 
living. ___ 



Michigan, and to travel for nearly three years. In 1865, 
he established himself at Titusville, Crawford county, 
Pennsylvania, where he took ch.arge of an oil company, in- 
cidentally occupying himself with legal business. In Oc- 
tober, 1872, he was elected to represent the Twenty-ninth 
Senatorial District in the Constitutional Convention of the 
State in which he resides, and in that body has faithfully 
fulfilled the duties imposed upon him by his constituents. 
In politics, he was originally a Whig; but, by a natural 
t(pi{silion, has since become a Republican, having been an 
active member of the latter parly from its commencement. 
He is a man of scholarly tastes, devoting a great portion 
of his leisure-to literary and scientific pursuits. In 1S50. 
he was married to Mar)' Broughton. 



6^S WOR, SAMUEL, 



I 



Lawyer, was honi in Wootl- 
bury, Litchfield county, Connecticut, March 27lh, 
1823. This town was settled by his ancestors, 
and the deed of cession from the Indians was 
witnessed by one of them, John Minor, in 1659. 
His father, M.atthew Minor, w.is a prominent 
lawyer and member of the Slate Senate of Connecticut. 
His family was of English origin. ' yi'e himself recsived i 
liberal education at Yale College, where he graduated in 
1844. He also entered the Yale Law School, and gradu- 
ated in that institution in 184^. After completing his 
.■studies, he travelled through the West, for about a year, 
and, in 1848, settled al Sandusky, Erie county, Ohio. 
I lere he commenced the practice of law, which he con- 
tinued till 1861, when failing health, produced by over- 
work in his profession, induced him to remove lo Detroit, 



"/^ ''ROSKEY, HENRY, Merchant, was born in Phil.i- 
' f.| dclphia, November 15th, 1815. His father was 
• 11 a lumber merchant in prosperous circumstances, 
^ 'ryT^ and when he died, in 1829, his son, though only 
(3?^ fourteen years of age, succeeded to a very exten 
' -• - sive business. Although .so young, yet he w.is 
peculiarly ad.npted to the position in which he was placed, 
lie. had always been fond of study, and his attainments, 
cotlpletl wiiii hfs dfsinclination to mingle in the sports of 
conip.anions of his own age, led to his being familiarly 
knosvirVs"'_''rttc old boy ,"^ Thus, when he found Winself 
suddenly called forthllnto active life, he did not shrink 
from the rcsponsitiility,t)\U took hold of business with a 
manful confidence and earnestness. He met with some re- 
verses at 'first, but these were mingled wilh and counler- 
balanccd by successes in other quarters; and, in 1842, his 
keen business faculty^ enabled him to make a stroke which 
brought to him a signal triumph. He had long perceived 
that a proper division of labor had not yet been cITecled in 
the lumber business, the manufacturers not only felling ihe 
trees and preparing them for market, but disposing of them 
directly lo the retail dealers, thus uniting in themselves the 
double character of manufacturer and wholesale merchant. 
He determined to change this, and Initialed another divi- 
sion or branch of the business, not only conferring a 
great benefit lo trade, but laying the foundation of his 
present success. His first wholesale operation was a cargo 
of lumber, which he sold on commission for Bernard Tay- 
lor, and the knowledge of the stale of the market, which 
his devolioft lo his owii "particular branch of the trade en- 
abled, him to obtain, caused him to effect a profitable sale. 
At other times he received a remunerating commission 
from similar transactions, and has continued this business 
for a long series of years. He has always manife.sted a re- 
spect and devotion to religious matters, and in 1S57 was 
baptized and became a member of the Tabernacle Baptist 
Church, of which Dr. Brantley w.as paslor. He now holds 
the offices of de.icon and treasurer in the church of which 





^/La^^ 




1^ 



^ 




C^/^^^, ^J^^:>i--l^0uri^cr^^Pt,e/.4^^ 



II 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCL0I'.^!:DIA. 



I6l 



the Rev. J. Whealon Smith is pastor. In the latter position 
he has labored most iiulefatigably, manifesting great finan- 
cial abilities, and enjoying the highest confidence of the 
members of the congregation. The wealth he has acquired 
in business has been bountifully used in furthering the in- 
terests of religion, and there are few charital)le schemes 
which, when laid before him, have not received the aid of 
his helping hand. His benevolence is, moreover, as quiet 
and unostentatious as it is considerable. He has labored 
earnestly in the cause of education ; has been for ten years 
a Trustee of the University of Lewisburg, and on several 
occasions has contributed to its fund. The great conli- 
dence that is placed in his ability, integrity and financial 
probity, has caused him to be selected as trustee of the 
fortunes of many persons in private life. He has been 
a member of the Board of Directors of the Consolidation 
Bank ever since its foundation ; and for a long tiihfe was 
president of one of the city passenger railway companies; 
On his retirement from the latter position, he receiv'ed, ip 
token of the appreciation in which his valuable efforts were 
held by the company, a handsome silver service. He ha« 
always abstained from politics, and never sought any office. 




ARTHOLOMEW, LIN, Lawyer, was born at 

- ■ M 

Brookville, Jefilerson county, PennsyWa.iia. He 

is the third son of Benjamin Barthtflomew, of 
Philadelphia, also a lawyer, who "was'a member 
of the State Legislature in 1846, representing 
the district of which Jefferson county was part, 
and afterwards District Attorney of .Schuylkill county, to 
which place he had removed with his family. He is em- 
phatically an American and a Pennsylvanian. His family, 
both on the paternal and maternal sides, at a period long 
antedating the Revolutinnai7 war, became residents of the 
Colony of Pennsylvania. The Bartholomews claim a 
French Huguenot origin, whilst the Pretner, or maternal 
ancestry, were amongst those Swedes who disputed^with tlie 
Holland Dutch of New York about colonial boundarj^ 
lines, long before William Penn claimed iiis wide domain 
under the authority of the grant of an English king. Dur- 
ing the war of the Revolution, both by the immediate and 
collateral branches of the family, the cause of the Colonies 
w.ts earnestly espoused. Benjamin Bartholomew the elder, 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was in active ser- 
\ice from the beginning to the end of the war, was a cap- 
Uin of horse, was severely wounded at the battles of 
Brandywine and Germantown, and from the effect of 
wounds received at Germantown afterwards died. He was 
a member of the Order of Cincinnati, was on intimate 
terms with Washington, and had close friendly relations 
with Knox and De Kalb. His grandson received a 
liberal education, mainly at the Pottsville Academy, then 
21 



under the charge of Elias Snyder, well-known throughout 
Eastern Pennsylvania. The celebrated Daniel Kirkwood 
was at that time one of the professors. As a boy, after 
leaving school, he engaged in active business as an em- 
ployer for a short time, but, under the advice of friends, 
and following the bent of his inclination, he commenced 
the study of law in the office of his father, and was admit- 
ted to the practice of his chosen profession in the several 
courts of Schuylkill county in the year 1S57. By force 
of circumstances and education, he had connected himself 
with the Re|)ublican party in its inception, and very soon 
after his adYnission to the bar, by ability and inclination, he 
occupied a prominent position in county politics. He was 
an aspiranti-forthe office of District Attorney in 1859, but 
faijed, to s^cu'rfe"the nomination of his parly. In i860, 
h6wev«r, he^iasl'nominated and elected a member of the 
lower brafnch of^llft Legislature, and served on the Com- 
iryttee of 'Judiciary' (General) and also Ways and Means 
during 'ihat^ iS^itical juncture in the nation's history when 
Sotith' Carolinti and sister .States passed ordinances of Se- 
cession,- when Fort 'Suriiter was fired upon, and when the 
stornrof eiVII-.war first burst upon the country. In 1S61, 
he're'c'eived the coifli»ission of Aide-de-Camp to Brigadier 
GeneVaV Wynkfto^, from Governor Curtin, and, in pursu- 
ance of'his appoifitmelif, seVvlEd in that position at York, 
Pennsylvania,' aWl'GBdJfeysViire, Maryland. His commis- 
sion w<B antl^lTcdbJt'tlre'Waf Department under a general 
ordei-'r"e7okihg and 'restricting tfjipointmcnts of that nature 
by Stale authority. H5 was then appointed by the Secre- 
tary' of War, General Cameron, to the prominent and re 
sponsible position of Private Secretary, and served in that 
capacity until some time after the first battle of Bull Run, 
when he resigned and returned to Pottsville to resume the 
practice of his profession. In September, 1862, he was at. 
the battle of Antietam, and in 1S63, when the State was 
invaded by the Confederate Army, under command of 
General Lee, he served in the 27th Regiment Pennsylvania 
Militia, Colonel J. G. Frick. Whilst not an aspirant for 
office, he has been for years an active politician of State 
re'i^uffttion, has served a% a delegate to a number of State 
conventions, and was, in 1S6S, a delegate at large from the 
State "of Pennsvk'aiM«* to the Chicago Convention, and 
there a supporter of General Grant for the Presidency of 
the United Slates. In October, 1872, he was elected one 
of the members at large to amend the Constitution of 
Pennsylvania, in which convention he served on the Ju- 
diciaiy Committee, and also as Chairman of the Committee 
on Schedules. He is well known throughout the State as 
a political speaker and as a lawyer. He is possessed of a 
fine flow of language, good perceptive faculties, under- 
stands human nature, and has a keen sen.se of humor. He 
is forcible as a speaker, and sometimes rises to eloquence ; 
is a good debater, ready in argument, and quick at repartee. 
Although a general practitioner, his greatest forensic tri- 
umphs have been won in the criminal courts. 



1 62 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 




ROWN, FREDERICK, Pharmaceutist, was hirn 
in the city of Philadelphia, March I2th, 1796. 
On his father's side he was of English descent, 
one of William Penn's followers being of that 
name, and the founder of the American branch 
of the family ; while his mother traced her line- 
age from a French family of the Reformed faith who fled 
ftrst to Holland and thence to the New World, to escape 
the prevalent religious persecution. His early education 
was in schools under the care and patronage of members 
of the Society of Friends, of which he was likewise a mem- 
ber, and he continued to attend their meetings for some 
years after he attained his majority, when his interest in 
religious matters underwent a change, and he became con- 
nected with St. Andrew's Episcopal church, of which he 
was an attendant for over thirty five years. When he had 
att.iined his sixteenth year, he was indentured as an appren- 
tice to learn the apothecary's art in the drug and prescrip- 
tion store of Charles Mai-shall, whose est.iblishment was one 
of the most [irominent in the city, having been founded by 
one of the same family long anterior to the Revolutionary 
war. It was located at (old) No. 56 Chestnut street, be- 
tween Second and Third streets, and was the frequent re- 
sort of many of the leading physici.ans and citizens of the 
day. His fellow-apprentices were young men of talent, who 
have since made themselves, as he likewise did, masters 
in their profession ; among them may be named Dillwyn 
Parrish and Charles Ellis. He remained for ten years in 
this establishment, and having obtained the confidence of 
his instructor during his ycare of tutelage, continued with 
him for some time after his apprenticeship had ended, and 
for a considerable space officiated as the chief man.-iger of 
the business. On March 1st, 1822, he commenced on his 
own account in a store at the northeast corner of Chestnut 
an<l Fifth streets, where the business has been conducted 
ever since. The building which formerly occupied this 
site was familiarly known as the old " War Office," having 
been used by the War Uepartment during the Presidencies 
of General Washington and the elder ,\dams, and is in the 
immediate vicinity of old Independence Hall, and the 
buildings then occupied by the two Houses of Congress 
when in session. Here he prosecuted his calling with di- 
ligence and fidelity. He was one of the first to adopt the 
modern method of conducting the business, and his estab- 
lishment always enjoyed a high repnt.ilion, which was in no 
small degree owing to his personal popularity with his 
patrons. He possessed more than an ordinary .ability, and 
secureil success and independence by uniting enterprise with 
cautiousness. He w.is one of the earliest members of the 
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and took a warm interest 
in its useful and progressive career. In public life he was 
connected with the banking and other institutions, among 
the latter chiefly those of a benevolent character. For the 
period of twenty-six years he was one of the Board of 
Managers of the Pennsylvania Hospital, and although re- 



peatedly solicited to act as President of the same, invariably 
refused, on account of other important and urgent business 
matters. He was one of the four founders of Laurel Hill 
Cemetery, and his name will long be associated with those 
who have beautified and adorned the city of his birth. 
Politically, he was an Old Line Whig, and on the breaking 
out of the great Rebellion, was foremost among his fellow 
citizens in sustaining the Government. His father died in 
1815, when he was but nineteen years old; and from this 
time the care of his mother and of a younger sister devolved 
entirely upon him. In 1833, he maiTied Charlotte Augusta 
Hoppin, of Providence, Rhode Island. His summer rcsi- 
dence was located in Burlington, New Jersey, where he 
had an ample opportunity to gratify his taste for horticul- 
ture. He died February 27th, 1864, leaving a widow, 
daughter and three sons, all of whom are still living. His 
eldest son, and the one bearing his father's name, has suc- 
ceeded to the large and prosperous business, having tho- 
roughly prepared himself by the usual studies pursued at 
the College of Pharmacy, to the success of which his father 
had contributed so largely. 




V 

AGGART, COLONEL DAVID, Lawyer, was 
born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, May 2Sih, 
1S22. His parents, John and Hannah Huston 
Taggart, were of .Scotch-Irish descent, their an- 
cestor having settled in Northumberland up« ards 
of a century .tgo. His maternal grandfather, 
Matthew Huston, was an officer in the army during the 
War of Independence, a member of the St.ite Legislature, 
and for many years clerk of the Slate Senate. He himself 
commenced his education under the tuition of Rev. David 
Kirkp.alrick, at Milton, Pennsylvania, and subsequently 
studied law in the office of Ebenezer Grcenough, at Sun- 
bury, Pennsylvania, being admitted to the bar in 1843, after 
which he immediately entered upon the duties of his pro- 
fession in his n.itive town. In early life he became much 
interested in political m.itters, associating himself with the 
Whig party, of which he became an active supporter, re- 
maining a member of it till its dissolution, when he joined 
the Republican ranks. From 1847 to 1859, he represented 
his party in many important conventions. In 1848, he w.is 
a delegate to the Whig National Convention, and during 
the presidential campaign of 1852 was Chairman of the 
Whig St.ite Committee. In 1854, he was elected to the 
Senate of Pennsylvania, in a district comiroscd of D.auphin 
and Northumberland counties, by a m.ijority of 3000 votes; 
his m.ijority in his own county, then strongly Democratic, 
being over I20O. In 1856, he w.as elected a delegate to 
the National Republican Convention, and in the following 
year, by an almost unanimous vote, was made Speaker of 
the State Senate, defeating his Democratic competitor, the 
Hon. William Wilkins. In this latter position he pre- 



mi 



^ 





z-^^^i^^-^^^^^XJ*^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



'63 



sided over the joint convention of the two houses when 
Simon Cameron was elected to the United States Senate. 
In the same year, he was elected President of the State 
Agricultural Society, and re-elected in the years 1858 and 
1S59. His administration of the aflairs of the society was 
marked with great ability. Its affairs had heen in consider- 
able disorder; but during his term of service it was rescued 
from debt and placed in a position enabling it to endow 
the Agricultural College with some i?8ooo or §10,000, with- 
out impairing its resources. In 1859, he was President of 
the Republican State Convention, and in the next year was 
a prominent candidate for Governor of his native State. He 
was also chosen, in i860, as Presidential Elector,.and se- 
lected as messenger to cari-y the vote of his State to Wash- 
ington. In i86i,hewas appointed Paymaster in the United 
States Regular Arniy, a position which he still retains. 
During the twelve years of his incumbency of this office he 
h.as had much and varied experience in many parts of the 
country. He h.is been on duty in Washington, Baltimore, 
Philadelphia, St. Louis, Om.iha, Charleston and Pordaiid,' 
Oregon, and has naturally travelled extensively in his official, 
capacity. In a recent eloquent address, delivered -on -,3" 
Fourth of July celebration, he alluded to liisitravels in 
glowing and picturesque language. After-de.<icribingithe 
countries he had seen, from the snoiuy -peaks '6( British 
Columbia to the tropical splendors ofXuba, he.,caiue to the 
conclusion that no spot was so de.-ir t*o him.as hisjiative' 
town. He became very prominent during- the a§j.tati.*n in 
f.ivor of temper.ance, which prevailed in PennsyWan'ia soJije' 
years since, and has always consistently niaintaiife(l-"by, 
precept and example, the doctrine of .The abd^ion'bfvtl^e^ 
sale of spirituous liquors, both in the Senate and elsewhere.' 
To a commanding presence and great physical strength, fie 
unites a rare gift of oratory, which, with a remarkable 
memory, exuberant humor and many other valuable qualifi- 
cations, have singularly fitted him for the numerous and 
.mportant public positions he has occupied. He was married 
on May the 5th, 1S4S, to Annie Cowden, eldest daughter 
of Colonel John H. Cowden, by whom he has had four 
children, three of them still living. 



on an extensive sugar refining business, being widely known 
throughout the United Stales, in commercial circles, for 
their uprightness, sagacity, integrity and other business 
qualifications, and it is not hazarding much to say, that the 
example and precepts of his uncle did much towards the 
foundation of those principles of rectitude and honorable 
dealing which, developed in after life, established the high 
character of his future reputation. On leaving school, he 
at once entered upon his commercial career, 4)y acceptiiig a 
clerkship in a sugar refinery in New York city, a positron 
which he occupied for a period of two years, to the entire 
satisfaction of his employers. At the expiration of that 
tihie, he removed to Bristol, Rhode Island, where his know- 
ledge -of the business and his honorable record obtained 
for hint a similar position in a sugar refinery. He dis- 
chargecl.ihe duties ofth.it situ.ation for eight years, when he 
rentoved to Philadelphia. In that city he purchased a sugar 
refinery, at the corner of Fifth and Willow streets ; com- 
iiienced business there on hi.s own account, and still con- 
tinues it on the same premises. The establishment is very 
extensive, one of the most extensive in the city. Indtpen- 
4ently of his legitimate business, he is President of the Penn 
F^e Insurance Company, No. 408 Walnut street, and has 
bg<je,a Director in the same ever since its organization ; 
he is also a DUe^ctor in the Keystone Bank, of Philadelphia! 
A shrewd financiel: and keen business man, he is also pos. 
sessed of generous,instincts, which lead him to take a deep 
a^d intelligent- interest in all movements calculated to 
a^ance the public welfare. 
if*" 





[iLLIAM.S, FIELDING LEWIS, Sugar Refiner, 
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, w.as born at 
Lynchburg, Halifax county, Virginia, in the 
year 1832; his parents. Fielding Lewis and Mary 
Frances Williams, being also natives of that 
county. With them, he went to Clarksville, 
Montgomery county, Tennessee, in 1834, remaining till he 
had attained the age of fourteen years, when he was sent 
to Sing Sing, New York, for the purpose of completing his 
e<lucation. On the death of his father, his uncle, Howell 
Lewis Williams— of the firm of Robert & Williams, New 
York city— was appointed his guardian. This firm carried 



AUX, HON. RICHARD, Lawyer and Politician, 
was born December 19th, 1819, and is a son of 
Hon. Robert Vaux, formerly Judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas, of Philadelphia, and one of the 
originators of the public school system of Pennsyl- 
vania. He preferred to educate his son at home, 
with the assistance of private tutors, rather than to entrust 
him to the care of teachers over whom he could have no 
control. It was to^his father, therefore, that he owed the 
thorough development and training of his mental powers. 
It was the Other's wish that his son should adopt the pro- 
fession of the law ; he accordingly entered the office of 
William M. Meredith, and was admitted to practice nearly 
a year before he attained his majority. Soon after he sailed 
for Europe as the bearer of despatches to the Hon. Andrew 
Stevenson, who then held the position of United States 
Minister to the Court of St. James. At the same time that 
he presented himself to the American Minister, an order 
arrived directing the gentleman who then held the position 
of Secretary of Legation to report at Berlin, when the former 
was appointed to the post, upon the duties of which he im- 
mediaely entered. He held this position for a year, when 
he was relieved by the Hon. Benjamin Rush. Declinin<» 



iG4 



mOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



ihe offer of Mr. Dallas of the post of Secretary of Legation 
at St. Petersburg, he resumed his intended tour of the Con- 
tinent, lie accompanied Mr. Massey to Brussels to super- 
intend the organization of the American eml).T.ssy to the 
court there. On his return to I^ndon, he was prevailed 
upon, at the urgent solicitation of Mr. Stevenson, to accept 
a position as his private secretary. He remained for some 
months in the capital, and w.as brought into intimate asso- 
ciation with the court and the most distinguished men of 
that day, a fact which is chiefly noteworthy as indicating 
the origin of the finished manners and pleasing urbanity for 
which he is remarkable. He returned to America in the 
fall of 1843, and was shortly afterwards surprised by the 
intelligence that he h.-id lieen nominated as a candidate for 
the lower house of the Pennsylvania Legislature, he having 
up to that time taken no active p.art in pDlitics. In March, 
1840, he was chosen a delegate to the Convention which 
nominated Van Buren and Johnson for President and Vice- 
Presiflent of the Unite<l .States. In 1841, he was appointed 
to the office of Recorder of Philadelphia, which (X)sition he 
held for seven years, and it is a fact worthy of mention that 
no decision rendered by him during that period was ever 
reversed by the higher courts. A volume of reports of his 
decisions in this office is extant. In 1842, he was nomi- 
nated for Mayor of Philadelphia, on the Democratic ticket, 
and though not elected, his candidacy reduceil the prevalent 
majority of the opposing party from five thousand to four 
hundred. About the same time, he was appointed by the 
.Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as Inspector of the .State 
Prison, .and soon after w.is elected to the office so long and 
ably filled by his father, that of a Controller of Public 
Schools, thus serving in three important public positions at 
the same lime. In 1847, he resigned the office of Recorder, 
and resumed the practice of the law, h.aving, in the mean- 
time, been twice renominated for Mayor. On the consoli- 
dation of the city, in 1854, he was again noniin.aled and was 
again defeated, his competitor being Judge Conra<l. At 
the next m.ayorally election, however, he ran ag.ainst lion. 
Henry D. Moore, and was successful. On assuming the 
duties of the jmsition, he found that much rcm.ained to be 
done for the organization of the city government after the 
consolidation, a work which he was able satisfactorily to 
complete, and the system which he introduced has ever 
since been in vogue. In 1858, he was chosen one of the 
directors of Gir.ird College, and the following year was 
elected President of the Board. While an incumbent of 
this position, he introduced into the man.igement a feature 
which excited considerable comment, and which a change 
in the control of the body of managers caused to be sulwe- 
quently abandoned. Finding that many of the students were 
incapable of pursuing efficiently the higher branches of the 
college curriculum, he secured the adoption of a provision 
requiring such pupils to learn some useful handicraft. While 
occupying this position he w.as precluded from any active 
participation in politics, and from accepting any nomination 



for an elective office. Mr. Buchanau being elected Presi- 
dent of Ihe United States, it was thought that the long and 
intim.ate friendship sul>sisting between the two might cause 
the President to avail himself of the talents and diplomatic 
training of his friend. It is related that he was sent for by 
the President, who wished to induce him to support certain 
measures of policy which he was not inclined to endorse. 
After exhausting his resources of reasoning and persuasion, 
the President is reported to have said : " Richard, remem- 
ber that William Duane and Samuel D. Ingham were ruined 
by their desertion of Andrew J.ickson." The reply of Mr. 
Vaux was characteristically acute and bold : " My dear 
sir," said he, " it will be the greatest mistake of your life 
if ever you allow yourself to suppose that you are an An- 
drew Jackson." As would be presumed, he received no 
appointment from President Buchanan. He remained poli- 
tically inactive during this presidential term, and .ilso during 
the period of the civil war, his views being opposed to 
those of a majority of his countr)'men. Vet notwithstand- 
ing that his convictions in this instance were obnoxious to 
the greater portion of his fellow citizens, his integrity and 
honesty of purpose were never doubted, and he has retained 
the unswerving esteem of all who know him. In 1866, he 
was elected Grand Master of the Masonic Order in Pennsyl- 
vania. For years he served as Chairman of the Democratic 
Stale Committee. 



LEMFN'T, IR.\ T., Merchant, was bom in New 
Jersey, January iilh, 1813. He is the posthu- 
mous son of a soldier of the War of 1812. 
When three years of age, his mother removed to 
Sunbury, and thence shortly after to .Snyder-town. 
In a short time an important change occurred in 
the family, by the second marriage of his mother, and 
though he was but four years old, he was at this early age 
duly indentured to a farmer to learn that " art and mystery." 
The articles of apprenticeship arc expressed in the usual 
quaint style then in vogue, and specify, among other par- 
ticulars, that he was to serve his master faithfully until the 
age of eighteen, and that during the many years he should 
receive " four quarter years of schooling." It is to be pre- 
sumed that Ihe stipulations were faithfully adhered to. 
However, when he was free, he was induced to learn the 
trade of a carpenter, as he disliked the occupation of an 
.ngriculturist, and he devoted the remaining three years of 
his minority to a calling which was more in accordance 
with his t.istes. As early as 1833, railro.ids had been built 
and operated in Pennsylvania, and a variety of routes had 
tieen selected for the construction of others. Among these 
was the Catawissa Railroad ; and H|H)n this new improve- 
ment he secured a contract. Subsequently, he accompanied 
a corps of engineers in the survey of the Sunbury & Erie 
R.iilro.id, in the capacity of teamster. The country through 
which the projected improvement was to pass, though now 




EIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



1 65 




doited over with cities, (owns and villages, with the inter- 
vening acres carefully and scientifically tilled, was then an 
almost unbroken wilderness. The company which origi- 
nated this road soon failed, and .were unable to meet their 
liabilities ; even their laborers were unpaid, and, among 
others, he lost all his hard earnings. His next move was 
to rent a saw-mill, and after a short season he went into 
the mercantile business at Sunbuiy, and built a saw-mill 
lliere, which he carried on in connection with the former 
interest. At the beginning of the war of the Rebellion he 
withdrew from mercantile pursuits, but within the past two 
years has resumed his former calling. As partner in one 
of the principal stores in Sunbury, the proprietor of a large 
saw and planing mill, the owner of a ferry boat, and pos- 
sessing a handsome farm, within a short distance of the 
town, he finds ample employment for his brain and hands. 
He was married, in 1835,10 Sarah Martz, and has a nu- 
merous family. 



'FENCER, CHARLES,, Manufacturer, was born 
at Enderby, near Leicester, England, June 12th, 
1821. His father, William Spencer, was a trades- 
man in that town, where his ancestors had lived 
for many generations; he emigrated with his 
family to the United States in 1842, and landed 
in New York M.iy 4th, 1842. The next day they went to 
Philadelphia, where they found themselves entirely among 
strangers. After a diligent search for employment, Charles 
secured a situation to keep books and collect accounts for 
Samuel E. Cassiday, straw hat finisher, 43 Lombard street, 
at five dollars per week. Here he continued until July, 
1843, when with his savings of fifty dollars out of his meagre 
salary he prepared to engage in business on his own account. 
In the following October he commenced the knitting busi- 
ness in the garret of a house on Germantown avenue, above 
Haines street. After various removals to accommodate his 
increasing business, he purchased the present site, in 1850, 
and erected a mill seventy-five by thirty-five feet, to which 
he has from time to time made the necessary additions, until 
the works now occupy about two acres of ground. His 
father, William .Spencer, was superintendent of the works 
from their origin until his death, in 1863. He formed a 
copartnership with his brother, William G. Spencer, January 
1st, 1857, under the style of Charles Spencer & Co., and 
Charles Paulson, who had for many years had charge of the 
New York warehouse, was admitted January 1st, 1867. 
His elder son, Robert S. Spencer, became a partner J.anuaiy 
ist, 1868, William G. Spencer retired in Januaiy, 1869, 
and his younger son, Charles H. .Spencer, was admitted 
January Ist, 1870. He was married, May 27th, 1845, to 
Priscilla Smethurst, the sister of Richard and Robert Sme- 
thurst, of Philadelphia, and a native of Lancashire, England, 
where her father had been an extensive manufacturer. He 
became a citizen at the earliest opportunity; but though he 



has been an earnest advocate of the principles of the Whig 
and Republican parties, he has never sought nor held a 
political office. During the war he was an active supporter 
of the Union cause, and a liberal contril)utor to the main- 
tenance of soldiers' families. He is a prominent and active 
member of various charitable corporations, and a generous 
promoter of all the benevolent enterprises of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, though his liberal religious sentiments 
enable him to support every effort for the alleviation of 
suffering or the good of humanity. He is a self-made man, 
and owes all his success to his diligence, energy and ability. 
Modest and retiring, he shrinks from notoriety, and his 
philanthropic designs are so quietly executed that they only 
become known subsequently thi'ough their comprehensive- 
ness and liberality. 

\ 
ALMER, ROBERT M., Lawyer, was born in 
Mount Holly, New Jersey, in 1820. He was a 
son of the late Judge Strange N. Palmer, svho 
having settled in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in 
1829, was for the space of thirty-six years a resi- 
dent of that place ; and a grandson of Hon. Nathan 
Palmer, a lineal descendant of Miles Standish, who, born 
at Plainfield, Connecticut, in early manhood removed to 
Pennsylvania, and served in the Senate of his adopted Slate 
for three years, having been chosen thereto by his consti- 
tuents of Luzerne and Northumberland counties, as holding 
the views and political faith of Thomas Jefferson. He also 
had been previously ciraimissioned by Governor McKean, 
whose election he had warmly seconded, as Prothonotary of 
Luzerne county. Robert was but nine years of age w-hen 
his father removed to Pottsville, and inherited the same 
tastes as his parent and grandfather, both of whom had 
been connected with the typographical art and editorial 
fraternity. He served successively in various positions in 
the printing office, and fin.ally re.ached the editori.al chair 
of the Emporium. While so occupied, he studied law, 
and, in 1845, was admitted to practice. In his political 
faith, he was a firm supporter of the principles of the Demo- 
cratic party, and so continued until 1854. Previous to this 
date, namely in 1850, he was elected District Attorney of 
Schuylkill county, for the term of three years, and from 
that period took a high position as a criminal lawyer, and 
stood subsequently in the front rank of his profession in 
the Commonwealth. In 1854, he allied himself to the 
" People's Party," which opposed the pro-slavery dogma 
of the modern Democracy. In 1856, he was a member of 
the Union State Central Committee, and Chairman /to tern. 
of the Committee to arrange the Electoral ticket. In 1858, 
he was elected to the State Senate from Schuylkill county, 
and during his term, and mainly through his exertions, that 
county received more local legislation of a reformatory 
character than any other in the State outside of Philadelphia, 
amounting to art annual saving of $50,000 to the people in 



1 66 



UIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 




taxes. He w.is elected Speaker of the Senate (luring his 
last year of service, and filled the chair with distinguished 
ability. A half century before, his grandfather had occupied 
the same position. In the spring of l8t)l,he was appointed 
by President Lincoln Minister to the Argentine Confede- 
ration, and sailed for that country in M.iy of the same year. 
Mis health was not good durin;^ his residence, and, in less 
than a year, he resolved to return home, his physicians 
trusting lh.it the sea air might be of benefit to him. Me 
(lied April 26lh, 1862, on the thirteenth day out, and on 
the following day his remains were committed to the deep. 
Me left a widow and six children, four of whom arc living. 
Mis eldest son. Dr. Charles Thomas Palmer, after serving 
for two years as Resident Physician of Wills' Hospital, 
I'hiladelphia, returned to Potlsville, and, in 1871, was 
elected Coroner of Schuylkill county, which position he 
yet holds. 

sl -^ 

JiACIIE, ALEXANDER DALLAS, Scientist, w.is 
a great grandson of Benjamin Franklin. He 
was l)orn July 19th, 1809, in Philadelphia, and 
was educated at the Military .\cademy at West 
Point. He gr.iduated from that institution with 
the highest honors. In 1S25, he was commis- 
sioned Lieutenant of Engineers, and was ordered to aid in 
the construction of fortifications. Two years later, he oc- 
cupied the Chuir of Mathematics in the Univci'sily of 
Pennsylvania; in 1841, he organizt^d the High School of 
Philadelphia, and filled the position of Principal during 
that and the following year. In 1842, he was appointed 
Professor of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry in the 
University of Pennsylvania, and, in 1843, he assumed the 
Presidency of Girard College. In the same year, he was 
called to fill a still larger and more important field of use- 
fulness as Superintendent of the United States Coast Sur- 
vey. This position he occupied until his death ; and the 
services which he rendered the country by the efficient man- 
ner in which he organized the Survey Iiure.au and carried 
on its complicated oper.itions can scarcely be over esti- 
mated. Under his superintendence the work of surveying 
our extensive coast was conducted in such a manner as to 
elicit the most cordial commendations from all quarters, 
and the charts prepared by the Bureau are acknowledged 
to be models of excellence which have no superioi-s. He 
was a voluminous writer on scientific subjects, and a 
frequent contributor to the different scientific publications 
of this country and of Europe. In 1839, he published a 
very valuable work on the Eiiucationnt Systems of Europe, 
the result of a trip across the Atlantic for the purpose of 
inspecting the schools of England and the Continent. He 
also edited, with notes, Brnaster's Optics, and published 
in three large volumes, with plates, Observations at the 
Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory of Girard Col- 
lege. The Annual Keports of the Coast Suivey, which 




were filled with scientific data, were issued under his super- 
intendence; and from 1849 to 1858, he published a large 
number of valuable papers in The Proceedings of the Ameri- 
can Association for the Advancement of Science. He also 
contributed to Ihe Journal of the l-'ranklin Institute ; The 
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society; The 
American yoiirnal of Science, and The Proceedings of the 
British .issociiition for the Advancement of Science. For 
a number of years the Annual Reports of the Treasury De- 
partment on Weights and Afeasures were prepared by him. 
He was a member of nearly all of the principal scientific 
societies in .America and Europe, and, in 1858, he was the 
recipient of the mcd.il of the Royal Geographical Society of 
England. He died in 1867. 



UNCAN, C. M., Lawyer, was born M.ay 2Sth, 
1831, at Cashtown, Adam; county, Pennsylv.ania. 
His early education was thorough, and after due 
, ^ preparation, h,- entered Franklin and Marshal 
%V0 College, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from which 
institution he graduated with high honors. He 
immediately applied himself to the law, and pursued his 
professional studies in the office of Hon. Wilson Reiley, 
completing them under the auspices of Hon. J. McDowell 
Sharpe. Upon his admission to the bar, he commenced 
practice in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and quickly made 
for himself a reputation as a gentleman of refined insiincls, 
a successful lawyer, and a keen politician. In 1865, he was 
elected to the .State Senate, from the district composed of 
the counties of Adams and Franklin. The eminent quali- 
ties for the service of the Stale which he possessed ; his 
thorough devotion to the best interests of his district, as 
well as the entire C(Vintry ; his ready sacrifice of selfish and 
sectional feeling to the general welfare, and his fearless 
mainlen.ance of the high demands of virtue and right, amid 
the strife and tumult of party w.arfare, and all the engross- 
ing anxieties of secular concerns, were duly recognised by 
his constituents. In 1868, he was renominated, and, though 
opposed by a competitor of high standing, was re-elected. 
On all the great questions which regarded the substantial 
and important commercial and industrial interests of the 
State, while a member of the Senate, he took a position 
prominent and decided. He is a ready and able debater, 
forcible and eloquent. In the deb.ate which took place, 
during his term in the Senate, upon the question of pay- 
ment by the Slate of the losses and damages sustained by 
the people of the border counties during the war of Ihe 
Rebellion, he particularly distinguished himself, and Ihe 
success of the appeal was largely due to his efforts. His 
term of service in the Senate having expired, he declined 
re-election, and returned to the pr.ictice of his profession 
in the town of Chambersburg. There he still resides, 
conducting a large and lucrative practice, and enjoying the 
high esteem of the communitv. 




-4Uy ^«^/^^ v^/ 



.i^-su 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCI.OP.^DIA. 



167 



AXLER, WILLIAM HALL, Lawyer, was born 
in the Twenty-third Ward, of Philadelphia, De- 
cember 13th, 1S37. His family were among the 
oldest settlers in the State, and his father, John 
Waxier, was a progressive farmer in Oxford 
Township. During the earlier period of his boy- 
hood he attended the public schools, but finished his edu- 
cation at Port Royal Seminary (a mathematical and classi- 
cal institute), near Frankford. Ilis natural mathematical 
genius led him to devote great attention to that branch and 
to look forward to civil ent^ineering as his profession in 
life, but, considering the wider field offered by the lav?, he 
entered the Law Department of tlie University of Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1S5S. He became a student in the office of 
George W. BIddle, about April isl, 1859; graduated from 
the University July 3d, 1S60; was admitted to the bar 
January 19th, 1861, and at once energetically engaged in 
practice. He was married to Fannie E. Galligher, formerly 
of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on April Sth, 1862. He is a 
prominent member of, and ruling elder in, the Presbyterian 
Church. He was one of the originators and Secretary tjf 
the Frankford & Philadelphia Passenger Raili^ay Company, 
afterward merged into the Second & Hli ail; Stjieet"' R(f4tl . 
and is an officer in various other local ei^rpoi^tioris, includ- 
ing the North Cedar Hill Cemetery G&mpitty>~of '>#hich 
he is a Director and an originator. He ha.s^,be%fi a D'?lt- 
gate to every Republican Judicial Convention heklin Fliila- 
delphia since he became a voter, but has uniformly ejahe^eil 
politics and devoted himself to his profession, in which he 
has achieved great success by the power of superior intellect 
and inherent energy. 



/ 



^(WENKS, HON. MICHAEL HUTCHINSON, Con- 
^ J veyancer and Congressman, was born at Bridge- 
4II town Mills, near Atlleborough, Bucks coun^, 
^ Pennsylvania, M.iy 21st, 1795. Thdmas Jenks, 
his great grandfather, was born in England, in 
the latter ]>art of December, 1699, antl came to 
the United States when a child, with his widowed mother, 
Susan Jenks. They settled in Wrightstown Township, 
Bucks county, and, in 1 70S, she married Benjamin Wiggins, 
of Buckingham, where their descendants still reside. 
Thomas, upon attaining his majority, purchased a tract of 
land in Middletown Township, two miles northeast of At- 
tleborough, and named it " Pomona Farm." He married 
Mercy Wildman, in 1731, and died May 4th, 1797, leaving 
three sons, Thomas, John, and Joseph, and three daughters. 
Joseph Jenks w.as born December 22d, 1743, and, having 
married Elizabeth Pearson, resided on a part of the home- 
stead estate until his death, in 1820. He left one son, 
William, and two daughters. William Jenks was born 
August I2th, 1766, and died in 1S18, leaving a number 
of children, of whom Michael Hutchinson was the second 



son. After attending the district schools in and near Atlle- 
borough, he was placed under the care of John Comly, an 
eminent minister of the Society of Friends, at " Pleasant 
Hill " Boarding School, in Byberry Township, Philadelphia 
county, Pennsylvania. There his character was moulded, 
and a resolution formed to refrain from all common human 
excesses. He says in his memoirs : " I have often thanked 
a kind Providence for preserving me and enabling if e to 
keep a resolve of my youth, that I would never smoke or 
chew tobacco, get intoxicated, or play at cards, and thus 
■far, at the age of sixty-three, I have withstood the tempta- 
tioii*of. all." After leaving school he procured a surveyor's 
chain and .compass to practise the theories he had learned. 
During the_succeeding period of forty-six years, he surveyed 
and wrote the conveyances of a large portion of the lower 
end of Bucks county. In 1816, he took charge of the farm 
of his.jiged grandfather, upon whose death, in 1820, he 
suco^tded to the estate. He married Mary Ridgway Earl, 
of Spnng^ld, Burlington county, New Jersey, March 14th, 
1821. *H^. continued to farm, in conjunction with the 
prq?rice .of^hisHuffession, until 1S27, when other matters 
clarmi^ so^jnucji bfrjiij; attention that, to the great regret 
of his chitclren, he _soJd-<hg estate that had been in the 
family for^oy,a-Ktne hUndrifd. years. He at once removed 
to NewtowjJIfwheVe .ht^ engaged in the purchase and sale 
of real e3ate:in cOTlnection with his duties as surveyor and 
conveyansj8jf,^aj(id,^' the^^ucceeding twenty-nine yeare con- 
tinued the' chjff-reliance in that line of his neighborhood. 
He was: elected, in autumn, 1830, Commissioner of Bucks 
county, for three yeai-s, at the expiration of which time he 
was, in appreciation of his service, unanimously elected 
Treasurer of the county, and so continued until 1835. He 
was appointed, by Governor Ritner, Associate Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas of Bucks county, in September, 
1838, and during the succeeding five years filled the position 
with such dignity and credit that upon his retirement very 
complimentary resolutions were unanimously passed by the 
iludiS 'County- bar. In the fall of 1842, he was elected by 
the Whigs of Bucks and Lehigh counties a member of the 
Forty-eighth Congress, by a large majoiity, as an advocate 
of protection to American in 'ustiy — a question then pro- 
minently before the people. He was Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Post-offices and Post-roads, and his services were 
so accept.able to his constituents that he was renominated, 
but that being the memorable Clay campaign the Demo- 
cracy carried eveiything in his district. He at once re- 
turned to his business, and continued it in connection with 
the office of Chief Burgess of Newtown until within a few 
years of his death. He was a man of the strictest integrity, 
methodical, punctual and just. As Justice of the Peace he 
usually effected an arrangement of disputes without an 
entry upon his docket. He took a deep and lively interest 
in the war of the Rebellion, and heartily rejoiced over the 
death knell of slavery and the triumph of the Union arms. 
He died October i6th, 1867, leaving three sons and two 



i68 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CVCI.OP/EDIA. 




<laiislitcrs. His remain!^ rest in ihe "Friends'" Burj'inp 
Ground at Newtown, of which society he and all his ances- 
tors had been members. 

J 
JLRVIANCE, SAMUEL AN'DERSON, Lawyer 
and ex-Congressman, was born January lOlh, iSog. 
in Butler, Pennsylvania. He is partly of Frencl 
and partly of Scotch and American descent, hi- 
ancestors on his father's side having l)cen amoin: 
the early settlers of western Pennsylvania. After 
receiving a preliminary education, he entered college, and 
after pursuing a partial course, applied himself to the 
s'.udy of law. In this he made such rapid progress thai, 
when but eighteen years of age, he was admitted to the 
bar. He served for two years as Prosecuting Attorney for 
Warren county, earning such a reputation xs a lawyer that 
he was elected to the Constitutional Convention from Butler 
county in 1S36, and, in 1838, was returned to the Legisla- 
ture. In 1S54, he was elected to the United Stales Con- 
gress, and riC ectcd to the same in 1856. He was a mem- 
ber of the following nominating conventions: In 1844, that 
which nominated Henry Clay; in 1856, that which nomi- 
nalcd Fremont; in 1S60 and 1864, those which nominated 
Lincoln; and finally, in 1S6S, that which nominated Grant. 
He was also an elector, in 1848, when Taylor was a candi- 
date for the Presidency, and, in 1852, when General Scott 
was seeking the same office. He was appointed Attorney- 
General of the State of Pennsylvania in 1 861, but resigned 
that office, greatly to the disappointment of his parly. It 
will be gathered from the foregoing that he was a Whig in 
politics; in fact, he was a firm supporter of that parly as 
long as it had a separate existence, and followed it, on its 
dissolution, into the ranks of the Republicans, with whom 
he has since cordially ciiiperaled. He was elected a mem- 
ber of the Constitutional Convention, assembled in 1872. 
He was married, in 1839, to Caroline M. Irwin, of Cum- 
be ':.nd county, Pennsylvania, and has three children. 

*HEPPARD, FURMAN, Lawyer an\ Politician, 
was born at Bridgeton, Cumberland county. New 
Jersey. He was educated at the College of New 
Jersey, at Princeton, and graduated in that in- 
stitution, in 1845, with honors, being selected to 
deliver the valedictory address at the college 
conmiencement of that year. On leaving college, he en- 
tered upon the study of law under the direction of Exjudge 
Garrick Malleiy, and w.is adinitted to the bar .September 
7th, 1848. He was nominated Democratic candidate for 
ihe office of District Attorney for the city and county of 
Philadelphia, and in October, 1868, wxs elected to that 
office fur a term of three years. In that year the entire city 
ticket was claimed to have been elected by the Democrats; 





but this l>eing disputed, a contest wa.s entered upon by the 
Republicans, and the matter went before the courts. In 
the first instance, a decision was rendered, confirming the 
election of D. M. Fox as M.iyor, but annulling that of the 
District Attorney, the Receiver of Taxes, and some others. 
An ap|)eal from this decision was made, and the case car- 
ried before the Supreme Court, where, on review, the judg- 
ment of the inferior court was reversed in his case, and an 
order made upon his opponent, Charles Gibbons, — who, 
pending the result of the ap|>eal, had occupied the office, — 
to account to its rightful possessor. He then entered U|)on 
the duties of his office, which he discharged till the expira- 
tion of his term, his administration being marked through- 
out by energy and a high sense of responsibiliiy. He is the 
author of an educational work on the Constitution of the 
United States, entitled, T/ie Constilutioual Text Book, 
which has met w ith much favor, and been very extensively 
used in colleges and schools in various parts of the countr)'. 

ROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN, Author, w.is 
born in Philadelphia, in 1 77 1. He was one 
of the first American romance writers to win 
distinction and to obtain the commendation of 
irans-Atlantic critics. He appears to have been 
greatly fascinated by the writings of Willi.-im 
Godwin, the author of Caleb IVilliams, and they undoubt- 
edly exerted a decided influence on his style, a fact which 
will perhaps account for the partial non-success of his 
novels ; for, in spite of their many remarkable qualities, 
they have not obtained that rank among the standard works 
of fiction that their undoubted merits seem to entitle them 
to. His first novel w.-us Wielnnti ; or. The Tramformalion, 
and was published in 1798. It made a marked impression 
on the reading public, and is to-day considered by compe- 
tent critics as one of the best, if not the very best, of its 
author's works of fiction. Wietatid was issued in London, 
in 181 1, and w.is received with much cordiality by the 
literary coterie of which Godwin and his wife were the 
leaders. It was looked upon as Ihe beginning of a school 
of American fiction which would rapidly rival that of the 
old world in its claims upon the regards of cultivated read- 
ers. IVieland was followed by Ormoitil ; or. The Secret 
IVitttess, which did not create the same sensation as its 
predecessor; and by Arthur Mer7yii, which is chiefly re- 
rnarkable for the powerful description it gives of ihe devas- 
tations causeil by the yellow fever in Philailelphia, in 1 793. 
His other novels were, Edgar Jhintly; or, T he Memoirs of a 
Sleep Walker ; Clara Ilmtiard, and Jane Talbot. An un- 
finished story, entitled. Memoir of Carivin the Biloqui:t, is 
also to be included in the list, although the leading idea 
was worked up in a somewhat different shape in Wieland. 
In addition to his novels, he wrote a number of verj- able 
political pamphlets, and contributed frequently to the dif- 



BIOGRArmCAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



169 



leient magazines. In 1799, he started a serial publication 
of his own, under the title of The Monthly Magazine and 
American Review. The venture, however, was not a suc- 
cess. About four years afterwards, he issued the first 
number of The Literary Magazine and American Register, 
which lived for five years. To this magazine he himself 
contributed most of the matter. In 1803, he made a third 
attempt to establish a magazine. This was called The 
American Register, and was published until his death. He 
made several translations, and was the author of a number 
of memoirs. His novels are remarkable for the invention 
they display, for the ingenious manner in which the narra- 
tive is managed so as to engage the attention of the reader, 
for their imagination, and fur their subtle psychological 
insight. 



JRINCE, SAMUEL F., Merchant, was born in 
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in the year 
1 82 1. Left fatherless at the age of eight years, he 
was obliged, when only twelve yeare old, to rely 
for support on his own exertions. The first 
situation he obtained was that of ** Post Boy," at 
Norristown.' His duty was to deliver the mails and the 
paper: of two weekly publications, printed in Norristown, 
which required him to make a journey on horseback em- 
bracing a circuit of fifty to sixty miles, and to traverse 
the entire route winter and summer, without regard to 
weather, three times a week. For two years he served in 
this e.xposed and laborious capacity, and afterwards atten- 
ded a country school for one year. He then removed to 
Philadelphia, where he served a full apprenticeship at 
cabinet making — working at the business about a year after 
he was free. At this period occurred the commercial dis- 
asters of 1841, sweeping away many old established and 
theretofore rich and prosperous firms, and rendering em- 
ployment scarce and difficult to obtain. At the request of 
an uncle, who, in addition to his legal profession, was en- 
gaged in the production and sale of marble, he accepted a 
position under him in his business. In 1S46, his uncle, 
being elected to Congress, relinquished his marble interest, 
and he commenced the business on his own account, 
struggling with competitors, old in the trade, but deter- 
mined, by close application and careful management, to 
succeed. As his business prospered, he extended his ope- 
rations by purchasing quarries in Vermont, and erecting 
improved mills and machinery for preparing marble to suit 
the wants of the trade. His enterprise was crowned with 
success, and his business became widely extended, so that 
now he is shipping the products of his quarries and mills in 
Vermont to all parts of the United States. He also owns 
and operates a large farm on the margin of the river 
Schuylkill, nine miles from the heart of the city, on which 
is located a large soapstone quariy, which he works exten- 
sively in producing soapstone for the lining of puddling 



furnaces used in the manufacture of iron. This quariy is 
one of the old landmarks of Philadelphia, and has been in 
operation for more than a century. Before the introduction 
of marble, the products of this quany were used for general 
building purposes, as the old State House in Philadelphia 
shows; and it is said that the steps from which the Decla- 
ration of Independence was first read, and the quoins in 
the building, which are soapstone, but now painted white, 
were the products of this quarry. When the iron interest 
in this State was in its infancy, he foresaw that soapstone 
would be a valuable acquisition to that trade. This idea 
led to his purchasing the soapstone property, adding to the 
original purchase as opportunity offered, until now he owns 
in the one tract about one hundred and seventy acres, the 
majority being within the city limits. At the time of pur- 
chase, the property was unimproved and unproductive; but, 
under his careful supervision, it has been cleared, culti- 
vated and otherwise improved with buildings, etc., so that 
at the present time it is one of the most productive and 
desirable locations in the vicinity of Philadelphia. 



UHRING, LOUIS A., Physician, was born, in 
Philadelphia, on the 23d of December, 1845. 
His father, Henry Duhring, came to this country 
in 1S18, from Mecklenburg, Germany, and be- 
came one among the most successful merchants 
in Philadelphia. His mother was a native of 
St. Gall, in Switzerland. He pursued his studies at the 
University of Pennsylvania, graduated from the Medical 
Department in 1867, and was shoitly after elected one of 
the resident physicians to the Philadelphia Hospital. In 
this position he remained fifteen months, during which 
time he commenced the study of cutaneous diseases, a 
branch of medicine for which he already showed marked 
aptitude and taste. On the expiration of his term as resi- 
dent Physician, he sailed for Europe, and spent two years 
in acquiring a thorough knowledge of Dermatology in the 
hospitals of Paris, London and Vienna, the greater part of 
his time being^ passed in the latter city, under the tuition 
of the celebrated Hebra. While abroad, he wrote several 
papers on affections of the skin, for the medical journals, 
all of which gave evidence of careful study and practical 
ability. He returned home, and, in the latter part of 1870, 
founded and opened the Philadelphia Dispensary for Skin 
Diseases, a branch of medicine theretofore sadly neglected 
in the United States. About this time he also became one 
of the editors of the Photographic Review of Medicine and 
SuKgery. In the spring of 1871, he was elected Clinical 
Lecturer upon Diseases of the Skin in the University 
of Pennsylvania. He had, prior to this, been elected 
a member of the College of Physicians, also of the 
Philadelphia Pathological Society, and a corresponding 
member of ihe New York Denuatological Society. He 




II 



I70 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 




is a close and careful student, an acute and intelligent 
observer, and possesses great clearness and force in his 
logical deductions. 



INEY, HON. WILLIAM H., Lawyer, was bom 
in the village of Diniock, Susquehanna county, 
Pennsylvania, November 30lh, 1833. I Ic had the 
usual advantages of education presented by our 
public schools, together with a preparatoiy course 
at Dimock Academy, in 1849 and 1850. After 
which, at the age of seventeen, he entered Hartford Uni- 
versity at Hartford, Pennsylvania, then an institution of 
learning of high standing in that section. He continued 
there during the next three years, viz : l8si-'S2 and 1853, 
which completed his educational training. After the death 
of his father, early in 1854, he commenced the study of the 
law, under Hon. E. B. Chase, of Montrose, Pennsylvania, 
being then about twenty years old. During this and a 
portion of 1S55, he was also engaged in teaching in the 
academy in his native village. Subsequently he removed 
to Lehigh county, where he was also engaged a portion of 
the time in teaching, while pursuing his legal studies. 
These he completed in the office of Hon. Robert E. Wright, 
of AUenlown, Pennsylvania, in 1S56, and was admitted to 
the b.ar, January 6th, 1857. He entered immediately upon 
the practice of his profession in that city, and by his talents 
and energy soon secured a large clientele. In ixilitics a 
thorough Republican, in 1859 he was nominated by that 
party for the office of District Attorney, but as the county 
was then strongly Democratic, he was defeated by a small 
majority. He now began to develop a talent for finance, 
and, in the winter of 1859 and i860, projected and organ- 
ized the AUentown Savings Institution. He was chosen 
its President, and still holds the position. Under his man- 
agement the institution has grown to importance, and is now 
a monetary concern of high standing. In 1S62, he pur- 
chased the /.f/iii;/i Ke^ister, the Republican journal of that 
county, and conilucted its editorial columns in connection 
with law practice until the latter part of 1863. In the 
following year he was chosen Senatorial Delegate to the 
Republican State Convention, and was appointed Chairman 
of the Committee on Contested Seats. He also served as 
member of the State Central Committee, and was appointed 
one of a sub or executive committee of nine, authorized to 
conduct the campaign of 1863. In 1S64, he entered 
another moneyed enterprize. This was the projection and 
organization of the Second National Bank of AUentown. 
It proved a success, and he was chosen and still remains 
its President. He also projected and set afloat the Lehigh 
Valley Fire Insurance Company, of AUentown, and was 
elected Vice President after having declined to serve as 
President. The Lehigh Iron Company (l)last furnaces) 
also owes its origin and successful establishment to him, 
and he is its President. The company has a capital of 



£500,000, and its pay-rolls amount to about £60,000 per 
month for labor at the works, mines and quarries, includmg 
coal and ore. He naturally feels a pride in this great in- 
dustrial enterprise, and looks forward with confidence to 
its further enlargement, until it shall be second in magnitude 
to few, if any, iron manufacturing establishments in the 
country. He was again chosen by the Republicans as 
Senatorial Delegate to the State Convention of lS6g, which 
renominated the late Governor Geary. In 1870, he was 
elected a member of the Select Council of the city of Allen- 
town, and served as President until the spring of 1873. In 
1870, there being no State officers to elect, he, with a few 
friends, deemed it a fit time to urge the calling of a Con- 
vention to revise our State Consiitutiim, and especially to 
agitate reform in legislation and legislative representation. 
Accordingly, an informal meeting for consultation w.as held 
at the Girard House, Philadelphia, July 4th, 1870, and sub- 
sequently the Reading Convention of August 31st, 1870. 
The Reading assembly took strong ground in favor of 
a Constitutional Convention, and appointed a committee, 
of which he was a member, to urge it upon the Governor 
and Legislature. This committee procured favorable 
recommendation by the Governor, and the desired action 
on the part of the Legislature followed. In 1872, he 
was nominated and elected one of the fourteen State 
Delegates at Large, on the Republican State tickit, 
to the Constitutional Convention, in which he served 
ori the committees on Sufl^rage, Election and Representa- 
tion, and on Public and Municipal Debts and Sinking 
Fund. He.w.is married, June ^(h, i860, to Miss Anna 
C. Unger, of AUentown, and has three daughters, Carrie, 
May and Kate. He resides at AUentown, where he has 
identified himself with its local interests and growth. 



* II.LMF.VER, PHILIP, Lumber Merchant and 
C.inal Boat Builder, was born in Liberty town- 
ship, Montour (then Columbia) county, Pennsyl- 
vania, October loth, 1814. He is the son of 
George and Anna Billmeyer, and lived on his 
father^s farm until about twenty-seven years of 
age. His father owned a saw mill in connection with his 
farm, and the young man occupied a portion of his time in 
that est.-iblishmcnl, where he took his first lessons in that 
liusiness, which he afterwards so extensively carried on. 
He exhibited in early life manifestations of that force of 
character and industry which distinguished his after career. 
He was appoint d by flovernor Porter, in 1837, Registrar 
and Recorder of Deeds for Columbia county, a position 
which he held until a subsequent change in the Constitu- 
tion rendered that office elective. In 1840, he was married 
to Susan FoUnian, daughter of Daniel Follman, of Lime- 
stone township. During the ensuing ten years he was 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



171 




engaged in the lumber and saw-mill business, in the neigh- 
borhood of Milton, Pennsylvania. He remained there till 
1853, when he moved to Lewisburg, and became a partner 
in the firm of Frick, Slifer & Co., in the same business; 
but he subsequently purchased the interest of his partners 
and organized the firm of BiUmeyer, Dill & Co., a name 
which it still bears. This firm is one of the most extensive 
in the lumber business in Central Pennsylvania, manufac- 
turing five million feet of lumber and building one hundred 
canal boats annually, giving employment to upwards of one 
hundred men. A considerable portion of the timber used 
in these works is cut on lands belonging to the firm, which 
operation also affords employment to many hands during 
the winter. The senior partner is one of the oldest lumber 
merchants on the west branch of the Susquehanna. Be- 
sides his regular business, he is a large stockholder in one 
of tlie principal banks of the county, and has been for many 
years a director in that institution, contributing largely by 
his energy and judgment to its success. 



JUCHER, JOSEPH C, Lawyer and Judge, was 
born in Middletown, Frederick county, Mary- 
land, January 28th, 1836. His father, the Rev. 
'•^ J. C. Bucher, D. D., was a prominent clergyman 
of the German Reformed Church. In 1S42, he 
moved, with his family, to Reading, Pennsyl- 
vania, to fill the position of pastor to a church in that 'town, 
where he continued to reside until its removal to Mercers- 
burg, Pennsylvania, a few years later. Whilst at Reading, 
his son was a pupil of Father Kelley, a Rom.in Catholic 
priest, then enjoying considerable reputation as a teacher. 
In 1852, he entered Marshall's College, at Mercersburg, 
after having previously passed through its preparatory de- 
partment. In 1854, this college was consolidated with 
that of Franklin, at Lancaster, and in that year the young 
student graduated with the highest honors of his class, 
being chosen, on that occasion, to pronounce the valedic- 
tory address. After this event, he became principal of an 
academy in Maryland, which position he. occupied for a 
year, and, in 1856, began the study of law at New Berlin, 
Union county, under the instruction of the Hon. Isaac 
Slender, a distinguished lawyer. In 1858, he was admitted 
to the bar of Union county, and immediately formed a 
partnership with his late preceptor, successfully engaging 
in the practice of his profession. In 1859, he was elected 
District Attorney of Union county, an office which he held 
until the completion of his term. His partnership with 
Mr. Slender was dissolved in 1862, upon the election of the 
latter to the office of Auditor General of the State, and he 
removed to Lewisburg, where he continued the practice of 
law till 1871, when he was rajsed to the bench as President 
Judge of the Twentieth District of Pennsylvania, a position 
, which he now occupies. His district, especially Snyder 




county, contains many Germans, and the Legal Inlclligencer, 
in noticing his election, laid especial stress upon the great 
advantage the public would derive from his familiarity 
with the German language whilst acting in his official 
capacity. He is one of the youngest, if not quite the 
youngest, of the judges of Pennsylvania. In 1861, he was 
married to Mary Ellen, daughter of the Hon. John Walls, 
of Lewisburg, and has, by this marriage, a family of two 
children. 



CHOMACKER, J. H., Manufacturer, was born in 
the province of Holstein, Germany, January 1st, 
1800. He was educated in the best schools of 
his native countiy, and then, in accordance with 
the universal custom, was apprenticed to a me- 
chanical trade. He finished his apprenticeship to 
a cabinet-maker in 1818, and continued to work as a jour- 
neyman until 1825, when his attention was first called to 
the construction of pianos. After investigation and labor 
in the leading piano manufactories of Germany, he fully 
mastered his art at Vienna, and engaged in business for 
himself. He emigrated to the United States in 1837, set- 
tled in Philadelphia, and, after years of energetic labor, 
made the manufacturing of pianos one of the leading in- 
dustries of that city, becoming himself the Jiead of the 
largest establishment of the kind in the State. In 1855, he 
erected a large factory at Eleventh and Catharine streets, 
still occupied by the " Schomacker Piano-Forte Manufac- 
turing Company," which was organized in 1864. Many 
prizes and medals from leading institutes and expositions 
attest the superior excellence of his instruments. He is a 
life-member of the German Hospital of the city of Phila- 
delphia, and was for four years a director. He was also a 
director for two years in the German Benevolent Society 
of Philadelphia, of which he has been for many years a 
member. Prominent in the Masonic fraternity, he is also 
an active promoter of other charitable and benevolent asso- 
ciations. An orphan boy, he has achieved his own destiny, 
and illustrated the truth of the maxim, that success surely 
attends well directed industr)' and perseverance. Though 
advanced in years, he maintains great physical and mental 
vigor. Public spirited, liberal, affable and kind, he has 
won the esteem and regard of his associates. 



OWNSEND, JOSEPH B., Lawyer, was born in 
Baltimore county, Maryland, December 13th, 
1821. His pai-ents were natives of Chester 
((3^^ county, Pennsylvania, where they spent their 
p^.^ lives, w'ith the exception of about two years, 
when they lived near Baltimore, and during 
which period he was born. His ancestors were English, 
Joseph Townsend, of Berkshire, England, with his wife. 




172 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CYCLOP.€DIA. 



Joanna England, of Burton upon Trenl, having come over ; He was detailed, May 5th. 1864, as opcrad'ng Surgeon of the 

with William I'enn and settled near West Chester, Penn- ""' ~ 

sylvania, where their descendants now comiwse a large por- 
tion of the population. He was educated in Chester county, 
receiving the larger part at Bolmar's Academy, in West 
Chester. After leaving school, he studied law with Eli 
Kirk Price, of Philadelphia, and having been examined, 
Decemlier 13th, 1S42, the day he attained his majority, he 
was ailmitted to the bar the same month. Though he has 
enjoyed a large miscellaneous practice, his extended know- 
ledge and research in the laws pertaining to real estate have 
led him principally into that field, where he has been 
eminently successful. He has for some years resided con- 
tinuously at a handsome country seat at Overbrook, Mont- 
gomery county, Pennsylvania, where he finds a happy relief 
from the cares incident to a large practice. He has been 
so wedded to his profession that the proffer of political 
honors failed to draw him from it, and he has n^-er^ sought 
nor held a purely political office. He was for four and a 
half years a Member of the Board of guardians for the Poor, 
and has been for four years a Manager of the Pennsylvania 
Hospital. He is also identified with _nia'ny other charitable 
and benevolent associations, and with . trne puljlic spiri^ 
lends his influence to the promotir ■ 
private enterprise commemling itself 



First Division Hospital, Ninth Army Cor])s, in which he con- 
tinued until after the close of the war, being mustered out 
of the ser%'ice, June 6th, 1865. He thereupon returned to 
Beaver county, and resumed the practice of medicine. In 
1869, he was elected a member of the lower branch of the 
State legislature to represent Beaver and Washington 
counties, was re-elected to the same, in 1S70, and during 
both terms served on several important commiitees. At the 
close of the session of 1S71, he returned to his professional 
duties, from which he w.as called, in January, 1874,10 fill 
the position of Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, 
and served as such during its long session, terminating in 
Miy-6f that ye.ar. After the close of the session of 1874, 
he was'fcommissioned Surgeon-in-Chief of the igih Division 
National Guards of Pennsylvania, wi'h the rank of Lieu- 
tcffant-CToloncl. He is a member of the Beaver County 
MedicaKSociety, and also of the State Association. He 
gives particular attention to surgical and obstetrical practice. 
Hej*-iLs married. May nth, 1858, to Rebecca C, daughter 
of George and Sarah Dilworlh, of Beaver county, Penn- 
sylvania. 



iiljlic and; 
i^niL-nt 




hlURLOCK, W'ILI.IAM.:CHi\KLES, M. I)., late 
Surgeon United Stales Volftntccrs, -and , Chifcf 
Clerk of the House of Representatives of Ptnn- 
sylvania, w.xs born in Beaver county, Pennsyl- 
vania, January 6th, 1835, where he has ever since 
resided. He was also educated in his native 
county, and obl.ained a liberal store of learning at the Darl- 
ington Academy, which he left, in 1S55, to enter the office 
of the late Dr. William S. Cochran of Darlington, whom he 
had selected as his preceptor, and with whom he engaged 
in the study of medicine. He matriculated, in 1856, in the 
Jeffi:rson Medical College of Philadelphia, from which insti- 
tion he graduated, March 9th, 1858, and returning to.Darl* 
ington was cng.iged in tht^practice oC his profession'unlil 
August 1st, 1S61. At this.-^Jate, jjeing theiK the first year 
of the W'ar of the Rebellion, he entered the army as Cap- 
tain of Company D, loolh Regiment Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers, familiarly known as the "Roundheads," with which 
he served until December l6th following, when he re- 
signed, at Beaufort, South Carolina, on account of ill he.alth. 
He thereupon returned home, where he remained until his 
health was re-established, and, in June, 1S62, returned to 
the same command, having been commissioned Assistant- 
Surgeon, and continued there until December 28th, 1863, 
when he was made a Surgeon with the rank of Major, and 
was assigned to the 51st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers 




ri<l-.H\(^.BERNARD, Manufacturer, was born 
I in County Derry, Ireland, in January, 1775. 

.\flit»due -preparation, he studied six years in 
I tlic Duljlin University, whence he graduated in 
; Jiis twenty-first year. I Ic soon after came to the 

United States, and settled in Philadelphia, where 
for thre« years he taught a private school, on Twelfth street, 
above Chestnut, then a suburban district. He then asso- 
ciated w^ith his twin brother, Dennis McCredy, in the 
wholesale grocery business, on Second street, but after two 
years withdrew, and is said to have eslablishe<l the second 
cotton mill operated in this country. In partnership with 
Samuel R. Wood, he purchased the site of the Wyoming 
Mills, May 2d, 1S25, and an additional property July 5th 
of the same year. This partnership was dissolved by 
mutual consent, on the 4th of February, 1826, but on 
the 30th- of November, 1844, Bernard McCredy became 
the owner ofjhe.part previously set off to Samuel R. Wood. 
In 1846,. he 'associated with him his only son, Thomas 
McCredy, under the firm name of B. McCredy & Son. 
lie was also the owner of an extensive property and several 
mills at Rockdale (now Glen Riddle), Chester county, Penn- 
sylvania. Early in life he married Martha Newlin.a daughter 
of Dr. Nicholas Newlin, of Delaware county, Pennsylvania. 
He died November 29th, 1S54, and by his will, admitted 
to probate December 4th, 1854, all his real estate descended 
to his son. He was a thorough and eminently successful 
business man, and yet he never seemed so happy as when 
seated by his own fireside in the enjoyment of the society 
of his family and friends. His generous hospitality was 




-'^' p,f^ 





:5^^2^ 




It 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOF.^LDIA. 



173 




extended to the pure and good of all classes, and his bene- 
volence was manifested in the hearty support he gave the 
church, and the active and practical sympathy he always 
showed to the suffering and needy. 



kCCREDY, THOMAS, Manufacturer, was born in 
Philadelphia, October l8th, 1825. At the age 
of four years, owing to the loss of his mother, 
he was sent to Burlington to school, and when 
nine years old entered St. Mary's College, in 
Baltimore, Maryland. From that institution he 
graduated in his sixteenth year. He then became a student 
in the Law School at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and, after 
pursuing the usual three years course, graduated, and was 
sent to Europe to receive the benefits to be derived from 
foreign tnavel. At the age of twenty-one he became asso- 
ciated with his father in the manufacturing business, under 
the firm name of B. McCredy & Son, but continued to de- 
vote his evenings and leisure time to study. He married 
Emma Wilson, of Santiago, Cuba, December 9th, 1S50. 
Upon the death of his f.ither, November 29th, 1S54, he en- 
herited the large estates at Norristown and Rockdale, and 
associated with him his brother-in-law, John D. Ewing, 
under the style of Thomas McCredy & Co. He died May 
29th, 1856, just in the prime of manhood. He was a man 
of great talent, but so unassuming and retiring that his 
worth was known to few. 




{ 



?ONRAD, ROBERT T., Judge, Orator and Author, 
was born in Philadelphia, in 1S09. He studied 
law, and on being admitted to the bar, speedily 
took a place in the front rank of the Philadelphia 
lawyers of the day, acquiring an extensive and 
lucrative practice. In 1840, he was elevated to 
the bench, and while upon it distinguished himself by the 
learning and impartiality of his decisions. In 1854, the 
American party nominated him for Mayor of Philadelphia, 
and elected him by a handsome majority. As a brilliant 
and forciI)le orator he achieved a distinguished reputation. 
His arguments were clear and convincing, his illustrations 
most happy and his manner of delivery exceedingly impres- 
sive. He understood the fine art of appealing both to the 
intelligence and the sensibilities of his hearers, and his 
speeches are remembered by those who heard them as 
among the most impressive specimens of forensic eloquence 
ever heard at the Philadelphia bar. He however was not 
only a learned lawyer, an impartial judge and an eloquent 
orator, but a poet of more than ordinary ability, and by far 
the best play-writer that America has yet produced. He 
frequently contributed poems to the newspapers, and some 
of his verses became very popular: his poem of TJis Fire- 




man, in particular, enjoyed great favor. In 1854, Judge 
Conrad published a small volume of poems, which was 
warmly commended by the press, and met with a cordial 
reception from the reading public. The titles of Judge 
Conrad's plays are, Conrad of Naples ; Aylmere, and 
Jack Cade, the Kentish Botidnian. All of these were 
acted with success, and the last named furnished Edwin 
Forrest with one of his most striking characters. Jack 
Cade was written in response to the offer from that artist of 
a prize for the best play suited to his purposes, and it is 
certainly a work of remarkable power. It was a decided 
favorite with the great tragedian, who frequently performed 
the leading character, and kept it in his repertoire up to the 
time of his final exit from the stage. Its author was also a 
prose writer of very great ability, and a frequent contributor 
to the magazines and other publications. His death oc- 
curred in 1858. 

v/ "^^^ 

ENNEDY, THOMAS B., Lawyer, was born in 
August, 1827, in Warren county, New Jersey. 
His father, Hon. James J. Kennedy, removed, in 
1839, to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in the 
academy of which town the son was fitted for 
college. He entered the sophomore class of 
Marshall College, at fourteen, and graduated with honors, 
in 1844. He read law with the Hon. Alexander Thomson, 
of Chambersburg, and was admitted to the Franklin county 
bar, in 1848. The next year he crossed the Plains as the 
leader of a company bound for California. There he en- 
tered upon the practice of law, in Downieville. In 1851, 
he returned to Chambersburg, opened an office, and speedily 
grew into practice. He served one term as District At- 
torney with general approbation. He married, and spent 
a year travelling in Europe. On his return, he became the 
partner of Hon. James Nill, one of the leading practitioners 
of that day. The business of the finn rapidly increased, 
so that, upon the elevaticm of Judge Nill to the bench of 
the district, in 1862, his partner found himself in control of 
the largest and most lucrative practice at that bar, which he 
has steadily maintained ever since. Notwithstanding the 
incessant labors of his professional life and the demands 
upon his time, arising from the care of his large private 
estate, he has been prominently identified with every move- 
ment tending to the advancement of the section of the 
country in which he resides. While aiding liberally in 
all local measures, as a Master of the Academy, one of the 
originators and founders of Wilson College, and a Trustee 
in its management, he has efl^ectively aided the cause of 
education. The two railroads, recently completed in the 
county, owe their success, in a great measure, to his influence 
and puVjlic spirit. He has lately been elected Vice-president 
of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, with the control of the 
road, and President of the Southern Pennsylvania Road. 



•74 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



,(^-J^ OUDIXOT, ELIAS LOUIS, Lawyer, was bom < for another two years. A second change took place, and 
at Durlinjjlon, New Jersey, October 2d, 1843. 
lie is a son of the late Elias E. and Jane 




Mary (Kip) Boudinot, both natives of Newark 
'J%!y in the same State. His early education was 
^ received at home until he had attained the age 

of eleven years, when he entered St. Paul's School, at Con- 
cord, New Hampshire. At this seminary he pa.ssed eight 
years, and was thoroughly prepared for college. His father 
having removed to Philadelphia, in 1853, he returned, at 
the age of nineteen, and entered the sophomore class of the 
University of Pennsylvania, at its final term. ^ About the 
middle of the closing term of the senior class he left the 
University without taking the usual degree._^ Soon after 
attaining his majority, having determined ,to^§n»t)race the 
professiim of the law (as had been done l^y his father and 
grandfather), he entered the office of Morton P. Henry, and 
after a full and systematic course of reading was admitted 
to practice as an attorney, in 1867. As soon as he was 
eligible to membership, he became connected with tlje 
" Union League," and has been constantly .assocfated with 
the same for upwards of eight years. From the commence- 
ment of the " Reform movement " in the government of the 
city, he h.TS become much interested, .and has .t.iken an 
active part in the labors of the .issociation which^at no distant 
day, is destined to make its influence felt at the several 
municipal elections. He is a z9alous churchman, and a 
member of St. Clement's Episcopal Church, otwhich-con- 
gregation he is a veslrym.-in.,. He was married in .\pril, 
1868, to Coleman Hall, of this city. . 



lII.ER, WILLIAM, Manufacturer of .Stair-rods, 
vie, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was born in 
the old District of Southwark, in that city, July 
9th, 1S22, on Second street below Christian. 
His parents, John and Mary Wiler, were both 
natives of this country, and his grandparents 
lived in the Wyoming Valley during the war of the Revo- 
lution. They were spectators, and experienced 41II the 
horrors of the dreadful massacre of the Wyoming Vjll*)', 
from which his father and aunt were only saved by the 
timely flight uf his grandfather on horseback. After com- 
pleting his education (in Walnut street below Fifth), he 
was apprenticed, at the age of seventeen years, to Edward 
Jones, a manufacturer of stair-rods, on the .south side of 
Library street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, with 
whom he scr\ed his time ; then worked as a journeyman, 
and finally became foreman in the factory. On le.iving 
that employment, he commenced business for himself, 
without one cent of capital, at No. 225 South Fifth street, 
under the name of Wiler & Thomas. This firm existed 
f<ir two years, when it was changed, by the admission of 
Henry Billingtnn, to Wiler, Thomas & Co., remaining thus 




the business was permanently established, with the title of 
Wiler & Moss, an association which lasted for twenty-one 
years, and was only dissolved by the retirement of the 
junior partner, on July 1st, 1873. The concern is now 
carried on by the senior partner, who has, through a busi- 
ness experience of some twenty-five years, steadily main- 
tained his position and credit, nolwilh-standing all the 
monetary shocks sustained during that period, and his firm 
has been able at all times to meet its obligations " on 
sight." He is a director in the Sixth National Bank 
(Second and Pine streets), and has occupied that position 
for the last eight years. In politics, he formerly belonged 
to the Democratic party, being an active member of that 
body; but of late has a,ssociated himself with the Municipal 
Reform party, with which he now cooperates. He was 
married in the year 1S43, to Mary A. Day, daughter of 
Joseph Day, of Philadelphia. 



ABER, CHARLES. Merchant, Builder and Presi- 
dent, was bom at New Rochelle, West Chester 
county,. New York, April 1st, 1812. His father, 
^- James I. Baber, was a manufacturer of the same 
place. After obtaining the usual educition of 
the district schools of that period, he learned 
the trade of cabinet-making, and sulisecjuently carried on 
that business at Port Carbon, Pennsylvania, to which place 
he removed in 1830. A year afterwards, he embarked in 
the lumbering and building trades ; and, although he had 
no capital, he succeeded, by shrewd, skilful management, 
eminent business tact and ability in taking advantage of 
opportunities, in making rapid strides towards fortune. He 
had been generally successful in all his undertakings till 
about the year 1847, when, in common with many others, 
he was totally ruined by disastrous mining speculations, 
losing ever^-thlng he possessed and remaining heavily in 
debt. His failure was a heavy one; but he ultimately re- 
deemed all his liabilities in full, and gained, by so doing, 
aj-Sputation for integrity which enabled him to command 
three timt;s ihe credit he had previously enjoyed. About 
the year 1845, he was prominent as a promoter of the 
Schuylkill C.in.il and Railroad (now owned by the Read- 
ing Railroad Company), and was elected, in 1862, a direc- 
tor of the Schuylkill N.ivigation Company. He built the 
street railro.-id to Minersville, for the account of some 
speculators, who, however, failed to manage it in such a 
manner as to make it pay, and he therefore organized a 
stock company, of which he was elected President ; the 
road, under the present administration, has become remu- 
nerative, lie was instrumental in taking measures for Ihe 
erection of the Public Hall, and also for the laying out of 
the Mount Laurel Cemelerj-, which latter property he 
owns. He has constantly held positions of trust both in 





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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



175 




the town councils and the public scheols. He has been 
married three limes, his last wife being Mrs. Jacob Esher, 
of Philadelphia, and has a family of four children. One 
of his sons (William) is keeping a store, and destined to 
succeed his father in his business. Industry, integrity, 
economy and a progressive spirit have characterized 
him through life and been the foundation of his success. 
Although he bought coal lands long ago at low rates, and 
has since sold them at higher prices, his business has 
mainly been of a legitimate character. 

! ROWN, JOHN A., Merchant and Banker, was 
born at Ballymena, county Antrim, Ireland, on 
May 2 1st, 1788. Alexander Brown, his father, 
a gentleman of good family and large . fortune, 
left Ireland in consequence of the political agi- 
tation. Bringing with him considerable cipital, 
he established himself at Baltimore, as a general merchant, 
about the opening of the present century. At that time the 
subject of this sketch, the third son of the family, was 
twelve years of age. He had been attending school at 
Rochdale, Englan^l, and, after completing his education in 
this country, he was taken into his father's counting house, 
in which his two elder brothers were already engaged. 
William, the eldest of these, was soon sent to Liverpool, 
where he established a branch house, became a member of 
Parliament, was instrumental in founding the free library 
of the city, and was created a Baronet. The English 
house, which has also a branch in London, is now known 
as Brown, Shipley & Co. In 1818, John A. Brown was 
sent to Philadelphia by his father to establish another 
branch, and still another was soon after established in New 
York city by a younger brother, James, this last branch 
house doing business under the name of Brown Brothers & 
Co., being the first of the three American establishments to 
assume that title, which is at present common to all. The 
second son, George, remained in Baltimore, and, in 1834, 
succeeded to the head of the house in that city, on the 
death of his father. The business of all the concerns 
gradually embraced the leading features of banking, al- 
though at one time the Baltimore branch almost monopo- 
lized the cotton trade between that port and England. 
John A. Brown commenced business in Philadelphia prin- 
cipally as an importer of linens, receiving consignments 
from the manufactories of John Patrick & Sons, and others 
in the North of Ireland. The Philadelphia house for 
many years carried on the business of an importing, job- 
bing and general commission concern, but gradually, like 
the other branches, became engaged in banking, until at 
last all the branches were so occupied exclusively. The 
subject of this sketch soon attained a leading position in 
the business community, and was elected a director of the 
old United States Bank, under the Presidency of Nicholas 



Biddle. When that institution became embarrassed, in 
consequence of the withdrawal of Government support, he 
undertook a mission to England on its behalf; and, al- 
though he succeeded in accomplishing much, great as was 
the assistance he secured, it was not sufficient to keep the 
bank from failure. In 1S3S, he retired from active business 
pursuits, but still continued, as long as his health would 
permit, to take an influential part in the management of 
many public institutions. He had served as a director of 
the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society from 1827, in which 
position he still continued, his name for many years heading 
the list; and mainly through his influence the handsome 
and substantial building at Seventh and Walnut streets, in 
which its business is now conducted, was erected. He 
was always active in religious and benevolent enterprises. 
He acted for many years as President of the American 
Sunday School Union and of the Sabbath Association ; 
served as a manager of the Blind Asylum ; was chiefly in- 
strumental, in connection with Henry Baldwin, in founding 
the Calvary Presbyterian Church, one of the largest and 
most useful in the city, contributing also the ground and a 
large share of the money for the chapel ; and finally 
crowned a long career of usefulness and benevolence by 
donating 5300,000 to the Presbyterian Hospital, which was 
founded in West Philadelphia in 1871. This amount was 
fully secured to the hospital in August, 1871, by the transfer 
of bonds and securities of various kinds, on the sole con- 
dition that the entire income should be devoted forever to 
the support of the institution, no part either of principal or 
interest to be used for any other puqiose than the payment 
of its current expenses after its opening. He was twice 
married; first to Isabella Patrick, daughter of the linen 
manufacturer, of Ballymena, Ireland ; and subsequently to 
his cousin Grace, daughter of George Brown, M. D., of 
Baltimore. He died in Philadelphia, on December 31st, 
1872, leaving an only .son, Alexander Brown, of that city. 
His generous charities while living were supplemented by 
large bequests to numerous public institutions by the 
provisions of his will. 



NYDER, GEORGE WASHINGTON, Manufac- 
turer and Coal Operator, was born in Philadel- 
phia, where he was indentured as an apprentice 
in the well-known establishment of Rush & 
Muhlenberg, and remained until he attained his 
majority. He removed to Pottsville in 1835, and 
in 1850 became sole proprietor of the works formerly 
owned by Haywood & Snyder, and has so continued to the 
present time. He had a contract for thirteen years to 
build and repair the cars belonging to the Schuylkill Navi- 
gation Company, and during this period the number con- 
structed was over three thousand. During this time also 
he was the heaviest (individual) coal miner in that section, 
employing no less than seven hundred hands. In the 




176 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CYCLOP-liDIA. 



machine sliop, which he still conducts, and which has of [ entered Harford .'Vrademy. He acted for some years as 



late years been largely increased in extent, he manufactures 
mining engines, pumps and the machinery required in coal 
mining operations. The number of hands are about one 
hundred and seventy-five, and the yearly products averai^c 
in value a quarter million of dollars. Personally, he is of 
a quiet, retiring dis|K>sition, the possessor of a fortune, re- 
spected as a good citizen, liberal and charitable in all mat- 
ters pertaining to the public weal. 



AlIOX, TII.VDDEUS McLAV, Lawyer, was born 
in Green Vill.^ge, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, 
May 2lst, 1S40. His father was Robert Mahon; 




teacher and merchant's clerk ; but, finally, commenced the 
study of the law, at Berwick, and was admitted to the bar 
of Columbia county, in 1843. In 1844, he settled at 
Bloonisburg, where he still resides. He was appointed prose- 
cuting attorney of his native county in 1S45, which office 
he retained till 1847. In 1850, he was sent to the State 
Senate, was re-elected in 1853, and again in 1857. He 
was appointed Commissioner for the exchange of the ratifi- 
cations of the treaty between the United .States Government 
and that of Paraguay, and, in 1856, was elected a Senatorial 
Presidential Elector. He was chairman of the Stale Demo- 
cratic Committee in 1857, and in the same year received the 
appointnie.'Vof Commissioner to revise the penal laws of the 



Slate of Pennsylvania. He resigned his positions as Senator 
his mother's maiden name was Jane Wallace, and Commidsjoner, in 1S58, having been appointed by 



and she came of Scotch-Irish descent. He was 
educated at the Chambersburg .Academy, and 
entered the law office of Kemniell & McClellan, as a stU: 
dent, in i860. He pursued his studies until .August, 1S62, 
when he enlisted in Company A, 126th Regiment Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers, and served his term, being mustered 
out at its close. He rtenlisted in the 2 1st Reainient Penn- 



ber4th, 1S64, at Hatch's Run, Virginia, and was. honorably 



Piwsidcn.t -fllllchanan resident-minister to Ecuador. He re- 
sided at Qirtto with his family for three years; but, on the 
breaking out of the Rebellion, in 1861, he returned to this 
country. Although a staunch Democrat, and remaining 
so during the whole of the war, he never evinced the slightest 
sympathy with the rebels. In 1863, he was elected to the 
United Stat^ Senate, by a bare majority of one vote, suc- 



sylvania Volunteer Cavalry, Company E, was elected First iceeding t)^ Jtlon. D^ Wilniot, Republican; his colleague 
Sergeant, w.is severely wounded while on picket, Novcm- ii^j^lliccdiiring the fwstfojur years being the Hon. E. Cowan. 



At the e.K^Hrq^iofi of .J)ir; term, in 1869, he was succeeded 



discharged, July 15th, 1865. At the .clojs. of the war, he ■ by the ll<jn.. John .ScoU. During his senatorial course he 



resumed his legal studies, and was soon ;.fter admitted to 
the bar, at Chambersburg. In 1866, he was elected Clerk 
of the Court of Franklin county. September 7th, 1867, he 
married Martha Robinson, only daughter of WiUiam Rob- 
inson. In 1869, he began practice at the bar. In 1870, 
he was defeated on the Republican ticket for the State 
Legislature; but in 1871 and 1S72 was successful by large 
majorities. His public course has given great satisfaction 
to his constituents, and reflects great credit upm him. He 
has always consistently supported all measures he believed 
calculated to advance the best interests of the State, and 
has firmly opposed reckless expenditures. When the subject 
of the Border Claims came up for consderalion, he made 
an able argument in favor of their payment ; and earnestly 
advocated the passage of the Local Option Law. 



served^pn njiinerou^; committees ; such as th.it on Indian 
Affairs, Post-offices, T'ostroads, Foreign Relations, etc., etc., 
but was'not-a freq^^nt .speaker, believing the times too 
uns^tle<V/or tlie development of his favorite idea of " pro- 
portional representation." In his first notable speech, de- 
livered February 21st, lS65,on the B.isis of Representation 
in Congress, he regretted that the affairs of the war should 
be allowed to absorb all other topics, interfering with 
matters of civil policy which demanded immediate atten- 
tion ; and, at the same time, strongly urged the necessity 
of restoring the Southern States to their representative 
rights. The whole tenor of his senatorial career was of 
a decidedly Democratic character. He was opposed to the 
granting of suffrage to the .negroes in the District of 
Columbi.a, being undcsiious of multiplying the votes of igno- 
rant persons, liable to improper influences. He steadfastly 
opposed the Civil Rights Bill, the Freedman's Bureau Bill 
and the Military Reconstruction Bill. In 1870, at the expi- 
ration of his term in the Senate, he w.as once more elected to 
the State Senate for three years, which terminate in 1873. 
He considered his position as State Senator a favorable one 
for bringing strongly before the public, through the Senate, 
his favorite doctrine of minority representation, and lost no 
opportunity of putting forward his views on the subject ; 
but, whether from indifl'erence regarding this innovation or 
from the interest excited by party strife, he found few per- 
sons willing to listen to him, and still fewer ready to be 
hmiself lived on a farm till the age of fifteen, when he convinced, but he persevered, and to some extent has been 



"- -^UCKALEW, CHARLES ROLLIN, Lawyer .and 
Politician, was born in Columbia county, Penn- 
sylvania, December 28th, 1821. He is of French 
descent, his ancestors having been Huguenots, 
who fled to this country on the revocation of the 
Edict of Nantes. His grandfather, John Bucka- 
lew, resided in Maryland, and as a miller furnished the Re- 
volutionary army with flour; and his father, John M. Huck.a- 
lew, was also engaged in business, being a millwright. He 





y^^^t:^^^^^--^^^^^^-^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



"77 



successful. In the session of 1S70, the State Legislature 
showed its wilHngiiess to allow the experiment to be tried, 
by passing an act relative to the town of Bloomsburg, Co-, 
lumbia county, in which he resides, defining its boundaries, 
completing its organization, and giving full scope to the 
principle of " cumulative voting," which it must be admitted 
has thus far proved successful. In 1871, he was chairman 
of ihe committee on Constitutional Revision and Reform. 
In 1872, he received the Democratic nomination for Gover- 
nor of his native State, but the election resulted in the re- 
turn of the Republican candidate. In the same year he was 
chosen a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, in the 
place of Colonel John G. Freeze, vi'ho resigned for that pur- 
pose, in November, 1872. He has fully identified himself 
with the labors of that Convention, not omitting to urge 
upon it his favorite theory. During the terms of the State 
Legislature of 187 1 and 1S72, he obtained the passage of 
several bills embodying this principle, and has also fre- 
quently made public speeches on the subject. Throughout 
his political course he has steadfastly adhered to the 
principles of Democracy, laboring zealously and inde- 
fatigably in the cause ; but, even in the State Senate, his 
bitterest enemies have never been able to accuse him of a 
single act of venality or corruption. His great native talent 
has been judiciously cultivated and his pleasing manners 
and oratorical power have rendered him universally popular. 
He was married, in 1S49, to Parmelia Wadsworth, of Lu- 
zerne county, by whom he has had two children. 



/ 



[LEASANTS, GENERAL HENRY, Soldier and 
Civil Engineer, was born in Buenos Ayres, South 
America, February 17th, 1S33. He is the son of 
John Pleasants, merchant, of Philadelphia. He 
arrived from South America in 1846, and entered 
the Philadelphia High School, where he graduated 
in 1S51. He commenced the practice of railroad engineering 
with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and afterwards 
went into the service of the CoUinsville Railroad Company. 
In 1S57, he began to practise mining engineering in Potts- 
ville, and continued to follow that branch of the profession 
till 1861, when he entered the army, being mustered in on 
September nth of t'lat year for a term of three years' ser- 
vice. He was promoted from Captain of Company C, to 
be Lieutenant Colonel, September 20th, 1S62. In June, 
1864, he was commanding the Second Brigade of the Sec- 
ond Division of the Ninth Army Corps, then stationed in 
front of Petersburg, and there he rendered a most efficent 
service, which became memorable in the annals of the war 
as the Petersburg Mine. As this was said by General 
Meade and M.ijor Duane, Chief Engineer of the Army of 
the Potomac, to be the first work of the kind ever at- 
tempted, it is worthy of record. Opposite his position, the 
enemy had constructed a strong redoubt, which could not 

23 



he taken by assault without an enormous sacrifice of life. 
He conceived the idea of exploding a mine underneath 
this work ; and, having obtained permission of General 
Burnside, commenced operations on June 25th, under the 
most unfavorable circumstances, being unprovided with the 
necessary tools and materials, which he had to improvise 
as he best could, and also against the convictions of all the 
officers of high rank (General Meade included), except 
those belonging to his own corps. He, nevertheless, per- 
severed, and, in spite of obstacles which would have dis- 
couraged a less determined man, completed the work by 
July 23d, and on the 27th commenced putting in the 
powder (four tons). The mine was fired on the 29th, pro- 
ducing results far beyond his expectations. For this service 
he received a letter of congratulation and thanks from 
General Meade himself. On October 1st, he was promoted 
to the rank of Colonel, and on December iSlh, was mus- 
tered out. his term of service having expired ; but, on 
March 13th, 1865, he was advanced to the rank of Brevet 
Brigadier-General. On his return to Pottsville, he re- 
sumed the practice of his profession, and when the Phila- 
delphia and Reading Coal Company was formed, he 
accepted the position of Chief Engineer to the company, 
which office he still retains. His career, previous to the 
war, during its course and since its termination, has ex- 
hibited a more than ordinary talent and practical acquaint- 
ance with the details of his profession. 



OOKE, LEVI, M. D., Physician, and Iron Manu- 
facturer, was born in East Nantmeal township, 
Chester county, Pennsylvania, July 22d, 1826. 
He is the son of James and Mary (Murray) 
Rooke, both of these being of English descent, 
and both members of families thoroughly iden- 
tified with the agricultural interests of the country. He 
enjoyed the best educational advantages the neighborhood 
afforded ; he attended the grammar school of Benjamin 
Tucker, and subsequently the Unionville Academy, then 
presided over by John Gause. On leaving the latter insti- 
tution, he taught school for a period of two years, and then 
entered the office of Dr. Stephen M. Meredith, for the 
study of medicine. Afterwards he matricidated at the 
Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, and attended 
the usual courses of lectures there. On the completion of 
his studies, he graduated in the spring of 1848 with the 
degree of M. D. For three years thereafter he practised 
his profession, but abandoned it and removed to Union 
county, Pennsylvania, where he commenced the manufac- 
ture of iron, at the " Berlin Iron Works," on Penn's creek, 
four miles west of Huntingdon. L.ater he entered into a 
partnership and erected a large anthracite furnace, known 
as the " Union Furnace," situated on the Susquehanna 
river, four miles below Lewisburg. As one of the 




P.IOGRAPMICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



. proprietors, and also acting as superinlemlcnt, he has con- 
ducted these works for the past twenty years. He has also 
been engaged in the manufacture of iron in Snyder county, ^ 
and has been iutcre-.ted at other [xiints in similar works, ^ 
as well as in the manufacture of lumber. His talents fur 
inau};urating and conductinj; large establishments having 
Iwcomewell known and recognized, he has been constantly 
solicited to undertake new enterprises. He has accordingly 
been chosen a director of the different companies in which 
he is pecuniarily interested : most of them incorporated 
banking companies. It m.ny be said that he was the tirst 
to thoroughly inaugurate the iron business in both Union 
and Snyder counties ; for although many persons had at- 
tempted it, even so far back as 1S24, yet after a brief season 
of labor, during which disaster after disaster occurred, it 
would be abandoned, .igain and again, until at last no one 
could be found bolil enough to hazard another attempt, 
until he appeared and carried out the enterprise success- 
fully, lie is very popular among his emplayes, some of 
whom, if not a majority, it is believed, have been in his ser- 
vice for the long period of twenty years. As a pr.ictical iron- 
worker he stands deservedly high ; .and was one of the first 
Pennsylvania iron-masters who undertook the immedi.itc 
control of the working of an iron furnace. His long ex- 
perience and continued success as an iron founder gives to 
his opinions much force and weight, with those of his ac- 
quaintance who are engaged in the same undertaking. He 
is no politician, and has always declined office, but has ever 
been an active supporter of his party. He was originally a 
Whig, a warm .idvocate of a protective tariff, thoroughly 
opposed to slavery and the extension of its territory; when, 
therefore, the former party was disintegrated his transition 
to the Republican views was an easy matter. In sustaining 
the principles of the latter, he has aided it materially with 
his purse and his personal efforts. In 1872, he was elected 
a Delegate to the Convention called for the purpose of 
Amending the Constitution of the State. In this body he 
has been bold anil progressive, advocating the most im- 
portant reforms of the day. He is a widower; was married, 
in 1849,10 Elizabeth H. Church, of Churchtown, Lancaster 
county, who recently dieil, leaving four children. She 
was a woman of most excellent judgment, and her husband 
attributes much of his success to her counsels and advice. 



NDREWS, ALEXANDER J., Merchant, was 
born in Upper O.Tford, Chester county, Penn 
sylvaiiia, on May 9th, 1812. The place of his 
birth had been settled by Scotch and Scotch- 
Irish Presbyterians, and his parents, as well as 
his grandparents on both sides, were of Scotch 
Both grandfathers served with distinction at 
lirandywine, Chadd's I"or<l, dermantown and Trenton, 
during the Revolutionary struggle, and his father p.artici- 




dcsccnt. 



pated in the engagements near Baltimore during the War 
of 181 2. He enjoyed the educational advantages of aca- 
demic institutions in Newark and Delaware as well as Dr. 
Magraw's .\cademy, near Rising Sun, Cecil county, Mary- 
land. After leaving school, he was for two years an assist- 
ant in a country store, and then for a like period ser\ed as 
clerk in the Henrietta Iron Works, in Northampton county, 
Pennsylvania. He removed la Philadelphia in 1832, and 
learned the engraving business, after which he went to 
Providence, Rhode Island, and engaged in business for him- 
self. He was married on June 5th, 1838, to Amelia D. Van 
Amringe, of Philadelphia. He enjoyed an unusually pros- 
perous career until he sold out, in 1S47, and returned to 
Philadelphia, where he associated himself with an estab- 
lished machinist, and embarked in the manufacture of 
machinciy and steam engines. This enterprise proved un- 
successful, owing to the betrayal of the trust he reposed in 
others, and having lost all his previous accumulations, he 
closed the concern, in 1851. In 1856, he commenced the 
grain business, at Thirty-first and Market streets, and since 
that time his course has been one of uninterrupted prosperity. 
In 1863, he built a larger establishment, on Market above 
Twenty-first, and continued there until 186S, when he sold 
that properly and, in 1869, erected a capacious and con- 
venient warehouse and grain elevator for storage and mer- 
chandise purposes at the southwest corner of Thirtieth and 
Market streets. He then associated with him his only son, 
Frederick H. Andrews, under the firm name of Alexander 
J. Andrews & Son. Beside this son, he has two daughters, 
the elder of whom is married to Rev. II. Augustus Smith, 
pastor of the Presbyterian church Thirty-fifth and Bridge 
streets. West Philadelphia, of which he himself is a much 
esteemed elder. His strict integrity has won for him the 
confidence and appreciation of the business community, 
while his energy and executive ability have secured for him 
an ample store of material prosperity. Kind and courteous 
in manner, and benevolent in disposition, he is respected 
and esteemed by all who know him. 



ODGE, II. LENOX, M. D., Physician and Sur- 
geon, was born July 30th, 1836, in Philadelphia. 
His ancestoi-s settled in this country as early as 
1730; his grandfather served in the army during 
the War of Independence, and his f.Uher was the 
well known physician Dr. Hugh L. Hodge, 
lately deceased, whose .services during the cholera epidemic 
of 1832 are still remembered by many. His mother, Mar- 
garet E. Aspinwall, was of New York city. He received 
a collegiate education, which terminated in 1855, in his 
native city, and afterwards studied me<licine at the Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania, where he graduated, in 185S. In the 
fall of the s.ime year, he became Resident Physician of the 
Pennsylvania Hospital, retaining that office till the .spring 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



179 



of 1S60, when he began the practice of medicine in the 
house where he was born, at the corner of Ninth and Wal- 
nut streets. He was appointed Demonstrator of Surgery in 
the University of Pennsylvania, and, in 1S61, commenced 
giving instruction to private classes, on Chestnut street, be- 
tween Ninth and Tenth streets, and subsequently lectured, 
in Chant st|-eet, on Anatomy and Operative Surgery. In 
1870, he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy in the 
University of Pennsylvania, and has been, for nearly ten 
years, Attending Surgeon at the Children's Hospital. At 
the opening of the Presbyterian Hospital, in 1S72, he was 
appointed Attending Surgeon to that institution. He was 
married, in 1S69, to Harriet Roosevelt Woolsey, of New 
York city. During the war of the Rebellion he did very 
active service on the medical staff. He served in the volun- 
teer call of surgeons attached to the Saterlee Hospital, at 
West Philadelphia, and also joined the Pennsylvania Re- 
serve Corps of .Surgeons. He accompanied the Army of 
the Potomac at the time of General McClellan's advance 
on Richmond ; was engaged, professionally, in the campaign 
of Pennsylvania during. the invasion of Lee, and was pre- 
sent at the battle of Gettysburg. He also served under 
GcMieral Grant, during his advance on Richmond, and was 
with the army at the battle of Fredericksburgh, besides 
doing good service on minor occasions. On his return from 
the war, he resumed his practice, in the house where he was 
born, in Philadelphia, with success, and is at present a 
member of many medical societies and associations in that 
city. 




• 



jtCHARDSON, JOSEPH G., M. D., Physician 
and Author, was born in Philadelphia, January 
loth, 1836. He is of English descent, his an- 
cestors immigrating in the time of William Penn, 
whose signature attached to an original grant of 
land is still in the possession of the family. At 
an early age he evinced a strong predilection for the medical 
profession, and laid a substantial foundation for a compre- 
hensive knowledge of its secrets by graduating with first 
honors at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, in 1857, 
and engaging for some years in the occupation of a pharma- 
ceutist. In 1862, he received the diploma of the Medical 
Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and was 
elected Resident Physician to the Pennsylvania Hospital, 
serving for several months as Acting Assistant-Surgeon, in 
charge of some of the first sick and wounded soldiers of 
the war of the Rebellion cared for in Philadelphia. The 
following year, in compliance with an urgent invitation, he 
entered upon the practice of his profession at Union Springs, 
Cayuga county. New York. In 1864, he married Mary 
Randolph, daughter of Oliver Parr)', of Philadelphia. He 
soon acquired a large and lucrative countiT practice, the 
laborious duties of which he discharged with marked suc- 



cess until 1868, when he returned to his native city. Here, 
in the following year, he was elected Microscopist to the 
Pennsylvania Hospital, and Assistant Physician to the 
Episcopal Hospital. These distinctions were followed, in 
1 87 1, by his election as Lecturer on Pathological Anatomy 
in his Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania. His 
professional reputation rests principally upon his microsco- 
pical discoveries in regard to the salivary globules and the 
red and white corpuscles of the blood, particularly as con- 
cerned in inflammation, and as connected with the detection 
of blood stains in criminal trials ; also upon his researches 
into the pathology of Bright's diseases, of which he has made 
a special study. He claims to have been the first to 
demonstrate, by actual personal experiment, the fact that 
minute fungi, analogous to those producing the potato rot 
and the vine blight, may when taken into the stomach pene- 
trate its minute veins, and be carried thence by the blood 
into every part of the human system. He has also advanced 
the doctrine that all hereditary and diathetic diseases are 
parts of the conservative workings of a grand law of nature, 
which he formulates as the Extinction of the Unfit ; this, 
if established, will doubtless lead to important results in 
modifying municipal or even national sanitary regulations. 
In authorship he has engaged a large portion of his time. 
His most considerable effort in this direction is his Hand- 
book of Afedical Microscopy, published in 1871, which has 
been conceded standard rank. In addition, he has contri- 
buted numerous papers to scientific periodicals, commenc- 
ing with his Inaugural Thesis, which appeared in the 
Journal of Pharmacy, for 1857, and including various 
articles and reports in the Transactions of the National 
Medical Association, Pennsylvania Hospital Reports, Ame- 
rican Journal of the Medical Sciences, Philadelphia Medi- 
cal Times, New York Medical Record, and other journals. 



ILAND, WILLIAM, Soldier of 1S12, was born 
in Berks county, near Reading, August 19th, 
1793. He is the son of Andrew Riland, a mil- 
ler. He was brought up on a farm, about twelve 
miles from Philadelphia, and, at the age of six- 
teen years, went to work at the trade of black- 
smithing, at Chestnut Hill. In 1812, he entered the army 
in the Thirty-sixth Regiment of Pennsylvania, with the 
drafts from Montgomeiy county, Pennsylvania, commanded 
by Colonel Krickbaum and Captain William Richardson. 
His company acted as Coast Guard along the Delaware 
river. In 1S14, on peace being proclaimed, he returned to 
Philadelphia and continued at his trade, till 1S38, when he 
commenced farming, following that occupation till 1861. 
In that year he was appointed Collector of Taxes, and has 
been reappointed to the office for the last thirteen years. 
He now resides in Pottsville, and, at the advanced age of 
eighty years, is still hale and hearty, retaining all his facul- 




iSo 



I!IO(;RAPmCAI, ENCVCLOIMCDIA. 



tics, Ixjlh menial and physical, perfect and unimpaired. He 
performs ihe duties of liis otiicc, as collector of taxes, better 
tlian a younger man, as, being held in high esteem in con- 
sideration of his age and past history, the citizens flock to 
his office to save him physical labor. On the breaking out 
of the war with the South, though sixty-eight years old, the 
martial ardor still burned in his br.:ast, and he did his 
utmost to participate in the struggle. After shaving his 
beard, he went to Harrisburg and offered himself as a 
recruit. Standing up straight as a ramrod, he sought to 
deceive the authorities ; but, to his grief and chagrin, was 
detected and dismissed. When Lee invaded Pennsylvania, 
however, he was permitted to serve inHhe Governor's body- 
guard at Harrisburg. Me had three sons, James Munroe, 
Richard Rush, and William H., in the late war. Richard 
lost his life in his country's service; and his two brothers 
bear honorable and serious wounds. The fine old fellow 
tilks with much feeling of his past life, and tears flow from 
his aged eyes when he speaks of his darling boys, especially 
of the one he has lost. 



^ALSTON, JAMES GRIER, D.D., LL.D., Cler- 
gyman and Preceptor, the third son of Samuel 
Ralston, who married the daughter of John Grier, 
April 30th, l8ll,was born December 28th, 1815, 
in Chester county, Pennsylvania. His family 
originally came from Scotland, and liis grand- 
father took an active part in the Revolutionary struggle, 
being a delegate to the Congress that met in 1774. He 
was also a member of ih'e Provincial Council of Pennsylva- 
nia. His grc.it grandfather, on his mother's side, was from 
the north of Ireland; two of the sons, Nathan and James, 
were prominent Presbyterian ministers; another son, Joseph 
Grier, w.as a colonel in the War of 1S12. John Grier, the 
grandfather of James Grier Ralston, was a farmer of wealth 
and sterling integrity ; he also had a son a clergyman, and 
another a physician. The family have always been Pres- 
byterians. After attending the schools of Chester county, 
he prepared for college at the New London Academy, and 
graduated with honors at Washington College in 1S38. 
He then taught for two years in the "Grove Academy," at 
Steubenville, Ohio, beginning the study of Theology with 
John W. Scott, U.D., of Steubenville. From early youth 
his inclin-ations h.ad drawn him to the ministerial profession ; 
and, having completed the full course at Princeton Theo- 
logical Seminary, he was licensed to preach by the Presby- 
tery of New Castle. He was at once commissioned by the 
I'resbyterian Hoard of Domestic Missions a missionary to 
the Winnebago Indians, then on their reserv.ition in Wis- 
consin, but failing he.ilth prevented him from entering upon 
that duty. Being laid aside from the ministry, he became 
I'rincipal of the Female Seminary at Oxford, Pennsylvania, 
and so continued for four years, meanwhile preaching as 
frequently as his health would permit. He was ordained an 



evangelist in 1S45; but being entirely disqualified, by hem- 
orrhage of the lungs, for the arduous duties of his chosen 
profession, he resolved to devote his life to teaching. He 
accordingly jjurchased a property at Norristown, Pennsyl- 
vania, the same year, and opened the Oakland Female In- 
stitute, which, in a few years, grew from a school of four 
pupils to one of about two hundred. To meet the demand 
for the accommodation of increasing patronage, he added 
year by year to the original building until it grew to its 
present handsome proportions. Nearly 2500 pupils have 
been educate<l in this school, many of whom completed the 
course, receiving the diploma and merit medal. These 
graduates have represented every State in the Union, also 
Canada, South America, Cuba, Great Britain, Germany, 
and Greece. Thus the fame of " Oakland," with that of its 
able and conscientious proprietor, has become widespread. 
He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Lafayette 
College in 1865, and in 1S68 Washington and Jefferson 
College gave him the degree of D.D. He is a member of 
many literary and scientific societies, and to him science is 
indebted for the discovery of a mineral among the cryolite 
of Greenland, which bears his name. Among his published 
literary efforts are numerous sermons, addresses, and jour- 
nalistic articles of a scientific nature. He has been a dili- 
gent student, and his research has brought to light many 
valuable hidden truths. His life has been one of singular 
usefulness in his peculiar field of labor and of devotion to 
the cause of science and general knowledge. 

IR.VRD, STEPHEN, Merchant and Banker, was 
born near Bordeaux, Fiance, May 21st, 1750. 
When but ten years old, he shipped as cabin boy 
on a trailing vessel bound to the West Indies, and 
subsequently to New York. He continued in 
seafaring life for several years, rapidly advancing 
through the several grades, until at the age of eighteen he 
was master and part owner of a coasting vessel. In this 
latter capacity he earned enough to warrant him in engaging 
in business in Philadelphia towards the close of 1769. 
Here, by judicious management, aided by a remarkable 
business tact, he succeeded more and more year after year. 
On the outbreak of the Revolutionary War he was engaged 
in the grocery and liquor business, which pursuit he followed 
both in PhiKidelphia and Mount Holly, finding many cus- 
tomers in the ranks of the army. In 1780 he renewed his 
trade with the West Indies and Louisi.ina, and for a while 
was associated with his brother John. Having erected a 
row of spacious stores, he effi-cted an .advantageous lease of 
Ihe .same, which relumed him a handsome income. In 
1792 the insurrection in the island of St. Domingo was Ihe 
means of largely augmenting his fortunes. Two of his ves- 
sels happened lo be in the port of Cape Francois at Ihe 
time, and these received on board treasure to the amount 




BIOGRAPHICAL KNCYCLOP/EDIA. 



iSi 



of over $50,000, for which the owners never applied, they 
having subsequently perished in tlie massacre. It was about 
this period that the terrible pestilence of more southern 
climes — the yellow fever — made its first appearance in his 
adopted city. Those of the inhabitants who could do so 
conveniently fled from the scourge, and sought a refuge in 
a more healthy neighborhood ; but there were more whose 
means or avocations would not permit them to leave their 
homes, and these were smitten with the plague. A noble 
band of citizens, however, remained in the stricken city, 
who, surrendering their time, comforts, business engage- 
ments, and health, enacted the part of good Samaritans in 
the care of the sick and relief of the needy; and the " no- 
blest Roman of them all " was Stephen Girard, who took 
the parts of physician and nurse. Twenty years thereafter 
his already large fortune had so materially increased, that 
in 1812 he purchased the old building of the Bank of the 
United States — of which he already owned much of the 
stock — and commenced the banking business himself. 
When the " War of 1S12 " with Great Britain was declared, 
he took the whole of the Loan of Five Millions of Dollars, 
which in those days was considered almost impossible to be 
borne by a single individual. After a residence of over 
sixty years in the city of his adoption, he died December 
26th, 1S31, leaving the princely fortune of over nine mil- 
lions almost exclusively to charit.able and benevolent objects. 
The great college which bears his name, and is supported 
solely from the revenue of the estate donated by him, is 
undoubtedly the finest monument ever designed to com- 
memorate the virtues of a philanthropist. It is perpetually 
devoted to the " poor orphan children " of the city of Phila- 
delphia. 




/ 



^USTON, ANDREW C, the oldest living journalist 
in Pennsylvania, was born in Philadelphia, March, 
1787. His father, Matthew Huston, was of 
Scotch-Irish descent. His mother's ancestors 
came over with the Swedes and Finns more than 
two centuries ago. His father's family had long 
been residents in the country. Both his father and uncle, 
John Huston, were officers in the Revolutionary army. He 
learned the printer's trade under Zachariah Poulsen. In 
1S07 he went to Northumberland with his father, who took 
charge of the Northumberland Ar^us, founded some years 
before by the late John Binns. . His father dying soon after, 
the conduct of the paper devolved upon him. He was a 
pointed and vigorous writer, both in prose and rhyme ; and 
though now in his 87th year, possesses in a great measure 
his native originality and power. For the last fifty-four 
years of his life he has lived in the family of his brother-in- 
law, John Taggart, where three generations of children 
have played about his knees. In all that time he has been 
a constant .and untiring reader. He has certainly averaged 
ten hours a day for h.alf a century. ■ He h.is employed sonic 



of his leisure hours in manufacturing with his own hands a 
library of scrap books of almost inestimable value. In his 
selections he has shown remarkable literary taste, and in 
naminjjhis books a humorous originality. Few men of his 
natural gifts and attainments have led so uneventful a life. 



|(EWLIN, JAMES W. M., Lawyer, was born at 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July I7lh, 1844. The 
family of which he is a member is one closely 
identified with the early history of this common- 
wealth. Their common progenitor, Nicholas 
Newlin, a prominent member of the Society of 
Friends, settled in Chester county in 1683, and was a memr 
ber of the Provincial Council, as well as Justice of the 
county court. Nathaniel Newlin, son of this immigrant, 
first purchased and settled Newlin township, Chester county. 
In 1725 the title of Nathaniel Newlin to this townshi]) was 
disputed by the Indians, and the matter brought before the 
Assembly. The question threatened to disturb the peaceful 
relations with the Indians, and was the subject of an address 
from the Assembly to the Governor. Finally, an amicable 
settlement was made between the Indians and Nathaniel 
Newlin, ami this agreement was filed in open Assembly. 
The Assembly minute for April 3d, 1726, recording this 
agreement, concludes thus : " Then Nathaniel Newlin was 
called in and acknowledged the said writing to them ; so 
they shook hands together, and parted fully reconciled." 
He was one of the Trustees of the Provincial Treasury, for 
many years a member of the Assembly, and in 1701 one of 
the committee of five who framed the new Charter of Liber- 
ties, the constitution of the then province, which made radi- 
cal changes in the organic law. His .son, of the same name, 
was likewise member of the Assembly of the province and 
Presiding Justice of the county courts. Still another Na- 
thaniel Newlin, grandson of the last named, was elected a 
delegate from Delaware county, in 1790, to the Constitu- 
tional Convention of the State ; he also was at various times 
a member of the Senate and House of the St.ate Legislature, 
and was tendered a seat in Congress by the dominant party, 
but declined. It is, to say the least, a remarkable coinci- 
dence that a third member of the family, who is the fifth 
lineal descendant from the second named Nathaniel New- 
lin, should also have been chosen by his fellow-citizens to 
assist in framing a new constitution for the .State. By pro- 
fession a Lawyer, he was appointed, in July, 1S67, Deputy 
Attorney General of the State, and subsequently served for 
two years as secretary of the Republican State Central Com- 
mittee, and in numerous party conventions. As a delegate 
to the Constitutional Convention of i872-'73, he was elected 
from Philadelphia county, and was chairman of the com- 
mittee of fifteen which perfected the organization of that 
body, and served on other important committees. In its 
deliberations he advocated numerous reforms in the admin- 



lS2 



BlOGKArillCAL EN'CYCLOIVliDIA. 



istralion of justice, partiriilarly itiose permitting parties to 
testify in their own behalf in all criminal proceed i njjs ; 
changing the jury system so as in civil cases to allow three- 
fuunhs of a jury to give a verdict ; allowing parties to waive 
jury trial and leave both law and facts to the court, and 
prohibiting the waiver of exemption laws, lie also favored 
provisions giving seals in the Legislature, without votes, to 
the heads of executive departments and i«;rniitting constitu- 
encies to elect any citizen a member of the Legislature 
whether a resident or nonresident of the district. He 
secured the adoption of an amendment to the Eighth Sec- 
lion of the Bill of Rii;hts, prohibiting any warrant of arrest 
or search being issued unless the oath or affirmation upon 
which it issued was fii-st " subscribeil to by the affiant," 
thus breaking up a dangerous and common practice of 
making arrests and seizures on insufficient verbal testimony 
which, not being reduced to writing, could rarely be proved 
against the affiant. Me advocated the total abolition of all 
municipal commissions, but failed twice. Fin.iUy, he pro- 
cured the adoption of an amendment prohiiiiting such com- 
missions — present or future — from making any contract or 
incurring any liability, " except in pursuance of an appro- 
priation therefor first made by the municipal government.'' 
H.; opposed all sectarian appropriations, and favored a 
complete separation of Church and State. He voted to 
restrict the powers of corporations, and contended that Con- 
gress, un<ler its power lo regulate commerce between the 
States, should take control of the transportation system of 
the country. 



iH. 



J 



i. WVWOS, ROBERT, Civil and Mechanical Engi- 
rj j neer, was born in Little Britain township, Lan- 
Jtl caster county, Pennsylvania, in 1765. He was 
of Irish descent. Having received a common 
school education, he went to Philadelphia, in 
1782, and commenced painting landscapes and 
portraits. By this means he was enabled to purchase a 
small farm for his widowed mother in Washington county, 
Pennsylvania. At the .ige of twenty, by the advice of friends, 
he repaired to London and became a student of Sir Benja- 
min West, remaining with him several years, and forming a 
member of his household, louring all these years he was 
attracted to the shops of mechanics ; and while prosecuting 
his profession as a painter in Devonshire, he became ac- 
quainted with the Duke of Bridgcwater, and also with Lord 
Stanhope, the latter of whom was an able mechanic. While 
in Birmingham he devised an improved mill for sawing 
marble; a machine for spinning flax an<l making rope; pro- 
jected a plan for an improved inland navigation, with dou- 
ble inclined planes for the raising .and lowering of canal 
boats; and in 1796 published a work on canals. In the 
following year he went to Paris, and was received into the 
family of Joel Barlow, with whom he remained seven years. 



studying physics, chemistry, and mathematics, besides be- 
coming acquainted with several modern languages. In 
December, 1 797, he made his first experiment in the Seine, for 
a submarine explosion. It was a failure, though his plan for a 
submarine boat wxs afterwards successful. In iSoi he made 
the acquaintance of Chancellor Livingston, of New York, 
who explained to him the importance, in America, of navi- 
gating boats by steam. Eulton had already been impressed 
with this idea, having some eight years previously addressed 
Lord Stanhope on the subject. He reapplied himself to the 
matter, and succeeded. He did not, however, claim the 
steamboat as his invention ; but only the application of 
water wheels to move the vessel. In 1S07, by the help of 
Livingston, he built the " Clermont," with which he navi- 
gated the Hudson, at the rate of five miles ))er hour. In 
February, 1S09, he patented his steamboat. In 1810 he 
published his torpedo war. In iSi: he constructed two 
steam ferryboats for crossing the Hudson river, and also 
projected an ingenious floating dock for their reception. In 
1S13 he obtained letters patent for a submarine battery. 
Next he conceived the idea of a steam man of war, and 
Congress passed a bill making a heavy appropriation for 
this object, which was built and launched : she was called 
" Fulton, the first." He was employed in improving his 
submarine boat, when he suddenly died, February 14th, 
1S15. He married, in 1808, Harriet, daughter of Robert 
R. Livingston. 

■ ' UTCHER, WASHINGTON, Merchant and Rail- 
way Director, was born at No. 49, North Water 
street, in Philadelphia, December 9th, 1814. 
His parents, Amos Wright and Susannah Tyson 
Butcher, were highly esteemed members of the 
Orthodox division of the Society of Friends. 
There is little record of his early life; but as in those 
days there were no Commercial or Business Colleges, 
his mercantile education was of necessity a practical 
one. He commenced business for himself, at the age of 
twenty-four, by forming a partnership with his brother, 
Thomas Tyson Butcher, with the title of T. T. & W. 
Butcher. The brothers succeeded to their father's business, 
in the same premises, on Water street, which their grand- 
father and father hail occupied for many years previously. 
In 1841, he joined the First Baptist Cluirch of Philadelphia, 
of which he remained a valuable member till his death. On 
M.ay 27th, in the same year, he was married to Mary Eliza- 
beth Wattson. In 1S56, he was elected a deacon of the 
church to which he belonged, and also one of its almoners, 
which positions he held till his decease, fulfilling his duties 
with zeal and punctuality. During the eighteen years 
which had intervened since he started, his business, though 
checked by occasional reverses, had been in the main 
highly prosperous, and had extended 10 many parts of the 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



183 



Union, especially to the Southern States, with which his 
transactions had been very important. The store in Water 
street was found too small to accommodate this increased 
trade, and he, accordingly, removed to a larger one, in Front 
street, where his sons still carry on the business. The 
commencement of the war, in 1S61, utterly paralyzed him 
and he was compelled to suspend payments. He met this 
blow with fortitude, using eveiy exertion to retrieve his 
position, and was ultimately able to pay eveiy dollar of his 
indebtedness, when his business became more prosperous 
than before his failure. As an evidence of the appreciation 
of his conduct by business men, the following extract from 

the minutes of the Directors of the Bank, under 

date October 26th, lS6S, is wo. thy of record : 

" The Board of r)Irectors Iiav'e learned with great pleasure 
of the payment by Washington Butcher, Esq., of the bal.xnce 
of principal and interest of a debt tlue from him to the 
Bank, and trom which obligation he was fully dischargefl 
by compromise many years ago. The Board, with a full 
appreciation of the feeling prompting Mr. Butcher, beg to 
congratulate him on the consummation of an act so highly 
honorable to him as a man and as a merchant, and unite in 
the expression of the hope that he may long live to enjoy 
the reflection of so worthy a deed, and the respect of his 
fellow-citizens." 

The foregoing was ordered to be recorded, anil a copy 
sent to him. A second congratulation, from another bank, 
was couched in similar language, and was accompanied by 
the present of a silver pitcher and a pair of silver goblets as 
a token of regard. With the lapse of years, he accumula- 
ted a far greater fortune than he had lost. So highly es- 
teemed was he by his fellow-citizens that at the time of his 
death he held the following offices of trust : Deacon and 
Trustee of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia ; Senior 
Director of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; President 
of the American Steamship Company of Philadelphia; Di- 
rector of the Philadelphia & Trenton Railroad Company; 
Director of the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company; 
Director of the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad Company; 
Director of the West Jersey Railroad Company ; Director 
of the Connecting Railroad Company ; Director of the Bel- 
videre Delaware Railroad Company ; Director of the South 
American Mining Company ; and Manager of the Commer- 
cial Exchange. When the illness which terminated his 
life became known, a general sorrow was expressed, and the 
press issued daily bulletins of his condition till his decease, 
which took place on the morning of January Slh, 1873. 
Letters of condolence came from aH parts of the country, 
and resolutions of respect and sympathy were passed at 
meetings of the Boards of all of the companies with which 
he had been connected. These cannot be quoted here in 
detail ; but, as throwing some light on his business career, 
this .short extract from those adopted by the Directors of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, dated January loth, 
1873, has value : 




" • ■ ■ • Mr. Butcher became a member of this Board, 
in December, 1849, and has served the interests of the 
company for a longer period than any of his colleagues. 
• • ■ • His zeal and earnestness in the discharge of his 
duties were especially devoted to the prosperity of the city 
of Philadelphia, and to the promotion of its commercial 
welfare, etc." 



^ CHALL, EDWIN, Journalist and Soldier, was 
born with his twin brother, Edward, at the Green 
Lane Works, in Montgomery county, Pennsylva- 
nia, on February 15th, 1835. He was the son 
of General William Schall, proprietor of exten- 
sive iron works in Norristown. He obtained 
his elementary education at Elmwood Institute, Norristown, 
afterwards spending several years in military academies, at 
Norwich, Vermont, Pennbrooke, Brandywine Springs, and 
Bristol. After graduating at the last-named institution he 
entered the office of B. M. Boyer, of the Montgomeiy 
county bar, to study law. Subsequently he went to the 
Poughkeepsie Law College and later to the Ohio St.ale Law 
School, whence he graduated, and was admitted to the bar. 
For a time he practi.jed law in Iowa, but returning home he 
reentered the office of Mr. Boyer, and after the prescribed 
prob.ation, was admitted to the practice of law in Pennsyl- 
vania, and opened an office in Norristown. At the solici- 
tation of many of his friends he also assumed the Editorship 
of the National Defender, a local newspaper, and soon after 
became its proprietor. This journal he conducted with 
marked ability, and while its editor, was elected twice in 
succession Chief Burgess of the borough, which office he 
held at the outbreak of the rebellion. At the call of the 
President for three months volunteers he enlisted, with four 
of his brothers, and w.as elected'Major of the 4th Regiment 
of Pennsylvania Volunteers, made up almost entirely from 
Montgomery county, and in great part from Norristown. 
.\t the expiration of their term of service he returned with 
his regiment, and with his twin brother Lieutenant Colonel 
Edward Schall, was publicly presented with an ej^gant 
sword, by the men whom they had commanded. Resigning 
the office of Chief Burgess he volunteered again, this time 
for three years, and was appointed Major of the 51st Regi- 
ment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. Subsequently he was 
promoted to the Lieutenant Colonelcy, and then Colonelcy 
of the regiment. He served with the Ninth Army Corps, 
commanded by General Burnside, in all its campaigns, dis- 
tinguishing himself .always as a gallant and efficient leader. 
He participated with his regiment in the battles of Roanoke, 
Newbern, and Camden ; the forced marches to reinforce the 
retreating army of General Pope and rescue Washington 
from Lee's pursuing forces, being present at the second 
battle of Bull Run, and at Chantilly ; the protection of 
Maryland and Pennsylvania from invasion ; the battle of 
South Mount.ain, with his colonel (now Governor Hartranft), 



■ S4 



BIOGRAI'IIICAL ENCVCLOl'.EDIA. 



and brolher oflficers, at the head of liis men storming at 
the point of tlic bayonet the bridge at Antielam ; the battle 
of Sulphur Springs, Virginia; the <le'.|>erate attack upon 
Kiedericksburg; the campaigns in Kentucky and around 
Vicksbur'.', pxssing safely through the battles near Jackson 
and the Siege of Vicksburg; and in Kast Tennessee, the 
battle of Campbell's Station, and the heroic defence of 
Knoxville. During the campaign in East Tennessee he 
commanded the Brigade, of which his regiment formed a 
part. After a short leave of absence with his regiment at 
home, he again joined Burnside's Corps, and, by forced 
marches, reinforced Cieneral Grant. He was present^.in 
the terrible battles of the Wilderness, Spotlsylvania CoOrt 
House, and Cold Harbor. In the List engagemeVit, on 
June 3d, 1S64, he fell in front of his men, while gallantly 
rallying the left wing of his regiment. A true patriot, his 
heart and soul were in the cause for which he fouaht arid 
died. He was beloved and honored by his men, and in 
priv.ite life w.a^s esteemed for his abilitv, altainmeats high 
integrity, pure life, einiest purpose and public spirit. 



JOYER, Z.XCCUR P., Iron Manufacturer,. was born 
in Schuylkill county, Pevmsylvani.i,,,Qf:tgber 28^)1, 
l8j2. lie is the son-.of ^imuel , P. Boyer, aii 
early operator, in varimis ways, in. that region, 
who died when his son wa^ but ten years of age, 
leaving him and the rest of^ the family very poor. 
The lad, however, obtained a fair education, commenced 
in the public schools of Pottsville and linijhed in a priv.ate 
academy. His natural industry and perseverance -Mani- 
fested themselves even at this early age, as when still a little' 
boy he worked hard in the mines, and, with the assistance 
i»f his brt)thers, man.iged to support the family and educate 
llie younger chiUbcn by the proceeds of their joint labor. 
He afterwards went to Patterson, where ho worked at min- 
ing for Charles Silliman, who, t.iking a great fancy to him, 
helped him up the ladder which he had already begun 
rapidly to climb. He rose from miner to the position of 
clerk and bookkeeper, at the same time devoli:ig much of 
his leisure to the improvement of his mind and incieasing 
his knowledge of books, of which he was very /ond. When 
twenty-one, he entered a di-ygoods store as qlerk, and hav- 
ing saved some money, in a year's time (1854) he married 
Catharine C. Williams, of Port Carbon, by whom he has 
five children. In the same year, he started, with a few 
hundred dollars of capital, in the mining business on his 
own account, and at first was successful ; but, after working 
for three years, failed, owing to adverec circumstances. 
Not disheartened by this check, he again commenced, with- 
out any means, and working steadily until the outbreak of 
the Rebellion, just manay;ed to make a living. In 1S61, he 
entere<l the Xinety-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteer Re:;iment, 
as Lieutenant, leaving Pottsville November 8th of that 



year for the front, to join the Army of the Potomac. For 
eleven months he saw active service with his regiment, 
participating in the seven days' campaign and all the preli- 
minary engagenienls of that army. He was then appointed, 
by the (Jovernor of the State of Pennsylvania, Lieutenant- 
Colonel in the 173d Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment, 
and, at about the same time, was elected Major in his 
original regiment (Ninety-sixth Pennsylvania volunteers). 
He went with his new regiment to Norfolk, Virginia, on 
staff duty, and while there was appointed President of the 
Military Commission and Assistant Military Govenior of 
Uiat iwrtion of Virginia, holding these offices until the battle 
of .gettysburg. He remained in the army, engaged in 
various |Juties, till August, 1864, when he resigned. Re- 
turning home, he entered into the coal business, which he 
carrie<l'on' successfully till 1870. Having made money, in 
1866 'he purchased, from an Eastern company, the Port 
Carbon Ir^ Works, for the sum of $85,000. The estab- 
lishment W.XS then producing an annual value of $50,000; 
but, by th'e additions and improvcmenls which he rapidly 
effected, in the erection of a rolling mill and a spike factory, 
the latter shortly afterwards enlarged, it soon reache<l the 
capacity of tlii I U'. five tops a day, requiring the employment 
of 130 adtlitional hands, and increasing the productions to 
S30D,poo a )iear._.Thesa .additions cost 8125,000. In 1S70, 
he disppsed of his interest in his coal and other outside 
business, in order .^o,jdcvotc. his time and attention exclu- 
sively to the development of the iron works, to which, in 
1872, he m.ide further addition, by building a bl.ast furnace, 
capable of i>ro<lucing 200 tons of metal a week. This new 
erection gost 5156,000, and required (he addition of fifty 
men to the. force employed. It actually produces 175 tons 
a week, or about S;;5o,0OO a year. In 1873, he put up a 
building for making T rails and street rails, the manufac- 
ture of the latter increasing the business §250,000, and 
adding seventy-five more hands to those already emjiloyed. 
The goods manuficlured, viz., bars, squar<!s, flats, muck 
bars, railroad iron and spikes, are soUl in the neighl)orhood, 
to Pittsburfdi and to railroads generally ; the production of 
the la-t article alone amounts to four tons in every ten hours. 
The total annual, returns of the business now reach to 
nearly §1,000,000. This enormous and almost unprece- 
dented increase, of twf nty-fold from its production (§50,000) 
in 186S, sufficiently attests^the business capacity of its pro- 
prietor. He is assisted, in the direction of the works, by 
his brother, Valentine, a young man about twenty years 
old, who acts as general supej'intendent. He is a thorough 
and practical mechanic and moulder — trades which he 
learned on the ];remises — and, being honest, sober, ener- 
getic and careful in everything, constitutes a most valuable 
manager, lie hxs, it is understood, an interest in the con- 
cern. The works are models of good arrangement, and 
arc almost independent of outside help. They have their 
own railroad cars and lime quarries, and mine their own 
coal and most of their ore. Evcrjthing is systematized, and 




^ Sr^:^/ 



IUOC;RAriIICAL ENCVCLOr.EDIA. 



185 



economy, in the employment of the most approved labor- 
saving machinery, is everywhere visible. The street rail 
mill is one of the best constructed and most perfect in the 
country, and the blast furnace is generally admitted, by ex- 
perts, to be the best in the State. It was erected under the 
immeiliate superintendence of the proprietor, and there has 
never been a single interruption in the casting. Besides 
h.iv!ng the burden of this immense concern on his mind, 
he is also one of the proprietoi's of the Ringgold Iron and 
Coal Company, now erecting works and a blast furnace, 
at Ringgold, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. lie is a 
warm supporter of the church, contributing regularly and 
liberally to its needs, and an esteemed and valued member 
of the congregatiiui. Still young and active, he is remark- 
able for his d.ishing and energetic character^ his clear head 
and foresight in matters of business, and the determined 
will and persevering industry that marked hini, from the 
commencement of his career, as a man .destined tp succeed. 
It cannot fail to be a matter of gratification to him fo Igok 
back to his youthful days, when undergoing all the tfials 
and hard knocks of poverty, and from' therii to turrt.liis 
eyes on his present prosperity, with the reflection that to 
himself and his own exertions he owes it all. 



c)^^TROUD, GEORGE M., Lawygr and^E.t-JJidge 
of the District Court for the City and, Coiyity 
of Philadelphia, was born October: 12th, 1795, 
at Stroudsburgh ; then in Northampton county, 
but since 1836 in Munroe county, Pennsylvania. 
Originally his name was Macdowel .Stroud, his 
paternal grandmother haying been a daughter of John Mac- 
dowel, who emigrated from the North of Ireland. This 
lady, Elizabeth Macdowel, married Colonel Jacob .Stroud, 
whose parents were English. He was the founder of 
Stroudsburgh, and took an active part in the French and 
English war of 1756-61. lie participated in the memor- 
able events of the time: the siege of Fort William Henry, 
capture of Louisburg, the taking of Quebec, etc. He had 
been brought up as a farmer and, at the close of the French 
war, was possessed of no other property than a pair of 
horses and a wagon ; but, eventually, by strict economy, 
untiring industry, excellent judgment, temperate'^iabits and 
the hearty co-operation of his wife, succeeded in amassing 
an immense fortune, and attaining so high a social position 
that he was chosen a member of the Convention which 
formed the first Constitution of Penn.sylvania, in 1776. He 
was elected to the House oi Representatives, in the fall of 
1 781, and in three succesisive years. George M.Stroud, whose 
ancestors were, as already shown, intimately identified with 
the exciting events of our early history, entered the College 
of Princeton, New Jersey, where he graduated, and then 
commenced the study of law, in the office of John Hallo- 

24 





well — afterwards President of the Court of Common Pleas 
for the City and County of Philadelphia. In March, 1835, 
he was appointed, by Governor Wolf, one of the Judges of 
the District Court for the City and County of Philadelphia; 
to which office he was subsequently elected on two occa- 
sions, retiring at the expiration of his second term, on De- 
cember 1st, 1871, being then more than seventy-six years 
of age. He was married to Eleanor, daughter of Judge 
Hallowell, his preceptor in the study of the law. He is the 
oldest living judge in the .State, and for more than a third 
of a century , presided over the same court with marked 
ability and. .admitted impartiality. In public life he has 
been a man of sterling integrity, the strictest justice and re- 
markable decision of character. In his social relations, he 
is distinguished ■ by an eminently sympathetic, kind and 
benevolent nature, and, being a man of profound learning, 
is ecpially entertaining to young and old. He is now in his 
seventy-eighth year and lives in quiet retirement, surrounded 
by his chUflr^ai.iyid grandchildren, enjoying the happiness 
earned in a weli;sp6nt life. > ■ 



AIRD,"WILLIAM, Manufacturer, was born in 
Glasgow, Seqttepid,' ijx the month of April, :Si6. 
IIh -parents werc^.poor but reputable members 
-^. of the Btesbi'terian Church, and had removed, 
"K) -.about lgi2^ from the North of Ireland to Scot- 
. ,la3d„\vlierejthey continued to reside until their 
death. ' As his parent^ were poor, his educational advan- 
tages were very limited. He attended for a short time the 
day schools of Glasgow, but received the principal part of 
his elementary training in the Sunday-schools. He lost his 
mother at the early age of six years, and at teh was put 
to work in the mills of Glasgow, where he learned the 
trade of a hand-loom weaver. When he was twelve years 
of age his father died, and he was thrown entirely upon 
his own resources. In 1834, he joined an expedition fitting 
out in Glasgow for Portugal, during the civil war of Don 
Pedro, whose daughter. Donna Maria, was heir to the throne 
which had been usurped by her uncle, Don Miguel, the 
brother , of Doll Pedro. When Don Miguel was finally 
driven from- the throne, he left Portugal for England, and 
found his uncle-at _iBoIton, Lancashire, where he remained 
for about twelve years. In 1838, he married Miss Kenshaw, 
a native of that place. In the following year he came to 
the United States, but after remainnig a short time in Phila- 
delphia returned to England, and remained there about 
seven yeai-s. He returned to the United States in 1848, 
and settled in Philadelphia, where he was for about seven 
years the foreman of James P. Smyth & Co., at the Wash- 
ington Mills, Twenty-first and Hamilton streets. In 1856, 
he remov;d to Frankford and eng.-.ged in business for him- 
self in the Aramingo Mills, which he operated until 1S64, 
when having built the Lanark Mills he removed thither. 



1 86 



BIOGKAI'IIK Al, KNCVCI-or.KDIA. 



In I S6 1, lie was clcctcJ a iiicniljtr of ihc Select Council 
from the Tweiity-lliiril \V;iril, and served three years. In 
1 868, he erected a handsome structure four stories in height 
and surmounted by a French roof, fronting on Krankford 
avenue. This entire building, except a portion of the 
lower floor used for his offices, is devoted, as his free gift, 
to the use of various benevolent assoc.ations. In 1869, he 
erected a large hall, with front on Green street, which con- 
tains saloons, bathrooms, dressing-rooms, a spacious audi- 
ence room, etc. -Ml these buildings arc fitted out in mu- 
nificent style, the noble generosity of the owner regarding 
the mere item of expense as no barrier to the accomplish- 
ment of his philanthropic ilcsigns. In the spring of. 1872, 
he rented his mills to M. R. Stroud & Son, and retired to 
his elegant residence, on Nicetown Lane, but almost evei-y 
day finds him at the mills and in the buildings Bk of old. 
In 1871, he was elected to the Common Counci' from the 
Twenty-fifth Ward, and continues to hold that office. He 
is ever ready to extend the helping hand to the needy) and 
every benevolent enterprise is sure to find in hii\ a-w'!tTm 
and true friend. 



;SH, BENJAMIN, M. D., Physician, rhilanlhro- 
pist, and Author, was born at^fejrbeny, liucks 
county, Pennsylvania, December 24th, 15^5. He 
. was of English descent, his' anceitors'having emi- 

(gii^ grated from Great Britain "at an early period. 
He acquired his education in Tlie academy of Ws 
innlernal uncle. Dr. Finley, in Nottinghahi," Maryland, 
where he remained eight years. He graduatetl at Prince- 
ton, in 1760, and studied medicine with Doctors Redman 
and Shippen,of Philadelphia, and afterwards at Edinburgh, 
where he passed two years in attendance on the lectures. 
He returned to Philadelphia, in 1769, and was elected Pro- 
fessor of Chemistry in the College. At the commence- 
ment of the difficulties with the mother country, he espoused 
the patriotic cause, and was chosen a mem!)er of the Con- 
tinental Congress. His si;^nalnre is affixed to the Declara- 
tion of Independence, as one of the ilele;jales from Penn- 
sylvania. In 1777, he was appointed Physician-general of 
the Hospital in the Middle .Military Department. In 1787, 
he was a member of the Convention that framed (he Fe- 
deral Constitution. In 1791, he was appointed a Professor 
of the Theory and Practice of Medicine in' tfie tJiilifersity 
of Pennsylvania. In the yellow fever of 1793, wheit,_over 
4000 persons perishcil from this scourge, he succe^fttUy 
resorted to his favorite practice, the free use of the lancet 
and powerful cath.irtics. In 1799, he was m.ide Treasurer 
of the United Sl.atcs Mint — which office he retained till the 
close of his life. He died April iQlh, iSiij, after an illness 
of but five days. He married Julia, daughter of Richard 
Stockton, also one of the Signers. His son, Richard, 
w.is Secretary of the Treasury during John Quincy .Adams' 





U . 



administration; also United Stales Minister to England and 
France. Dr. Rush w.as President of the Society for the 
Abolition of Slavery; a Vice-President of the Philadelphia 
Bible Society ; and was connected with numerous charit- 
able and literary societies. He wrote forcibly against the 
use of ardent spirits a.s a beverage, and was thus one of the 
earliest advocates of timperance ; he also was the author of 
an essay against the use of tobacco. He was one of the 
founders of Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 
and was an eloquent advocate for the introduction of free 
schools. He was one of the most eminent physicians of 
the. day, and a voluminous author. His abilities were of 
the;>liiost>.unquestioned character, and his intimate know- 
ledgeon these topics was universally recognized at home 
and abroad. 



?AN1EL, CHARLES B., the Pioneer of the 
Northampton county slate business, is a son of 
.\dam Daniel, surveyor and member of the Le- 
gislature, who resided near Bath, Pennsylvania. 
1 lis paternal grandfather emigrated from Englajul 
and became a farmer. He himself w.-us born on 
his father's ^a'^n, September 2d, l8ig, and attended the 

"common s( Ii.,i)T>a>f the neiirhborhood. When but nineteen 

> ■ - * *^ 

iyears commenced as teacher during the winter 

.month-, " iitu i]J labored in the summer season in a quarr)', 
of which he is at the ' jiVesent time the proprietor. lie 
Iwas t^e first individual in the county to engage in the busi- 
ness of slate qitarrying, learning the same from a Welshman, 
one of his employi-i. He then visited England and Wales 
in order to become acquainted with all the minutii^ of the 
business, so that on his return to tiic United St.ites he was 
enabled to prosecute it thorou^jhly and scientifically. He 
was a prominent leader in the movement which led to the 
formation of the Bethlehem Iron Company, and was a Di- 
rector of the same and its Treasurer for several years. He 
was the foun<ler, and, since 1S67, the President of the Bethle- 
hem Dime Savings Hank. He was also instrumental in orga- 
nizinglhe.Saucon Iron Company, of II ellerlown, and building 
the New Street Dridge, at Bethlehem ; w.is also one of the 
projectors of the new " Christ's Reformed Church," of 
Bethlehem, to which he has largely contributed. With all 
;thesc honorable and incontestable proofs of merit, his lead- 
ing cha'racteri!ttic is a total absence of ostentation. Though 
he is the constant associate of men of wealth, he feels no 
degradation in the manual labor in which he is constantly 
engaged. For a long time he h.is had the oversight of two 
farms, and with his own hands each year has sowed twenty 
acres or more, without aban<loning, or in any degree ne- 
glecting, his other avocations. His manner of conducting 
his own affairs, coupled with the fact of his sympathy with 
the poor lalMrer (many of whom he has furnished with 
homes free of rent), has endeared him to the people with 




— '"J/fyjn '-,, iftilitdflp*<'a. 




BIOGRArillCAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



1S7 



whom he lives, and has caused him to be everywhere res- 
pected. He has been a member of the Town Council and 
School Director for six years past. He married, in 1848, 
Eliza, daughter of John Riegel, of Northampton county. 
They have one child, a daughter. Modest, humane, and 
honorable, while at the same time he is earnest, resolute 
and determined, his success is the fair fruit of his own 
industry and capacity. 




/ 



-'^WODGE, HUGH I.., M. II., LL. L)., Physici.an and 
.Surgeon, was born, June 27th, 1 796, at his 
father's house in Water street, Philadelphia. He 
was of Scolch-Irish-Presbyterian lineage. His 
grandfather, Andrew Hodge, emigrated to this 
country in 1730, and became a well known and 
successful merchant in Philadelphia; while his father. Dr. 
Hugh tiodge, was identified with our national history, 
having served in the continental army during the War of 
Independence. At an early age he was sent tii the gram- 
mar school connected with the University of Pennsylvania, 
and in 1812, entered the sophomore class of Nassau Hall, 
Princeton, New Jersey, where he graduated at the head of 
his class with honors, in 1814. On leaving college he im- 
mediately began the study of medicine, becoming the private 
pupil of Dr. Caspar Wistar, and matriculated at the Medi- 
cal Department of the University of Pennsylvania; at the 
same time following the practice of the Pennsylvania Hos- 
pital, and the Philadelphia Alms House. In 1818, he re- 
ceived the degree of M. D. and, soon after that, resolved to 
go to India as surgeon of a vessel. Wliile in that country, 
he had many opportunities of witnessing and investigating 
cases of malignant cholera — a disease at that time totally 
unknown either in Europe or America — and from his ex- 
perience there, he acquired a knowledge of its symptoms 
and proper treatment which subsequently proved invaluable 
when that disease became an epidemic in this country, in 
1832. During that great pestilence, he rendered incalcula- 
ble service by his activity in the cholera hospitals, for 
which he received a vote of thanks from the city and was 
presented, by the authorities, with a silver pitcher as a 
testimonial. After his return from India, he began the 
practice of medicine in Philadelphia, was elected one 
of the physicians to the Southern Disjiensary and, after- 
wards, to the Philadelphia Dispensary. In 1S21, he com- 
menced teaching his profession, by taking charge of Dr. 
Horner's anatomical class, during the absence of the latter 
in Europe. He became Lecturer (1823) on the Principles 
of Surgery, having for his colleagues Drs. Chapman, Dewees, 
Homer, Bills, Mitchell, Jackson, and Harris. He was 
appointed (1830) Obstetrical Physician to the Pennsylvania 
Hospital. He made-some important contributions to medi- 
cal literature, among which are his work on Diseases Pecu- 
liar to Women, /iii/iiding Disphf^ment of the litems, pub- 



lished in i860, and his work on Ohstetries, published in 
1864, which was dedicated to the memory of Drs. T. C. 
James and Wm. P. Dewees, who were the first and second 
professors of Obstetrics in the University of Pennsylvania. 
Both of these are standard works in that class of literature. 
In 1872, the authorities of the Nassau Hall, Princeton, 
New Jersey, conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. On 
February 24th, 1873, he died, in his seventy-seventh year, 
ending a long and useful professional career, embracing a 
period of over half a century. 




/ 



HITE, RIGHT REVEREND W'lLLIAM, D. D., 
the first Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Pennsyl- 
vania, was born in Philadelphia, April 4th, 1748. 
He was educated at the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, whence he graduated, A. B., in the class 
of 1765. In 1770 he .sailed for England, and 
there received at the hands of the Bishop of Norwich, Dr. 
Young, the sacred order of deacon and afterwards of priest 
in the Church of England. On his return to his native 
city, he was appointed an assistant minister of the parish 
of Christ Church and Saint Peter's, to which was added at 
a later day the additional chapel of Saint James. During 
the war of the Revolution, having embraced the patriotic 
side, he was made Chaplain to the Continental Congress. 
In 1782, his alma /««/«• honored him with the degree of 
D. D. When the independence of the States had been 
effected, and the United States constituted a nation, it be- 
came apparent that the Church of England as the State 
Church must cease to exist; but its constitution and order 
were altered to suit the circumstances of the great political 
change that had been inaugurated. An independent church 
was the result, and Dr. White with others were elected 
Bishops by the clergy of their respective Dioceses. It was 
in 17S6, when he was but thirty-eight years of age, that he 
was chosen for this high office, and having sailed for Eng- 
land he was, in company with Dr. Provoost, of JNew York, 
consecrated by the Most Rev. Dr. Moore, the Archbishop 
of Canterbury, in the chapel of the arch-Episcopal palace, 
at Lambeth, on February 4th, 17S7. For nearly fifty years 
thereafter he performed the duties of chief-pastor and Bishop 
with ability, prudence and zeal, and was held by his fellow 
citizens — of all denominations — in the highest esteem. For 
many years he was the Senior and Presiding Bishop of the 
Church, and he laid his hands on over thirty persons who 
were elevated to the Episcopacy. Some ten years before 
his decease, when the infirmities of age were pressing upon 
him, he gave his canonical consent to the appointment of 
a coadjutor or assistant Bishop, who relieved him of the 
increasing duties to which his office now rendered him liable, 
and he thenceforward confined his visitations to the churches 
of Philadelphia and vicinity. He died in his native city. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOPyEDIA. 




July lyih, 1836, and was buried ih the shadow of (he church 
of which he had hecn Assistant Minister, and subsequently 
Rector for so many years. A few years since, his remains 
were removed and reinterred under the chancel of Christ 
Church. It is a somewhat singular coincidence that at the 
very time of his decease the interior of the edifice was being 
altered to its present style ; and that as the old-time orna- 
ments and antique pews were being destroyed, the soul of 
its venerated Rector should have taken its flight. 

^s, LCORN, SAMUEL, Merchant, of Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, was born at Omah, County 
Tyrone, Ireland. His parents, Wilii.im and 
Sarah .Mcorn, were also natives of that counliy. 
He eniif;rated to the United States in 1839, land- 
ing in New York city on September 24th of th.at 
year. There he learned the trade which was to be t^e 
foundation of his fortune; namely, that of.bre.idand cake 
b.aking. After remaining in Xew York some thirleettyears, 
he moved to Philadelphia, in 1852, and commenced busi- 
ness on his own account, at the corner of Thirteenth and 
Ogden streets, premises which he occupied for three years. 
He then removed to No. 1709 Lombard street, where he 
stayed for fourteen years, and during , that time .icipiired.a 
comfortable competency. He has, since giving up his. busi- 
ness, limited his commercial operations < to tWmanagcmcnt 
of his property. The Hon. James L. Adc«m,iEx -Governor 
of Mississippi and present Senator from that Slate, is a mem- 
ber of his family. He is a valued member of the Metho- 
dist Church, and, notwithstanding the engrossing occupa- 
tions of his business life, has always manifested a deep in- 
terest in its prosperity, .is also in the dissemination and 
triumph of the Gospel universally. In this respect he has 
followed in the footsteps of his ancestors, his grand-parents 
having been active workers in the same cause. 



^ /-*'I.LIS, M.\JOR JAMES, Soldier, Lawyer, and 
Politician, w.is born in County Tyrone, Ireland, 
June 2(1, 1S35. When but two years of .age, he 
accompanied his f;imily to this country, where he 
received his educ-ition, at the Central Academy, 
Tuscarora Valley, Pennsylvania. He afterwards 
studie I law, under F. \V. Hughes, and was admitted to the 
bar, in 1858. He practised till i86l, when he entered the 
army as a private, but was elected First Lieutenant of the 
6th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and afterwanls First Lieu- 
tenant and Regimental Quartermaster of the 48th Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers. He served on General Burnside's staff, 
and foiTned part of the expedition to Il.atteras Inlet under 
that General. On December 20th, 1862, subsequently to 
the balllc of Fredericksburg, he resigned, owing to ill 




health, after doing signally gootl service and bearing with 
him an honorable record. He then returned home to 
Pottsville ; but, on the inv.-ision of Pennsylvania by Lee, he 
once more entered the army for a three months' service. 
Having been m.iinly instrumental in raising and organizing 
the 53rd Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, he became 
its Major, and went to the front, remaining in his command 
till after the battle of Gettysburg. Then again returning 
home he resumed his practice, and, in 1864, entered upon 
the field of politics with success, as in 1865 he was elected 
District Attorney of Schuylkill county. He served the 
State in the Legislative session of lS70-'7i, and, in 1873, 
was elected Delcgate-at-large to the Constitutional Con- 
vention held in PhiKadclphia in that ye.ar. He had been 
previously appointed (1872) counsel to the Philadelphia & 
Reading Railroad, and also to the Phil.adelphia & Reading 
Iron & Coal Company. He was married, in 1863, to 
Emily M. Meyers, of Audenreid, Pennsylvania, by whom 
heli.T> a family of three children. In his several careers, 
of'lawycr, soldier, and politician, he hxs uniformly been 
successful and gained the confidence and esteem of those 
with whom he h.is been connected. 



INUBRD, ADAM D., Physician, was born in 
': JAnnstron^' county, Pennsylvania, March zgih, 
.•l83r, <5f Franco-German lineage. His early 
flifclvas. spent on his father's farm, but his tastes 
leading him to scientific pursuits, he devoted his 
leisure to reading and study, attending, at inter- 
vals, the Glade Run Academy, in his native county. Two 
years passed in Kansas .satisfied his thirst for frontier life, 
and he returned eastward, where for several years he taught 
school, and studied by turns in Ohio and Kentucky. He 
was teaching in Bourbon county, in the Latter State, when 
the Rebellion commenced. Necessarily this disturbed his 
relations, and he took the first opportunity to remove to 
Philadelphia, and give his whole time to the study of medi- 
cine at the Jefferson Medical College. In 1865, he re- 
ceived his diploma from the Long IsKand College Hospital, 
Brooklyn, Xew York, and immediately applied for admis- 
sion to the Medical .StafTof the United .States Army. The 
required examination successfully passed, he was commis- 
sioned Assistant-Surgeon, and assigned to the 3d Regi- 
ment United St.ales Colored Artillery, United States Army. 
With this he was on duty at Nashville and Memphis, Ten- 
nessee, and subsequently was placed in charge of the Post 
Hospital at the latter city. At the expiration of the war, 
he w.as mustered out of service with his regiment. F"or a 
year or two he gave his principal attention to perfeclin;; 
himself in his professional studies, at Phihidelphia ami 
Cincinnati, .and in contributing various articles of interest 
to professional and general literature, among which shouUI 






a^ouu , ^^ 



( 




.^7^/jU^-^. a/ ^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



be especially mentioned an interesting little work descrip- 
tive of the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky (l86S). In 1866, 
he married Sarah E. Criswell, daughter of Robert Cris- 
well, of Aurora, Indiana, and, in 1870, removed with his 
family to Parker's Landing, Pennsylvania, near the old 
homestead. Here he soon entered upon a large and lucra- 
tive practice, the legitimate fruit of his earnest study of his 
profession, and of the confidence with which his abilities 
inspired the residents of his locality. 



/ 
^ALLAS, ALEXANDER JAMES, Secretary pf 
the United States Treasury, was born in the Island 
of Jamaica, in 1 759. He was of Scotch ancestry, 
and was educated at Edinl)urgh and Westminster. 
After the death of his father, he came to America, 
and commenced the study of law in Philadelphia. 
He was also engaged in various literary enterprises, and 
was for some time editor of the Columbian lilagazin^. In 
Januaiy, 1791, he was appointed, by President Washing; 
ton, Secretaiy of State, and again in 1793 and l7o7.'>- "'.In 
1801, he was named Attorney of the United States ror.;iht 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania, by President Jeneisoj^.' 
In October, 1814, he was nominated by PresidefiFftfedison 
Secretary of the Treasury, and in March, iSr5,'he Was also 
intrusted with the portfolio of the War Dcpart'iiieiit, and on 
the return of peace with Great Britain was ihsirumcnlal in 
the reduction of the army. .Soon after thisJ.Ttter tasli had. 
been effected he resigned his position, intendiiig to devote 
himself thenceforth to the practice of his profession! But 
shortly after his return to Philadelphia he was attacked by 
a sickness which resulted fatally, on January l6th, 1817. 
He was a most eminent lawyer and accomplished states- 
man. While in office, he promoted the establishment of a 
'tariff', and of the National Bank. He was the father of the 
late George Mifflin Dallas, at one time Vice-President of 
the United States (1845 to 1849) ; also of Commodore A. 
J. Dallas, United States Navy. 



aLLYMAN, SAMUEL, Coal Operator, was born in 
Hamburg, Berks county, Pennsylvania, in the year 
1796. His family is of Scotch-Irish extraction, and 
assisted in the settlement of the colony. His father 
was born and reared in Northampton county, 
but after his marriage settled at Hamliurg. The 
family consisted of five sons — viz., Thomas, Alexander, 
Samuel, James, and John — and three daughters, Nancy, 
Susan, and Jane. The children were all born in Berks 
county, but the sons settled in Schuylkill county at an 
early day, engaged extensively in business, became widely 
known and universally respected. Samuel received some 




education at Orwigsburg, but left school at an early age to 
learn the trade of millwright, at which he worked as a 
journeyman for a short time in Northampton county. He 
was, however, possessed of more than ordinary intelligence, 
and very soon developed something of the business capa- 
city for which he was afterwards remarkable. He was, as 
a consequence, advanced to a share in the business, as clerk 
and bookkeeper, which position he filled with credit to him- 
self and to the satisfaction of his employer until the year 
1825, when, with others, he was attracted to Pottsville, 
Pennsylvania. The same kind of excitement which in 
1849 turned the eyes of the world to the gold fields of Cali- 
fornia and attracted thither bold, enterprising, energetic, 
dashing men of that day, in 1S25, to a more limited extent, 
found its coumerpart in Schuylkill county. Anthracite coal 
was recogitiszed as an article of commerce, and rugged 
mouiitains, ijitil then held in undisputed possession by the 
bear and wildcat, unmindful of the surveys safely filed in 
the Land Office at Harrisburg, assumed value. Speculators 
fltrcked from all directions to Pottsville, and a thriving town 
sprung up a^Jf by magic in the mountains. He possessed 
energy and ability, but having little other capital, although 
attracted by ana (horoughly imbued with the spirit of coal 
enterprise, was unable to eng.age in coal operations. He 
resolved to ^build.u'p from small beginnings, and at once 
formed a copartnegbip with his brother, Thomas .Sillyman, 
and his i"riea4&^"orge Foster (afterwards prominent citizens), 
for the purpose of cariying oh the mercantile business. 
The firh) was successful, and additional means gave to its 
founder the opportunity he had long desired. In 1S39, he 
engaged in mining coal, and, to a greater or less extent, 
continued therein with varied fortune until the time of his 
death. The history of the mining of anthracite coal up tj 
the year 1861, and to some extent since, is that of a con- 
tinued struggle against adverse fortune, with occasional 
eras of great prosperity. Notwithstanding his enterprise 
and business judgment, he was unable, from force of ad- 
verse circumstances, to weather the financial storm of 1S57, 
and in his old age in failing health was the victim of finan- 
cial embarrassment. But the reputation he had made for 
himself was one in no degree dependent on mere financial 
success. His character, founded upon a basis of strict in- 
tegrity, was a compound of energy, perseverance, enthu- 
siasm and large benevolence. A pioneer in the coal region 
and in ■•Pottsville, ^he was thoroughly identified with the 
progress of the region and the town. For years, eminently 
successful, he not only aided greatly in developing the 
mineral resources of the county by individual enterprise, 
but by well-considered advice ; backed by his personal credit 
in very many instances, he assisted in laying the foundation 
of success in others. As might be expected in thus identi- 
fying himself with others, he sometimes met with losses, and 
from such losses, it is said, arose, to a very great extent, his 
financial embarrassment. In all enterprises for the improve- 
ment of Pottsville, from the date of his first residence to 



BIOGRAPIllCAI, ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



190 

Ihc time of his derilh. he was identified tvnd generally in a | 
leading position. lie built on his own account a numl.er j 
of handsome private residences and stores, and was con- 
nected with the building of three of the largest hotels of .he 
town He was earnest and efficient in his efforts to mox-c 
(he county seat from Orwigsburg to Po.tsville ; was promi- 
nent upon the building Commiuee, and a large contribu- 
tor in the erection of the new Court House. He superin- 
tended the erection of the old Town Hall. He was an 
originator and the firs. President of the PottsviUe Gas Com- 
pany An enthusiastic admirer of Henry Clay, through his 
individual exertions and heavy contributions, the first monu- 
mental statue in the United States erected to the memory 
of that great statesman now overlooks the borough of.Potts- 
ville His death, which occurred on October iSib^lSsg, 
caused general regret. On the occasion of the foneral the 
bells of all the churches and of the Court House .tverelolled. 
and places of business closed. * 




F.VERIN. JAMES IIENRV, Lawyer, was born 
April 21st, 1844, in Dover, Delawa'rc.', He'is a 
son of James L. and Priscilla H^verin,'of Dcla 
ware. After receiving a .M,,.l"^lciiientary edu- 
cation, he became a studr: ton (New 
Jersey) College, and gradi.u... ... ;l>^clas^ of 

1S64 Having decided to embrace the profession ^Jajv, 
he rc,iai,ed to the Law School of Harvard University, 
whence he graduated in July, 1866. He then returned to 
his native town of Dover, and entered the office of Hon. 
Joseph P. Comegys, where he continued his legal studies 
umil his admission lo practice, in the fall of the same 
year, at the bar of Delaware State. A short time after 
this event, he determined to remove to Philadelphia, as 
the best field where he might reap success. The desired 
change of location having been effected, .although he was 
a complete stranger in the city, and without business or 
family connections, he had not, like most joung men, to 
piss months and years in wearily awaiting for. cases and 
clients, but almost imra$diatcly (}l>tained ,1, lafge «nd Uicra- 
tive practice. In 1S69 and 1S70. he held the office of 
Assi^t.ant District Attorney under Furman Sheppard ; but 
the demands of his own private practice obliged him to re- 
sign the position. In 1872, he was nominated and elected 
as one of the three Democratic deleg.ales at large from the 
city of Philadelphia to the Convention for amending the 
Constitution of Pennsylvania. The nomination for this 
most responsible and honorable position was made in a 
Convention composed of the leading men of his parly in 
the city, over a large number of competitors, among whom 
were some of Philadelphia's most distinguished lawyers. 
He received the second highest vote in the Convention, and 
next lo the largest vote before the people. .Mthough, with 




one exception, the youngest member of the Convention, 
he took high rank in that able body, being more noted, 
however, for the ability of his a<ldresses than for their num- 
ber. He is, at present, the youngest of the leading mem- 
bers of the Philadelphia bar, having in the five years of his 
connection therewith acquired a practice second in size 
and importance lo liut few of ihe many attorneys and coun- 
sellors of which that distinguished bar can boast. As a 
lawyer he is note<l for the earnest, industrious, and inde- 
fatigable care with which he prepares his cases, and for his 
great success before juries. His style of oratory is fervid 
and florid, yet thoroughly logical from the premises. He 
is possesse.l of a remarkable flow of language, and has sin- 
gular rhetorical jiower. He commands a wealth of imagery, 
and great, originality in his mode of expre:.sion. He is 
married. 



7'5 / 

''''' cICE.VN, THOMAS, Governor of Pennsylvania, 
a'lid a Patriot of the Revolution, was born in New 
London, Chester county, Pennsylvania, March 
jgth, 1,734. On his father's side he was of Irish 
(lacent. He received his education in Dr. Al- 
llTiu*!"^ school, at New London; subsequently 
duly admitted to practice at the bar. 
' 1-1!.', Delaware — then termed in the 
lie WIS a member of the Legis- 
uuirc ,a i;i..;;/i."'^- ^ ""Sr^ss of 1765; and aUo of 1774; 
and at t1iis'!:^t period he was a resident of Philadelphia. 
He rcp'rSenVal the State of Delaware in Congress from 
1774 to* W'Sa, yet w,is at the same time Chief Justice of 
Pennsylvania from .777- ""^ signature was affixed lo the 
Declar.ition of Independence as engrossed on August 2d, 
1776, though in the printed journal his name was omitted. 
He was a member of the Convention of Pennsylvania, and 
urged the adoption of the Constitution. After holding the 
office of Chief Justice of the Commonwealth for twenty-two 
years he resigned the same^h.iving meanwhile been elected 
Governor of the St.ale, to wfflch he was twice subsequently 
re-elected, thus continuing m tb.it office for nine years. 
After the close of iSoS he reUred to'pVivate life. In politics 
he favored the creed of Jeffei^on. As Chief Justice he wa.s 
distinguished for the accuracy and profundity of his deci- 
sions. He died June 24th, 1817. 

y -*^ 

A'ANS, OLIVER, Blacksmith, was a descend.ant 
of Dr. Evan Evans, the first Episcopal minister 
of Phikidelphia, who died in 1728. He was 
born in that city in Ihe year 1755. Much of our 
steam invention is chiefly due to him. He un- 
derstood the application of it to wagons, and. in 
1787, the Maryland Legislature granted him its exclusive 
use for fourteen years. Even prior to the Revolutionary 



i1l- 
"lb 
laturc 1 




r.i(:K:;RAriiicAL encvcloi'.edia. 



KJI 



War he had thought of and experimented on the expansive 
power of steam, but nobody believed him, and many deemed 
him insane. Among some of his pubhshed writings may be 
quoted the following : 

" The time will come when people will travel in stages, 
moved by steam engines, at fifteen miles an hour ! 

"A carriage will leave Washington in the morning, break- 
fast at Baltimore, and sup at New YorU on the same day ! 

" Raihuays will be laid, of wood or iron, or on smooth 
paths of broken stone or gravel, to travel as well by night as 
by day. 

" Engines will drive boats ten or twelve miles an hour; 
and hundreds of boats will run ujion the Mississippi and 
other waters, as prophesied thirty years ago,^ etc., etc. 

Finally, he published his bet of three thousand dollars, 
engaging " to make a carriage to nni upon a level road 
against the swiftest horse to be found." His iron foundry, 
steam factory and mill were located at Philadelphia. He 
died at New York April 15th, 1S19. He published the 
" Miller's and Millwright's Guide," 1795 ; the " Young En- 
gineer's Guide," 1S05. The former work was patronized 
by Washington, Jefferson, and others. 



REBLE, EDWIN, Master Mechanic and Marble 
Mason, was born in Philadelphia, October 13th, 
1S06. His ancestors were Germans, and among 
the original Reformers contemporaneous with 
Martin Luther. His grandfather, Andrew Gre- 
ble, was a native of Saxe Coburg Go'.ha; at an 
early age emigrated to America, in the year 1742, and set- 
tled in Philadelphia, where he married a lady of German 
birth, by whom he had five sons, all of wh:m, except the 
youngest, entered the Revolutionary Army, and folight in 
many of its battles. Edwin received a liberal English 
education, and was desirous of embracing the ]>rofession of 
arms, but at the request of his father, placed himself with a 
marble mason, with whom he remained, without indenture, 
until he attained the age of twenty-one years. He then 
went to New York city, in order that he might acquire a 
knowledge of some of the finer branches of the trade. Re- 
turning to Philadelphia, he commenced business in the 
lower part of the city. Soon his operations became so ex- 
tended that he found the place too small ; he therefore pur- 
chased a large lot and steam saw mill on Willow street, 
west of Twelfth street, and erected other buildings and ma- 
chinery for supplying the trade with building material. By 
the explosion of the boilers in 1849, the mill and machinery 
were much injured ; damages were repaired, but in the 
course of a few weeks the whole was destroyed by fire, in- 
volving him in heavy loss, he having only a small insurance 
thereon. His next removal was to Chestnut street, west 
of Seventeenth, where he erected his present works, adding 
machineiy for the preparation of stone for the facing of 
buildings. The introduction of this machinery caused a 




combination among the journeymen and a strike, which left 
him without workmen for several months. This difficulty 
was no sooner adjusted than a strike was made against the 
apprentices, whereupon, determined to be master of his own 
business, he discharged the conspirators, and selected other 
workmen not affiliated with the Trades Union, and has had 
no trouble with the workmen since. He has now a large 
number of excellent workmen, many of whom have been in 
his employ from twenty to thirty-five years. Some of the 
finest stone fronts and interior marble work of houses in 
Philadelphia and other cities are the product of his work- 
shops. Notwithstanding the earnest attention which he 
bestows upon his calling, he has found time for other pur- 
suit.s. He was one of the originators of the " Young Men's 
Institute," whose hall is located at the northeast corner of 
Chestnut and Eighteenth streets, of which he has been the 
vice president from the commencement. He was also for 
many years a director of the Franklin Institute for the Pro- 
motion of the Mechanic Arts. On the breaking out of the 
rebellion he joined the Gray Reserves, a regiment composed 
of the leading citizens of Philadelphia ; he also equipped 
nine of his apprentices at his own expense. In 1S62 he 
was elected to represent the Eighth Ward in .Select Coun- 
cil, and at the end of his term was appointed chairman of 
the committee to pay the re-enlisted veterans and one hun- 
dred day-men. At the time of the invasion of Pennsylvania 
by the rebels, previous to the battle of Gettysburg, he raised 
an independent company of eighty men, who offered their 
services, and were accepted for the defence of the city. In 
1S64 he accompanied the expedition against Fort Fisher, 
and subsequently travelled over a large portion of the South- 
ern States. He has recently returned from an extended 
tour through portions of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and has 
written an interesting account of his journeyings. Although 
over sixty years of age, he has all the activity and appear- 
ance of a man in the prime of life. He w.as married to 
Susan Virginia Major in 1831, and is the father of Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel John T. Greble^ who was killed at Big Bethel, 
Virginia, June loth, 1S61, being the first man to fall fighting 
in the Union c.iuse. Edwin Greble, his surviving son, was 
a volunteer in the Union .army during the war, and devoted 
his whole pay to the objects of the Sanitary Commission, 
refusing to receive a money recompense for his loyalty. 



AHNBSTOCK, BENJAMIN A., Physician and 
Capitalist, was boin at Berlin, Adams county, 
Penn.sylvania, on July Sth, 1799. After a careful 
elementary education, during which he displayed 
considerable ability, he was placed at Dickinson 
College, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he ac- 
quitted himself with great credit. After graduating hono- 
rably, he began the study of medicine with Dr. Luther, 
of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His kind and synjpathizing 




■ 92 



moGKArmcAL ENCYCi.or.i;i)iA. 



nature rendered the heroic practice of that day uncongenial 
lo him. For this reason he abandoned the active practice 
of his profession, and commenced a larye enterprise in the 
town of Chambersburg, where he remained for some years. 
About 1829 he remove<l to Pittsburgh, where he established 
the well known drug house of B. A. Fahnestock & Co., 
with branches in New York and I'hiladelphia. In this 
liusiness he accumulated a greater part of the large fortune 
which he so liberally disbursed in acts of friendship and 
benevolence. A gentleman, whose scientific and literar)- 
tastes were of the highest order, he was specially devoted 
to botany and horticulture, and also encouraged the im- 
provement of poultry and live stock at a time when those 
subjects were not sufhcicntly considered in his immediate 
neighborhood. At his beautiful country-scat, " Oakland," 
near Pittsburgh, his gardens and poultry yards were a great 
attraction to visitors. He was an earnest and active Chris- 
tian. In Pittsburgh he was a ruling elder of the Third 
Prcd)ylerian Church ; and upon his removal to Philadel- 
phia, he connected himself with the Arch Street Presbyte- 
rian Church, under the p.istorate of Rev. Charles Wads- 
worth, where he continued serving the church in the arduous 
duties of the eldership until his death, July nth, 1862. 
He was a great traveller; his latest journey, taken in com- 
pany with his accomplished wife, the daughter of C. Wolff, 
of Chambersburg, embraced the tour of Europe and the 
Iravei'sing of the Holy Land. During it her care and re- 
sponsibility were very considerable, her husband being 
already an invalid. His death followed shortly upon their 
return to their native land. 



'AHNESTOCK, GEORGE \VOLFF, Merchant and 
Bibliopole, was born in Chambersburg, Franklin 
county, Pennsylvania, on September 23d, 1823. 
He was the son of Dr. Benjamin Fahnestock and 
Anne Maria W'olff, a member of one of the oldest 
and best faniilies of Pennsylvania. He was edu- 
cated at Washington College, Pennsylvania, and selected a 
mercantile life ; but the drudgery and detail of business 
bein» uncongenial to his tastes, he from his earliest youth 
sought and found pleasure in scientific pursuits. For a 
while he busied himself .xs a naturalist, bringing together a 
collection of insects and reptiles. Then he took up geolo- 
gical studies, and made a rare cabinet of minerals. Con- 
chology also engaged his attention, and he succeeded in 
brin-ing together numerous rare specimens of shells. 
Botany again w.is a special pleasure to him. While still 
quite a youth, his varied and technical knowledge w.is a 
matter of great suqmse to the numerous visitors who fre- 
quented his father's residence; his botanical researches, 
especially, rendering him ever ready with scientific descrip- 
tions and a resumi of the characteristics of any plant, from 
the choicest in the forcing house to the simplest in the field. 





He devoted some time to literary pursuits. " The Alann 
Bell," " The History of his Maternal Family,' and " Memo- 
rial of the WoltT Family," from his pen, attracted much 
attention at the time of their publication. His later life was 
occupied in accumulating a library of rare book^, and more 
particularly in the formation of a full and complete collec- 
tion of pamphlets upon all subjects, which he beciueathed lo 
the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He was n nieml>er 
of the Historical .Societies of Pennsylvania and Miimesota; 
also a Manager of the American Sunday School Union and 
.\cademy of Natural Sciences, Director of City National 
Bank of PhiKidolphia and the Enterprise Insurance Com- 
pany. He filled the position of Trustee of Lafayette Col- 
lege, Easton, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the 
Executive Board of the Orphans' Home at Gettysburg. 
Active and honorable in his public career, his private life 
was of spotless purity, and distinguished by its domestic vir- 
tues. He died December 4th, 1S68, on the Ohio river, in 
consequence of the collision of the steamers "America" and 
" United States." 



ISPMAM, SAMUEL, Merchant, was born in 
Philadelphia in 1796. His father was a hatter, 
and in moderate circumstances. In 179S, when 
the city was visited by that terrible scourge, the 
yellow fever, he took his family to a farm, near 
Moorestown, New Jersey, where he remained 
until his demise, in 1S08. When but a small child, Samuel 
was sent to market with produce, and it w.xs while rending 
butter, eggs, etc., in the midst of the bustle of Market street, 
that he adopted a resolution to become a merchant. The 
death of his father thresv the lad on his own resources, and 
when but twelve yeai-s of age, he sought employment in the 
grocery store of William Carman, on Market street, above 
Front. Here he remained two years in the capacity of 
errand boy. In 1810 he entered the grocer)' store of John 
Snyder, on Market street, below Ninth. At this period the 
trade between IMiiUideljihia and the West began to assume 
importance, the traffic being carried on by means of the 
great, lumbering Conestoga wagons, and transport.ation was 
extremely slow and expensive. His employer was engaged 
in this trade, and he had ample opportunities for learning 
its mysteries and appreciating its difficulties while serving 
an apprenticeship as book-keeper and salesman. Always 
nursing his ambition to .-.chieve to high position in the busi- 
ness world, he economized his earnings, and cultivated 
habits of attention, promptitude, and industry, so that when, 
in 1815, he determined to embark in business on his own 
account, he h.id a small capital, excellent qualifications, and 
considerable experience to strengthen his confidence. He 
entered into partnership with Jacob Alter, the firm opening 
at 825 Market street under the style of Alter & Bisphain. 
They started vigorously in the trade with the interior and 
the West, and were so successful that soon there was, 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



«93 




scarcely a house upon the great road between Philadelphia 
and Pittsburgh in which the firm of Alter & Bispham was 
not known. They continued to prosper and to enlarge 
their sphere of business operations until 1S30, when the 
senior partner retired, and tlie remaining one took the busi- 
ness entirely under liis own control. In 1S33 he purchased 
the building now No. 629 Market street, below Seventh, 
and moved his establishment to that structure, where he 
has remained initil the present day. In 1851 Samuel A. 
and John I. Bispham were taken into partnership, and the 
style of the firm was clianged to Samuel Bispham & Sons, 
by which it is still known. He is the oldest grocer in 
Philadelphia, having been engaged in this branch of trade 
about sixty years. Of all the grocery houses that existed here 
at the time he began business on his own account, not one is 
left. He has been director of the Bank of Penn Township, 
to which institution he was one of the origijial subscribers ; 
is a member of the Board of Managers of the Schuylkill 
Navigation Company, and a director of the Reliance Insu- 
rance Company. 

/ ^^"^ 

■"ORRIS, ROBERT, Superintendent of the Finances 
i)f the United States, was a native of Lancashire, 
England, where he was born June, 1 734. While 
a lad oT lliirleen years, he accompanied liis father 
to America, and about 1749 entered the counting- 
house of Charles Willing, an eminent merchant 
of Philadelphia, after whose death he was taken into part- 
nership by his son, Thomas Willing. The co-partnership 
lasted from 1754 to 1793, a period of thirty-nine years. At 
the commencement of the Revolutionaiy War, the firm of 
Willing & Morris was the most affluent in the city, and 
their enterprise and credit have rarely been equalled. In 
1776 the junior partner was a member of Congress, and as 
such his name is affixed to the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. In the beginning of 17S1 he became manager of 
the finances, and the services he rendered his adopted 
country were of the utmost benefit : indeed, it was owing 
to his exertions that the decisive operations of the campaign 
of '81 were not impeded or defeated from the want of sup- 
plies; for he hid pledged his priv.ate fortune to raise the 
means to purchase articles of the most absolute necessity for 
the army. He originated the scheme for a national bank, 
which was incorporated December 31, 17S1. The army 
depended principally upon Pennsylvania for flour, and he 
himself raised the wdiole su]iplies of this Stale, on being 
assured that he would be reimbursed from the taxes which 
had been levied to accomplish this object. The position he 
occupied was a most thankless one, for when, in 1782, the 
public resources failed, and he was obliged to struggle with 
the greatest difficulties, the unsatisfied claimants complained 
of his mal-administration. He resigned his position, after 
holding it about three years. During this period he was 
ably assisted l)y Gouverneur Morris (who was no kinsman 
25 




of his), and who, after the war terminated, engaged with 
him in commercial enterprises. After the dissolution of the 
firm of Willing & Morris, he engaged in land speculations, 
whereby he lost his immense fortune, and in his last years 
was confined in prison for debt : that penalty for a misfor- 
tune, and not a crime, not being removed from the Statute 
Book of Pennsylvania for many years thereafter. He died 
May 8th, 1806, aged 71 years. His wife was the sister of 
Bishop White. 

OPKINSON, JOSEPH, Judge.and author of " Hail 
Columbia," was born in Philadelphia, November 
I2th, 1770. He was a son of Francis Hopkinson, 
a Signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
He graduated from the University of Penn.sylva- 
nia in the class of 1786, and studied law with 
Judge Wilson and William Rawle. He commenced the 
practice of his profession in Easton, but soon returned to 
Philadelphia, where he acquired a high reputation. He 
was a counsel for Dr. Rush in his libel suit against Cob- 
bett, and for Judge Chase, of the United States Supreme 
Court, when the latter was impeached by the Senate. He 
was a member of Congress from 1815 to 1819, where he 
oppo-^ed the re-charler of the United States Bank. After a 
residence of three years in Bordentown, New Jersey, he 
returned to Philadelphia, and in 1828 was appointed by 
Prcsiilent Adams Judge of the United Stales District Court, 
an office which his grandfather had held under the British 
Crown, and to which his father had been chosen when the 
Judiciary v/as organized, in 1789, on the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution. He filled this office unlil his death, 
January 15th, 1 842. He was vicp president of the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society, president of the Academy of 
the Fine Arts, and a trustee of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania. The song of " Hail Columbia " was composed by 
him in the summer of 1798, when war with France was 
supposed to be impending. It was instantly received with 
enthusiasm, and sung in all parts of the Union. 




/ 



OGAN, GEORGE, M. D., Uniled States Senator 
, from Pennsylvania, was born at Stanton, near 
Philadelphia, September glh, 175S. He was the 
son of William, and grandson of ^ames Logan, 
the secretary of William Penn, and founder of the 
Loganian Library of Philadelphia. He studied 
medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and after gradua- 
tion, returned home in 1779. He applied himself to agri- 
culture, and made experiments with gypsum as a fertilizer. 
He was a member of the Slate Legislature for several years. 
In June, 179S, he sailed for Europe for the sole purpose of 
preventing a war between this country and France. On 
his arrival in France, the American Minister, Gerry, had 



194 



BIOGRAPHICAL liNCVCLOPyEUIA. 




already left, an embargo had been laid on our shipping, and 
many sailors imprisoned. Ur. Lojjan persuaded ihe l-'rench 
Government to raise the emban^jo, and prepared the way 
for a negotiation which terminated in peace. He was 
United Slates Senator for six years, i8di to 1807; and, in 
l8io, went to England on the same peaceful mission which 
led him to Fr.ance; but in this instance was unsuccessful. 
He died at Stenton, April Qlh, 1S21. lie published Ex- 
periments on Gypsum, and on the Rotation of Crops, 1 797. 



'lI'ONXEAU, peter STEPHEN, Lawyer and 
Scholar, wxs lH)rn in the Isle of Rhd, France, 
June 3d, 1760. When fifteen years of age he 
entered the Ecclesiastical Order and received the 
tonsure ; but disliking the restraints of a religious 
life, shortly after abandoned it. Me went to 
Paris, made the acquaintance of Baron Steuben, and be- 
came his private secretary and aide-de-camp. From 1777 
to 1779, he attended the Baron in his military operations 
during the War of .\merican Revolution, and then left the 
army. In 1781, he became a citizen of Pennsylvania, and 
was appointed secretary to Livingston, who had charge 
of the Department of Foreign Affairs. At the close of the 
war, he studied law and was admitted to practice. For 
many years he occupied a very prominent position at the 
Philadelphia bar, and also before the Supreme Court 
during its sessions at Washington. He was thoroughly 
Americanized ; s|>oke and wrote the language with great 
precision and facility. Among his various acquirements, 
he was a great philologist. Ilis treatises on the Chinese 
tongue are full of learning, and, with his other writings, 
brought him much reputation at home and abroad. He was 
President of the American Philosophical Society for many 
years. He resided for a very long time at the northeast 
corner of Sixth and Chestnut streets, where he died, April 
Isl, 1S44, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. The Uni- 
versity ipf Pennsylvania, in 1 782, conferrid on him the 
honorary degree of Master of .Vsls. In after years, he wxs 
a Trustee of the same institution. 



|RNE, J.V.MKS, Merchant, w.as born June 7th, 1790, 
at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and received his 
early education in the same town. After leaving 
school, he adopted a seafaring life, which he fol- 
lowed so successfully that in a few years he be- 
came commander — at an unusually early age — 
of the ship " J.ason," sailing out of the .above-named port. 
Becoming tired of that occupation, he determined to turn 
his attention to other and less dangerous pursuits, and, ac- 
cordingly, emiiarkcd extensively in the iron business, first 



in Delaware county and, subsequently, in Chester county, 
I'enn-.ylvaiiia. He remained in that business till 1S22, 
when he removed to Piiiladel|>hia, making that city his |ier- 
manent residence. From 1822 to 1S49, he was located in 
Market street, above Fifth ; in the latter year he removed to 
Chestnut street, opposite the Stale House. The business 
in which he engaged — that of selling carpetings — was en- 
tirely new to him ; but though personally unacquainted with 
the details of the trade, his natural business tact, energy 
and ability were such that his sales rapidly increased, and 
he found himself growing daily in prosperity and wealth, 
and the concern was in a fair way of attaining its present 
important proportions. He continued thus enlarging and 
consolidating his business till the day of his death, which 
occurred on November 12th, 1852. At his death, he left 
a widow and five children — two daughters and three sons, 
the latter of whom succeed him in the business. His poli- 
tical opinions induced him to identify himself with the Whig 
party, of which he always manifested himself a consistent 
and firm supporter. In religion, he was a Presbyterian, 
being an active, zealous and valuable member of the Tenth 
Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Twelfth and Walnut 
streets. In his social relations he was remarkable for his 
kinil-hearted disposition, his amiable character, active bene- 
volence and unaffected piety, qualities which endeared him 
to the household circle of his own family as well as to all 
those outside of it who had the good fortune to come in 
contact vvilh him. His commercial career was marked by 
unusual ability, the strictest integrity and straightforward- 
ness of purpose, which gained him the esteem of his fellow 
merchants, and of all those who had business transactions 
with his house. The original name of the firm was J. & 
B. Orne; but, since July, 1S5S, it has been carried on under 
the style of J. F. & E. V>. Orne. The present members are 
John Flagg Orne & Edward Beninmin Orne; the locality 
of the business has been moved to No. 904 Chestnut street. 



INTON, JOHN I.., w.as born in Philadelphia, 
on January I2lh, 1871. His grandfather came 
from the northern part of Ireland, prior to the 
Revolution, took an active part in it, and was 
wounded several times on the retreat of the army 
with General Washington, when crossing the 
Delaware at Trenton. His father, John Linton, was also 
in the field in the war of 1812. He himself was educaled 
for commercial pursuits, and entered his father's store at an 
early age. He was appointed Secretary and Treasurer of 
the Harrisburg & Lancaster Railroad, at the age of eighteen 
years, and held the position for seven years. During the 
latter part of this period he became one of the originators 
of, and, in fact, one of three who started, the project of a 
railroad -to Pittsburgh from Harrisburg. He afterwards 




lilOGRArillCAL ENCVCLOI'/EDIA. 



195 



entered ihe steamship business, and started a line between 
Philadelphia and Charleston, The first steamship ever 
brought to sail from Philadelphia he was instrumental in 
bringing to tlie port. He labored for the interest and pros- 
perity of his native city with all his powers. On the break- 
ing out of the Rebellion, as Major Linton, he was one of 
the first to enter the field, and did good service. In 1863, 
he was sent to Europe by the Government on important 
service, which was well performed. Subsequently, he was 
appointed Revenue Agent, under the Internal Revenue 
Law, for the Stales of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and a 
portion of New York; in which position he worked up the 
largest whisky fraud on the Government on record — that 
of John Devlin, of Brooklyn, New York — being highly ap- 
plauded, at the time, by the press for his energy and in- 
tegrity. He was one of the clerks of the Constitutional 
Convention of Pennsylvania, of l872-'73, and enjoyed in 
large measure the confidence and esteem of that body. 




/ 



?ULLY, TMOM.\S, .'\rtist, was born at Ilorncastle, 
Lincolnshire, England, in 17S2. When he was 
about ten years of age, his parents came to the 
United States for the purpose of following their 
profession as actors. While quite a youth, he de- 
veloped a strong disposition to become an artist, 
and after a vain attempt to train him to business habits, his 
father placed him with his brother-in-law, Mr. Belzons, for 
instruction in the arts of design. He soon quarrelled with 
his tutor, however, and finally left the house with a deter- 
mination to go to sea. A friend offered to procure him an 
appointment as midshipman, but before it arrived he was 
invited by his brother, Lawrence, who was settled in Rich- 
mond, Virginia, as a portrait painter, to make his home 
with him. This invitation he gladly accepted; became his 
brother's pupil, and very shortly his assistant. In iSoi, the 
family removed to Norfolk, and on arriving there he com- 
menced to take portraits in oil. He received considerable 
assistance from a portrait painter named Bainbridge, who 
was settled in Norfolk, and was so successful, in a business 
point of view, that when, in 1803, Lawrence and his family 
returned to Richmond he remained in Norfolk. Vei-y shortly 
after Lawrence Sully died, and the maintenance of his 
family fell upon Thomas, who somewhat more than a year 
after his brother's death married his widow and adopted 
his children. About this time, he attracted the attention 
of Thomas A. Cooper, the eminent tragedian, who, struck 
by his evident talents, made him an exceedingly liberal 
offer to induce him to remove to New York. From him 
he received, rent free, a studio in the New York Theatre, 
and through him many orders. He now availed himself 
o( every opportunity for improvement, and took particular 
pains to study the styles of Trumbull and Jarvis, who were 
then the fashionable portrait painters in New York, and, in 



1S07, he went to Boston and studied for a year under 
Gilbert Stuart. Shortly after, he established himself in 
Philadelphia, when he speedily obtained an abundance of 
sitters. In iSo7,he visited England, and made the acquaint- 
ance of Benjamin West, from whom he received such as- 
sistance that at the end of nine months he returned home 
a very much better artist than before. For a number of 
years thereafter he was the fashionable portrait painter of 
Philadelphia. Stephen Girartl, who knew him well and 
admired him exceetlingly, built him a studio and exhibition 
gallery at his home, on Fifth street, above Chestnut, and 
offered to sell liim the property on remarkably advantageous 
terms. This house was inhabited by him during the balance 
of his life, and he painted regularly in the studio up to 
within a short lime before his death. In 1837, he again 
visited England, with a commission from the St. Cieorge's So- 
ciety of Philadelphia to paint a full-length portrait of Queen 
Victoria, who hati then just ascended the throne. The 
artist had considerable trouble in gaining access to the 
Queen, wdio, however, on being informed of his desire to 
paint her portrait, very graciously consented to give him all 
the sittings necessary. This was the first portrait of the 
Queen ever painted, and the engraved copies of it that were 
made attained a ready sale. On his return home, he pro- 
ceeded to make a copy of this portrait for the purpose of 
placing it on exhibition. This was objected to by some of 
the members of the St. George's Society, and the result was 
a quarrel between the artist and his patrons, the exhibition 
of the picture in the meantime being rendered useless for 
any puiposes of profit by the appearance of one painted by 
E. Leutze from the engraving of his rival's work. The 
portrait of Queen Victoria was his last large work, but he 
continued to paint with success for a great numl)er of years, 
and produced a large number of fine portraits of dis- 
tinguished citizens. The chief characteristics of his 
style were delicacy and refinement, although he also ex- 
celled greatly as a colorist, and he was particularly success- 
ful with the portraits of ladies and children. Without in- 
tentionally flattering his subjects, he had the art of repre- 
senting what was best in them, and of making agreeable 
portraits of very unpromising sitters. Some of his works 
are among the finest specimens of portraiture in this coun- 
try. The portrait of George Frederick Cooke, in the cha- 
racter of " Richard TIL," which belongs to the Academy 
of Fine Arts, and his portrait of Lafayette, in Independence 
Hall, are noble works of art. Among his other noticeable 
works, may be mentioned portraits of Thomas Jefferson, 
Dr. Samuel Coates, Dr. Rush, Commodore Decatur, Fanny 
Kemble, Charles Kemble, and Nicholas Biddle, and a 
large jjainting of IViishingfon Crossing the Delaware, exe- 
cuted for the Legislature of North Carolina, but now in the 
Boston Museum. He was not only a fine artist, but he 
was also a skilful musician. He was an active member 
of the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia for a number 
of years, and w.is for a long time its Vice-President. He 



1 90 



IMOCRAI'IirCAI, ENCVCI.or.KDIA. 




took a grent interest in musical matters, and did much to 
promote the cultivation of musical taste in Philadelphia, 
lie died on November sth, 1S72. 

i;ARi;, ROBERT, M. D., Chemist, was born in 
rhiladelphia, January 17th, 17S1. In early life 
he managed an extensive brewery which his 
father had established, but, having a scientific 
taste, soon abandoned manufacturing and turned 
his attention to chemistry. When but twenty 
years of age he invented the oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe, for 
which the Rumford medal was awarded him by the Ameri- 
can Academy, at Boston. The so-called " Drummond 
I.ig'it" and the Calcium Light is, in fact, solely due to this 
discovery. His researches were .so full and his knowledge 
so complete respecting the modern science of chemistry 
that he was elected to the Professorship of th.it science in 
the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, 
in 1818, and discharged its duties until his resignation, in 
1847. Me devoted grc.it labor and skill to the construction 
of new and improved forms of the voltaic pile, which Pro- 
fessor Faraday, in 1835, adopted, after striving for twenty-five 
years to improve upon Dr. Hare's ideas. His " Defla- 
grator" enabled Silliman.in 1823,10 demonstrate the fusion 
and volatilization of carbon, which before had been deemed 
impossible. This ajiparatus was produced in 1820. Four 
years previously he hail invented his " Calorimeter," which 
even at the present day has not been improved upon. lie 
was one of the limited number of life-members of the 
Smithsonian Institute; to it he gave, soon after he resigned 
his professorship, all his chemical and physical apparatus, 
which ha.s thus become the projwrty of the nation. He died 
May 15th, 1858. 

/ ^^^ 

^•VRRKT.SOX, JAMi;s I.D.MLND, M. D., I'hy- 
sician, was born in Wilmington, Delaware, Octo- 
ber 4th, 182S. He is of German descent, and 
his ancestors originally .settled at Newport in that 
State, whence the family, at a later day, removed 
to Wilmington. He was educated at the Mantua 
Clas.ical Institute, in the laller city. After leavini; school 
he was articled to an attorney, and read law under the 
prcceptorshii) of the then Attorney-General of the State. 
Conceiving, however, a predilection for the i)rofession of 
medicine, he abandoned his legal aspirations for the more 
interesting study of medicine ; and, after the usual course of 
reading and lectures, delivered at the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, graduated from that institution. In i860, he was 
made Demonstrator of Anatomy in his n/ma nmter, as (he 
successor of Dr. D. H.ayes Agnew. This [wsition, in the 
most famous school in the counlry. has always been fdled 




by the ablest surgeons of the day. From this apixiintment 
he pxssed to the Professorship of the Principles and Prac- 
tice of General Surgery in the " Philadelphia Denial Col- 
lege," which position he subsequently resigned to accept 
the clinical post of Aural Surgeon to the University of Penn- 
sylvania. He is now, in connection with Dr. D. Hayes 
Agnew, conducting the clinical surgical cases in that school. 
For the past twenty years he hxs been ardently devoted to 
surgery, and has contributed largely to both medical and 
general literature. The details of his surgical clinics have 
been extensively published, and through them he has be- 
come widely known in the medical world. He is the author 
of: I. Diseases and Siirf;ery of the Moiil/i, jfa-ws, and .'Is- 
sociate Paris ; 2. A System of Aural Surgery. Both of 
these works have been widely read and circulated both in 
this country and in Europe. In general literature, over the 
nom de plume of " John Darby," he has written Odd 
Hours of a Pliysician, which has been most favorably re- 
ceived, and is highly spoken of by the public press. He is also 
the author of a philosophical work entitled, Thinkers and 
Thinking; founded upon the text: "What is life? what 
is it to live? what is it to get the most out of living? " In 
this book the author reviews the thinking of the world from 
the time of the Ionic philsophers down to the Posilivists of 
to-day. He is married to a daughter of George Craft, a 
prominent I'ricnd of New Jersey. 



^I't'^iVON, PATRICK, the famous Blacksmith and 
'-^Mlif, Lock Manufacturer, was born in London, Eng- 
land, about 1779, and landed in Philadelphia 
November 25lh, 1793. He was, in many respects, 
an extraordinary n^an, but it w.as accident rather 
than intellectual endowments which made him 
celebrated. This accident originated with the great rob- 
beiy perjx'trated in the Bank of Pennsylvania. Lyon had been 
employed by the directors to make alterations in the vaults of 
the bank and attend to the doors. While so engaged, im- 
pressions of the locks were taken, but this did not attract 
attention at the time. On Sunday, September 2(1, 1798, in 
the height of an epidemic of yellow fever, the .xstounding 
discovery w.as made that the bank had been robbed of over 
Si6o,ooo; and as Lyon's celebrity in making and picking 
locks was so well known, it was at once conjectured that 
he was the burglar. What still further adtled to the sus- 
picion was his absence from the city. He had gone to 
Lewistown, Delaware, to escape the pestilence. As soon 
as he heard of the charge against him he returned and de- 
livered himself up. Bail was asked to' the amount of S150,- 
000, and in default he was committed. He suffered terribly 
in prison, for the yellow fever was raging there. Subse- 
[ucntly the ball was reduced to S6000, and he was released. 
The grand jury ignored the bill ; and he thereupon sued the 






/Cst-^-^^^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



197 



bank and recovered g 12,000 damages. It was subsequently 
ascertained that tlie bank had been rolibed by the inside 
porter and another, who being taken down with the fever 
made a confession, and nearly all the money was recovered. 
Lyon in after years was celebrated as the builder of the famous 
hand fire-engine used by the " Diligent" Engine Company 
of the Volunteer Fire Department, which in its repeated trials 
with the "crack" engines of other cities carried off the 
victory, both as to vertical and horizontal streams. He 
lived to a ripe old age, and died in his adopted city, respected 
by all \;ho knew him. His portrait, at full length, is the 
])roi)orly of the Academy of Fine Arts, and represents him 
while working at the forge. 




y 



.EIDHARD, CHARLES, M. D., Physician, was 
born in Bremen, Germany, in 1809, and is a step- 
son of the eminent political economist and re- 
fugee. Professor List, whom he accompanied in 
his exile to Switzerland and this country. The 
professor's emigration was at the instance of his 
friend. General Lafayette; and followed Dr. Neidhard's 
admission to the higher gymnasium at Stuttgart. Com- 
mencing the study of medicine with Isaac Hiester, M. D., 
of Reading, in this State, and continuing it for three and a 
half courses at the University of Pennsylvania, two sessions 
of the Philadelphia Medical Institute, and two years of 
the clinical lectures of the Pennsylvania Hospital, he^fell 
seriously ill from over-application after completijig his 
studies. He thereupon consulted Dr. W. Wesselhoeft, of 
Bath, Pennsylvania, a personal friend who Iiad adopted 
homoeopathy. His own recovery, and his. physician's argu- 
ments, led him in the same course. As his friend, Professor 
List, had been made United States Consul to Leipzig, Saxony, 
he followed him, and there thoroughly mastered the principles 
of medicine, and became a member of the Leij^zig Medical 
Society, in 1835. lie afterwards took his degree as Doctor of 
medicine, surgery, and obstetrics at Jena. Returning to Ame- 
rica, in 1836, Dr. Neidhard commenced the ])ractice of 
honnEopathy in Philadelphia, and, excepting visits to Eu- 
rope, has remained here permanently ever since. Plis 
European visits were to the famous hospitals of the great 
capitals to learn every advance. This knowledge he emirodied 
in a course of three lectures, that were published under the 
title of, " Ilomceopathy in England, France, and Germany, 
with a Glance at Allopathic Men and Things." In 1837, 
he graduated at the Allentown Homoeopathic Medical Col- 
lege, and received an honorary degree from the Hahnemann 
College of Chicago. He was one of the original membei-s 
of the American Institute of Homceopalhy. Having been 
appointed Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Homoeo- 
pathic Medical College of Philadelphia, he lectured regu- 
larly for three years. In addition to these labors, he has 
enriched the medical literature of the country with the 



following treatises: I. A Translation from Ihc French of 
" Crosorio on llonia^opatliic Medicine ;^^ 2. Answer to the 
Delusions of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes ; 3. Public Address 
before tlic Rhode Island Ilomaopathic Society on the Ilomceo- 
pathic Laio of Cure ; 4. On Crotalus horridus in Yellmu 
Fe-L\'r. This last work has been translated into the Spanish 
language, at Havana, Cuba. His treatise on Diphtheria in the 
United States is admirable and exhaustive, and is regarded 
in England and America as one of the best ever published. 
His essay entitled, Where do we Stand? I/o^n can we Best 
Promote the Scientific Progress of Homaopathy ? was pub- 
lished in the British Journal of Ilomaiopathy, in 1869. In 
this essay he defends with signal ability his opinion that the 
similarity of the remedy must correspond not only with the 
symptoms, but with the deeper pathological state, as far as 
this can be ascertained, and that this is essential to the suc- 
cess of the homceopalhic treatment. These views, based 
upon a strong common sense, and written from a thorough 
acquaintance with the subject, have produced a deep im- 
p'ression upon the professional and the public mind. 

l^i^UTHEV, JOHN SMITH, Lawyer, was born of 
American parents, on September 31!, 1820, in 
West' Fallowfield (now Highland) Township, 
^^ti) Chester 'county, Pennsylvania. He is the eldest 
?^5 • child of Robert and Margaret Futhev. His ances- 
tore came from Arbroath, in the county of For- 
far, on the eastern coast of "Scotland, where the family was 
very prominent" and influential, Alexander and Heniy 
Futhie Geliig members of the old Scottish Parliament in 
the reign of Charles II., while others fdled other positions 
of trusf and honor. The family came to this country about 
the year 1720, and were early members of the Octorara 
Presbyterian Church. His father, Robert, was a member 
of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, in lS4l-'42. He 
himself was educated at the Unionville Academy, Chester 
county, and, in 1841-42, was a student of the Law De- 
partment of Dickinson College, of Pennsylvania. He also 
studied law in the office of Townsend Haines, of the West 
Chester bar, and was admitted to the practice of law, Feb- 
ruary 7th, 1843. He was married to Elizabeth J., daughter 
of Amos M. Miller, of West Fallowfield Township, Chester 
county, Pennsylvania, September iSth, 1845. In 1848- 
'49, he was appointed by the Hon. Cornelius Darragh, At- 
torney-General of Pennsylvania, Deputy Attorney-General 
for Chester county ; and, in 1853, he was elected District 
Attorney of Chester county by the popular vote ; this posi- 
tion he held from November of the latter year until Novem- 
ber 1856, discharging the duties with great ability. He 
has been for many years one of the leading members of the 
West Chester bar, and has long enjoyed a large and lucra- 
tive practice. He has a decided and a well-improved taste 
for archaeological investigation, and has contributed min'h 



198 



r.lOGRArillCAL ENCVCLOP/l£DIA. 



valuable antiquarian information to the press. He is now 
engaged in gathering niatcriaK for a History of Cluster 
County, lie is the author of a work of decided merit en- 
tilled, The Jlistory of the Upper Octorara Church, which 
lie wrote in honor of its one hundred and fiftieth anniver- 
sary. He is an active memlicr of the First Presbyterian 
Cliurch, of West Chester, and, in 1872, was elected a ruling 
elder thereof for three years. 



iy.'^VS, JACOIi, I). D., Clergyman, was born at the 
&\\ \ Trappe, Montgomeiy county, Pennsylvania, Feb- 



"S 



ruary 9th, 1S34. lie is a son of the late Hon. 
"*-^' Jacob Fr)'. He received a thorough classical edu- 
cation, which enabled him to enter Union College, 
at Schenectady, New York, from which he gra- 
duated with the cKiss of 1851. Having decided to enter 
the work of the ministry, he studied theology at the Theolo- 
gical Seminary of the Lutheran Church, at Gettysburg, 
and thence gr.iduated in the autumn of 1853. He was at 
once called to the First Fnglish Lutheran Church, at Carl- 
isle, Pennsylvania, and became its pastor, February 1st, 
1854, being then not quite twenty years of age. In this 
town he remained for eleven years, during which time the 
congregation enjoyed an increasing .and continued pros- 
perity, no less than 398 new communicant members being 
added, while the church edifice was greatly enlarged and 
beautified ; a parsonage was also erected adjoining the 
church, and a house for the sexton. During his residence 
here, he was married to F-liza Jane Wattles, of Gettysburg. 
In June, 1863, during the invasion of Pennsylvania by 
General Lee's army, the rebels held the entire impulation 
prisoners lor one week ; and while all the other churches 
were closed. Dr. Fry opened his, and pre.iche<l t) many of 
the invaders. On their departure the town was shelled, 
and the church building was struck by the missiles. In 
1863, he \v.xs elected Secretary of the West Pennsylvania 
Synod of the Lutheran Church, and during the same year 
was chosen one of the Directors of the Thcologic.il Semi- 
nary at Gettysburg. On Christmas day, 1 864, he was un- 
animously elected pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, of 
Reading, Pennsylvania, which call he accepted. He re- 
moved to that city, February 1st, 1865, and at once entered 
upon his pjisioral duties. Previous to his arrival, the con- 
gregation, owing to various causes, were very much scat- 
tered, and the church w.is in a reduced condition. By his 
indefatigable exertions, a favorable change was soon effected ; 
the absentees returned, new members were added, and it 
has prospered exceedingly. In 1867, the present parsonage, 
a<ljoining the church, was erected at the cost of $10,500. 
During the same year the church edifice was entirely reno- 
vated. In 1868, he induced the congregation to purchase 
ground and erect a chapel in the northeastern part of the 



city, and to organize a society now known as St. Luke's 
Lutheran Church. In 1873, '•*' proposed to the congrega- 
tion that they should erect another chapel beside Trinity 
Church to be used for cvery-day services ; to remodel and 
refit the basement of the main church building for Sunday- 
school purposes; .also, to dispose of the old organ, and to 
purchase a new and more powerful instrument. To all 
these propositions the congregation responded favorably, 
and the work has been completed. The cost of the organ 
alone was $(3000. During his p.islorate of nine years, 822 
new communicants have been added to the congregation, 
which has also developed great spiritual life, and benevolent 
influence, making it one of the most powerful for good in 
the Comanonweallh. The congreg.ation is by far the largest 
in the city, as is also the church edifice ; and the attendance 
on the ser\ices is so general that the building is always 
filled. In 1869, he was elected Secretary of the Synod of 
Pennsylvania; in 1870,3 Trustee of Muhlenberg College, 
at Allenlown ; and during the past six years he has been 
chosen one of the deleg.ates to represent the Synod of Penn- 
sylvania in the General Council of the Lutheran Church of 
.'\merica. He received his degree of D. D. from Union 
College, his Alma j1/<//cr, July 1st, 1873. Some six leading 
sermons, delivered by him on v.irious occasions, have been 
published for general sale. In addition to these, he has 
prepared and. published a Catechism on the Reformation, 
designed for Sund.ay-schools ; also a pamphlet, explaining, 
in questions and answers, the order of service in use by 
Lutheran congregations. For a number of years past, he 
has been a stated contributor to the columns of the Lutheran 
Missionary. His sermons are preached without notes, and 
are characterized by their fluency of expression, soundness 
of doctrine and incisive character. He is very energetic 
in his pastoral duties, attending over one hundred families. 



(0 ;/ 

•^OUDINOT, ELIAS, LL.D., first President of the 
American Bible Society, was born in Philadelphia, 
May 2d, 1 740. On his father's side he was of 
French extraction, while his mother was of WeUh 
descent. After receiving a thorough classical 
education, he commenced the study of the law 
under Richard Stockton, of New Jersey, whose eldest sister 
he married, and on commencing the practice of his profes- 
sion was very successful. At the outbreak of llie Revolu- 
tion he embraced the patriot cause, and, in 1777, was ap- 
pointed by Congress Commissary-General of prisoners. In 
the same year he was elected delegate to Congress, and be- 
came President of the s.ame, November, 1782, and in lh.it 
capacity signed the Treaty of Peace. Returning to his pro- 
fession for a few years, he was again electetl a member of 
Congress under the Constitution, and scr\ed in all six yenrs. 
In 1796, President Washington named him Director of the 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



199 




United States Mint, which po^ition h= resigned in 1805, 
and retired to Burlington, New Jersey, where he died, 
October 24th, 1 821. He was very charitable during his 
life time, and his large estate was bequeathed almost en- 
tirely to benevolent objects; among which was the gift of 
13,000 acres of laud to the corporation of Philadelphia for 
the support of tlie poor ; and over 3000 acres to the Penn- 
sylvania Hospital, the income to be applied for the care of 
foreigne.'s. 

/ ~^^^ 

*URRAY, LINDLEV, the celebrated Grammarian, 
was bora in Pennsylvania, in 1745. He was. de- 
scended from an eminent Quaker family, and 
received his primary education in Philadelphia, 
at the Academy under the control of that Society. 
He removed with his father to New York, in 
1753, and after attending school for a while there, entered 
a counting-house, with a view of learning the mercantile 
business. But he soon abandoned this pursuit, and re- 
paired to Burlington, New Jersey, again to study, having a 
strong passion for literature. On his return to New York, 
in addition to the continuance of his classical studies, he 
entered a lawyer's office, where he was a fellow-student of 
the celebrated John J.ay. Soon after attaining his majority, 
he was admitted to practice at the bar, and became veiy 
successful in his profession. At the commencement of the 
Revolutionary war, his health being poor, he retired to the 
country, where he passed four years, and becoming impover- 
ished, returned to the city, but as his profession had ceased 
to be lucrative, he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and was 
so successful in this as to be able to retire, possessed of an 
ample fortune, soon after the establishment of American 
independence. Impaired health, however, caused him to 
go to England with his family, where he remained, and 
ultimately died, February 161I1, 1S26, His celebrated 
Keaiiers, Grammar, Spelling-Book, and reading books in 
the French and English languages, have been published by 
millions, so that he is known wherever the English lan- 
guage is spoken. 

/ ~^^ 

y^JRTON, SAMUEL GEORGE, M. D., Physician, 
was born in Philadelphia, in 1799. His father 
died when he was quite young, and his mother, a 
Friend, placed him in an academy under the 
control of that Society. Thence he passed to a 
counting-house, Iiut having no taste for business, 
was allowed to study medicine. He became a student in 
the office of the celebrated Dr. Joseph Parri^h, and even- 
tually graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. 
Soon after, he sailed for Europe on a visit to his uncle ; 
passed two years in Edinburgh, attending the lectures of 
that famous school, and one year in Paris, where he was 




similarly occupied. He returned, in 1S24, and commenced 
practice. Prior to his departure for Europe he had been 
elected a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 
Philadelphia, and he now took an active interest in the 
same. Geology and craniology were his favorite pursuits. 
He was made Professor of Anatomy in the Pennsylvania 
Medical College, in 1S39, where he continued four years. 
He also, for several years, was one of the physicians and 
clinical teachers of the .\lms House Hospital. He is the 
author of: I. Analysis of Tabular Spar from Bucks 
County, 1827 ; 2. .-/ Synopsis of the Organic Remains of 
the Cretaceous Group of the United States, 1834; 3. Illus- 
trations of Pulmonary Consumption, etc., 1S34 ; 4. An 
Illustrated System of Human Anatomy, etc., 1849; His 
Crania Americana was published in 1839; followed, in 
1S44, by the Crania .■■E;^yptiaca. His magnificent collec- 
tion of 91S human specimens — the finest in the world — was 
purchased by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel- 
phia. He died at Philadelphia, May 15th, 185 1. 




/ 



IDDLE, NICHOLAS, President of the United 
•States Bank, was born in Philadelphia, January 
8th, 1786. He was a son of Charles Biddle, a 
Revolutionaiy patriot, who had been Vice-Presi- 
dent of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
during the period that Dr. Franklin was Presi- 
dent. He himself at the age of thirteen had completed his 
preparatory studies in the University of Pennsylv.ania, and 
two years later graduated at Princeton, New Jersey, taking 
the first honors of his class. He studied law for three years, 
but being too young to be admitted attorney, went as an 
attache to the legatioir to France, Ijeing General Armstrong's 
Secretaiy, in 1S04, and while in Paris witnessed the corona- 
tion of Napoleon. On his return to the United States, in 
1S07, he was admitted to the bar, and also engaged in lite- 
raiy pursuits. He was a member of the State Legislature, 
in iSlo, and there advocated a system of education which 
was not adopted till 1S36. During the \Var of 1812 he 
was a State Senator, and supported the measures of the 
national administration for carrying on the contest. He 
and all his brothers were in the service of the country, in 
the public councils, the army, navy and militia. He was 
twice nominated for Congress but defeated by the Federal 
candidates. In l8ig, he was nominated a Government 
Director of the United States Bank, and, in 1823, succeeded 
Mr. Cheves as President, and continued until the expiration 
of its charter. He was also chosen President of the 
" United States Bank of Pennsylvania," which became 
insolvent shortly afterwanls. He retired to his country 
seat in broken health, and shi")rtly afterwards died, February 
27th, 1844, of a disease of the heart. He it was who had 
the famous bank controversy with President .\ndrew 
Jackson. 



2O0 I BIOGRAPHICAL 

Cki|ANN, COLONEL WILLIAM P.., lawyer and 
vUl I Poliiician, was Ixirn in liiirlington county. New 

Jersey, on Nov. 271I1, 1S16. lie isllieson of Rev. 

Wm. Mann, A. M., a minister of the Metlioilisl 
V^s^ Episcopal Church, who came of a gooil old Saxon 

slock, pretty thoroughly cros.<ed with Celtic blood. 
He was born in Biirlinsjton county. New Jersey, but, his 
parents dyincj while he was almost an infant, he was taken 
at the aye of five years to Troy, New York, where he grew 
up, and became an expert in the art of printing. Marrjing 
at an early age and returning to his native place, his lalenti!' 
soon began to attract attention. lie now unde'rtook the 
conduct of Mount Holly Aca<lemy, and at the sartie time 
devoting himself to the study of the classics^ ultimately be- 
came a polished and graceful scholar. In 1821, hemoved 
to Pliil.ulelphia, where he resided for nearjy halTa century, 
le.iching a classical school founded by himself, and per- 
forming ministerial functions, to which hc'was ordained at 
an early age. He died on July 6th, 1S67, having lived to 
see his sim's success, and many of his pupils occupying 
prominent positions, official, professional and otherwise. He 
w.xs widely regretted. The mother of Colonel Mann was "a 
lady of great personal worth and benevolence, who was 
highly esteemed in all the relations* of hfe. Her maiden 
name w.-vs .Mice Benson, her son receiving the latter for 
his midille name. .She died'in 1S48. Coming with his 
parents to Philadelphia, in 1S21, Colonel Mann has'always 
lived in the Northern Liberties. He grew to manhoo<l un- 
der excellent educational advantages, having access to his 
father's academy, and receiving his personal supervision. 
He perfected his studies by assisting as a teacher in the 
institution. While thus occupied, he was also studying for 
the Icg.d profession in the office of the Hon. Charles Naylor, 
then a member of C ingress from the Third Pennsylvania 
District. He w.is admitted to the bar in 1838; in the s.ame 
year married, and at once commenced practice. He may 
be said to have been a hereditary Whig, his father having 
been one before him. He w.as nominated on that ticket for 
Mayor of the district in which he resided when only twenty- 
eight years old, but, though running far ahead of his ticket, 
he was not elected. In 1850, he received the appointment 
of Assistant District Attorney from W'illiam B. Reed, whom 
he had ably represented in a famous contested election 
case, and, in 1853, entered upon a second term with the 
same gentleman. In 1S56, he himself received the nomina- 
tion for the chief position by both the " American " and 
" Rep'iblican " Conventions, and by a union of the votes 
of both these parties was elected, running 3000 ahead of 
any other candidate on the fusion ticket. Three years later, 
he was re-elected on what w.rs called the People's ticket. 
In 1S62, he was nominated by the Republican parly and 
elected for a third temi. Three years subsequently he was 
again elected, and by over 10,000 m.ajority, the highest on 
his ticket. In l872,he w.is once more returned to the posi- 
tion, having thus served the public for nearly twenty years 



ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 

in the District Attorney's office, six lieing passed as As- 
sistant and fourteen as chief. During all this time he has 
personally attended, and with distinguishe<l ability, to its 
duties, except for a {t:w months while he was in the army, 
a special act of the Legislature being then passed to allow 
him to appoint a deputy. On the outbreak of the war, he 
was largely instrumental in raising the Second Regiment of 
Pennsylvania Reserves, of which he was elected Colonel. 
In November, iS6l,he sent in his resignation, and returned 
to the urgent duties of his profession at home. He m.ay be 
described as an embodiment of the genius of Young Ame- 
rica. ""Bold and resolute, a master of that art above all arts, 
oratoryt he is just the leader to attract the masses. A poet, 
a.sch,oJar, a gymnast, and athclete, a natural ruler, he to- 
'day wiblds more personal influence than any other slates- 
man in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. By his never- 
j[luestioned ability and indefatig,ible industry, he has secured 
wealth. His children are, Charles N., a rising lawyer; 
Emma, married to F. F. Brightly ; Harold, now a stuilent 
at'' Princeton ; another daughter, Alice, died just on the 
threshold of womanhood. 



OTTS,- HENRY, Ironfounder, was born in Potts- 
town, Pennsylvania, August 5th, 1797. He was 
intimately connected with the history of his native 
place, being the son of Joseph an<t .Sarah Potts, 
and the great grand-son of John Potts, the founder 
of PotLstown. He obtained his education in the 
place of his birth and in Philadelphia, and having com- 
pleted it, com.i.encetl his business life by entering the 
counting-house of Robert Smith, of the latter city, where 
he early manifested the business capacity which marked his 
subsequent career. On giving up that position, he engaged 
with an uncle in the iron business, in the same city. From 
that time forward he was closely identified with the iron 
interest of the State; his fii-st step in that direction being 
the commencement of the manufacture of iron at the Old 
Glasgow Forge, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, which 
he prosecuted with much success. In 1834, he, in conjunc- 
tion with John P. Rutter, built the Isabella Furnace, in 
Chester county, an.!, in 1S46, he st.arted a fresh enterprise, 
by building, in partnership with the Hon. D.avid Potts, jr., 
of W'arwick Furnace, Chester county, the Pottsgrove Iron 
Works, at Po'.'.stown, which they carried on successfully for 
eleven years, till April 1st, 1857, when he retired from the 
business, leaving it to his sons, Henry Potts, jr., George H. 
Potts, Joseph Potts, jr., and his son-in-law, Edward S. 
Davies. He w.xs married, October 8th, 1819, to Isabella, 
daughter of Daniel O. Hitner, of Marble Hall, Montgomery 
county. As a representative man, he h.as done, perhaj's, 
more than his share towards advancing the interests of his 
native Stale, and especially of his native town, of which he 
w.TS a distinguisheil cili/.en by name, birth and services 





^^^^.^^^1^.^ y7 



^> 



BlOGRAPHICAi; ENCYCLOP.^iDIA. 




rendered. He was for a number of years Secretary and 
Treasurer of ihe Pottstown Bridge Company ; several times 
President of the Town Council, of the Borough of Potts- 
town, and a member of the Board of Managers of the Potts- 
town Gas Works. In October, 1857, he was elected Presi- 
dent of the Pottstown Bank, then newly organized, a position 
which he retained till the day of his death, August 31st, 
1861. In politics, though disinterested, he was sincere. 
Originally a Whig, he acted with that party till 1844, when 
he joined the Freesoilers, steadily supporting their principles 
until they were merged into those of the Republicans, which 
latter he adopted and advocated till his decease. 



OULSON, ZACIIARL\H, Printer and Journalist, 
was born in Philadelphia, September 5th, 1761. 
His father was a Dane by birth, and left Copen- 
hagen, in 1749, with his father for North America. 
Zachariah Poulson, the elder, and his uncle 
learned the art of printing, and his namesake 
in his footsteps, served an apprenticeship with 
Joseph Cruikshank, in Market street, and became eminent 
in the same. He was for many years elected printer by 
the Senate of Pennsylvania ; he also printed the Minutes 
of the Convention appointed to revise the State Constitu- 
tion, in 17S9. Among other works, he printed and pub- 
lished: ProuiTs Ilisloty of Pennsylvania, 1797-98. He 
also issued, Paulson's Town and Country Almanac, from 
1789 to 1801 inclusive. On the 1st of October, 1800, he 
commenced the publication of Pouhon's American Daily 
Advertiser, having purchased the fixtures and " good will " 
of Claypoole's paper of the same name — which he continued 
without intermission for nearly forty years, its last issue 
being December 28th, 1839. It was the first daily paper 
issued in the United States. He was a most benevolent 
man, and untiring in doing good. He was one of the 
founders, and at his death the President, of the " Philadel- 
phia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons; " 
for some lime a Manager of the Pennsylvania Hospital ; for 
nearly fifty-nine years connected with the Library Company 
of Philadelphia, twenty-one years as Librarian, six years as 
Treasurer, and thirty-two years as Director. He died July 
31st, 1844, and his remains repose in the family burial 
ground at Germanlown. 

/ ^"*~ 

ilCHARDS, GEORGE, Merchant and Senator, 
was born in West Hanover Township, Mont- 
gomei-y county, Pennsylvania, June 17th, 17SS. 
His ancestors were of German Lutheran descent, 
and identitied with the early history of this coun- 
try. His father was a member of Congi'ess 
during Jefferson's administration ; a member of the House 
of Representatives of Pennsylvania, and a State Senator 
26 




one term, under Governor McKean. He was educated in 
his native place, and on attaining his majority, went to 
Philadelphia, where he entered the counting-room of a 
mercantile establishment as a clerk, and was interested as such 
and part owner for several years. In 181 1, he made a 
mercantile voyage, or what was then termed an adventure, 
to the island of Cuba, as supercargo and part owner, land- 
ing at Santiago de Cuba. During the same year, he made 
a second expedition to the island of Porto Rico, which 
proved successful, and his return voyage was equally favor- 
able. In the spring of 1812, he made his third voyage, 
in which he came near losing his life. This time he sailed 
to La Guayra, the seaport of Caraccas, the capital of Vene- 
zuela, South America. On the 15th of March, he proceeded 
to Caraccas, in time to witness the memorable earthquake 
in that city, which took place the day following his arrival. 
He was an eye-witness of all the horrors of the scene ; he 
saw the earth open and close before him, burying thovisands 
in the gulf; 'but, by an apparent miracle, escaped himself 
with life, though the violent concussion threw him on his 
knees. His love of adventure, unconquered by this im- 
minent peril, led him, on his return home, to volunteer into 
the service of the United States, and during the war of 
1812 he marched to Fort Deposit. He returned from the 
army in 1815, and settled in New Jersey, where he em- 
barked in the iron business, and carried it on until the year 
1820. In that year he was married, and has had a family 
of four children, all of whom are Jiving. He was much 
interested in political matters, and, in 1846, was elected to 
the Senate. He was connected with the Lutheran Church 
from the age of seventeen years till the day of his death, 
which occurred August 19th, 1S73. His eldest son, Mark 
L. Richards, occupies a prominent place in the community 
as a business man ; has filled many important positions of 
trust in Pottstown and Montgomery county, and still con- 
tinues to do so. 




/ 



ECK, PAUL, Jr., Merchant and Philanthropist, 
was born in Philadelphia, about 1760. His 
father was of German birth, of an ancient and 
influential family of Nuremberg. At the age of 
fourteen he was, in accordance with the custom 
of the day, apprenticed to learn the mercantile 
business. Beforr his service expired the Revolutionary 
war broke out ; he wa.s enrolled in the first battalion of in- 
fantry, and marched as far as Lancaster. He made many 
friends while in the army, and renewed their acquaintance 
in after years. At the close of the war, he entered into 
mercantile life with James Caldwell, but the firm terminated 
with the death of the latter, in 1787. Though he was pos- 
sessed of but four thousand pounds, Pennsylvania currency, 
at the close of his first year's business, in ten years it had 
increased to sixty thousand pounds, and fifty years later to 




202 BIOGRAPHICAL 

one and a quarter millions of dollars. Though averse to 
public office, he accepted and held for many years the 
position of Port Warden. He wis very instrumental in the 
carrying into execution the canal connecting the waters of 
Delaware and Chesapeake bays. He was also a promoter 
of art and literature, being among the founders of the 
Academy of Fine Arts, and contributing to the success and 
permanency of the Historical Society, the Api)renlices' and 
Mercantile Libraries. He was treasurer of Christ Church 
Hospital for many years; president of the Deaf and Dumb 
Asylum, and manager of the American Sund.iy School 
Union for eighteen years. Though a consistent Churchman 
he was liberal to all creeds, prominent among his benefac- 
tions be ng the gift of a lot of ground and Sio.ooo to St. 
Paul's Methodist Church. He died December 22d, 1844. 



AILEY EDWARD, Iron Manufacturer, etc., was 
born in Chester county. May 15th, 1825. His 
parents were English and Welsh. lie was edu- 
cated at the Westlown school, Chester county. 
On leaving school he eng-iged with Samuel 
Harris as clerk in a country store, near Catskill 
Mountain House, with whom he spent two years, and then 
returned home to Chester county. In 1850, he joined his 
father and brothel's in the business of manufacturing iron 
plates, which they were carrying on in Berks county, at the 
Pine Iron Works, under the name of Joseph Bailey & Sons, 
and remained in that concern till the spring of 1S57. He 
then removed to Pottstown, entering into partnership with 
II. Potts & Co., the name of the finn being changed at the 
time to that of Potts & Bailey. After continuing five years 
a member of that firm, he sold out his interest in the estab- 
lishment to the other partners and joined the firm of E. G. 
Brooke & Co., engaged in the manufacture of nails. This 
partnership, however, only lasted eighteen months, and, at 
the end of that time, he again sold out his interest to llie 
other partners. He returned to Pottstown and established 
the firm of E. Bailey & Co. (in 1864), for the manufacture 
of plate iron. In January of the same year, the Pottstown 
Iron Company was organized, in which he and two of his 
brothers were largely interested. He was chosen treasurer 
of the company and held that position, as well as that of 
general manager, until December, 1868. He was then ab- 
sent for about one year, but, on his return, resumed an 
active share in the business. In the various positions he 
has occupied, during his busy life, bis energy and business 
ability have been remarkable, contributing essentially to the 
success of every enterprise with which he h.is been con- 
nected. He has evinced much interest in the growth of 
Pottstown, and has built there some thirty to forty houses, 
adding in this manner, as well as by his general business 
transactions, much to the welfare of the town. 



ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 

ETERS, RICHARD, Judge of the United Stales 
District Court, was born at Belmont (now Fair- 
mount Park), in June, 1744. He graduated 
A. B. in the University of Pennsylvania at the 
age of seventeen. Having adopted the law as 
his profession, and being thoroughly conversant 
with the German language, his country practice was ex- 
tended and lucrative. His uncle was Secretary of the 
Colonial Government, and also connected with the land 
department, and here the young attorney became familiar 
with the land titles of the Province, which laid the founda- 
tion of his reputation in after years, for the great knowledge 
he possessed of the land laws of the State. When the 
Revolution broke out, though his intere-sts lay on the 
royalist side, he did not hesitate a moment in embracing 
the patriot cause. He volunteered in company with his 
neighbors, and w.as chosen their captain. His military 
career was brief, and in 1777 he was made Commissioner 
of War. He resigned in 1781, and was thereafter elected 
member of Congress, When W.ishington was made Presi- 
dent, he named his friend and associate, Richard Peters, 
Judge of the United States Court for the District of Penn- 
sylvania. At this date he was a member of the State 
Legislative Assembly and its Speaker. He accepted the 
office and held it to the close of his life, a period of thirty- 
si.x years. He di.ii at Belmont, August 22d, 1828. Soon 
.ifter the war, he visited England, and paved the w.ay for 
the courteous and friendly reception of the venerable 
Bishop White and his colleagues, who sought consecration 
at the hands of the British Church. 




HYSICK, PHILIP SVNG, M.D., "the father of 
American Surgery," was born in Philadelphia, 
July 7lh, 1768. His father was Keeper of the 
Great .Seal of Pennsylvania, and after the Revo- 
lution, Agent of the Pcnn Estates. Being pos- 
sessed of considerable means he was enabled to 
give his son a good education. At eleven years of age he 
was placed under the care of Robert Proud in the Friends' 
Academy, by whom he was prepared for the University. 
He graduated in the class of 1785, and at once entered the 
office of Dr. Adam Kuhn, a pupil of the renowned 
Linna;us ; while re.iding with him, he attended the medical 
department o( hh A/nia Afitter. He did not graduate, but 
in November, 1788, proceeded to London, where he be- 
came a pupil of the celebrated Dr. John Hunter. He was 
made House Surgeon at .St. George's Hospital, January 
1st, 1790, and his proficiency was so great that in one 
year's time he earned the diploma of the Royal College 
of Sui^eons. He went to Edinburgh in May, 1791, and 
the following year took his degree of M. D. at (he 
University in that city. On lils return to Philadelphia 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.'EDIA. 



203 



he was elected Physician to the City Yellow Fever Hos- 
pital. In 1794 he was appointed one of the surgeons 
of the Pennsylvania Hospital, and shortly after, Physician 
to the Alms House Infirmary. In 1798, after his re- 
covery from the scourge, he was made for the second 
time Resident Physician of the Yellow Fever Hospital 
at Bush Hill. In 1S05 he was elected to the newly 
created Chair of Surgery in the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, and in 1819 was transferred to the Professorship 
of Anatomy in the same Institution, where he continued 
until 1831, when his failing health compelled him to re- 
sign. Upon his retirement he was created Emeritus 
Professor .of Surgery and Anatomy. His private 'practice 
was very large, and he was celebrated as a Consulting 
Physician. He performed the great operation for Jirin^omy" 
on Chief-Justice Marshall, from which the latter, though 
well advanced in years, recovered. His last sofgical 
operation was upon the eye (as was also his first), onlv.a' 
few months before his death, which topk.,p!ace De^gjnber' 
iSth, 1837. He married in iSoo, .ElizaUeth E*len,.a 
of a distinguished minister of the^"3.omefy of 



daughter 
Friends. 



had expired, and he removed to Philadelphia. He was 
identified with the old Wliig party, and has filled several 
positions of trust in the City and National governments. 
He was Chief Clerk in the County Treasurer's office under 
John M. Coleman, who was the first Receiver of Taxes un- 
der the Consolidation Law. Subsequently he was appointed 
Chief Clerk in the Department of Agriculture at Washing- 
ton, District of Columbia, and on the death of Isaac New- 
ton, who was for some time the head of that department, 
he became the Acting Commissioner, and as such made the 
contacts and built for the Government the buildings be- 
longing to and now occupied by that bureau. He also 
purchased the collections which formed the nucleus for 
ijie prsaent interesting museum. He was afterwards ap- 
TjointecfT^ssessor of Internal Revenue for the Fcjurth Con- 
gressional District of Pennsylvania : and during the war of 
the'R^b'sUion was the Chief Clerk of the United States 
^'urchfSihg Agent.' He married Eliza Lippincott of Phila- 
delphia. 




STOKES, JOHN \VOOLMAN,'La^er,^ Phikf- 
delphia, was born in Buriingtoh^cfiT^ty;- N^ 
Jersey, April 29th, 1S13. He is'"the'«3n of^fSh?! 
and Elizabeth (Woolman) Stokes. " His • father 
was an old-fashioned farmer, a member of the 
.Society of Friends; his mother was the daughter 
of John Woolman, an esteemed and able minister of the 
same society, after whom he was named. He was educated 
in the Friends' School; subsequently studied in the law 
department of the University of Pennsylvania, and gradu- 
ated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Law. It 
was his intention to bpgin at once the practice of his- pro- 
fession, but owing to circumstances over which he had no 
control, he was obliged to turn his attention to a different 
course of life and toil. An unfcle, who hatl for*some time 
been very successful as a merchant tailor,~became his pre- 
ceptor, and he remained in his establishment for six years, 
becoming thoroughly acquainted with the trade. At the 
expiration of this term of service he commenced business 
on his own account in a very small way ; but being indus- 
trious and accommodating, he was able to retain his old 
customers, and add many new ones continually. To the 
retail trade, to which he had exclusively confined himself 
at first, was now added the wholesale, and after a period of 
thirty years of successful management he retired from this 
business, and gave his attention to the profession which he 
had so long previously selected as the one of his choice. 
He formed a copartnership with Hon. James Cooper, then 
United States senator, and commenced the practice of law. 
This partnership he maintained after Sen.ator Cooper's term 




:iSr''j(THx 



was bo 



)'ARK;IN,^ JOHlv Jr., Capitalist, was Dorn mi 
,' Concord.' (ownshlp, Delaware county, Pennsyl- 



^ vania, QctoWr 3d, 1804, and is a son of Tohn 
O/o L^km, a'farmer. . After a hmited education m 



the commqn 'schools, he labored on his father's 

place until, he was twenty one years of age. Then he 
C,*-« .iiR. ,;';;_ ^-.^ . ^ •" ° 

^ented^a farm in Lower Chicliester township, and worked it 

for two years. In 1827, he married Charlotte, daughter of 
Captain Erasmus Morton. After keeping a store at Chiches- 
ter Cross Roads for one year he removed to Marcus Hook, 
where he engaged in the same business for three years. 
Having purchased a freight vessel in 1832 he established a 
packet line between Marcus Hook and Philadelphia, which 
he continued until 1839, when he sold his vessel, wharf, 
and business interests. He was elected sheriff of Delaware 
county for three years in 1840, and after the expiration of 
his terra removed to a farm of 155 acres in Lower Chiches- 
ter, whicti he hid secured by seven purchases, and upon 
wKich he had 'erected new and commodious buildings. He 
was elected to the Legislature in 1844, and re-elected in 
1845. I" 1848 he built two vessels to establish a daily 
line of packets between Chester and Philadelphia, the pre- 
vious accommodations having been but twice a week. In 
the autumn of the same year he purchased a property in 
Chester, and having erected a dsvelling removed thither. 
He then engaged in business with William Booth, forming 
in March, 1849, '1'^ copartnership of Booth & Larkin, to run 
a daily line of p.ackets between Chester and Philadelphia 
in connection with the lumber and coal business. The 
firm enjoyed a prosperous career until March, 1852, when 
the partnership was dissolved, and he gave his time and 
attention to real estate operations. This w^as consequent 
upon the exchange, in 1850, of his farm for eighty-three 



204 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOI'.tDIA. 



acres in ihc north ward of Chester, belonging lo John 
Cochran, which had been previously occupied as a race- 
course. In 1854 he proposed to erect a mill for Abraham 
Blakeley of any dimensions, and to finish it before October 
1st of that year. His offer was accepted, and he erected a 
handsome ihrecslory brick structure, loo by 45 feet, com- 
pleting it two months before the specified time. He also 
built during the same year twenty-lwo dwelling-houses, and 
by the large sale of lots and strenuous efforts was enabled 
to carry out to the full extent his beneficent enterprise. 
This movement gave the first impetus to manufactures in 
Chester, and he has followed it by the erection of a total of 
one hundred and thirty-eight dwellings in Chester, and forty-, 
two in Marcus 1 look, beside thirteen manufacturi^ estab- 
lishments. He was for eleven years a member of the 
Borough Council, and for six years was Presidtait of that 
body. Chester having been incorjjorated in lS6(>, he was 
the first mayor, and was re-elected for three years in 1869. 
He is president of the Chester Rural Cemetery Company, 
of which he was an originator, as well as of the First 
National Bank, to the presidency of which he was elected 
in 1871, and of which he previously had been.a director. 
He was one of the movers in the conversion of the old 
Delaware County Bank into a national institution, ^nd was 
for two years a director. He has long been prominent in 
the settlement of estates, and is now engaged in eJctensive 
real estate operations at Marcus Hook, where he achieved 
his first marked success. Few men have contributed "more 
to the promotion of public enterprise, or had honor and 
official trust so forced upon them. He is uniformly re- 
spected for his abilities and sterling integrity. 



JOLLINS, EDWARD A., Laviryer and Insurance 
President, is a native of New Hampshire, and 
was born in the town of Wakefield in that State, 
December 8lh, 1828. He is a son of Hon. 
IXanicI G. Rollins, Judge of Probate, and Susan 
Binney Jackson.. He is a graduate of Dartmouth 
College, New Hampshire, and studied law in the Law De- 
partment of Harvard, Mas.sachusetts, University. At the 
proper time he was duly admitted to the bar of his native 
Slate, and for some time practised his profession at Great 
K.ills, New Hampshire. Tn t86i, he was elected a fnem- 
ber of the House of Represent.itives of the St.ite Legisla- 
ture, and was re-elected in 1862. For these two years he 
was honore<l by being elected Speaker of the same. In 
1863, he was appointed Cashier of Internal Revenue, at 
Washington, District of Columbia, being the first incum- 
bent to hold that office after its creation. In 1864 he be- 
came Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and in 
1S65, was promoted to the position of full Commissioner, 
which office he filled with signal ability until 1869, when 





he resigned. Shortly afterwards he removed lo Philadelphia, 
and was elected Vice-President of the National Life In- 
surance Company of the United States of America, in which 
position he proved himself so valuable to the company, 
that upon the resignation of Clarence H. Clarke, be was 
elevated to the office of president. 

" AUER, FREDERICK, Brewer, was bom in the 
Province of Palatine, now Rhenish Bavaria, 
October 14th, 1810. He is a son of George and 
Katrina Lauer, both of whom are now deceased. 
He attended school (German) until he was 
twelve years of age, and during this period 
learned the French language. His father had been one of 
the largest property holders and taxpayers in the country, 
and was the man who raised the first liberty-pole on the 
•French borders. On account of his liberal and patriotic 
sentiments he had to suffer, and for nine years was unable 
to gather any crops owing to the presence of the army. 
Finding himself gelling more and more impoverished, he 
concluded "to. emigrate -lo America, and with his family 
landed in Haltimore in /^ugusl, 1823. He at once started 
for Reading, where his married daughter was then living. 
Here Frederick -became, for the first four months of his 
residence, a butcher boy, assisting his brolher-in-law — who 
was a victualler — in various ways. Bui he left this employ- 
ment when his father commenced the brewing business at 
Womelsdorf, Berks county, where he assisted him until he 
removed to Reading, and continued his calling there. 
During this time the l.id had four months' schooling, all 
that he ever received in this country, and through three 
months of this period the tuition was by night; but he has 
ever been a book-worm, and each leisure hour has been de- 
voted to close study. It was in the spring of 1826 that his 
father returned to Reading, where he established a small 
brewery in an old log house, which had been erected many 
years before by Read, the founder and owner of the town. 
Frederick, who wxs then not quite sixteen years old, was 
made foreman and clerk, and with one assistant did all the 
brewing. He built up his first kettle with a capacity of five 
barrels, which in two months time was increa.scd to ten. 
He rose at 2 A. M., finished the brewing by daylight, and 
after breakfast would deliver the beer to customers in town. 
In 1835 he liecamc the proprietor of the brewery, enlarged 
it, and by the aid of more assistants extended the business. 
During the first five years nothing was made but what was 
known as " strong beer." The brewing of ale and jxjrter 
was begun in 1831, and of lager beer In 1844. The original 
site of the brewery in 1826 was in the midst of a wretched 
swamp. The wonderful improvements which have since 
sprung up by means of his industry and tact, and without 
capital, have resulted in a town of itself. In 1849, he 
commenced buying up vacant lots, and therein quarried ex- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOIVEDIA. 



205 



tensive vauUs in the solid limestone rock for the storage of | 
lager. beer. In 1S66, he erected a large brewery on this 
locality, containing all the latest improvements, and com- 
plete in every respect. In connection with this brewery is 
a fine parlc of seven acres, planted with shade trees, a park 
house with porticos, etc. He has alw.ays favored the estab- 
lishment of these gardens, thinking it the duty of the State 
Government to encourage their establishment, that good 
music might be discoursed and malt liquors and domestic 
wines sold. He had quite an extended correspondence 
with Senator Eli K. Price, of Philadelphia, on the subject; 
in which he maintained that fermented liquors taken in 
moderate quantities are not only harmless but beneficial to 
the system, and th.-it the soothing influence of music has a 
wonderfully beneficial effect upon the mind. Although no 
politician, in the modern acceptation and definition of that 
term, never seeking office of any kind, he has always mani- 
fested a deep and intelligent interest in politics. From the 
day he was permitted to cast his maiden vote until the pre- 
sent time, he has been a strong, unwavering, unflinching 
Democrat. His first vote was cast in the gubernatorial 
election of 1832 for Hemy A. Muhlenberg, and a few weeks 
afterwards for General Jackson for President. Ever since in 
all national struggles his vote has been " straight Democrat." 
In local issues he chooses the best man, irrespective of 
politics. In 1835, Joseph Ritner, Whig, was elected Gover- 
nor, through the division of the Democratic party, and, in 
July, 1836, he was elected a member of the " Peace, Union 
and Harmony" Convention, which met at Harrisburg, 
to cement the two sections of the party. He was very in- 
strumental and influential in gaining this important end, 
which resulted in the election of Governor David R. Porter, 
in 1838. During the campaign of 1840, he took an active 
part when Van Buren was defeated. In 1846, the Free 
Soil movement was inaugurated, and he arrayed himself 
on the constitutional side, favoring the passage of a law 
by Congress which would provide for the compensation of 
the .Southerners for their slaves ; had this been effected, the 
war of the Rebellion would not have occurred. During the 
Buchanan campaign, in 1S56, he took an active part in his 
favor; and in May, i860, he and Hiester Clymer were 
elected delegates to the Charleston Convention from Berks 
county. These two used their utmost exertions to prevent 
divisiini and war, and by their influence the border States 
were kept in the Union. They sought to bring out William 
Guthrie, of Kentucky, as a Compromise candidate ; this 
action pleased the border States, and they were preserved 
to the Union. He attended the Baltimore Convention, in 
1872, but left before the time of nomination, instructing his 
alternate to vote in the negative on all questions. In 
State politics he has been very active, especially in the mis- 
called temperance movement of 1853, when the " Maine 
Liquor Law" was defeated by one majority. So also in 
185s, after the "Jug Law" had been previously passed, he 
was instrumental in defeating the Know-nothing temperance 



house in the spring session, thus securing its repeal. In 
1857, Governor Parker was elected by 37,000 majority, and 
this result was in a great measure owing to his personal in- 
fluence, as he went throughout the State, to every town of 
prominence, and urged the election of his favorite by all the 
eloquence in his power. The licence law of 185S is prin- 
cipally due to his exertions ; it was passed but three days 
before the adjournment of the Legislature. During the war 
of the Rebellion he espoused the Union cause, and gave 
freely of his means to sustain it. He literally gave thousands 
upon thousands of dollars. Whole regiments were regaled 
by him at a time, and he had words of encouragement for 
all. As above remarked, he is no politician nor office- 
seeker; he has been tendered, more than once, the Con- 
gressional nomination ; but his business interests would not 
permit him to serve m the National Legislature. He always 
has t.aken a deep interest in the government and prosperity 
of Reading, and has been a member of the Town and City 
Councils for many years. He has always been an active 
member of the Berks County Agricultural Society, and at 
one time was its President. He was one of the corporators 
and original stockholders of the Reading & Columbia 
Railroad. He was an intimate friend and regular corres- 
pondent of the celebrated Dr. Ilebbe, the Swedish Revolu- 
tionist, who was driven from his native land. In one of 
his letters to him, written many years <go, he foretold the 
Southern Rebellion, which would result, he thought, from 
the continued aggressions of the Abolitionists. He has also 
been regularly in correspondence with the United States 
Consuls abroad, interchanging views, and keeping well in- 
formed of foreign matters, as well as being in advance of 
the movements which afterwards took place. He has made 
the acquaintance of all the prominent members of Congress, 
of both houses, during the past thirty years, to which may 
be added all the Presidents of the Nation in the same period. 
His efforts in connection with the Internal Revenue tax on 
fermented liquors have invariably been crowned with suc- 
cess, and as President of the Brewers' Congress he has been 
indefatigable in his services to the trade. Personally, he is 
of a frank, hearty, cordial disposition, with an abrupt good 
humor, which inspires friendship and confidence. He is 
quick and nervously active in his movements, and will go 
any length to serve a friend. Shrewd, far-seeing and in- 
dustrious, he has made his establishment one of the most suc- 
cessful in the United States. 

ARTON, BENJAMIN SMITH, M. D., Physician, 
Professor, Botanist and Author, was born in 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, February loth, 1766. 
His father was a clergyman of the Church of 
England, and his mother was a sister of Ritten- 
house the astronomer. After remaining for some 
years in Philadelphia prosecuting his studies, he went to 
Edinburgh and London to attend the medical lectures. 



2o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 




Subsequently he repaired to the University of Gottingcn, 
where he passed a successful examination and took the de- 
gree of M. D. On his return to Philadelphia, in 1789, he 
commenced the practice of medicine, and in the same year 
was elected Professor of Natural History and Botany in 
the College of Philadelphia; afterwards was appointed 
Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, and on the decease of Dr. Benjamin Rush, succeeded 
him as Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine 
in the same institution. He was distinguished by his talents 
and professional attainments. He was a great contributor 
to the progress of natural science, and his various works 
indicate closeness of observation and extensive learning. 
He was the first American to give to his country an elemen- 
tary work on botany. He died December 19th, 1815. 



llUDWIG, WILLIAM C, Merchant, was born in 
Reading, Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1809. 
He was educated at the Reading Academy, and 
at the age of eighteen years cime to Philadelphia 
and entered the dry goods house of Eckel & 
Warne as clerk. 1 le remained here a year and 
a half, when by the death of the junior partner the firm 
wxs changed to Eckel, Spangler & Co. By this change 
he became a partner in the concern, in which he remained 
for a period of eleven years. He then retired from the 
house and formed a co-partnership with Mr. Kneedler, un- 
der the style of Ludwig & Kneedler, which was afterwards 
changed to Ludwig, Kneedler & Co. For a long series of 
years he gave his untiring devotion to the interests of this 
house, and it has stood jire-cminent for soundness and re- 
liability among the many great business firms of the city. 
In 1869, however, he was obliged to retire from mercantile 
life, owing to the precarious state of his health ; not, how- 
ever, without the great regret of the remaining members of 
the house, who felt that their most able head and director 
would no lunger mingle with them in their avocations. 
Hut while so devoted lo his own immediate interests, he 
found time and opportunity to advance the interests of his 
adopted city in various directions. He was one of the 
original corporators of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the 
co-laborer of S. Morris Wain, Charles H. •Fisher, J. Gilling- 
ham Fell, Edward C. Knight, Edmund Roberts and John 
Welsh, in that giant enterprise. He h.is been a member of 
the Board of Directors from its organiz.ition, and yet re- 
mains as such. For twenty years he has been a Director 
of the Penn National Hank ; and also in the Board of the 
Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance Company. Hew.TS one 
of the originators of the Merchants' Fund Society of Phila- 
delphia, and its Treasurer. This is one of the most estim- 
able of the many charities for which the city is celebrated, 
its aim being to assist and relieve the old and decayed 
merchants, es|)ecially those who are' infirm. He has also 



served for the past twenty-eight years as President of the 
.Mercantile Heneficial Association, and still holds that ofiice. 
Until the failure of his health he was engaged in every pub- 
lic enterprise which could redound to the benefit of the city, 
and at the time he retired from active business life he wxs 
connected with no less than nineteen different associations. 
His credit has always been unimpeach.ible fri>m the be- 
ginning of his career ; and he has frequently been the means 
of sustaining and encouraging those who, from accumulated 
disxsters, were threatened with ruin. To young men, 
whether in business or desiring lo enter it, he has never 
turned a deaf ear; and to this class his advice and assistance 
have proved of incalculable benefit. 



VANS, MILLER D., Lawyer, was bom in Down- 
ingtown, Chester county, Pennsylvania, November 
3d, 1836. His parents were William and Rachel 
Evans, of the same place. His academical edu- 
cation was obtained at Downingtown, and on its 
completion he began the study of law, under the 
instruction of Henry W. Smith, of Reading. In 1862, he 
commenced reading law, and so successfully that two yeare 
afterwards (1S64) he was admitted as a member of the 
Norristown bar. Since that date he has practised in Potts- 
town, bearing the reputation of an able and skilful lawyer 
and barrister. His political opinions are Republican, and 
he is intimately identified with that party. In May, 1873, 
he was appointed School Director of Pottstown, which posi- 
tion he now holds, to the interest and satisfaction of the 
community in which he resides. He was married, in May, 
1S72, to Anna L., daughter of General James Rittcnhouse, 
of the same place. 





/ 



ANE, ELISIIA KENT, M. D., the Arctic Ex- 
plorer, was born in Philadelphia, in 1822. He 
was a son of the late Judge Kane, of the United 
States District Court. He was educated at the 
Universities of Virginia and Pennsylvania, graduat- 
ing at the latter as M. D., in 1843. Having been 
appointed surgeon to the (first) American Embassy to 
China, he availed himself of the facilities afforded by his 
position to explore the Philippine Islands, which was chiefly 
done on foot. He was the first adventurer to descend the 
Crater of the Tael. Thence he departed for India; visited 
Ceylon, the upper Nile, and the classic grounds of Europe. 
After his return home he obtained a commission in the 
navy, and made his first cruise on the coast of Africa. He 
visited, while on this station, the various slave factories and 
baracoons of Dahomey. During the Mexican War he per- 
formed the brilli.tnl feat of carrying the despatches of Presi- 
dent Polk to Gencr.al Scott in safety. His spirit of adven- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



207 



ture led him to take the barometrical altitudes of Popocateptl. 
On the return of peace, he was assigned to the Coast Sur- 
vey. While in the Gulf of Mexico, he volunteered his 
services to accompany the squadron fitted out by the United 
States in search of Sir John Franklin, and was appointed 
.senior surgeon. The Second Expedition he commanded. 
Broken down in health upon his return, he sought to re- 
cui>erate his strength by a winter's residence in Cuba. But 
it was too far e.xhausted ; he died at Havana, February 
l6th, 1S57. 




/ 



tiARTRAM, WILLIAM, Botanist, was born at the 
Botanic Garden, below Gray's Ferry, Pennsyl- 
vania, now in the corporate limits of Philadelphia 
city, in 1739. He was the son of John Bartrani, 
whose grandfather, Richard, was one of the com- 
panions of William Penn on his first visit in 16S2. 
He passed six years in Philadelphia engaged in mercantile 
pursuits, and thence went to North Carolina to continue in 
the same sphere ; but having inherited from his father his 
passion for exploration in search of new specimens of the 
flora of his country, he abandoned the counter for the woods, 
and repaired to Florida, returning home in 1771. In 1773, 
at the request of Dr. Fothergill, he examined the natural 
productions of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, which 
occupied five years. In 1782, he was elected Professor of 
Botany in the University of Pennsylvania, but declined the 
appointment on the score of ill her-lth. He published, in 
1791, a detailed account of his southern travels, which was 
re-published in London in the following year. Besides 
his discoveries in Botany, he prepared the most complete 
table of American ornithology prior to Wilson's great work, 
and he was the assistant of the latter in a portion of. the 
same. He died suddenly ; he had just completed writing a 
sketch of a new specimen of a plant a few minutes before 
his death, on July 22d, 1823. 



HUTHER, M.\RTIN, M. D., Physician, was born 
March l6th, 1826, at New Holland, Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Dr. John 
Luther, now deceased, who was a prominent 
physician of that locality ; was also very active in 
political life, and an influential and leading mem- 
ber of the Masonic body. His grandfather was also a 
physician, and his three sons were all educated in the same 
profession. It is a somewhat singular coincidence that his 
father should also have three sons who were all devoted to 
the same pursuit. He was educated at the leading aca- 
demies of West Chester and of Berks county, subsequently 
studying under a private tutor. He commenced the study 
of medicine in the office of his brother. Dr. John W. Luther, 




of New Holland, and subsequently attended the lectures 
delivered in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. 
After complying with the regulations of that institution, he 
graduated therefrom in the spring of 1S48 with the degree 
of M. D. For the two years succeeding this event he prac- 
tised his profession in company with his brother-preceptor. 
In 1850, he went to Reading, and established himself in 
practice alone, and has succeeded in securing an extensive 
patronage. He was appointed Physician to the Berks 
County Alms-house in 1853, and served in that capacity 
until 1855. He then was named Physician to the County 
Prison, and wa.s attached to the same for two years, ending 
in 1857. In 1862, he was placed in charge of the United 
States Army Hospital at Reading, and held that position 
until it was no longer required. In the same year he was 
appointed surgeon to the State in making the necessary ex- 
aminations of those who had been drafted into the military 
service; in, 1864, he served as surgeon to the Board of 
Enrolment of the Eighth Congressional District, and re- 
mained in that position until the close of the war. He took 
a prominent and leading part in properly establishing the 
Reading Dispensary, in 1868. This institution has been 
of much benefit in affording relief to the sick and needy 
who have availed themselves of its charities. He has been, 
and still is, a member of the Berks County Medical Society, 
and has filled the office of President of the same. While 
holding this position, he was a delegate to the State and 
National Medical Congress. He is also a member of the 
Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. At present 
he stands at the head of his profession in Reading, and is 
a surgeon of the greatest ability. He is highly respected 
as a citizen ; is a most genial companion, a warm-hearted, 
sympathizing and benevolent man. Traditionally, he is a 
descendant of the brother of Martin Luther, the great 
Protestant Reformer, and is said to resemble him very 
strongly in appearance. 



INTZER, WILLIAM, Merchant and Lumber 
Dealer, was born in Potlstown, Pennsylvania, 
May nth, 1820. His parents were William and 
Sarah Mintzer, of the same place. He received 
his education at the academy of Joshua Hooper, 
in West Chester. On leaving school he entered 
his father's dry-goods store, where he remained till 1839, 
at which time that parent died and the store and property 
were sold. He then purchased another property, at the 
corner of High and Harmony streets, where he carried on 
the mercantile business extensively for about six years. 
Disposing of this concern, he embarked in the lumber busi- 
ness, in Schuylkill county, and while thus engaged bought 
a large tract of land in the same county, above Tamaqua. 
Returning to Pottstown, he established a iianking business 
there, which he conducted for some time, till he was induced 




20S 



lilOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



to enter the Pottstown Bank, in the capacity of cashier. 
This position he occupied until the death of the President, 
Henry Potts, when he was elected to succeed him, and it 
is said that the Pottstown National Bank owes much of its 
present prosperity to the ability he displayed as its presiding 
officer. In 1863, he started the large and well known estab- 
lishment called the Pottstown Iron Works. In politics, he 
W.-VS a steady and conscientious Republican, warmly but 
unostent.iliously supporting the principles of his party. Me 
was a member of the Episcopal Church, and a benevolent 
and active worker in its cause. In 1841, he was married 
to Rebecca Evans, of Chester county, Pennsylvania. He 
died, in 1867, at the early age of forty-seven years. Though 
no brilliant event characterized his career, his quiet and 
steady course of active industry could not fail to exert a 
beneficial influence and to materially advance the interests 
of the community. 



|OUNG, S.\MUEL L., Lawyer, was b.^rn in Rock- 
land township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, 
September 24th, 1822. He is a son of Daniel 
Young, whowasengagcd in the iron business as 
manager of the works of General Daniel Udree. 
lie was at one period Prothonotary of Berks 
county, and in 1 85 1 was elected Associate Judge and served 
in that position for five years. His son, Samuel L., was 
educated at Bolmar's celebrated academy in West Chester, 
Pennsylvania. After leaving school he commenced the 
study of law in the office of Hon. William Strong, recently 
of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and now of the 
Supreme Court of the United States. He was admitted to 
practice at the bar in Reading in the year 1S47, and opened 
an office in th.-it city, where he has continued ever since, 
having an excellent patronage, and is deemed an eminently 
safe, reliable, trustworthy and conscientious counsellor ; he 
stands in the front rank of his profession. lie was .ippointed, 
in 1855, a Commissioner of the Circuit Court of the United 
States by Judge Grier. At present he is the counsel of the 
Berks County Railroad Company. He commenced early 
to take an interest in political miittcrs, and was an earnest 
advocate of Democratic doctrines. In 1858, he took a 
prominent part in the Congressional contest between J. 
Glancy Jones and Major John Schwartz. On the bre.ik- 
ing out of the Rebellion he became a thorough Republican 
in sentiment, and volunteL*rc<l his services in the cause. 
He was appointed Chief of .Staff to Major-General William 
H. Kcim,and remained with him in active service until the 
command was relieved at Harper's Ferry by General 
Patterson. When General Lee first invaded Pennsylvania 
he raised a company of cav.alry for State service, of which 
he took and retained command until after the battle of 
Aniietam, when they returned home. Again, in 1863, he 
entered the service as chief of a reconnoitring party of 



cavalry, and performed signal and valuable services. Not 
only is he an able attorney and a devoted student in legal 
matters, but he takes a deep interest in mineralog)' and 
geology, and has read much on these kindred subjects. 
He has collected many fine specimens in our own country, 
while his museum is not wanting in many choice varieties 
of ores, fossils, etc., from England, Germany, Russia, etc. 
In connection with this, he has commenced to collect In- 
dian curiosities, and has a valuable cabinet of these in his 
possession. He is a good German and French scholar, and 
a great admirer of the first Napoleon. He has a fine lib- 
rary filled with the most valuable and substantial works 
by English, French and German authors, in the perusal of 
which he takes special delight. He is a member of the 
German Refonned Church, and is prominent in its various 
interests and effectiveness in promoting the welfare and 
spiritual blessing of its members. He is a man universally 
respected — a most genial gentleman in every respect. He 
was married, first, in Januar)-, 1852, to Louisa E. Bechtel, 
whose first and only son is now studying law with his father ; 
and again in June, 18B4, to Annie E. Teed, of Reading, 
who is now the mother of six children. 



AILEY, CHARLES L., Iron Founder and 
Worker^ was born in Chester county, Pennsyl- 
vania,' March gth, 1821. His father was an 
Englishm.m and his mother a hative of Wales. 
He was educated at the Westtown school, Chester 
cour^ty. On leaving school, he entered the drug 
store of Evans & Co., corner of Third and Spruce streets, 
Philadelphia, as clerk, remaining there till about eighteen 
years old. He then joined his father in the iron business, 
at Coatesville, Chester county, acting as clerk. In 1844, 
his father's business at that place terminated, and, in 1845, 
he removed with him to the Pine Iron Works, Berks county, 
where he became a partner, the name of the firm being 
Josejili Bailey & Sons. In 1S52, he left his father, and in 
1S53 commenced at Ilarrisburg the Central Iron Works. 
While there, he was in p.artnership with Mr. McCormick, 
and the firm carried on the manufacture of nails, in con- 
junction with the iron works. This association lasted till 
1866, when his interests in both branches of the business 
were closed out. In 1867, in connection with his brother. 
Dr. Bailey, he built the Chesapeake Nail Works at Harris- 
burg, which soon proved ver)' successful. He still retains 
an interest in these works. In 1869, he removed to Potts- 
town to take charge of the Pottstown Iron Company, of 
which he became Treasurer and Manager, a position he 
still retains. He was married, in 1856, to^M. II., daughter 
of William and Sarah E. Dale, of Harrisburg. ' He has 
constantly shown himself to be a man thoroughly imbued 
with the spirit of progress and enter])rise, as may be seen 
l>v the numerous industrial undertakings he has embarked 





cJ^(i2i-^^'^?'?-.t-.i^<^^- «L - ^c 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



2og 



in, wliich have largely contributed to the interests of his 
native State, and placed him in the prominent position he 
now occupies. He is highly esteemed by his fellow- 
citizens, for his general character and the great business 
ability evinced in his able management of the two impor- 
tant companies under his control. 



|ARD, WILLIAM, Lawyer, was born in Phila- 
delpia, January 2d, 1837. After arriving at a, 
suitable age he attended the public schools Q'' 
Philadelphia until he reached the age of ten years, 
when he entered Girard College. During the 
five years spent in that institution he attained to 
the rank of No. i of the first class. He was apprenticed to 
the printing business with Y. S. Waller, of the Delaware 
County Reptibliean, in 1S53, and, after serving his full 
term of four years, entered the office of Hon. John M. 
Broomall as a student at law, in November, 1S57. Owing 
to his undisputed qualification, Judge Harris made a special 
exception in liis case, and admitted him to practice in 
August, 1S59, before the expiration of the regular proba- 
tionary term. He has since been engaged \\\ a practice in- 
volving Constitutional questions, land titlesj'w'aier rights,, 
railroad suits, and general civil and criminal busine'ss. He 
married Clara E., daughter of Samuel UlricH, oX ChesteV, 
in February, 1S60. In 1862 he engaged in large and suc- 
cessful land operations in the South Ward, and what is' now 
South Chester. He has evinced a deep and increasing fri-, 
tcrest in all public affairs, but has never held a purely 
political office, though he served several years in Borough 
and City Councils, and was Solicitor of Chester for thirteen 
consecutive years, after which he voluntarily retired. The 
City Charter, as well as those of the Water Works and the 
Chester Creek Rai^ioad, were obtained mainly through his 
exertions; the latter was only secured by a persistent, de- 
termined effort, which gave Chester the terminus of the road 
in spite of the obstinate attempts of the opposition to effect 
a junction with the Philadelphia & West Chester Railroad. 
He associated with George Baker as W'ard & Baker, on 
January 1st, 1868, and engaged in the banking business; 
but, having disposed of his interest to his partner, he retired 
January 1st, 1873. He was one of the originators, and has 
since been a director, of the First National Bank of Chester; 
was treasurer of the Second Chester and South Ward 
building associations until the expiration of their charter. 
He is president of the Sharon Land Association, whose 
lands lie upon the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore 
Railroad, about midway between Philadelphia and Chester. 
He is secretary and treasurer of the Chester & Delaware 
River Railroad, of which he was the projector, and, in 
January, 1873, ^^ secured the purchase, by the Reading 
Railroad Company, of a tract of about five hunilred acres 
27 



of land, with one mile of river frontage with a depth of 
twenty-five feet of water, which will ultimately be connected, 
through the Chester & Delaware River Railroad, with the 
Reading Railroad at Ridley Junction. He is also secretary 
and treasurer of the Chester Improvement Company, 
organized in 1871, with the design of improving navigation 
and railroad facilities, and encouraging manufactures and 
mechanics ; it has now within its limits twenty-five dwelling- 
houses and three factories, one of wliich is in operation for 
the production of very fine yarn, while the others are de- 
signed for the manufacture of jeans. He has acquired a 
very^Iarge practice, and is a very prominent real estate 
operator, but confines his operalions to Chester and vicinity, 
where he has'.^devoted his whole energies to improvements. 
He donates by rule a lot of ground to every church desiring 
it for. the erection of a new edifice. It need not be added 
that he is a liberal and public spirited man, and that he is 
an active promoter of every enterprise projected for the 
benefit of his community. 



"UIER, LEVI, Manufacturer of Fire Bricks, was 
born at Rittersville, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, 
March Ilth, 1835.-: He i-. the son of Manas and 
Jirlia (McHoiie) Quier. lie was educated in the 
►jjublic schools of his native place, attending them 
•lill the -age of seventeen years, and making the 
•nidst of his opportunities. On leaving school, he was ap- 
pVenticed.to his uncle, Isaac McIIose, who was engaged in 
the business of bricklaying and building blast furnaces. 
After serving, in this capacity, for three years, his early 
attention to study becoming manifest, and it being shown 
that he was qualified to enter the office of the Allentown 
Iron Works as clerk, book-keeper, and paymaster, he 
received that important position, and occupied it for five 
years. On leaving that employment, he brought into requi- 
sition tho knowledge he had acquired during his appren- 
ticeship, by building blast furnaces, under contract, in con- 
nection with his uncle, Samuel McHose, a business which 
he continued for two years. On October 22d, 1861, he 
\vas mustered into the United States army, as lieutenant in 
the 54th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and, subse- 
quently, was promoted toHhe rank of quarter-master, an 
office he retained for three years, serving principally on bri- 
gade and division duty, in the Army of West Virginia. On 
Januaiy ist, 1865, he purchased an interest in the Reading 
Fire Brick Works, the business in which he is occupied at 
the present time. He is, also, a director in the Millerstown 
Iron Company, and in the Reading Mutual Insurance Com- 
pany at Reading, Pennsylvania. In politics, he belongs to 
the Republican party, and, both he and his family, are 
members of the Reformed Church. He was married, 
October 20lh, 1S6S, to Emma .V. Addams, of Reading, by 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



whom he has one boy. lie attributes his success in life to 
steady and upright conduct, in every particular. He has 
ri-sen to his present prominent position in the community 
entirely through his own efforts and merits, as he com- 
menced business without capital or influential friends to 
push him forward. 




|ORDA, EUGENE, Mining Engineer, was bom in 
P.iris, France, on January 13th, 1825. He is a 
son of Edmond Borda, a prominent merchant] 
and manufacturer of cloth. Having deterSuriedj 
to embrace the profession of an engineer, he 
entered the College of St. Barbe, a celebrated 
institution of science and engineering school, where, after 
a close and prolonge<l course of study, he graduated, and 
received the usual <liplomas granted those who were al)le 
to pass the severe ordeal of examination. He then pro-, 
posed to engage in the iron business, but the R(^lulion ofj 
1848 had just broken out, Louis Philippe hael flc^, the Con- 
stitutional Monarchy been overturned, and a ([uasi Republic 
proclaimed, which was regarded as exceedingly unstable, 
and destined in its turn tolx; destroyeil. Allenlcrprises were 
paralyzed, and any new venture couldtiiot he atlemj)ted.. 
Owing to these causes, he determined to' emigrate lb Jhe' 
United States, where he might find a favorable opeiTfrg and: 
use the talents he had acquired. He went first to Lara", 
coming and underto )k the managfertient of a furnace and 
coal mine. After remaining there a year, he changed to' 
Chestnut Hill, in LancAsler county, Pennsylvania, where he 
became .Superintendent of an iron mine; and, in 1S52, he 
pa-ssed into Schuylkill county, where he successfully 
managed a large estate. His stay in this locality lasted ten 
years, when, in 1862, he removed to Philadelphia, and has 
since been engaged in the mining and shipping of coal. 
From a small beginning he h.os become a most extensive 
producer, with a considerable trade, which is constantly 
increasing, and by unceasing attention to his business he 
commands the respect antl confidence of all with whom he 
has commercial relations. He is emphalic.illy a sclfhnade 
man. 

LIILENP.ERG, REV. AND HON. IIENKY 
.VL'GU.S I US, Clergyman and Congressman, was 
born at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, May 13th, 1782. 
He was the eldest son of Rev. Henry E., and 
grandson of Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, 
the American ancestor of the family, who emi- 
grated from Saxony, in 1741, as a mi-^sicmary of the Luthe- 
ran Church to the German population of Pennsylvania. 
Reverend Henry E. was an erudite and profound scholar 
and theologian, a celebrated mineralogist and botanist, and 
an author of so great repute in the latter science as to 



be characterized as the " Linnceus of our country." So 
learned a man was he, and so happy in his instructions to 
his son, that the latter was most thoroughly and liberally 
educated ; and it was deemed unnecessary to send him to 
college, as before the period of life at which young men 
most commonly arc matriculated at such an institution he 
had completed the usual collegiate course. In those days 
party sjiirit in tiie land was running high, and his father's 
family and connections were all imbued with " Republi- 
can," or, a.s they were afterwards termeil, " Democr.ilic " 
principles. The odious " Alien and Sedition Laws " had 
been passed, and the Germans of Pennsylvania were sorely 
harassed by their provisions ; and many able men were en- 
gaged in opposing their spirit and endeavoring to secure 
th<irj"cpeal. Though but sixteen years of age, he was 
wuting in defence of Jefferson and McKean, and his pen 
gave promise of the potent influence which in after years it 
was deslineil to wield over the German mind of his native 
iitale. According to the wishes of his father, he proceeded 
to New York, to study theology under Rev. Dr. Kunze, 
and,Jn. 1802, having been duly licensed to preach, took 
charge, of thS^congregation of German Lutherans in Read- 
ing, Pennsyl ' ' h he retained for twenty-seven years. 



a gi 



of this time he was a member of 

.Synod, ;uiJ lilicl the offices of SecretaiT, Treasurer, 

' by unanimous election, that of President, to 



Omin 
and finally 




which he wis subserjucnlly re-elected, as often and as 
long as the constitution woukl permit. As a pulpit orator 
he was celebrated ; his great learning, his complete know- 
Icdge of his subject, his splendid rhetoric and profound 
logic, combined to make in him one of the finest preachers 
of his church. His health becoming impaired, he resolved 
to withdraw from ministerial duties and retire to a farm ; 
and no sooner did he signify his intention of so doing than 
his fellow-citizens, who had long admired his quiet and 
consistent support of Democratic principles, solicited him 
to represent the district in Congress. Tb this request, which 
wxs urgently pressed, he acceded, and in June, 1S29, he 
resigned his ministerial office, having during the preceding 
October been elected as Representative. In December, 
i?29, lie took his seat at Washington, and gave his earnest 
>up|iort to the administration of President Jackson, who 
bad been inaugurated the previous March. '1 he latter, as 
the new leader of the Democratic party, was attracted by 
the position assumed by Henry A. Muhlenberg, who, 
though he might have been deemed inexperienced in the 
forms of legislation, was yet so thorough in his understand- 
ing of the measures proposed, and so energetic in the 
manner in which he advocated their adoption, that in the 
very outset of his Congressional career he established an 
influence in the party which few men attain after many 
years of service. Ilis views on the Tariff question were 
very moderate. He believed more in the permanency of 
the system than in the amount of protection ; the latter to be 
purely incidental, and the adjustment of duties to be such 




^=^§fe«-^^^, 




BIOGRAPHICAI, ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



as should furnish a revenue to defray ihe expenses of the 
government. He was opposed to the United States Bank, 
and coincided in all the views hostile to that institution as 
expressed by the President. It was he who, on the i8;h of 
February, 1834, after more than two months of daily ap- 
peals on behalf of the friends of the bank, moved the pre- 
vious question, and by the vote which was then taken 
settled forever its destiny. He continued for nine years 
his position as member of the House, and was indefatigable 
in his duties to his constituents and the country. In 1835, 
he was a candidate of a portion of the Democratic party for 
the Governorship of Pennsylvania, but was defeated. In 
1836, wlien it seemed more than probable that each section 
of the party would nominate an electoral ticket, he induced 
his friends to give way and support the ticket already chosen. 
They did so, and Martin Van Buren was elected. In 1S37, 
the latter tendered him a seat in the Cabinet as Secretary 
of the Navy, and afterwards the Russian Mission, both of 
which for private reasons he was obliged to decline. In 
1838, he was named Ambassador to Austria; he was un- 
animously confirmed, and remained at Vienna until the 
close of 1840. In 1S44, he was nominated by the State 
Convention for the post of Governor, which he accepted, 
but died suddenly, on August nth, 1S44, two months prior 
to the election. 



RAFF, FREDERICK, the builder of Fairmount 
Water Works, was born in 1774. At an early 
age he was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade, 
and served his lime, becoming thoroughly con- 
vei-sant with the art. A short time after attaining 
his majority, he met with an accident which en- 
tirely incapacitated him for the trade he had learned. 
While still on crutches, he chanced to meet H. B. Latrobe, 
the architect of the old Pennsylvania Bank, who employed 
him to make the working drawings for that building. In 
1799, he was engaged as draughtsman and assistant engineer 
in erecting the first water works for the city. After this 
improvement had been completed, he went to Virginia, 
where he remained some years, and on his return to Phila- 
del])hia again became an assistant at Centre Square, and, 
in 1805, was made Superintendent. These works were 
very insufficient to supply the city, and it soon became ne- 
cessaiy to provide others having more capacity. The site 
at Fairmount was purchased, and work commenced in 
August, 1S12. The entire establishment was designed and 
executed by him, with the exception of the steam engines ; 
at the same time he continued the management of the old 
works at Centre Square. AVhen water power superseded 
the steam power, he designed the canal and locks on the 
west side of the river; the forebay, head arches with their 
gates, the reservoir*, mill buildings, pumps, in fact, every- 
thing except the dam and the first three wheels. He de- 





vised and perfected the iron-pipe system ; the cast-iron water 
wheels to supersede those of wood, the stop-cocks, fire 
plugs, etc. All these emanated from his genius, there being 
no other water works in the country to serve as a guide, 
while those of Europe were far inferior in design and capa- 
city to what was here erected ; in fact, he sent to England 
patterns of fire plugs and stop-cocks which were acknow- 
ledged to be superior to any thing of the kind known there. 
In the year 1S33, while upon duty, he contracted the seeds 
of that disease which at a later period had a fatal termina- 
tion. He died April 13th, 1847. I" addition to Fair- 
mount, he supplied the detailed information to upwards of 
thirty-seven corporations that have erected water works in 
this country, including New York and Boston. 



p 5) 
■ ~> 

AY, J. TUNIS, Merchant, was born in Philadelphia, 
Pa., in 1S19. He is the son of James Way, aveiy 
successful commission merchant. He was edu- 
.^, cated in the private .schools of the day, which 

S^ '^^'^ ^'^ favorably compared with the public 
schools of the present time. While a mere youth, 
he entered the dry-goods store of Townsend Sharpless, 
and, commencing at the lowest round of the ladder, passed 
through all the different grades of the business, learning his 
part thoroughly and well. This store was then probably 
the most extensive retail dry-goods store in the city, and to 
have graduated there, as he may be said to have done, 
was equivalent to being thoroughly conversant with that 
description of trade, in all its varied forms. From this 
establishment he passed to the well-known house of Day 
& Co., and after having remained with the firm one year 
he succeeded Mr. Day, who retired. In 1842, the house 
became known as Smith & Way. In 1S49, another change 
was made, and the firm became J. Tunis Way & Co. 



REDICK, BENJAMIN S., Merchant, is a native 
of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he was 
also educated in the public schools. At a very 
early age he commenced to learn the dry-goods 
business ; and having gained a thorough know- 
ledge of the same in all its details, began ope- 
rations on his own account in the town of Dover, in his 
native State. In 1836, he came to Philadelphia, and be- 
came a partner in the great firm of David S. Brown & Co., 
the leading house in the trade of American domestics. 
Here he remained till 1847. In the following year, in 
connection with Samuel E. Stokes and .Stephen S. Cald- 
well, he established the well-known and singularly success- 
ful house of Tredick, Stokes & Co. Their business was 
confined strictly to American goods sold on commission. 




DIOGRAPllICAl. KNCVCI.OPyliDIA. 



Of 



and ihcir establishment was on south Front street, below 
Market. Here the senior partner reniaine<l until l865,an(l 
their career was inost prosperous. At this period his health 
became very precarious, and necessitated his retirement. 
Since that date he ha.s travelled much in his own countr)' 
and abroad. lie is greatly interested in the work of the 
American Sunday School Union, and is constantly aiding 
it in the great mission for which it was instituted. During 
the war of the Rebellion he, in common with the other 
members of the firm, was exceedingly liberal towards all 
objects of a national and patriotic nature, and freely contri- 
buted to their support. 

', /^l.l.\OTy, HON. WILLIAM, Hi-h SlicrifTof the 
/ l » County of Philadelpha, was born oi 'Scotch-Irish 
11 parents, March 2d, 1816. Mis parents located 
i^^ in Philadelphia in 1820, and there he has since 
resided. His father, Thomas Elliott, waij a mai^ 
of great mental and physical power, "and was a 
contractor on the public works of the State. Me attended 
private or "subscription" schools in his early youth, in- 
cluding that of Professor James Goodfcllow, oh Sansom 
street, between Eighth and Ninth, and laid the foundations 
upon which he has since built by self-cullure and resjarch. 
Me left sc'^ool in 1832, and became an "ri^prentice tcr'lhc 
trade of marble cutting, with- Edwin Greble, whose y*Td, 
located in Soulhwark, was thtn one of the largest'in Phila- 
delphia. After the expiration of his apprenticeshi]>!''«i 
1837, he continued at the business until- 1846, becoming 
foreman for Mr. Greble, and afterward engaging in busi- 
ness on his own account. Me married Mary, daughter of 
John Gilkey, a prominent and respected citizen of Philadel- 
phia, May I4lh, l8.)4, and has an interesting family of sons 
and daughters. He entered into public affairs before at- 
taining his majority, participating actively in the campaign 
of 1836, as an earnest advocate of the doctrines of the old 
Whig p.iity. He cast his first presidential vote for Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison, in 1840, and subsequently supported 
Henry Clay in 1S44, Zachary Taylor in 1848, Winfield 
Scott in 1852, John C. Fremont in 1856, Abraham Lincoln in 
l8t)Oand 1864, Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 and 1872. Hewas 
Prison Inspector from 1852 to 1854, by the choice of M.ayor 
Charles Gilpin, and one of the aldermen of the old city, 
but upon the municipal consolidation, in the latter year, 
he was not a candidate for re-election. He took strong 
ground against the extension of slavery, and vigorously sup- 
]x>rtcd Jacob B. Lancaster, the Anti-slavery delegate to 
the Baltimore Convention in 1S52. He was a delegate to 
the National Republican Convention at Chicago, in i860, 
and cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has been an 
active member of the Union League of Philadelphia almost 
from its org.anization ; was a member of the Philadelphia 
Gas Trust from 1865 to 1871, when he resigned. He re- 



presented the Seventh Ward in Common Council in 1866, 
and declined a re-nomination. He was elected to represent 
the F'ourth I)i>trict of Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania 
House of Representatives, in 1869, and re-elected in 
1870, 1871 and 1872. He served on the " Ways and Means"' 
Committee, and in 1871 was Chairman of the Committee 
on Railroads as well as Chairman of the Committee on 
Legislative Apportionment; in 1872 and '73, he was chosen 
Speai;er, and exercised the functions of that ofiice with 
dignity and credit. He strenuously opposed the Commis- 
sion to get control of the city of Philadelphia, and did much 
to facilit.ate the design of the Constitutional Convention. 
' 'He^ presided at the Republican State Convention which 
nominated Dr. Stanton for Auditor-General and Colonel 
IJeath for Surveyor-General in 1871. He was nominated 
fgr High Sheriff of Philadelphia in June, 1873, »"'• elected 
on OoJober I3lh following. In public and private life he 
has won a high reputation. Possessed of sound judgment, 
fearlessness, and discretion, he is well fitted to become one 
of«lht recognized leaders of his party. 



ORWOOn, JON'.VTHAN LARKIN, M. D., Physi- 
U cian ly^ Mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania, was born 
' ^. in-West Chester, Chester county, in the same state, 
(1*:;^i ': October 17th, 1S34. His father was descended 
^ tj """m a cqlony of Swedes, who were among the 
fijjst Sfltlers of the State of Delaware. His ma- 
ternal ancestors were membei-s of the colony of William 
Penn. His parents having removed to Delaware, in 1840, 
he attended the common schools of that State until 1S50, 
when they removed to Delaware county, Pennsylvania. 
He enjoyed few advantages for obtaining an education, 
but as he labored upon the farm he resolved to educate 
himself Added to his naturally gifted intellect, he pos- 
sessed industiy and indomitable perseverance, and succeeded 
so well that, in the autumn of 1853, he went to Evansburg, 
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, in answer to an adver- 
tisement, and having successfully passed the examination, 
though but ninclcen ycare of age, was assigned to the charge 
of the school at that place. After seven months' teaching 
he was enabled by rigiil economy to enter upon a course of 
study at the Freeland College, where he received tuition 
in exchange for^is services in teaching the higher mathe- 
matics. Having returned to Delaware county, he taught 
at .Springfield during the winter of l854-'55, and in the 
autumn of 1855 entered the Medical Department of the 
University of Pennsylvania, whence he graduated M. D. in 
•■Kpril, 1857. He at once engaged in practice in Chester, 
Pennsylvania, where he still remains, and has achieved an 
enviable reputation with substantial success. During the 
war of the Rebellion, he was four years in charge of the 
Municipal Hospital of Philadelphia, then located at the 





^^2.£P 





BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPyEDIA. 



2'3 



I^azaretto, on the line between Philadelphia and Chester; 
and was also connected with the United States Army Hos- 
pital, at Upland, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. When 
the city charter was obtained, in 1866, he was elected, upon 
the Democratic ticket, to Councils, and was twice re-elected, 
servinf until April ist, 1872, when he was elected Mayor 
of the city, notwithstanding the fact that the Republican 
party had a majority of over 400. This office he still fills 
with general acceptance and with marked ability. He 
established the Delaware County Democrat, October 8th, 
1867, and under his able m.anagement it was conducted 
until June Ist, 187 1, when he sold it to Colonel W. Cooper 
Talley, under whom it continues its successful career and 
enjoys a large circulation. Though he is prominent, active, 
and public spirited, aiding every good work, his greatest 
energy has been given to his chosen profession, and from it 
he has secured the greatest reputation. He stands"in the 
front rank of the medical profession, and particularly ex- 
cels in surgery, being considered one of the first surgeons 
in the State. He has performed many difficult and re- 
markable surgical operations, and his extraordinary skill is 
attested by the official records of many successful results 
secured in cases seldom, if ever, before surgically treated in 
private practice. ."*■ T', -.'' 



^cHOSE, ISA.AC, Furnace Builde"r,"is a:native of 
Lehigh county, where he was born December 
5th, 1822. His father, who bears the same name, 
a mason by trade, is one of the leading men in 
Hanover township, where he has held several 
local offices, beside filling various positions of 
trust and responsibility. He himself was educated in the 
ordinary schools of the neighborhood, and then commenced 
to learn the avocation of a bricklayer. In 1839, he devoted 
his attention to furnace building, and became in time a 
thorough master of his art, which he h.as followed to the 
present time. His experience has been immense, and he 
is considered one of the best, if not the best, furnace builder 
in the United States. He has been more successful than 
any other, and his reputatiori extends over the whole counliy. 
He removed to Reading in 1851, and, in 1S53, he pur- 
chased, remodelled and reconstructed his present works, 
considered to be the largest and most successful in the 
Union. During the first year he manufactured a few hun- 
dred thousand, but now makes three million fire-bricks per 
annum, requiring the services of fifty men and boys all the 
year round. During the whole of these twenty years and 
upwards the works have been idle but sixty days; and this 
cessation occurred during the panic of 1857. This enor- 
mous number of three million bricks represents the money 
value of g 1 50,000. The amount of capital invested in the 
business is over S 100.000, and is the result of his untiring 
industry and capabilities, for he had no capital whereon to 




start, nor pecuniary or other outside assistance. In March, 
1S71, he purchased a one-half interest in the blast-furnace 
on the line of the East Pennsylvania Railroad, known as 
the " Temple Iron Company." He also has heavy interests 
in the Topton Furnace, on the same road, and in the Millers- 
burgh Furnace in Lehigh county. He takes great interest 
in developing this section of the country. During the war 
for the preservation of the Union he was among the largest 
contributors of pecuniai^ means to carry it on, and although 
not drafted, furnished a volunteer, whose bounty, amount- 
ing to,$70o, he himself paid. He has been very active in 
church and school matters, and also in charitable institu- 
tions. He aided in founding the " Orphans' Home " at 
Kloomsbur^ and has placed an orphan boy in Lancaster 
College at his own expense. He has been an elder in the 
First German Reformed Church for the past twelve years, 
and has helped to construct the splendid edifice known as 
St. Paul's Reformed Church, under the pastoral care of 
Rev. Dr. Bailsman. He has been honored by his fellow 
citizens with election to the Select Council of the city, 
where he has served them faithfully. He was married, in 
1843, to Letitia \yieter, of Lehigh county. His daughter 
is the»vfife'bf''J. L. 'Boyer,' of the Temple Iron Company; 
whileTwb of his tIiree'*sons are intended for the business in 
which he Is interested.' One of these, Ambrose, will shortly 
be made Superintendent of the Millersburg Iron Furnace; 
another, Wilson, is destined' to man.age the brick-works ; 
while the^mird, Isaac,.who is now at school, is designed for 
some profession. He is a self-made, strong-minded, gene- 
rous, just and amiable man ; a first-class mechanic and 
builder, industrious and far-seeing. Personally, he is of a 
fine physique, and enjoys the best of health, which is attri- 
butable to temperate and regular habits, which, early 
formed, have never been departed from. 



A\^LE, WILLL\M. Lawyer, was born April 28th, 
1759. His parents were members of the Society 
of Friends, and he was educated at the academy 
under the control of that denomination. Having 
elected the legal profession as his future vocation, 
he studied for some time with Counsellor Kemp 
of the city of New York ; then sailed for Europe, and in 
London was regularly installed a Templar, pursuing his 
studies with that eagerness and assiduity which ever marked 
his career through a subsequent brilliant practice of over 
half a century. After completing his studies, and making 
a tour through the principal countries of the old world, he 
returned to America, in 1783, a thorough and accomplished 
scholar. In 179 1, he was appointed United States District 
Attorney by President Washington, who subsequently ten- 
dered him more than once the position of Attorney-General 
of the United States, which he declined to accept. In 




214 



BK)(;kAriiicAL encycloim:dia. 



1828, he was honored by Dartmouth College with the 
degree of Doctor of Laws, and a short time previous to his 
death, was applied to by that institution, for a third edi- 
tion of his great work on Conslilutionat Law, which had 
been adopted as a text book in many colleges in the Union; 
but his great age and failing health forbade his making the 
effort. He was an eminently pious man; and his writings 
on doctrinal points are deserving of the highest praise. 
His Essay upon Angelic Influences is full of the most fascin- 
ating speculation, and the soundest reflection. He died 
April I2th, 1856. 






'ALLEY, GENERAL W.COOPER, Journalist and 
Soldier, was born near Wilmington, Delaware, 
December If, iSj2, his father being the Rev. 
L. S. Talley, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
After a previous education, he entered the mili- 
tary school of Thomas S. Ludsler, at Wilmington, 
where he graduated at the age of twenty-one years. Me 
then .spent two years in travel, and, in 1855, commenced 
the .study of the law. He subsequently became the editor 
of the Upland Union newspaper, which he conducted with 
ability until he became proprietor and editor of the 
National Democrat z\ Norristown, Pennsylvania, a journal 
he managed with success, till the outbreak of the 
Rebellion. He then raised a company of volunteers at 
Rochdale, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, which was 
attached to the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment of Infantry 
and Reserve Corps, as Company F, and mustered into 
the service for three years. He received his commis- 
sion as captain, M.iy 30th, 1S61, and participated, with hi; 
command, in all the battles in which it w.ns engaged. In 
each of the battles of New Market, Cross Roads, second 
Hull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, he 
was wounded, but never left his post. In November, 1862, 
he w.as commissioned colonel for his conduct at Antietam. 
At S^iottsylvania he was captured, after gallantly leading'his 
brigade, while reconnoitring; but was retaken, with 340 
other pH oners, on the following day by .Sheridan's cavaliy, 
whom he accompanied in their raid around Richmond, 
having rearmed his men with captured weapons, and 
rendered efficient service. Rejoining his regiment, he look 
charge of 350 rebel prisoners, whom he conducted to 
Fortress Monroe. On the last day of his term of .service 
(May 31st 1864), he, with his regiment, was conspicuous in 
the eng.igeu.ent at Bethesda Church, and on March 13th, 
1865, was, for meritorious services, brevctled Brigadier 
General, having been already mustered out of service on 
June 13th of the preceding year. In 1864, he was nomi- 
nated, by acclamation, by the Union party, as candidate 
for the State Senate, but the rules of the parly prevented his 
election. He was commissioned by Governor Curtin to 
take the votes of the soldiers of Chester and Delaware 
Qountics in ih<- nrmies of the Potom.ic and James rivers. 




for the Presidential and State elections of the same year. In 

1865, he was appointed Deputy Collector of Internal 
Revenue for the Seventh District of Pennsylvania, and, in 

1866, Collector of Revenue by President Johnson. In 1 87 1, 
he purchased the Delaware County Democrat from Dr. J. 
L. Forwood, and has since conducted it with marked ability. 
In October, 1873, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Legis- 
lature, by a majority of 312, in a district where the opposite 
party had usually received one of from iSoo to 2000 votes. 
Not only has he rendered editorial and militar)- services, but 
he is an eminently progressive man and .in aaive worker in 
every enterprise that commends itself to his judgment. 



LLLS, COLONEL LEWIS NATHANIEL M., 
Soldier and Financier, was born in Pollstown, 
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, February 
25lh, 1820, and is the son of Christopher Ellis, 
of the same place. His earlier education was 
received in Pottstown, and supplemented by 
private tuition in Philadelphia. At the age of twelve and 
ahalf years, he entered the service of the Rcailing Railroad 
Company, and was at first employed in taking cross sec- 
tions of the road. When it was completed from Pottstown 
and Norristown, he was placed temporarily in charge of 
the station at Phoenixvillc. At this time he left the service 
of the company for one year, to resume his studies and im- 
prove his education, returning to active service on the road 
in 1838. Phrenixville becoming a prominent point, he was 
appointed General Agent of the company, having charge of 
the various departments, a position he retains to the present 
day. In 1842, he was elected Colonel of Volunteers, and 
was one of Governor Packer's aides, during his term of 
office. He has held many offices of public trust and honor ; 
among them, that of Burgess, President of Town Council, 
Borough Engineer, and President of the School Board, of 
which he has been a member for many years, always having 
manifested a deep interest in educational matters. He was 
prominent in organizing the Phwnixville National Bank, 
and was one of its directors. He is also a director in the 
Mines Cemeter)', and in the Masonic Hall Association. In 
politics he is a Democrat, and sustained Judge Dougla.ss 
in his contest with Lincoln for the presidency. At the out- 
break of the Rebellion he took an active part in politics, 
deeming it his duty, at once, to openly espouse the cause 
he considered to be right. He is highly esteemed in the 
community where he resides, being a sincere friend and a 
business man of stability and strict integrity, as his long 
service in the comjiany, with which he has been connected 
from 183^ to the jtresent time, abundantly testifies. He 
was married, in 1842, to Mary Morgan, widow of John 
Morgan, a prominent man in Phoenixville, and has had 
three children ; one son, Mordecai, being now engaged in 
the grocer)' business. 





I 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



215 




OGERS, FAIRMAN, Civil Engineei-, was born in 
Pliiladclphia, Pennsylvania, on November iSth, 
1833. He is a son of the late Evans Rogers, a 
distinguished and highly successful merchant, 
descended from an old family, long resident in 
Chester county, belonging to the Society of 
Friends. He received his elementary education in the best 
private classical academies of Philadelphia, and graduated 
with the class of 1S53 at the Univei-sily of Pennsylvania. 
Having conceived a great taste for mathematics and mechan- 
ics, he devoted himself during his college years to these 
studies, with the view of adopting the profession of civil 
engineer. So earnestly and successfully did heapplynim- 
self, that he was, at the close of his college course, eljcted 
a lecturer on mechanics in the Franklin Institute, and held 
that position for eleven years thereafter. In 1855, he was 
chosen Professor of Civil Engineering in the University of 
Pennsylvania, which chair he filled for a period of si.xteen 
years. He was a member of the First Troop of Philadel- 
phia City Cavalry ; at the outbreak of the Reber.ion,in l86i,; 
served with that corps as first sergeant, and-sj^equenlly, 
after Captain James' death, succeeded .biitili as, it's": Qpm- 
manding officer. He also served for. a shqVt.tBiie,-jn r§62, 
as a volunteer engineer officer on thS^taff of u^oial Rey- 
nolds, and, in 1863, in the same "capacity, with, Gcn&ral 
William F. Smith. At different times he •vhas-jb.eerr , con- 
nected with the United States coast survey, arfdi inviS52, 
he completed the survey of the Potomac river. On his re^": 
turn to Philadelphia, after the First City Troop were mus- 
tered out of service, he became one of the first members of 
the Union Club, which was the nucleus from which the 
Union League sprang. He was an active member of the 
latter organization all through the Rebellion. In 1863, he 
was appointed by the United St.ites Senate, one of the 
original fifty members of the National Academy of Sciences; 
and as such, served on the Compass Commission, as well 
as on other commissions appointed by thatbody.. In 1S71, 
he resigned his professorship in > the yitiversity, and; soon 
thereafter was elected a member of the 'Board 'of Trustees; 
He is now (1874) chairman of the building committee of 
the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts ; and is also a 
member of the building committee for the Centennial Build- 
ings. He was m.irried, in 1S56, to a daughter of John F. 
Gilpin of Philadelphia. 

ALTER, YOUNG S., Journalist, w.is bofn in 
Philadelphia, February 14th, 1S12. His father. 
Captain Peter P. Walter, was of Scotch descent, 
and owner of a line of vessels trading to the 
West Indies. He died when his son was quite 
young, leaving him in charge of his grandfather 
at Bedford, Pennsylvania, where he was educated in the 
common district schools. He left school, in 1826, and was 
apprenticed to the printing business with Thomas R. Gettys, 



of the same place, remaining with him till 1S29, when he 
went to work on his own account as journeyman, in Phil- 
adelphia and New York, continuing that occupation till 
1833. He then removed to Darby, and, on August 1st of 
the same year, establish.:d the Delaware County Republican, 
which he continued to publish in that place until Novem- 
ber, 1S41. In that year he removed to Chester, where he 
still published his paper, on Whig and Republican principles. 
One of the most noteworthy features of his journal was the 
strong and emphatic opposition he made to slavery, being 
oiie^f the earliest advocates of its entire abolition in this 
■«eS'untry,.and the articles, which frequently appeared on this 
subject, had so much weight, and were so ably and forcibly 
written, that they materially increased the sale of his paper, 
whicli-had a larger circulation than any other in the county, 
lie has sent forth from his office many apprentices who 
have obtained eminent positions in the country, among whom 
are?WilUam Ward, the first lawyer in Chester, John W. For- 
ney, Jr., of the Philadelphia /';cw, Henry T. Crosby, Chief 
Clerk of the V/ar Department at Washington, Distiict of 
Columlua^nd inany others. He was Inspector of Customs 
at Marjus "HookT'^^i'om 1842 to 1844, and Postmaster, 
at Chester, diiniis^Pi^eStilent Lincoln's first term of adniinis- 
tratjon. He 5>as. arso,"at diffi;rent limes, member of the 
■Counttfl lyf ^heiBorougltand City of Chester, and is now 
President iJ" that bwiy.* He was prominent as an originator 
of theTaTmers' Marl(6t at Philadelphia, ajid of the corrcs- 
^p^~ding 6ne at Chester. He is, at the present lime. Presi- 
dent of the Chester Library Company, organized in 1769, and 
has been influentially connected with many other enterprises 
and institutions of a local and general character. He ■was 
married, in 1833, to Laetitia, daughter of Jesse Warne, of 
Philadelphia. Throughout his long course of editorial and 
public life, he has uniformly maintained his high character for 
ability and integrity, and has contributed largely, by his per- 
sonal influence, and by his pen, towards the spread of that 
higli tone of morality which has marked his own career. 



i^/ARTSIDE, AMOS, Manufacturer, was born in 
Lancashire, England, October 23, 1S29. He is a 





son of Benjamin Gartside, whose biography ap- 
pears elsewhere in this 'work, and came to the 
United States with his parents m 1S31. His primary 
education was chiefly obtained at the common 
schools, but was finished at the old Germantown Academy. 
He left school at the age of 18 years, and began to learn 
the business of woollen weaving in his father's factory. 
There he had an opportunity of becoming practically and 
thoroughly acquainted with the business, in all its details. 
When his father left Cardington, Delaware county, to carry 
on his business in Chester, he accompanied him and 
remained in his employment till 1857, when he, with his 
brother James, was admitted into partnership. He has 



2l6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.F.DIA. 



taken much interest in public matters, and few men have 
dune more to advance the interests of the cily in Hhich he 
resides. He has been, for fifteen consecutive years, a mem- 
ber of city councils, and still continues to hold that office, 
havin}; already been president of that body, of which he is 
the oldest member, as far as term of service is concerned. 
He was the originator of many public works of utility in 
Chester. Among them may be named the Water Works, 
of which he has been president since their commencement. 
He was a director in the Chester Improvement Company, 
and also in the McCaffry Direct Street Carting Company, 
which latter office he h.Ts held since the organization of l^ 
company. He is, furthermore, a director of the Delaware 
River Railroad, and was largely instrumental in'^securing 
the location of the terminus of the Ch^jf^er .Railroad at 
Chester. His business qualities are" characterized by a 
remarkable degree of judgment and^cncral ability, and he 
is widely known as one of the mbSt^^nefgetic and thoiv 
oughly "go ahead men" in the cily t* C9ufity. * ^ 




TAXTON, M. HALL, PrcsidenI, oC^ltk Board of 
Public Education of Philadelphia, was born in 
Caroline county, Maryland, I-'ebruja-)' 2811^1832: 
His father was a nativ6>5f llje<s.ime county, 
and his mother was Q-on^/Jelaware ; the fig? 
mer being a (Quaker ancj the l.itny a Mi;th<j(Jjst.i 
After receiving a good and sound education, he went to 
Philadelphia in 1S47, and entered the store of David S. 
Freeman & Son, in the hat and. fur, business, as salesman. 
Seven or eight years sul)seiiuently,-het}eft them to join 
Cowell Fareira & Co., then the nioiit extensive houJe in the 
trade in Philadelphia, and travelled foisthem much in the South 
and West. He stayed with this firm as- confidential clerk 
and head salesman, until after the outbreak of the Rebellion, 
when they .ibandoned the business. In 1S63, he was married 
to Clara IC, daughter of William Anspach of Philadelphia, 
and soon afterwards formed a partnership with his father-in- 
law in the banking and brokerage business, opening for thai 
purpose an office on Walnut street. Aside from this they were 
very fortunate in certain investments in mineral lands, and 
soon had a large amount of capital within their control. In 
politics he had been identified with the Whig party till 1856, 
when the Republican party was formed. He joined the 
I.itter, and soon, by his .activity and industiy in working for 
it, together with his alKolule avoidance of rings and other 
cliques, as well as his well-known honesty and manliness of 
character, won its high favor. In 1864, he was unexpec- 
tedly nominated by his parly friends in his ward (the 12th) 
for the Common Council, and though that ward was strongly 
Democratic, his general popularity secured his election. 
He however declined to serve (or a second term. In 1865, 
he was elected a director in the sectional School Board. 
Two years later, an Act of the Legislature gave the Judges 



of the District and Common Pleas Courts the power of 
appointing a member from each ward in the city (29 in all), 
to form a Board of Controllers of the public schools. He 
was twice aiipoinled a member from the Twelfth Ward, by 
Judge Brewster, and the Board elected him its president in 
1870, a position he still fills with marked ability and ear- 
nestness. Though deservedly i>rominent among his fellow- 
citizens, from his honorable business standing, acquired by 
industry and fair dealing, and his wealth, which he dis- 
tributes with liberal hospitality, his real foothold in the 
esteem of the public lies in his manner of administrating 
the responsible office of head of the public schools. His 
views on the subject of education are expressed in his 
*^iaai»for 1869. He is a firm advocate of the system of 
corrf[jjlsoi-y education, urges the necessity of industrial and 
refonHAtpry schools, on the ground not only of morality 
and Christianity, but of sound and far-seeing economy, and 
dt^cacaUfi. the policy which labors solely at limiting the 
expenses of the public schools, instead of elevating them by 
enlarging their sphere of usefulness, thereby increasing the 
benefits they confer on the community. In 1873, he w.ts 
elected "one of the Delegates at large to the .State Constitu- 
tional Convention, and in th.at body was indefatigable in 
wqAehin^ the interests of his constituents. Never al)scnt 
^nt^his.scat, he made himself familiar with every motion, 
and seized the opportunity to urge upon the assembly the 
jcl.iims of 'his. favorite and cherished idea — the more thor- 
ough education ofahe jieople. He has been freepiently and 
urgently soljcited to become a candidate for the mayoralty 
of the city, also for congr<;ssman ; but he shrinks fiom the 
turmoil of the political arena. 




HARTOX, ROBERT, NLayor of Philadelphia, 
during fifteen terms, was born in the District of 
Soulhwark, Philadelphia, January 12th, 1757. 
He W.1S no student, but at fourteen years of age, 
at his own request, was bound apprentice to a 
hatter. But he soon tired of this, and his inden- 
tures being cancelled, he entered the counting house of his 
brother Charles, though he passed much of his time in 
sporting, and became president of the famous fox-hunting 
club of Gloucester, New Jersey. In 1796, he was com- 
missioned by the Governor one of the aldermen of the city, 
and it was while he held this position that he became so 
celebrated for bravery anil resolution. The mayor of the 
cily behig in infirm health at the time of the " Sailor's 
Riots," in 1796, cmiferred upon Alderman Wharton all his 
authority for preserving the peace. The battle field was 
Dock street wharf; the riotere were several hundred in 
number ; the alderman's posse about eighty ; and yet the 
latter routed the former, taking over one hundred prisoners. 
In 1798, he was elected mayor, and shortly after he had at- 
tained this position, the gre.at riot in the Walnut street 




^■'v\«*l 



l,vi^' 



li**- 



<yr.<f^C 




(i3>z-2 '■c-^'-i'-^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOI'.EDIA. 



217 




prison occureii, in the midst of the yellow fever then and 
tliere raging. With the aid of a few determined men he 
suppressed the same. He also, subsequently, took an active 
part in putting down the disgraceful riots at St. Mary's 
church, preserving the peace and enforcing obedience to the 
laws. In 179S, he joined the first City Troop, was their 
C-iptain until 1810, then colonel of the Cavalry Regiment, 
and subsequently general of the First Brigade. He was a 
Federalist in politics, and a Democratic Governor being 
elected, his commission — by a new law — was revoked. 
The war of 1812 broke out ; he again, at the age of fifty- 
seven, joined the First City Troop as a private, and served 
throughout the campaign, until October, 1S14, when, being 
again elected Mayor of Philadelphia, he left Camp Dupont, 
to resume his former post. He was elected chief magis- 
trate of the city fifteen times, and his administration was so 
efficient, that, in after years, the " good old days of Mayor 
Wharton " became a proverb. His wife was -Sarah Chan- 
cellor, sister of the late William Chancellor. He died in 
1S34, retaining to the last the esteem of his fellow-citizens. 



ENNYPACKER, ELIJA-4F., ^Flrfaftci^ ,|nd 
Philanthropist, was born iji £}iester coi^nty, Penn- 
sylvania, November 29lh,.iSo4. IIe«is the son 
of " Joseph and Elizabeth ■ Penuyp^cl^'r, of the 
same county, the latter of whom hasj^)c}>£d,4)^ 
advanced age of ninety-five years.. The jyinip.; 
genitor of this family in America was lieinrich Penne- 
biijker, a native of the Low Countries, who emigrated to 
this country prior to 1702, but the name has since been 
changed to its present orthography. His father was a 
prosperous fanner, and gave his son an education in the 
schools of the neighborhood, which was subsequently com- 
pleted with John Gomere at Burlington, New Jersey. He 
then passed some years as a teacher and student. He left 
Burlington in 1827, and engaged in farming, land survey- 
ing, and conveyancing in Phceni.wille and the vicinity. In 
1831, he was elected to the Legislature by the Anli-Masonic 
party, and served in that body in the sessions of 1831-32- 
'34 and '35. The bill for the incorporation of the Reading 
Railroad Company was originally presented by him and 
was under his charge, as chairman of the committee, till 
its signature by the Governor. During the memorable, ses- 
sions of iS35-'36, he took deep interest and an active jjart 
in promoting education and internal improvement. His 
financial abilities were early developed, and in 1S35— '36, 
— the time of the expiration of the United States Bank 
charter — he was chairman of the Bank committee and as- 
certained that the bank would not apply for a charter any- 
where. They had offers from other commonwealths, but 
preferred one from the Legislature of Pennsylvania. These 
facts he derived from Nicholas Biddle, and, with others, ob- 
tained from that gentleman a proposition forming the basis 

2S 



upon which the United States Bank charter, as desired, 
was framed and granted. He was the personal friend of 
Governor J. Ritner and Thaddeus Stevens ; at the request 
of the latter he consented to accept the position of Secre- 
tary to the Board of Canal Commissioners, to which he was 
elected in i836-'37, and, by desire of the Governor, be- 
came a member of the board in 183S. At that time it con- 
sisted of Thaddeus Stevens, John Dickey, and himself, and 
was the most responsible political position in the State with 
the exception of that of Governor, as the greater part of the 
general improvements were owned by the Commonwealth, 
and controlled by the board. When it became clear that 
a great battle was pending between freedom and slavery, he 
at once relinquished his flattering prospects of political pre- 
ferment,' !(nd withdrew to private life, in order to ally him- 
self heart and soul with the then detested party of aboli- 
tion, of which, in spite of his modesty and retiring nature, 
he became a conspicuous and shining light, laboring ener- 
getically and efficiently in the cause until emancipation was 
effected, i Pie was,' fo"r many years, president of the local 
anti-slavery society 6f his neighborhood, and was also presi- 
dent of the Chester county and Pennsylvania State Anti- 
filavery socitfies. '*'^bn after his withdrawal from public 
life, he joined the Sdciety of Friends, but at first his views 
on the slaveryquestibit .were 'deemed much too radical to 
meet their appfbbation^ and it' was not till after events had 
thoroughly imBitiEflthaf body with anti-slavery sentiments, 
that his strong' opinions- in favor of the negro were fully 
appreciated. He'became one of the most prominent mana- 
gers of the under-ground railway, and his house, near 
Phoenixville, was one of the principal stations on the road. 
The greater part of the fugitives passing through the south- 
ern portions of the State stopped there, and were received 
by himself and his family with genuine hospitality and hu- 
manity. Few men in the country have done more to aid 
these unfortunates than himself. He is very active in mat- 
ters pertaining to his church, taking deep interest in all 
benevolent and charitable institutions connected with that 
body. He i^ also a firm and uncompromising advocate of 
temperance, and is regarded as a pillar of the cause. 



OODRUFF, CQJ^OXEL JONAH, President of 
the " Wooclriiff Sleeping and Parlor Coach Com- 
pany," was born in Watertown, Jefferson county, 
New York, April 21st, iSog. His father, Simeon 
V.'oodrufT, with his wife (who is still living), 
moved into Walertown on an ox-sled, and were 
among its earliest settlers, as their eldest son was the first 
male child Ijorn in the town, where now stands the city of 
Watertown. Leaving school in i8i9,he assisted his father 
upon the farm for several years, and meanwhile studied 
portrait painting with different artists. Proving an apt 
scholar, he engaged in his profession in W'atertown, 




2l8 



IJKKlKArillCAL ENCVCLOIVEDIA. 



ami soon acquired an enviable reputalion ; his portraits of 
leading citizens of Jefferson county are looked upon as 
valualile treasures, and are preserved with great care. 
In 1838 he took an active part in the Canadian Rebel- 
lion, holding a colonel's commission in the patriot army, 
and participating in the Iwttle of the " Windmill," near 
I'rescoU, on the St. Lawrence. Though at the time he be- 
lieved himself engaged in a good cause, he does not revert 
with any degree of pride to this important incident. He 
and his brother were the first to build an<l operate sleeping 
cars— his brother having obt.iined the first patents; granted 
December 2d, 1856. The " Pennsylvania " and the " Pitts- 
burgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago" were the lyst railroads that 
permanently adopted the sleeping cars of T. T. Woodruff & 
Co. ; l>ut others soon followed, and they became a tpublic 
necessity. " The Central Transportation Company," char- 
tered by the Pennsylvania Legislature, w.xs *ul)secpiently 
formed, different patents merged into it, and Colonel \Vood-_ 
ni(T elected general manager. He devoted all bis energies 
to the promotion of that enterprise; and having invented 
"The Silver Palace Car," gave a grand opening-excursion 
to leading railroad men and editors, \yilh their families, in 
the summer of 1866. The train, consining of- twelve c^ 
of singular elegance, started from Nejv York, passed through 
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to Chicago, and returned, the 
excursionists having spejtabout a week of. unalloyed ])lea- 
sure. lie tr.ivelled in one year jn sletdiing cars 131,765 
miles, and has jirolnbly more practical knowledge of their 
operation than any other living man. IJe continued with the 
"C-^nlral Transportation Company" as vice president .and 
general superintendent until the majority of the stockholders 
voted to lease its franchises. Finding his opposition of no 
avail, he resigned, and entirely separated himself from an 
organization which he had placed upon a successful and 
substantial basis. Having sold all his patents to the " Cen- 
tral TrnnspirSition Company," they went with the lease. 
Nothing d.iunled, however, he determined to improve on 
what w.xs then believed to be the perfection of sleeping cars, 
and in the face of over one hundred patents, invented a 
sleeping car on a new and improved plan, avoiding any in- 
fringement of any former patent, which is as superior in 
general utility to his " Silver Palace Car " as that was to all 
earlier inventions. He was at once sued for infringement 
by the lessee of the "Centr.il Transportation Conanany" 
before a United States District Court; bnl after a f«ll and 
careful investigation by the able patent lawvers of the plain- 
tiff, which satisfied them of their inability to make out a 
case, it was withdrawn. The " Woodruff Sleeping and 
Parlor Coach Company" w.as chartered by the Legislature 
of Pennsylvania in 1S70, and it is now building and run- 
ning a large number of his improved cars on some of the 
best roads in the country. The symmetry and activity of 
his slender figure is well preserved. Me is modest and re- 
tiring to a fault; but once drawn into companionship, he is 
never at a loss, his native wit suggests many a brilliant 




sally, and rendei's him a valuable addition to any social 
gathering. He dispenses a generous hospitality, is a strong 
friend, and awakens strong friendships. His mother, who 
is now (1S73) ninety-seven years of age, though entering 
Walertown on an ox sled, left it in a " Silver Palace Car," 
and now resides with her widowed daughter ujwn the farm 
of Colonel Woodrufif at Vineland, New Jersey, where he 
has provided for them every comfort that filial and fraternal 
love could suggest. Thither he often repairs for quiet 
recreation, and to enjoy their society. He delights to spend 
his time among his grapes, of which he raises 40,000 pounds 
of^the choicest varieties per annum. He also produces 
large quantities of peaches, pears, and other varieties of 
choice fruits. He is never happier than when extending to 
his^friends the hospitalities of his Vineland mansion. In 
attaiiung to his present position, he has evinced a determina- 
tion equalled by few, and has surmounted obstacles that 
would have utterly crushed many. 



Onn, ROBERT, Ornamental Iron-founder, was 
•born in the old district of Spring Garden, Phila- 
ile!phia,-July 4th, 1813. At an e.arly age, he was 
tj'^Tf^ apprenticed to a blacksmith in Southwark, with 
* g >*')■'.■■■ whom fe served his full time. In 1S39, he com- 
' • ' * nicncell business for himself, on a portion of the 
site iiow'oc'cupied by his present establishment, working at 
his own forge with the assistance of one boy. His first ef- 
forts were chiefly confined to the manufacture of iron rail- 
ings', into which he introduced a degree of art and taste 
previously unknown in that branch of industry, at the same 
lime combining elegance with economy. This was suc- 
ceeded by the manufacture of all kinds of ornamental and 
decorative work in iron, and now the show-rooms, at No. 
1 136 Ridge avenue, present the appearance of a museum 
from the endless variety of objects there placed on exhibi- 
tion. The n)ost remarkable feature in his biography is the 
conception of the idea that he could cast bronze statuary, 
similar to that ])roduced in the foundries of Europe. Once 
satisfied on this point, he set to work with his customaiy 
energy to put his idea into operation. Skilled workmen 
were obtained, the necessary furnaces erected, and his 
experience as a worker in iron brought to bear on the sub- 
ject. The result of the fii-st casting \v.is a complete suc- 
cess, and spread his rejiutation far and wide, jiroducing 
onlers from all parts of the country. New York, Brooklyn, 
Newport, W'est Point, Pittsfield, W.ashington, Philadelphia, 
Gettysburg, Carlisle, and many other cities, are all in pos- 
session of specimens of his castings, and he is represented 
in the West Indies and the republics of South America by 
samples of his ornamental and decorative art in other de- 
partments of his business. The sculptor of to-day is no 
longer under the necessity of sending his models to be cast 
in the royal foundries of Munich, but can have them repm- 





^V-^^-^-^ 



1 




,yho^^Q^c^ 



BIOGRArillCAI. ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



C19 



duced in bronze in his own country, with all the finish and 
artistic l^eauty so long regarded as the unique excellence 
of those establishments. The great progress made in his 
business will be well illustrated by the following figures. 
In 1839, he commenced with the assist-ance of one boy, and 
he now gives work to nearly 300 hands, uses annually, 
1200 tons of cast iron, iSoo tons of wrought iron, con- 
sumes 468 tons of coal, and, in addition to other articles, 
turns out many hundreds of miles of railings. Such 
success can only be attributed to the merits of the man 
himself; he has steadily pressed forward towards for- 
tune. Without capital or influence, he has, by honest in- 
dustry, intelligent enterprise, thrift and fair dealing, raised 
himself to the position he now occupies. He is, therefore, 
in the fullest sense of the term, the founder of his o\vJ\ for-' 
tune. He is the sole representative of colossal bronze 
casting in this country, and has placed Philadelphia, in this 
respect, on a level with the famous establishments of jfu- 
rope. His career is a striking illustration of the utility and. 
grandeur of our institutions, under which all the areijiies 
to wealth and preferment are open to the deserving, aiTrl i* 
should be an incentive to young and ambitiorus:jnen ifS 
take coura'^e. His life has been profitable to the'C'CftintfY 
as well as honorable to himself, and serves' as a cTnispicuous- 
examjile and beacon to others. '"^ 



'ERGUSON, NATHANIEL, .IrQii.Manufectiijerj 
was born in Lancaster county,^, I'$ni>sylvania^ 
November 20th, 1817. He is the son of'John 
Ferguson, who emigrated to the United States at 
the commencement of this century. His son re- 
ceived his elementary education at the common 
school, and completed the same by attending the Moscow 
Academy, in Lancaster. Being an apt and intelligent 
scholar, and of an energetic spirit, he began teaching 
school at the age of eighteen years ; his capital in hand was 
fifty cents received from his mother, and this was all he 
had at the outset of his career. He continued the role of 
school-master for eighteen months, and subsequently, in 
1839, effected an engagement as clerk at Elizabeth (char- 
coal) Furnace, in Lancaster county, where that well known 
iron-master, Robert Coleman, firet started. Here, by dint 
of study and observation, he learned all that was necessaiy 
to adapt him as a manager of the establishment. His term 
of service was nine years and a half, during seven of which 
he was entrusted with the superintendence of the Furnace 
in and for the interest of the heii-sof James Coleman. He 
then removed to the Swatara Furnace, in Schuylkill county, 
wdiere he became one of the firm of Eckert, Gilbert & Co., 
and took the practical management of the works. This 
was also a " charcoal furnace," of the capacity of forty tons 
daily, and employing forty or fifty hands. The co-partner- 
ship lasted until 1855, when they ceased operations; for it 




was found that " anthracite iron " which had already been 
for some years most successfully manufactured, was far more 
profitable than that by the old process ; besides, wood was 
becoming scarcer and dearer every year, enhancing the 
price of charcoal ; and as the location was not suitable for 
the fabrication of anthracite iron, they wisely closed up 
their furnace. In 1857, he removed to Robesonia with the 
intention of becoming a partner in the firm there engaged, 
but being unable to negotiate matters satisfactorily, he un- 
dertook the management of the works. In i860, at the 
death of 'Mr. Robertson, he was enabled to purchase an in- 
terest in the concern, and the firm became " White, Fergu- 
son & Co.,-" the " Company" being the interest of the de- 
,ceased partner. In 1863, this latter interest expired, and 
the sffle-wa^changed to "White & Ferguson." In 186S, 
the senior partner died, leaving him sole proprietor, subject 
to the'int^-est of Mr. White's heirs. There are two fur- 
naces at tfils establishment which have been in blast, as re- 
quired; since 1858. The quality of the iron manufactured 
is the same as that which is principally jiroduccd from the 
orcsW.the Cornwall mines, and, about i860 and 1861, was 
worth from' yi 5 to jiS per ton. The capacity of the fur- 
naces is frorh i75^o"200 tons, employing altogether some 
seventy-five haiiSS^ A branch railroad track, about half a 
i'nile'>long,vis"-uscd *t^ convey the iron to the main line 
of the 'Lebanon'-'VaHe^ Railroad. A market is found for 
lHc*saIe of lhc'meta1*in''Reading and Philadelphia; while 
sbmVgoes as frir" \?C5t^as Pittsbui'gh. He was married, in 
1^6, t'§^manda*E>av6iiport, of Berks county, and has a 
faiiiily growing ufx He is an evidence of what a sound 
education, self-reliance, and untiring industry will produce ; 
a most successful manufacturer, a shrewd business man, 
and withal of the most genial manners and presence. He 
has travelled much through the West, prospecting and in- 
vesting. During the Rebellion, he contributed largely of 
his means towards sustaining the Union. He is especially 
noted for his benevolence and hospitality ; and is beloved 
by all for his charitable actions towards the poor and suf- 
fering. His mother is still living (close of 1S73) at the 
great age of loi years. His father reached his ninetieth 
year. 

— ARRAGH, CORNELIUS, Lawyer, was born in 
the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1809. 
He was the son of John Darragh, a wealthy and 
highly-respected citizen of that place, whose 
father, an Irish Protestant, settled in Washington 
county, Pennsylvania, in its early days, purchased 
land, opened and cultivated a farm. His son married Margaret 
Calhoun, whose family were completely identified with the 
settlement of Pittsburgh; her cousin. General William 
Robinson, being the first white child born west of the Alle- 
gheny river. Mrs. Darragh, when quite advanced in 




BIOGRAPHICAL KXCYCLOP.KDIA. 



ycais, retained vivid recollections of the early days and 
frontier life, anil had not forgotten the Indian dialects, 
which she had acquired when young. Of a large family 
of children, Cornelius was the fairest and most talented. 
When seventeen years of age he graduated at the Western 
University of Pennsylvania, and then entered the office of 
Judge Ross, under whose preceptorship he became tho- 
roughly versed in the law, and was admitted to the bar at 
the earliest possible jwriod allowed by the rules of court. 
He w.as even elected a member of Assembly before he was 
old enough to be eligible; but such was his personal popu- 
larity thai he was suffered to lake his seat, and was unmo- 
lested in its occupancy. At the .age of twenty-one he w.as 
married to Mary, daughter of Dr. John Simpson, of Adams 
county, and Elizabeth Derben (.Vndrew), of the eastern 
shore of Maryland, one of the greatest heiresses of that day. 
Though she was but seventeen years old when she mar- 
ried, and only thirty-five at her death, she left behind her 
so honorable a record in works of charity, benevolence, and 
intellectual achievement, that it may, with propriety, be 
said of her, " Give her of the fruits of her hands, and let 
her own works praise her in the gates." Toiler individual 
efforts in the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and before she 
had attained the age of twenty-one years, was due the first 
grant of money (S5000) that was ever made by the great 
Commonwealth ; it was donated to the Alleghany Orphan 
Asylum. Iter husband, when twentylhrcc years of age, 
was elected to the .Senate of the .State, in which he served 
for several terms. I le was then made United States At- 
torney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and sub- 
sequently w,is elected to Congress, where, on June 20th, 
1846, he delivered his famous Tariff' speech before the 
Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, which 
was, perhaps, the ablest argument ever made by a represen- 
tative from Pennsylvania on this subject. After being 
twice re-elected to Congress, he was appointed, by Gover- 
nor Johnston, Attorney-General of the Commonwealth, at 
a time when many (piestions of vital interest presented 
themselves for adjudication. Me w.as also offered, by Presi- 
dent Taylor, the position of Minister to England, but, 
owing to the death of his wife a short time previous, and 
the care of two young daughters that consequently devolved 
upon him, and to whom he thenceforth devoted himself, he 
declined the fl.ittering proposal. Shortly after his bereave- 
ment he resigned the Attorney-Generalship, its duties and 
emoluments, and confined himself thereafter to his profes- 
sion, and the .society of his children. His person.al [wpu- 
larily was unbounded, an<l he was without an enemy. He 
counted among his personal friends. Clay, Webster, Critten- 
den, Calhoun, Meredith, and other celebrated orators and 
statesmen. He was contemporaneous with Purviance, 
Johnston, Black, ex-Govemor Curtin, .and the other brijjht 
luminaries of the legal .atmosphere of Pennsylvania. He 
w.as an eloquent speaker, an honest politician, and a gene- 
rous friend. His convcrs.ational powers were abundant, and 




he (Kissessed an infinite fund of jest and humor. He died 
December 21st, 1852, le.aving two daughters, Margaret 
Catherine, marriecl to Dr. Julian Rogers, son of a former 
Attorney-General of Delaware, of that name ; and Elizabeth 
Simpson, who married Washington L. Bladen, Iaw7er, of 
Philadelphia, a lineal descendant of the Bladcns of Dla- 
densburgli, Maryland. 

HITE, SAMUEL STOCKTON, D. D. S., Manu- 
facturer, was bom June 19th, 1S22, at Hulmc- 
viUe, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He is the 
son of William R. and Mary (.Stockton) White, 
of that place. Mis father died when, he was 
eight years old. Soon after his mother and 
family removed to Burlington, New Jersey, and the for- 
mer started a small confectionery store, where Samuel, who 
was her oldest child, assisted her to carry on the business. 
When but ten years of age, he was able to go to Philadel- 
phia and purchase the necessary supplies to furnish the 
stock. Mere he remained until he was fourteen, when he 
was indentured to his uncle, Samuel \\'. Stockton, on Vine 
street, Philadelphia, to learn the dentist's practice, and also 
the art of manufacturing artificial teeth. On attaining his 
majority he commenced the practice of dentistry at the same 
place, and superintended his uncle's practice, but eventually 
removed to Race street above Eighth, where he opened an 
office, and practised alone until 1S45. Then he took in 
Asahel Jones of New York, and John R. McCurdy, as 
partners. These two furnished a small amount of capital, 
while he possessed knowledge, capability, and energy. He 
still confined his practice for about a year, when, finding it 
was necessary to devote his whole time to the manufacture 
of artificial teeth, he relinquished office duties, and gave 
his entire .attention to all the details of the manufacture, 
passing whole days in studying each separate process. It 
was his constant aim to produce the artificial to correspond 
as nearly as possible with the natural, and to make, from 
time to time, such improvements as the stale of science al- 
lowed. This was the key of his success. He continued 
in Race street until 184S, when, requiring more room, he 
purchased a property on Arch below Sixth street, which 
was fitted up for a factory and salesroom. In that year he 
received the fii-st premium of a gold medal, for the best ar- 
tificial teeth, from the " American Institute of New York." 
Needing further accommodation, he removed a short distance 
eastward, where he had purchased and erected two large 
buildings for the purpose. The firm opened a branch 
store in New York city, on Broadway, opposite the City 
Hall, in 1846. The Boston branch commenced in 1851 ; 
and the Chicago depot in 1858. He jnirchased the intere>t 
of John R. McCurdy, May 1st. 1859, for $140,000, which 
included the real estate. In iS6i, he found it necessary to 
purchase the interest of the rem.aining partner, for which 



II 






^^yT^^y^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP.EDIA. 



he paid the same price, £140,000, which also included the 
real estate. In October, iSiy, he removed to his present 
location at the southeast corner of Chestnut and Twelfth 
streets, where, having erected a magnificent marble-fronted 
structure furnished with every convenience, he carries on 
on an extended scale the manufacture of artificial teeth, 
which he sends in immense quantities all over the world. 
Nor is he restricted to these alone ; he also prepares the 
various articles and appliances for dentists' use. The principal 
cause of his success he considers to be the superior qua- 
lity of the goods produced, which is evidenced by his having 
been the recipient of over fifty first premiums (many of 
them gold medals) from various institutes, associations, etc., 
including one from each of the " World's Fairs," com- 
mencing with the London Exposition of 1S51 ; tfie last 
being the Diploma of Honor accorded him at Vienna, 
1873. I^*^ ''^'' '"^^" ^ member of the Methodist Episeopal 
Church for many years. _In politics, he voted the Demo- 
cratic ticket until 1856, when he became a Republican by 
votine for Tohn C. Fremont and ihe extinguishment of 
.slavery. He was married, March 31st, ,1845, to Sarah J 
Carey, of Wilmington, Delaware. 



I. 




'AN REED, HENRY, Lawyir^fendtJiKlfef was' Operating four po^er h 
I born in Berks county, Pennsylvahia,'AugBi|t" '31 si , the'^W issahick"on ' Cree 
1S21. His ancestors were natives' of-'ifellarid, 
and settled in this country previous to the Revo- 
lution. His grandfather, John Van Reed, was 
proprietor of a grist mill on Tulpenhocken Creek, 

a tributary of the Schuylkill River, and furnished the 

American army during the War of Independence with grain 

and other provisions while it was lying at Valley Forge. 

He also planted grain for the support of the Hessian 

prisoners captured by Washington. The property owned 

by his grandfather still remains in the family. His father 

was John and his mother Catharine Van Reed, both natives 

of Berks county, with which section his life has been chiefly 

identified. His early education was obtained in the same 

county; but he afterwards studied at Litiz, Lancaster 

county, at Lafayette College, Easton, and finally at Dickin- 
son College, where he terminated his collegiate course in 

the year 1841. He then entered upon the study of law in 

the office of Hon. E. F. Gordon, of Reading, remaining 

under his instruction for two and a half years, when he 

was admitted to the bar and practised his professiorj at 

Reading. He pursued his calling as a barrister till 1868, 

when he was appointed, liy Governor Voung, as additional 

Law Judge of the Twenty-third Judicial District of Berks 

county until a later election. He was nominated at the 

end of the term for the same office, and at a later date re- 
ceived the nomination for President Judge. In 1872, he 

was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention for 

the Eighth Judicial District, under a law pa.ssed for the 



purpose of calling a convention in which Ihe principle of 
minority or cumulative representation should be recognized, 
and honorably fulfilled the duties of his office. He was 
married, in 1 85 1, to Harriet Gernant, also of Berks county. 
During his protracted career of over thirty years, as lawyer 
and judge, he has constantly evinced a marked ability in 
his profession, gaining the esteem and confidence of all 
classes of the community. Through life his conduct has 
exhibited a strong feeling of patriotism, and he can boast 
of never having turned a deaf ear to any call of his country 
for its defence. 



;,.\RTSIDE, BENJAMIN, Manufacturer, was born 
at Rochdale, Lancashire, England, May 26th, 
1794. He was educated in his native country, 
where he also learned the trade of hand-loom 
weaving, working at the same till 1831, when he 
emigrated to, the United States. He obtained 
emplm'nu;ntiat_ the Blockley Mills, Philadelphia, where he 
worked on hand-Iogms till 1833. He then removed to 
Manayunkjaildgoginienced to work for Joseph Ripka, re- 
inaini^^ with h'm liil 1S3S. In that year he engaged in 
biisiness on h: oant, at Manayunk; at first, using 

but one han^l iMiini-.uui. afterwards, as business increased. 




. s. 



'ooms. In 1840, he rented a mill, on 



eeic, of Robert Haley, which he fitted 
up with appropriate machinery and power looms, carrj'ing 
on the business there till 1S43, when he again removed to 
Cardington, Delaware county, leasing a mill there for nine 
years. He introduced into it a new and complete set of 
machinery, and made it in every way suitable to the busi- 
ness he proposed to follow. He was very successful during 
the time he remained in that place, and only left there to 
continue his business in a factory which he built at Chester, 
in 1852. This he made one of the most complete establish- 
ments of the kind in the country ; it consisted of a building 
go by 38 feet and four stories in height, standing on a pro- 
perty of very considerable extent. Other buildings and land 
wei-e purchased, in ^1858-' 59, from Samuel ClifiT, making a 
total river front of 300 feet and extending from Front and 
Fulton streets to low-water mark. A large storehouse was 
erected on this property, and the combined buildings occupy 
a square of ground, comprised between Front street and 
the Delaware and Parker and Fulton streets. The engine 
house and dyeing and dr)'ing houses are connected with the 
main building. The engine used is one of sixty horse 
power, and all the machinery is of the newest and most ap- 
proved description, consisting of seventy-two power looms, 
with all the necessary apparatus for finishing and other pro- 
cesses. The mill employs seventy-five hands, for whose 
accommodation twenty houses have been built by the firm. 
The business is very large and prosperous, and consumes 
3000 pounds of wool and 1000 pounds of cotton warp per 
week, producing 3000 yards of manufactured article in that 



BIOGKAPIIICAL KXCYCLOP.KDIA. 



lime. The goods made are chiefly all wool, Kentucky 
jeans and iloeskins, while the material used is entirely new, 
no shoddy being allowed to enter the factory. In addition 
to the above-named conveniences, there is a wharf (built 
in 1855) with a fine frontage on the Delaware river, re- 
quired by the large amount of business transacted. He has 
prospered remarkably in this factor)', and on the 1st of 
January, 1857, he associated with himself two of his sons, 
James and Amos, who are members of the present firm of 
Benjamin Gartside & Sons. He has another son (John) 
who also carries on the weaving business at Chester, in a 
factor)' of his own. Since his residence in Chester he has 
been intim.ilcly connected with the interests of the city, 
lie has been for six years Councilm.an of the borough, and 
has held many other positions of trust and honor in the 
city. He was an originator of the First National Bank of 
Chester, and has been one of its directors since its organiza- 
tion. . He was also an originator of the Chester Rural 
Cemetery, and has ever been a promoter, by his liberality 
and influence, of every project calculated to be of benefit 
and to assist in building up the city of his adoption. He 
belongs to the Baptist Church, of which he is one of the 
foremost and oldest deacons. Though in his eightieth year, 
he is still hale, hearty, and well preserved, and seems as 
active in his business as in his younger days. 



^.A.GE N.MAN', JERK.MIAII, L.iwycr .nnd Judge, 
was born at Phoenixvillc, Chester county, Penn- 
sylvania, Februar)' 6lh, 1S20. His parents were 
Jeremiah F. and Mary H. Hagenman. His pri- 
mary education was olitained at Phrenixville, and 
followed till he was sixteen years of age, when he 
became a school teacher, and continued so for a short 
time. lie afterwards removed to Reading and attended 
the public schools, at that time much inferior to what they 
now are, being neither well conducted nor properly system- 
atized. .\t nineteen years of age, he left school and be- 
gan the study of law in the oflice of Peter Filbert, of Read- 
ing, occ.-usion.illy teaching school during the intervals of 
his legal studies. In the spring of 1S42 he was admitted 
to the bar, and in the following fall opened an office in 
Re.iding for the practice of his profession, which he con- 
tinued till 1850, when he was elected Prosecuting Attorney 
for the city and Berks county, an oflice to which he was 
re-elected in 1853. He subsequently declined holding that 
position for another term. He tljen resumed the regular 
duties of his profession, which from that time forward in- 
creised rapidly till 1869, when he w.is elected additional 
Law Jud;;c of the Twenty-third Judicial District of Berks 
counly. In pnlitics, he belongs to the Democratic party, 
and his prominent position, together with his well-recog- 
nized .ability and popularity, li.ive frecpicntly led to his being 




requested to allow his name to be put forward for nomina- 
tion for many imjxirtant public offices, but such honors lie 
has constantly and steadily declined. He occupied for 
some time the responsible position of one of the counsel 
for the Pennsylvania Railro.id Company, where his legal 
acumen and research found a fitting field for their display. 
In the year 1S50, he was married to Louise E. Boyer, of 
Reading. His career, while being profitable and honorable 
to him.self, has been highly beneficial ti> the community. 



y 

HOMSOX, CHARLE.S, the " Perpetual Secre- 
tary " of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 
its dissolution, was a native of Ireland, where he 
jfcS^r was born in 1729, but came to America when 
(W^^ but eleven years of age. His father died on the 
voyage, anil he was thr'own on his own resources. 
He was educated in Maryland, and was noted for his stu- 
diousness, having on one occasion walked the entire dis- 
tance from Thunder Hill, Mar)'land, to Philadelphia and 
back to procure a copy of the Spectator. Having finished 
his education he came to Philadelphia, and conducted an 
academy under the patronage of the Society of Friends. 
He was an ardent Republican, and was made Secretary of 
Congress in 1774. For the whole period of its existence he 
retained this position. He was the messenger selected by 
the first Congress under the Constitution to notify the Fttther 
of his Country of his nomination for President. He was 
one of the best classical scholars in the country. He made 
several translations of the Bible, and these he perfected from 
time to time. In person he was tall, well-proportioned, and 
of primitive simplicity of manners. His integrity was so 
great that the Indians called him "the Man of Truth." 
lie died in 1 824. 




'cMANUS, John, iron Manufacturer, was born in 
September, 1808, in County Fermanagh, Ireland, 
lie received a liberal education in his native 
county, the classical portion of which was ob- 
tained at Purluna College. In 1827, he emi- 
grated to the United .States and was soon after- 
wards engaged in business. His first step in this direction 
was his engagement as assistant in a store in Philadelphia, 
whfre he remained for a time. After leaving that employ- 
ment he sought occupation on the public works, making 
his first essay .is a contractor on the Morris Canal, following 
that business till the year 1840. He subsequently removed 
to Re.iding, and, in 1S42, purch.ased an interest in the 
Reading Iron Works in that city, where he has continued 
to reside till the present time. During his residence in 
Reading he has been conspicuously identified with tlu- pub- 
lic interests of the city. He has frequently filled the office 



LIOGRAPinrAL ENCYCLOP.IiDIA. 




of bank director, evincing much talent and aptitude fur 
business in thai position, and has also served as director in 
the Kansas Pacific Railroad. In 1S39, he was married to 
Caroline Seyfort, of Reading.' In a business sense, he is a 
self-made man, having raised himself by his unaided exer- 
tions to his present prominent position, and may be justly 
termed the architect of his own fortune. 



|AU.SMAN, BENJAMIN, D. D., Clergyman, was 
b^irn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, January 24th, 
1S24. He is a son of John IJausman, a farmer 
in tliat county. He recei'vcd his elementary 
education at several academies, and finally gra- 
duated at M.trshall College. Having resolved to 
devote himself to the work of the Gospel ministry, he en- 
tered the Theological .Seminary of the German Reformed 
Church, and after the usual course of study took his de- 
gree, lie soon received a call to become the pastor of the 
First Reformed Church of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, which 
he accepted, and, in 1S53, was formally installed in that 
office. During ihe yeai-s 1856 and 1857, he made a tour 
through Europe, in addition to which he visited the Holy 
I,;xnd and other Eastern countries. On his return home he 
wrote Sinai mid Zion — published by Lindsay & Elakis- 
ton — which gives a more popular idea respecting those 
])oints of interest to Christian and Jewish readers than is to 
be found in l\ol>iiisoii^ s Bilnical Researches in Palestine, 
which is principally of a scientific character. Dr. B.aus- 
man's work has passed through several editions, and another 
is in course of ]>reparation. In 1858, he was appointed one of 
the editors of the Reform Messenger, and, in 1859, was pro- 
moted to the post of editor-in-chief, which chair he filled for 
two years. In 1S61, he was called to the pastorate of the First 
Reformed Church of Chambersburg, where he remained until 
he received, in the month of November, 1S63, an invitation to 
Iiecome the pastor of the First Reformed Church of Read- 
ing, Pennsylvania, in which he was settled for over eight 
years. In January, iSS/, he became editor of the Guardian, 
a monthly m.ngazine published in the interest of the young. 
About this lime, also, finding that the German population 
iu Berks county was almost entirely destitute of religious 
reading, owing to their inability to understand the English 
language, he started, edited, and still continues to publish 
the Reformirte Ilausfreund, which has been quite success- 
ful and effective in its purpose. He thus supplied an im- 
portant want for the benefit and religious welfare of those 
who were acquainted only with their native dialect. In 
1870, he edited and prepared for the press a volume of 
]ii)ems entitled Harhaugh Harp. This was purely an ex- 
jierimental work, the poems being written in what is known 
as the peculiar dialect of the Pennsylvania Germans ; and 
was designed to meet the same exigencies as the paper 




above noticed. It was a most laborious undertaking owing 
to the difficulty of systematizing the language. The work 
proved very successful in a pecuniary point of view, and 
many copies have been sent abroad for examination by lin- 
guists, philologists, etc. In 1871, he was complimented by 
\\\'s, alma tiiater \\i\\\\ the degree of D. D. Early in 1S73, 
he dissolved his pastoral connection with the First Church, 
which had much increased during his ministry, insomuch 
that it was deemed necessary that a second congregation 
should be formed. Placing himself at the head of this col- 
ony, he founded the St. Paul's Reformed Church of Read- 
ing, which was duly organized under his auspices. It has 
now a membership of over four hundred, and occupies one 
of the finest edifices in the city. He is a faithful pa.stor, 
an able editor, and an indefatigable worker. He commands 
much influence in his adopted city, and is beloved by all 
who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. 



1-3 / 

NABB, JACOB, Journalist, was born in Union 
township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, August 
2ist, 1817. His parents were Jacob and Hannah 
Knabb, of Oley township, in the same county. 
His early education was received in a school in 
his native place, and he afterwards commenced 
to learn the printing business in the office of George Getz, 
proprietor of a weekly paper called the Berks and Schuyl- 
kill Journal, where he remained until he was sixteen 
years of age. He then, for the purpose of completing his 
education, attended the Litiz school, in Lancaster county, 
at that time superintended by the celebrated John Beck. 
Here he made great progress in his studies ; but left the 
establishment to enter Lafayette College, at Easton, Penn- 
sylvania, ^\here he finished his collegiate course. His next 
step was to undertake the publication of the Reading 
Gazelle, in 1S40, and after conducting that enterprise for 
about three years he removed to Harrisburg, in 1844, during 
the memorable " Clay campaign." While in the latter city, 
he started a political journal called the Clay Bugle, which 
he continued for some time. On the 1st of January, 1845, 
he returned to Reading to take charge of the Berks and 
Schuylkill Journal (at that time a nine-column paper), 
editing the same with remarkable skill and ability. In the 
years i868-'6g, he became proprietor of the Reading Times, 
which was published under that name for one year, when 
he increased it by the addition of the Dispatch, combining 
the two under the title of the Reading Times and Dispatch. 
Although his time was much engrossed by the responsibili- 
ties pertaining to the before-mentioned journals, he was 
able, nevertheless, to attend to his other duties as a citizen, 
and has filled several public offices of trust and honor. He 
was Postmaster under President I^incoln, and Delegate to 
the Chicago Convention of i860, at which the latter was 



224 



niOCJRAPIlICAL ENCYCLOIVEDIA. 




nominated for the presidency. He is a iJirector in the 
Reading Librarj- Cunipany, etc. In politics, he was a firm 
Whig till that party was merged into the Republican, when 
he united with the latter, and has since been a consistent 
supporter of its principles. Earnest in the advocacy of his 
political tenets, and indefatigable in the discharge of his 
editorial duties, he has been a useful and valuable memljer 
of the society he lives in. He was married, in 1846, to 
Ellen C. Andrews, of Reading. 



fALE, EDWARD C, was bom in Philadelphia, 
February 21st, 1801. He was a son of Co(]((^ 
mo<lore Richard Dale, of Revolutionary fame. 
During his life time he held several offices of trust 
and honor both from the hands of his fellbw 
citizens, from ]>rivate corporations, antl the Na- 
tional Government. For some time he filled the office of 
I'residont of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore 
Railro.ad Company ; presided for A long period over the 
Philadeliihi.i, Germantown & Norristown Railroad Com- 
pany; and was also Vice-President of the Frank! m Fire 
Insurance Company. In 1847, he was elected, Prothono- 
tary of the District Court, having been nominated to tl\jt 
oflice by the old Whig party, to whose fortunes he hadjong 
adhered. During the Fillmore administration he was nqpii- 
naleil and confirmeil by the Senatcas Director of the United 
States Mint in Philadelphia, where he introduced many 
innovations so valuable that they were retained for many 
years after his retirement. He was one of the Inspectors 
of the County Prison, visiting it frequently with the sole 
object of ameliorating the condition of the inmates. He 
died December iSth, 1866, leaving a widow, a son and a 
daughter, the son inheriting a membership in the " Cincin- 
nati of Pennsylvania," of which Commodore Dale was one 
of the original members. 



I ICIIARDS, ELIAS JONES, Clergyman, was born 
January 14th, 1813, in the Valley of the Dee, in 
the west of England, not many miles from the 
town of Llangollen, in Wales. He was the son 
of Hugh and Jane Ellis Jones Richards. In early 
life he emigrated to the United States, and re- 
ceived his primary education in New York city. He after 
wards entered the liloomfield Academy, at Bloomfield, New 
Jersey, where he studied for about two years, and then, in 
1831, removed to the Princeton College, New Jersey. 
Here, while yet an undergraduate, he was offered the choice 
of his life's work. He had the option of either adopting 
a mercantile career or of studying for the legal or minis- 
terial profession. His inclination and qualifications, fortu- 
nately, led him to .idopt the last-named. In 1831, he gra- 




duated at the Princeton College, and subsequently studied 
theology .at the Theological Seminary, where he also gra- 
duated in the year 1838. He was licensed to preach by 
the Presbytery of New York in the same year, and eventu- 
ally moved to Rea<ling, where he settled in 1846. There 
he received a call from the First Presbyterian Church, and 
accepting the responsibility became its pastor. For more 
than twenty-five years he occupied the position of minister 
in the same church, whose congregation largely increased 
and develoiwd under his fostering care. When he entered 
u[X>n the duties of his charge the congregation numbered 
only 160 members ; but during his pastorship he admitted 
upwards of 500 new members to the church. He died 
March 25th, 1S72, universally esteemed and regretted by 
his flock, leaving a void among them not easily filled. He 
was ever a firm advocate of the principles of peace, and 
steadily deprecated disputes and contentions arising from 
whatever source. As a minister, he was not only beloved 
by his own congregation, but was remarkably and deservedly 
popular with other denominations. 



R.\MKIv,.S.\MUEI-, Merchant, w.as born in Berks 
county,' -Pennsylvania, October 3d, iSlo. He is 
a soil of Henry Kramer, and his paternal grand- 
cither also bore the same name. He was edu- 
cated in Robeson, Berks county. When seven- 
teen years of age, he was engaged by his brother 
to assist him in the Windsor Furnace at Hamburg, Penn- 
sylvania, an<l also in the store which was attached to the 
same. While at this place he learned moulding. In 1829, 
he removed to Chester county, and effected an engagement 
with the proprietors of the Warwick Furnace in the capa- 
city of moulder. In 1S32, he purchased a little store by 
means of the savings he had made, and went into business 
for himself. By the practice of the severest economy and 
untiring industry he throve apace. For a period of four 
years he remained at this ])oint, and then sold his establish- 
ment and removed, in 1836, to Pliocnixville, where he pur- 
chased a house and lot with eight acres of land, and again 
engaged in the store business. At fii'st he was in partner- 
ship with Mr. Yeager, and afterwards with Mr. Nyse. In 
1844, he disposed of his interests in the concern and re- 
moved to Philadelphia, where he remained for about a year. 
Finally, in 1847, he purchased his present business location, 
and as far as residence is concerned has remained station- 
ary. From a very small beginning he has gradually but 
surely increased until now he commands a ver)' extended 
line of business. He is no politician, although he takes a 
deep interest in whatever promotes the success of the right. 
During the War of the Rebellion he contributed freely to 
the cause of the Union. He has served as member of the 
Council of the borough during several terms. From 1857 




I 



i 



BIOGKAFIUCAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



22C 



to 1861, he was one of the Board of Directors of the Ches- 
ter County Bank. He was a Corporator, and a Director of the 
Phcenixville National Bank ; a projector, and now a Direc- 
tor of the Morris Cemetery. Although frequently solicited 
to accept public office, he has ever refused, believing that 
his proper sphere is in attending to his mercantile concerns. 
In this he is very strict, conscientious and just; besides 
being remarkably prompt in all his payments. He is en- 
tirely opposed to the credit system, and invariably purchases 
for cash, believing that the safest plan to pursue. He there- 
fore stands high in the estimation of his fellow citizens, 
and is noted not only for his strict integrity in business 
matters, but also for his liberality to the poor, his generosity 
and benevolence towards charitable objects. He has also 
done much towards the improvement of the town. He was 
married firet, in 1S31, to Keturah Oliver, of Berks county, 
who died leaving two children, one of whom is now asso- 
ciated with him in the store, and a daughter at present the 
wife of J. B. Pennypacker. His second wife, to whom he 
was united in 1835, was Asenath Oliver, sister of the first ; 
she has also died, leaving six children now living, one of 
whom, James M. Kramer, is an Engineer in the Philadel- 
pliia Water Department, a very able and respected man. 
His voungest son is also interested with him in the store. 



"INTZER, BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL 
WILLIAM M., Soldier and Engineer, was born 
in Pottstown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, 
June 7th, 1837. He is the son of Henry and 
Rebecca Mintzer, of the same place. He was 
engaged on a farm until twenty-one years of age, 
when he entered a machine shop, in Pottstown, where he 
served an apprenticeship of four years. At the expiration 
of this term, and soon aftfr the commencement of the civil 
war, he joined the army, enlisting as a private in the 4th 
Pennsylvania Regiment. After the retirement of that regi- 
ment he entered the 53rd Pennsylvania Regiment, as 
First Lieutenant of Company A, and was shortly promoted 
to be captain of the same. On the 2nd of June, 1862, he 
was raised to the rank of Major, and on September 29th, 
1S64, received his commission as Lieutenant-Colonel. He 
served with his regiment during the whole of the war, 
principally in the State of Virginia, and was slightly 
wounded at the battle of Frederick; but not sufficiently to 
oblige him to leave the field. At the battle of Five Forks, 
near Petersburg, his regiment was hotly engaged with the 
enemy, and he was temporarily placed in command of a 
detachment, which he handled so skilfully that his conduct 
attracted the notice of his superiors and gained for him the 
rank of Brevet Brigadier-General, for meritorious actions 
on that and other occasions. On the 30th of June, 1S65, 
he, with his regiment, was mustered out of service, when he 
29 





returned home. He was married, February 5lh, 1S63, to 
Amelia Weani ; and, in May, 1869, was appointed Post- 
master at Pottstown, being re-appointed to the s.-ime office, 
March 12th, 1873. He continues to retain this position, 
which he has filled since the commencement, with satisfac- 
tion to all. 



.A.CHE, FRANKLIN, Physician and Scientist, 
great grandson of Benjamin Franklin, was born 
in Philadelphia, October 25th, 1792. He received 
his education at the University of Pennsylvania, 
from which he graduated in 1810. He shortly 
after entered the United States army as Surgeon's 
mate, and in 1814 was commissioned full Surgeon. Two 
years later he resigned, and settled in Philadelphia, where 
he speedily gained a large and lucrative practice. He at 
different times filled the positions of Physician to the Wal- 
nut Street Prison ; Professor of Chemistry in the Franklin 
Institute ; Physician to the Eastern Penitentiary ; Professor 
of Chemistry in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and 
Professor of Chemistry in Jefferson Medical College. He 
was also for seve'ral years the President of the American 
Philosophical .Society. He wrote and edited a number of 
vei*y valuable works on medicine, chemistry, prison disci- 
pline ; and was a frequent and highly esteemed contributor 
to various periodicals. In connection with Dr. George B. 
Wood, he prepared The Dhpcnsary of the United States, 
the first edition of which was issued in 1833, and superin- 
tended the publication of the subsequent editions. He 
also aided in revising the different editions of The United 
States Pharjniicopecia. He died in 1S64. 



/ 
IMPSON, REV. MATHEW, Bishop of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, was born June 21st, iSii, 
in Cadiz, Ohio. He is the son of James and 
Sarah (Tingley) Simpson; the former being a 
merchant, in that town, of noted activity and 
ability. His primary education was received at 
Cadiz, where he studied the classics. He afterwards 
entered Madi.son College, Pennsylvania ; but subsequently 
changed to Allegheny College, in the same State, where he 
graduated and received the degree of A. M. He also 
studied medicine, and graduated at Cadiz, in 1833. In the 
same year, being then twenty-two years of age, he went 
into the ministry and joined the Pittsburgh Conference. In 
1835, he was ordained Deacon, and Elder in 1837, being 
also appointed, in the latter year. Professor of Natural 
Sciences and Vice-President of the Allegheny College, 
serving- for two years in the latter capacity. He was elected 
President of the Indiana Asbury University, in 1839, and 
fulfilled the duties of that office till 184S, when he became 




226 



I!I( KIRAPHICAL KNCYCLOl'/EDIA. 



editor of ihc IVesUrn Christian Advocate, ill Cincinnnti. 
lie was elected Bishop, in 1S52, and received the degree 
of D. D. at the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Con- 
necticut ; and subsequently, that of LL. D. in the same 
institution, in the year 1S71. He was stationed in the city 
of I'ittshurgh, from July 1834 to July 1S36, and during his 
residence there was married (in Noveml)er, 1S35) to Ellen 
II. Verner of that city. During the war of the Rebellion he 
was sent for by the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, then Secre- 
tary of War, for the purpose of conferring with him respect- 
ing the Frecdmen in the Southern St.itcs; the Secretary 
desiring th.it he should accept a commission to visit the 
Frecdmen, and to devise a plan for their e<lucation and ele- 
vation. This offer he was under the necessity of declining, 
as the duties connected with the church fully occupied his 
time, and demanded his closest attention. He has earned 
a well merited reputation, as an orator, being especially 
noted for the chaste and elegant language which he has at 



to meet its growing demands. At this factory, the weaving 
of tickings has always been the main branch of the busi- 
ness, with the exception of a brief interval during the war, 
when, from the unusual demand created by government 
contracts, the proprietor found it desirable to turn his atten- 
tion to the making of blankets, and entered into their 
manufacture ; but, on the cessation of this temporary need 
of those goods, he returned once more to his legitimate 
trade, and has since then made lickings a specialty. This 
establishment was the first in this country to engage in the 
manufacture of that article, and, naturally, the experience 
acquired by the proprietor has gained him a great reputa- 
tion in the market for the superior quality of his goods. 
Although the business has been much increased, its locality 
has liever been changed, a fact somewhat remarkable in this 
country, and especially so in this age of constant move- 
ment. The concern has, since his taking possession of it, 
gradually but surely jirogressed, and is now in a most 



his command. He was a delegate to the Evangelical .\lli-' nourishing condition, standing on a firm and solid basis, and 
ance, which met in New York in October, 1S73, ^""^ has tnjoying a reputation for fair and honorable dealing equal 
throughout his life been distinguished for his broad and to any in the country. He was at one time a Director in 
liberal views; also for his l.iliois for the pirimniinn of ih* (Icrmantown Bank, and at present is a Director in the 
Christian unity. .Fire Dtauiiince Association ; also Director of the Broad Top 

I mprOs'em^nT' Company. His success in life he considers 
in somfr degree'_due to the fact that he has never used 
tobacco in any form, and that he has always abjured liquor. 
On lhe,"i5th of September, 1S36, he was m.irricd to Anna 
Lord, of Cedar Grove, and has had by that union a family 
of thirteen_children, eight of whom arc still living; one son 
having lost his life during the war. 



Q 



<^_ 



I 



IIITAKER, \VILI.IA*Ir MSffliifa;cturer,.^va< born 
at Cedar Grove, Twert^-third ward ^rPhiladel- 
]ihia, on August I2lh, lSl-3. His parents emi- 
grated from England to this country in the year 
iSlo, and eventually settled at Cedar Grove in 
1S13. This settlement, as it then might have 
been aptly termed, though situated at the short distance of 
six miles from the centre of the city, was virtually as far 
removed as is New V'ork at the present day. It was, in 
fact, an isolated place, and still contrives to retain a portion 
of its solitary character. His education was obtained in the 
neighborhood of his home, with the exception of about six 
months, passed in Burlington, New Jersey, where he at- 
tended school. At eight years of age he entered the cotton 
factory of his grandfather, Henry Whilaker, continuing his 
sluilies for several years sulisequently. From that time to 
the present his business life has been identified with thS 
scenes of his childhood. After conducting this business for 
a number of yeai's, his grandfather disposed of it to one of 
his sons, an uncle of the lad's, and the new proprietor con- 
tinued to carry on the concern till the time of his death. 
On the occurrence of this event another uncle took posses- 
sion of the premises, having rented them from the surviving 
daughter of his dece.ised brother, who was at that time a 
minor; but who, on attaining her majority, sold the property 
to the present owner. When the latter entered upon the 
business, it was comparatively small ; but, since that time, 
has continually developed itself and increased so as to 
necessitate successive enlargements of the original premises 




AYWOOD, BKNJ.V.MIX, Manufacturer, was born 
at Southwell, near Nottingham, England. His 
father and grandfather nad both been nianufactu.- 
rers of hardware, and at the age of twelve yean, 
ho was apprenticed to a blacksmith, with whom 
he served his time. When twenty-four, he emi- 
grated to the United States, landing at New York, in 1S29. 
Not succeeding in finding work, he went to I'hiladeliihia 
and thence, on foot, to Reading, where he was advised to 
try his fortune in Pottsville. After working there for a 
short time as journeyman, he contrived to commence busi- 
ness, in a small way, on his own account. The system of 
mining coal below the water level being introduced about 
this time, his keen foresight showed him the future mechani- 
cal needs of Pottsville, and he went to Philadelphia, in 
1833, where he purch.ased a steam engine, and some other 
machinery, for his shop. This engine was put up by 
George W. Snyder, and was the first employed in Schuyl- 
kill county. In 1835, his sound judgment led to his for- 
mation of the well known firm of Haywood & Snyder, 
Pollsvillc (his small machine shop being removed from 





i / i.^^/ 




■ // 'r /{r <^<' ''VC-f'TJ -fA^tr:, 



lUOGRArillCAL KNCVCLOr.KDlA. 



227 



Port Carbon fjr that purpose), established for builduig 
steam engines, mining and other machinery. In 1845, tlie firm 
erected an extensive machine shop amd foundry, at Danville, 
Pennsylvania. At that place, and in Pottsville, they con- 
structed the machineiy for the Montour Iron Company; the 
Phcenix Iron Company; for Peter Cooper, of Trenton, New 
Jersey; and for Bevan, Humphreys & Co., of AUentown, 
Pennsylvania. They made the first set of rolls for the 
manufacture of T rails, in the United States, and con- 
structed (1S45) ''"^ '""'s' apparatus for sawing hot iron. 
Aside from this busi^iess, they were heavily engaged in coal 
mining operations, as Milnes, Haywood & Co. The main 
burden of this large business fell on the subject of this 
sketch, who, in 1S50, disposed of all his different interests 
and went to California; but was at first unsuccessful. lie 
had shipped a large number of frame houses to;. San. Fran- 
cisco; but they proved unsalable, and did not rg-alize the 
cost of freight. With customary energy, he engaged in the 
lumber business, erecting for that purpose a steam engine 
and saw mill, near Sonera — the first put up in Caiifornia, 
outside of San Francisco. He was again unfortunate and 
returned to .San Francisco, without means. .sBorrSwyng a 
little money from one of his :.pprentice boys, he^^i^ted As^ 
blacksmith; subsequently, adding the^mak^^gppf itoH .shut-'' 
ters, fire-proof doors, and bank vaulis. ---lit tlW-s .^i^ ^was 
highly successful, and while there, h;;id ipgriy ptiYjj^^f pbsj- 
tions of trust and responsibility, but-4stlyi^l ,t}>e'Hi-a]l,'-.,IIe. 
became intimate with General WiIliam.\;T. Sheriii.'in,-and- 
Governor Geary, of Pennsylvania, rem4>nii}gia-f»nn friend 
of the latter till his death. He organized- the .Mechanics 
Institute, of ,San Francisco — now the most, flourishing one 
on the Pacific coast — and was its president till his departure. 
After an absence of five years, he decided to settle in Potts- 
ville, and disposed of his business in the West at a hand- 
some profit. His return to his old field of action was a 
perfect ovation ; the old workmen of Haywood & Snyder 
met him at the depot and escorted him into the town in 
triumphal procession. He then purchased an interest in 
the Palo Alto Rolling Mill, .at that time a small concern. 
It was first carried on by the firm of Haywood, Lee & Co;; 
then b/ Banjamiu Haywood & Co. ; and still later, by 
Benjamin Haywood alone, who has been its sole proprietor 
for a number of years past ; and the establishment has grown 
into vast proportions. The capacity of the works is 20,cxx) 
tons, annually ; the number of liands employed, 5CX3, with a 
monthly pay roll of §20,000 ; and the yearly amount of 
business from $1,000,000 to ;? 1, 500,000. These works are 
continued, especially during the present depression, with 
the benevolent intention of giving employment to the men, 
as the proprietor is independently wealthy from other 
sources. In 1862, he superintended the erection of the 
works of the AUentown Rolling Mill Company, and was its 
president for some years. He also built, in 1865, the 
Lochiel Iron Works, at Harrisburg, by express desire of 
Simon Cameron. He is a man of almost universal powers 



and attainments ; possessed of a large brain, a firm deter- 
mined will, unusual activity and energy, an extensive know- 
ledge of men and thiugs, he seems to perform his work of 
all kinds by a species of intuition, and is certainly one of 
the most extraordinary men in the State. He has been 
active in politics (though uniformly declining office), and 
was a member of the old Whig or Home Industry party, 
but has since joined the Republicans. He was_one of the 
commissioners for organizing, the Union Pacific Railroad, 
with Colonel Thomas A. Scott and J. Edgar Thomson. 
His sound judgment and clear insight of the merits of a 
case. have long pointed him out as a leader in his party, 
and one whose opinion it was well to obtain before deciding 
upon any important measure. He h.as been frecpiently 
summoned to Washington to aid with his counsel, on criti- 
cal occasions, when serious matters concerning the politico- 
industrial interests and welfare of the country were at stake ; 
and has been intimate with most of the eminent statesmen 
of the d.ay, including several of our Presidents. He belongs 
to the Methodist Church, and has been, for forty-two years, 
an accredited minister of that body. In 1829, there was no 
church in Pottsville; but with others he labored wherever 
he had opportunity, and sowed some of the first religious 
seeds, in the town. An ardent advocate of temperance, he 
is ev^er. ready, by word or purse, to advance the cause. His 
mind being-Stored with correct information on most subjects, 
he IS competent, at a moment's notice, to preach an impres- 
sive sernion, deliver a powerful temperance lecture, or make 
a telling political stump speech. He is a kind friend to the 
colored people; a generous benefactor to the working man 
and the poor. During the war, he was selected by Gover- 
nor Curtin to visit the Pennsylvania troops, and look to 
their comforts; and by authority, re-clothed many regi- 
ments, one of them being the Fourth Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers, of which Governor Hartranft was colonel. He was 
also Chairman of the Investigating Committee, in the Girard 
clothing troubles, resulting in the complete vindication of 
A. G. Curtin. He is an entirely .self-made man — the archi- 
tect of his own fortune — and though his early education 
was much neglected, has a wide knowledge of books and is 
well read on most subjects. His most congenial studies 
.are the Bible and the poets, of which .Shakspeare is his 
favorite. In i8jo, he was married to a daughter of Daniel 
Rhein — the first friend he found in this countiT, and a fine 
specimen of an honorable, godly man — who died at the age 
of ninety. His domestic relations have been peculiarly 
happy, and his marriage was somewhat tinged by ro- 
mance, it being by his wife's father's directions that 
he settled in Pottsville. He has had five children, by 
this union — two sons and three daughteiv — of whom, two 
daughters only are living. One of them is married to 
Hugh W. Adams, a patriotic and active Union officer, 
who served under General Grant, at Vicksburg, gaining 
an honorable military record. He is now engaged in 
the wholesale dry goods business, at Lexington, Ke)i- 



228 



inOr.RAI'IIICAL KN'CVCLOP.KDIA. 




tucky, and in high commercial staniling. The other is 
the wife of Thomas K. Wright, a successful iron and 
blast furnace proprietor, in New York State, and a worthy 
and excellent gentleman. 



IIEAFER, PETER WENRICH, Geologist and 
Mining Engineer, was born in Dauphin county, 
Pennsylvania, in 1819. He is a son of Henry 
Sheafer, of the same county, who was the leading 
coal operator of that section, being the first \.S 
open and bring to light the valuable mines of 
Lykens Valley, and also prominent in originating the 
" Lykens Valley Railroad;" he was also a railroad construc- 
tor. His son was educated at O.xford, New York, and im- 
mediately after leaving school, joined the jwrty assembled 
by Professor Rodgers to make the geological survey of the 
State of Pennsylvania. He became one of the assistants to 
Professor Whelpley, of New Haven, and had charge of the 
anthracite coal district of the Stale. He remained at this 
occupation until, by the failure of the Legislature to provide 
for its prosecution, it was for the time abandoned. In^ 1050, 
by his exertions at Harrisburg, he "secured an appropriation 
from the State, and aided in completing the survey in con- 
nection with Professor Lesley, of Pliiladelphia. Sirice 1S4S, 
he has been a resident of Pottsviile, Pennsylvania, as geolo- 
gist and engineer, having charge of large coal estates, which 
still occupy his attention. He has largely aided in the 
exploration and subsequent survey of numerous coal lands, 
and in the formation of large companies for operating the 
same. His observations have been made over a large 
extent of territory ; from the Carolinxs at the South, through 
the several States, and various provinces of the " Dominion." 
He is no politician, nor would he accept any oflice in the 
gift of the people ; but takes a deep interest in the prosperity 
and future glory of the Republic. During the war of the 
Rebellion, he aided the Union cause liberally and energeti- 
cally. He was married, in 1S4S, to Harriet M.^Whilcomb, 
of KoL-hester, New York, and has a -family uf three sons 
and one daughter. One of his' sons i,s (jow in the Univei-sily 
of Pennsylvania, pursuing ifie scientific course, and will 
adopt the profession of his father. 



ilVl I IKU ILL, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JOHN 
MACOMi!, Soldier, was born in Philadelphia, 
Kebruary nth, 1828. He is the son of Dr. 
William and Isabella (M.acomb) Wetherill, and 
grandson of Samuel Wetherill, the first jierson to 
manufacture white lead and other chemicals in 
the United States; his son continuing the business and 
being the leading manufacturer in that line for manv vears 




thereafter. His great-grandfather, Samuel Wetherill, was 
a member of the Society of Eriends ; but when the Revoju- 
tionary war opened, discarded the particular tenets of that 
society in regard to non-resistance, and took up arms on 
behalf of the p.atriotic cause, deeming it proper in certain 
cases to act in defence of the right. He was the founder 
of the sect of the Free Quakers (sometimes called " Fight- 
ing Quakers") ; and aided by others, erected the meeting- 
house at the south-west comer of Fifth and Arch streets, 
now occupied by the Api>rentices' Library, and to the 
building fund of which both Washington and Lafayette 
contributed. John Macomb received a liberal education at 
tfie University of Pennsylvania. At the age of eighteen he 
removed to Pottsviile, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in 
the business of managing coal lands and mines, in Schuyl- 
rjeill county; the family being the owners of a large number 
of tracts in this section, he was selected to look after their 
interests ; it was ]>robably the most important property in the 
coi;)ty. When he first arrived there, it was entirely unde- 
vefoped ; the theories of mining were crude and the princi- 
ples of' practical mining had not been applied or even dis- 
covered. The undulating character of the veins and the 
b;vsins whkli they formed were not known. While these 
lJn'<ls \v6ti;: ii'^cr his management, the theories which had 
been tiroachfctW respecting them were practically proved and 
•applieilV*^ 111 Ihttr investigation, he was prominent and 
indefatigal'l'e. Much credit, therefore, is due to him for the 
successfftl and grand results since obtained. He was always 
enterprising and courageous in making experiments, costing 
much time, laljor and free expenditure of means. He has 
always taken an active part in politics, and holds Demo- 
cratic principles. In 1857, he w.as the candidate of his 
party for .State Senator in his district, but owing to a division 
in its ranks, he was defeated by Robert M. Palmer. Since 
he .attained his majority, he has always been connected with 
the militia ; entering a volunteer company .is private, and 
being elected successively as Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, 
and Colonel. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he imme- 
diately joined the army, upon the first call made by the 
Pm-sidenK for volunteei-s. On the igth of April, 1S61, he 
was mustered into the service as aiile-de-camp and Acting 
Assistant .\djutant-Cicneral with the rank of captain, and 
was attached to Keim's division of Patterson's command. 
This was a three-months' service, at the expiration of which 
he entered tlie S2nd Regiment Pennsylvania Inf.intry, as 
Major, serving with them for three years and one month ; 
seeing much active service during its entire connection with 
the " .\rmy of the Potoin.ac," his regiment forming a part 
of the .Sixth .\rniy Corps. A short time ]irevious to the 
b.attle of Gettysburg (June 14th, 1863), he received promo- 
tion to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel for his very gallant 
•and meritorious services. He served in the battles of York- 
town, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, the seven days' fight before 
Richmond, Malvern, Ch.antilly, Antietam, Willianisporl, 
Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Rappahannock .Station, Mine 




^^^^ ^ 



BIOGRAPHICAI- ENCYCLOr.liDIA. 



229 



Run, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Stevens, and was in the 
campaign on the Shenandoah under Sheridan. His courage 
and general course during the war obtained for him the high 
opinion of his superior officers ; especially at the battle of 
Cold Harl^or, where Colonel Bassett was wounded, and the 
command of the regiment devolved upon him. He was 
mustered out of the service, September i6th, 1864, at the 
expiration of his term, having done his duty bravely and 
nobly, and shown himself a fearless soldier and a gallant 
officer. On his return home, he resumed the management 
of his estates, which were sold to the Reading Railroad 
Company in 1S71, though he continued to superintend them 
until July 1st, 1873. He was chosen a delegate to the 
Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1S72 and 

1873, and gave a good account of his stewardship. In that 
body, he served as a memlier of the committee on Manu- 
factures, Mining and Commerce. He proved himself to be 
a very useful member in shaping legislation for the benefit 
of the coal interest. He is mentioned prominently as the 
Democratic candidate for Congress at the next election, 

1874. He has ever been a useful, honorable and consistent 
member of his party; seeking no remuneration, but laboring 
in its ranks from conscientious and patriotic . motives,. 
never having held any public office, save in the- instance 
already referred to. His disinterested patriotism in the 
cause of his country, and his efforts for the advancement of 
his party stamp him as a man of generous and unsejfish 
impulses. 

EADE, MAJOR GEXERAL GEORGE GOR. 
DON, Soldier, was born in Cadiz, Spain, of 
American parents, December 31st, 1815, and 
brought to Philadelphia while an infant. He was 
educated at Georgetown, District of Columbia, 
and at West Point, where he graduated, June 30th, 
1835, entering the army as Brevet Second Lieutenant of 
Artillery. He served in Florida, and was made Second 
Lieutenant, December 31st, 1835, and resigned. He was 
re-appointed. May 19th, 1842, as Second Lieutenant of 
Topographical Engineers, and served in Mexico; wa<; pro- 
moted to be First Lieutenant, and returned to the United 
States ; was employed on river and harbor improvements, 
and again served in Florida, under General Twiggs. He 
was made First Lieutenant, in 1851, and Captain, in 1856, 
in charge of the survey of the great lakes. He was ap- 
pointed Brigadier-General of Volunteers, in 1861, and 
served under Generals McDowell and McCIellan, in 1862; 
was raised to Major in the regular army, June 8lh, 1S62, and 
severely wounded at New Market Cross Roads. He 
returned to Philadelphia, but rejoined the army, August 13th, 
1862, and was attached to General Pope's command; 
assumed the command of the Pennsylvania Reserves, and 
was slightly wounded at Antietam ; held the temporary 
c nnmand of General Hooker's Corps, when that general 





was wounded, and was made General of Volunteers in 
November, 1862. At Chancellorsville he had command 
of the 5th Army Corps, covering Hooker's retreat across the 
Rappahannock; was ordered, June 2Slh, 1S63, to assume 
command of the Army of the Potomac, and, three days 
later, fought the decisive battle of Gettysburg, defeating 
General Lee. He returned home on furlough in January, 
1864, but rejoined the army in the following February, 
when the Senate confirmed his appointment as Brigadier- 
General, to date from July 3rd, 1863. He participated in 
many minor battles, including those of the Wilderness, and 
at the conclusion of the campaign was made Major General. 
In 1868, he was appointed to the command of the Third 
Militaiy District. He was married, December 31st, 1S40, 
to Margaretta Sergeant; and died, November 6th, 1S72, in 
Philadelphia, his funeral ceremonies being conducted with 
great pomp. 

ROZER, JOHN PRICE, Manufacturer and Phil- 
anthropist, was born in Springfield, Delaware 
county, Pennsylvania, January 13th, 1793, his 
father's family occupying the same house where 
the celebrated Benjamin West, the greatest 
American painter, first entered the world. He 
was- the soaof'John C. and Sarah (Price) Crozer, and 
grandson of Jjames C. Crozer, W'ho, with his four brothers, 
in the early part of the eighteenth century, emigrated from 
Ireland. His grandfather,- James C. Crozer, married into 
an English family, residents of Springfield township, and 
his son and grandchildi'en were all natives of that locality. 
The parents of John Price were persons of unusual culture, 
and were able to add to the knowledge their son gained in 
the inferior schools of the neighborhood. Beside this he 
had imbibed a taste for self-culture, which led him to 
devote his leisure hours, after the day's labor on the farm 
was over, to reading and study. His Christian mother 
early directed her children's attention to religious subjects, 
and he and his sister having been baptized by Rev. Dr. 
Staughton, in April, 1807, united with the First Baptist 
Church in Philadelphia. Owing to the disability of his 
father, he managed the farm for several years previous to 
attaining his majority, after which he was given an interest 
in its productions until his father's death, January 8th, 
1816. He subsequently continued the management of the 
place until the death of his mother, which occurred in 1817, 
and he then rented it on his own account, working it for 
three years thereafter. In the spring of 1820, he procured 
a tenant, to whom he sold his stock and implements, and 
in April of the same year, made an extended tour on horse- 
back to Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, returning in August 
to reside with his bi'other-in-law, John Lewis, until June 
25th, 1821, when, in partnership with G. G. Leiper, who 
had purchased and taken possession of the old homestead, 
he commenced running a merchant andsuw-mill on Ridley 



230 



BIOGRArUICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



Creek, about llircc miles alwvc Chester. However, in the 
following autumn, the firm was dissolved by mutual con- 
sent, and he withdrew with the loss only of his lalxir and 
the interest on his capital invested. After mature considera- 
tion, he determined to engage in cotton spinning, and 
having rented the second and third, with part of the first, 
floors of G. G. Leiper's mill, he invested his whole capital 
of about S3700 in the new entcri)rise, to which John Lewis 
added S2000. The demand for new machinery largely 
excecd^il the supply of funds; so he purchased about S4000 
worth of old machinery in the fall and commenced opera- 
lions in Febi-uary, 1822. The unforeseen obstacle of an 
overstocked market having interposed, he was obliged to 
sell at a sacrifice. Ruin seemed impending, but he was 
temporarily relieved by a loan of S600 secured by his 
brother in-law, Lewis, and he energetically and indus- 
triously struggled on, and fortune finally smiled upon him. 
In the fall of 1S24, he purchased Mattson's paper mill, with 
180 acres of land on the west bank of Chester Creek, for 
S7330, and having mortgaged it for S4000 to Thomas Wood- 
ward, he borrowed the balance on the security of his 
brother-in-law Lewis. In the spring of 1825 he took pos- 
session of his new property, which he named " West Branch," 
and "having made the necessary alterations, removed his 
machinery and commenced operations in the following 
August. Although meeting with more success, he still con- 
ducted his business with rigid economy. In 182S, he 
erected a building intended as a place of worship and 
school for the children of his operatives. In 1835, by the 
insolvency and death of his chief customer, he lost §6500, 
which was about half the value of his entire estate. Re- 
covering from this shock, with borrowe<l funds, he pur- 
chased twenty |>ower-lo<)nis, and commenced weaving, thus 
becoming the consumer of his own yarns. He subsequently 
purchased another paper mill at the junction of the West 
Branch and Chester Creek, where he erected a new factory, 
and having transferred liis residence thither in November, 
1339, named it Crozer\'ille. In the early part of February, 
1842, financial difficulties obliged manufacturers to reduce 
wages, and in March there was a general strike of opera- 
tives, which continued for twelve weeks. Though many 
indignities were offered by the excited populace, he stood 
firm, and when they finally yielded, he freely forgave them 
all. Notwithstanding the gre.it depression, he kept his mills 
running, and in January, 1843, all his looms resumed. In 
February of this year, he was severely injured by being 
thrown from his sleigh, which confined him to the house for 
three months, and even for nearly six months from the 
date of his injury he was unable to attend to his duties as a 
member of the Board of Directors of the Bink of Delaware 
County; for along time, in fact, he experienced the crip- 
pling effects of this injury. By the great flood of August 
5th, 1843, his new stone factory at Knowlton (76 by 36 
feel ), together with portions of the mills at West Branch 
.Tiid Ciii/i Tvillc. were demolished, involving a loss in build- 



ings, machiner)' and goods of about f 50,000; but he 
spee<lily repaired the damaged mills and resumed opera- 
tions. He had long been an eaniest advocate of the 
tem|>erance cause, and now manifested a great interest in 
the Bible and Tract Societies of Delaware county, giving 
them his time, influence and money. Amid the cares of 
business he also found leisure to minister to the temporal 
and spiritual wants of the sick among his people. He pur- 
chased the Flower estate, consisting of 65 acres, situated on 
Chester Creek, about two miles from Chester, in Februar)', 
1S45, and, having named it Upland, commenced the erec- 
tion of his first mill there. He now withdrew from his 
membership in the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, 
and united with the congregation at Marcus Hook, April 
12th, 1S45. To afford li.s children the requisite educational 
advantages, he secured a competent governess in the 
autumn of that year, and subsequently sent them to the 
best schools that the city of Philadelphia afforded. On 
January 1st, lS47,he received his son, Samuel O., into part- 
nership with him, and removed to his new residence at 
Upland on the 19th of May following, but retained posses- 
sion of West Branch and Crozerville. In April of the same 
year he had erected a temporary building at Upland for 
Church and Sunday school purposes, and in Novenil)er 
1850, completed an academy at Chester at a cost of Sl5,ooo, 
besides responding liberally to the calls frcm the University 
at Lewisburg. In January, 1851, he resolved to erect a 
church edifice at Upland, and the building was commenced 
in April of that year. It was completed at his own 
expense, and dedicated March 2Sth, 1852. It was" consti- 
tuted " October 9th, 1S52, and he was elected deacon thereof 
on November 6th of the same year. In February, 1853, he 
again responded liberally to the call for aid frc m Lewis- 
burg, and secured a large sum in addition to his own mu- 
nificent contribution, for its endowment. In July, 1S56, he 
offered to endow it in the furthersum of $50,000, providing 
it .should be removed to the vicinity of Philadelphia, but 
his offer was declined. In 1857, he commenced the erec- 
tion of a Normal School at Upl.ind, which was completed 
in 1858, at a cost of $45,000, and opened in the following 
.September. He had been made Vice-President of the 
Pennsylvania Baptist Education Society in 1S52, and its 
President in 1855. During his connection with it, he 
endowed seven scholarships of St 500 each; besides con- 
tributing liberally to the general fund. He succeeded 
Bishop Potter as the President of the Pennsylvania Train- 
ing School for Feeble-minded Children, to which he had 
contributed over Sio.ooo. He wxs also President of the 
Home for Friendless Children; of the Women's Hospital 
of Philadelphia; of the Pennsylvania Coloniz.ition Society ; 
of the American Bnptist Publication Society; and an officer 
and generous supporter of various other lienevolcnt institu- 
tions, besides contributing largely to the American .Sund.iy 
.School Union (and one of the board of managers), Asylum 
for the Insane, Bible Societies, Tract Sscieties, etc. In 



BIOGRAPHICAL F:NCVCLOPyEDIA. 



1 86 1, he enlarged the church at Upland, at an expense of 
SSooo; and durnig the hour of the nation's peril, gave it 
sympathy and aid, investing largely in the national loans; 
converting the spacious edifice erected for a Normal 
School into a United States Ainiy Hospital; and assisting 
to raise troops. In Novc"iber, 1861, in company with 
George H. Stuart of Phdadelphia, he represented that city 
at the first meeting of the Christian Commission in New 
York, and from September, 1S62, to its linal dissolution; in 
June, 1866, he was a working member of its executive com- 
mittee. His contributions to the Union cause amounted to 
520,000. In connection with the American Baptist Publi- 
cation Society he established by a donation of J 1 0,000 
a fund known as the John P. Crozer Sunday School 
Library Fund for the assistance of indigent Sunday Schools. 
He also contributed S5000 to the same society, to aid pas- 
tors of feeble churches, to secure necessary theological 
books. In April, 1866, his wife and children placed in the 
same hands the sum of $50,000, known as the John P. 
Crozer Missionary Memorial Fund, the income of which is 
to be devoted to the improvement of the religious condition 
of the colored people. In July, 1865, he contributed 
$20,000 to the University at Lewisburg, as his portion of 
the endowment of $100,000, which he had proposed to raise 
With several members of his family, he started, Februaiy 
1st, 1866, on a tour through the South and Southwest, but 
was obliged to return from Petersburg, Virginia, and gradu- 
ally sank until his death, on March nth, 1S66. For nearly 
forty years he had been superintendent of a Sunday school, 
and his loss wa-s deeply mourned by his family, friends, 
and the whole Christian community. The incidents of his 
life afford noI>le illustrations of the power for good eman- 
ating from a liberal heart and consecrated wealth; and one 
of the most fitting monuments erected to the memoiy of this 
great and good man was the donation by his family, 
November 2d, 1866, of the munificent sum of $275,000 
(including the value of the property erected for a Normal 
School, and then occupied by the Pennsylvania Military 
Academy), for the establishment and endowment of the 
Crozer Theological Seminary at Upland, to which have 
since been added large sums by the same family. He was 
married, March 12th, 1S25, to Sallie L. Knowles, who sur- 
vives him, with a family of seven children. 

/ ~*^^ 

q~4NGHAM, HON. SAMUEL DELUSENNA, was 

, J' born, September l6th, 1779, at Great Spring, in 

^ll Solebury township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. 

^*^ He was the eldest son of Dr. Jonnthan Ingham, 

i)"]/^^ a physician of eminence in the county, who died 

Octob.-;r 7th, 1793, of yellow fever contracted in 

attending, as a volunteer, upon the sick in Philadelphia 

during the dreadful pestilence of that year. The Doctor, 

an accomplished linguist, had directed his son's studies 



With a view to a professional career, but, at his death, his 
widow and nine children being left with an estate greatly 
embarrassed, it became encumbent on the eldest son to 
relinquish this hope and devote himself to business. As 
there was a fine site for a paper mill on the stream which 
gave the name to the family place, the choice was soon 
made, and Samuel was apprenticed to a paper maker. 
Here, while faithfully performing his duties, he neglected 
no opportunity of pursuing his studies, especially in mathe- 
matics. At the age of twenty-one he took possession of the 
family estate, assuming, as was the custom, the payment of 
the shares of his brothers and sisters. He built the pro- 
posed paper mill from his own designs, and w-as shortly 
after married to Rebecca Dodd of Bloomfield, New Jersey. 
He early began to take an active part in politics on the 
Democratic-Republican, as opposed to the Federalist, side, 
and in 1805 was elected to the Slate Legislature. He was 
returned for the two following years, declining a re-election. 
After the declaration of war, in 1S12, he was elected to 
Congi'ess, taking his seat at the May session of 1813, and 
was again elected in 1814 and 1816. During his second 
av.d third terms he was chairman of the Post-Office Commit- 
tee and a member of the Committee of Ways and Means. 
At this time, the finances of the country being greatly 
deranged in consequence of the war, the labors of the 
latter committee were most severe. It was proposed by 
many of the members to create legal tender notes. This he 
successfully opposed, and carried through the committee a 
substitute, which Congress adopted, providing for the issue 
of treasury notes not bearing interest, but fundable in small 
amounts at such a rate of interest as would withdraw from 
circulation the redundant issues. The restoration of peace 
prevented a full trial of this scheme, but so far as tried it 
was successful, the treasury notes fundable at seven per 
cent, circulating more freely than those bearing interest. In 
1818, he resigned his seat on account of his wife's illness, 
and accepted the position of Prothonotaiy of his native 
county, which he held till after her death in 1819. In Oc- 
tober, 1819, he was appointed, by Governor William Find- 
lay, Secretaiy of the Commonwealth. In 1S22, he married 
Debora Kay Hall, of Salem, New Jersey; and in the same 
year was again elected to Congress. He resumed his place 
on the Committee of Ways and Means, and at the head of 
the Post-Oflfice Committee, and held them in each succes- 
sive Congress until the close of the session of 1829, when 
he became Secretary of the Treasuiy under President 
.Andrew Jackson. During his long Congressional service 
he rank;d among the business men of the House, and his 
strength was in the laborious sphere of the committee rather 
than as a debater on the floor. His work was of the kind 
which tells rather than shows, and while he was the ac- 
knowledged peer of the able men with whom he li\'ed, 
little trace of his influence appears among the reports of 
the Congressional Debates. In 1831, the Cabinet was 



2Ji 



IJIOCRArillCAl. r.NCVCl.Or.KlJlA. 



broken up by the resignation of all its members. The 
reasons for this step were not made public at the time, but 
now it is known to have been caused partly by the inter- 
ference of the President in a question of social etiquette 
between the f.imilies of some of its members, and partly 
from his hostility to the friends of John C. Calhoun, then 
the Vice-Presitlent, and his most formidable rival for the 
succession. After this he retired from public life and de- 
voted himself to the retrieval of his aflairs, which had suf- 
fered greatly from neglect. lie took an active interest in 
the internal improvements undertaken by the State, and 
was one of the first to perceive the value of the coal 
fields of the Lehigh. lie was among the originators of the 
Beaver .Meadow and Ilazleton Coal Companies, and to his 
energy and perseverance under difficulties much of the 
success of those corporations is due. In 1849, he sold the 
estate, which had i)ecn for 120 years in ihc family, and re- 
moved to Trenton, New Jeisey. He died on June 5th, 
l86o, surrounded by his family, and in the enjoyment of 
the respect and esteem of all who knew him. H« was 
buried in the churchyard of the Solebury Presbyterian 
church. 



TI.V.SON, IIO.V. CHARLES HENDERSON, 
Lawyer, was born in Norritton township, Mont- 
gomeiy county, Pennsylvania, June zSth, 1S25. 
His father, Robert Stinson, was an excellent 
man, and a member of the Legislature, on the 
anli-m.isonic ticket, in 1835. His mother was 
Elizabeth Porter, daughter of Stephen Porter, and niece of 
General Andrew Porter, of Norritton township. His 
education was commenced in the common schools, but, 
about the beginning of 1840, he entered the select school 
of John McNair, at Abington, where he prepared for the 
freshman cl.iss in Dickinson College. Thence he gradu- 
ated with high honor in 1845. Having tr,avelled for a few 
months for the benefit of his health, in the winter of 
lS45-'46 he became a i)rivate tutor, and devoted himself to 
the preparation of pupils for college. He commenced the 
study of law with his brother, George W. Stinson, of Nor- 
ristown, Pennsylvania, in the autumn of 1S47, ^'^^ con- 
tinued with him until his death in 1S48, when he pursued 
his studies under the direction of Addison M.ny. He w.xs 
admitted to the bar M.ay 22(1, 1849, and has since been en- 
gaged in practice at the Montgomery county bar. He 
served as a private in the Gettysburg campaign in 1863, 
and was an ardent supporter of the Union cause thoughout 
the war. He refused the nomination of the Republican 
party of Montgomer)-, Chester, and Delaware countic; 
for the State Senate in 1864, but in 1867 was induced to 
accept, and was elected for three years as the colleague of 
Dr. Worthinglon of West Chester. He served on the 
General Judiciary and other important committees in 1S68 




and 1869, and at the adjournment of the latter session was 
elected Speaker, and re-elected at the opening of the ses- 
sion of 1S70. He exercised the functions of that office 
with dignity and general acceptance, leaving a worthy 
record of his short public career. He declined the posi- 
tion of Additional Law Judge of the Courts of Bucks and 
.Montgomery counties, tendered him by Governor John \V. 
Geary in 1S71. He was one of the originators of the First 
National Bank of Norrislown, and has been its solicitor 
since its organization in 1864. He is active, public-spirited, 
diligent in the practice of his profession, and has been in- 
strumental in securing the passage of many beneficial local 



measures. 




'r, TKINS, CHARLES MINER, Manufacturer, was 
born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1827. 
His father, William Atkins, of the same place, 
was a miller. After obtaining his education in 
the common schools of the district, he served an 
apprenticeship, of two and a half years, to the 
tanning trade. On the conclusion of his term he was placed 
in his father's transportation office, at Columbia, in which 
position he remained for about six years, and gained, during 
that time, the severe mercantile training which ser\'ed him 
so well in after life. In this place were raised many of the 
railroad magnates of the country, who were all engaged, 
sooner or later, by the Napoleon of railroads, J. E. Thom- 
son. The transportation office having been abolished by 
the progress of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the 
employes of the concern were under the necessity of apply- 
ing to the company for positions, or of seeking new fields 
of labor. Charles M. Atkins, preferring the latter course, 
moved to Pottsville in 1853, and in connection with his two 
brothers, purchased the property now known as the Pioneer 
Blast Furnace. The firm was originally com])osed of Han- 
son E. Atkins, Charles M. Atkins, and William Way 
Atkins. The senior member was born in Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, in 1820, and died at Pottsville, in 1S70. In 
early life he had been engaged in the transportation busi- 
ness between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but, for the 
eighteen years preceding his death, was an active member 
of the above-named firm. The junior partner was also 
born in Chester county, in 1829, and died in 1863 at Dun- 
cannon, Pcrrj- county, where he had the management of the 
works operated by the firm. At the time of the purchase 
of the Iron Works at Pottsville, the business carried on 
there was comparatively small, but, by the able manage- 
ment of the finii, it rapidly increased, requiring successive 
and important additions to the premises, which enabled 
them to turn out annually from this establishment a product 
of nearly a million of dollars. About 1864, the firm 
bought the Pottsville Rolling Mills, which they rebuilt ami 
refitted, greatly enlarging their capacity, and largely aug- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.-EDIA. 



233 



minting tlieir business. These extensive operations did 
not, however, satisfy the activity of the firm, who bought, 
in conjunction with some other parties, the Montgomery 
Furnace at Port Kennedy, in 1861, which, under their 
skilful management, was raised from a financial failure to 
a prosperous and profitable under^akin^;. Tlie firm of 
Atkins Brothers eventually sold out their interest to the 
other partners. In 1S54, C. M. Atkins was married to a 
daughter of the Rev. Mr. Prior of Pottsville, the marriage 
resulting in a larjc f.imily. He has eight children still 
living, one sor, William, having just commenced his busi- 
ness life in his father's office. Since the death of his 
brothers, Charles M. Atkins has had the sole management 
of all the business of the firm, and it is no flattery to say 
that so vast a responsibility would severely tax the powers 
of the most competent man. He has always taken a lively 
interest in political matters, and, though his father was a 
Democrat and a member of the Society of Friends, he 
heartily embraced the Republican cause, at the outbreak 
of the Rebellion, and did as much as any other man in the 
locality for the maintenance of the Union. He aided in 
raising and organizing troops from the county, giving much 
time and money for that purpose ; equipped and sent out a 
number of young men, and made ample provision for all 
the families of soldiers in his employ, keeping their situa- 
tions open for them on their return from the war. He has 
never allowed himself to enter into outside speculations, 
strictly confining his energies to his legitimate business, 
which has engrossed all his time and attention. He is one 
of the most successful and leading men of the region he 
inhabits. He obtains his coal and iron from his own 
mines, and is probably the largest individual proprietor in 
the State. The annual toll he pays to the Reading Rail- 
road amounts to about 8200,000, and the total product of 
his two establishments in PottsvillC'-may be set down at 
about ;?2, 500,033. He is a worthy and liberal citizen, a 
tender and aiTectionate parent, a kind and considerate em- 
ployer. 

/ ^^^ 

Jl'ALE, R1C11.\RD, Commodore United States 
Navy, was born in Norfolk county, Virginia, 
November 6th, 1756. When but twelve years 
old he went to sea, and continued in the mer- 
chant service until the Revolutionary War. In 
1776, he was lieutenant of a ship of war belong- 
ing to Virginia; but shortly afterwards, while on public 
duty in a small craft, was captured by the British, and im- 
prisoned. Regaining his liberty in a few weeks, he was 
created a midshipman in the United .States Navy, and or- 
dered to the brig " Lexington," Captain Barry. In De- 
cember, 1776, this vessel was captured by the frigate " Liver- 
pool," and, with a few others, he was removed from the 
vessel, and subsequently landed by the British at Cape 

30 




Henlopen, whence he made his way to Philadelphia, and 
the "Lexington" having been retaken by the crew, was 
again attached to her. He was taken prisoner several 
times after this, but always managed to make his escape ; 
once by donning the full uniform of a British officer and 
boldly walking out of prison, the sentinel on duty not 
recognizing the captive. He proceeded to London, where 
he succeeded in obtaining a passport for L'Orient, where 
he joined, as master's mate, the celebrated John Paul Jones, 
who, after a three months' thorough acquaintance with 
him, promoted him to the rank of first lieutenant. He was 
his e^ceculive oflicer on the " Bon Homme Richard" in the 
celebrated engagement with the " Serapis " frigate, and to his 
skill and prowess the victory was in no .small degree due. In 
July, 17S1, he sailed from Phikadelphia in the "Trumbull " 
frigate, which had the misfortune to be taken by a superior 
vessel a few d lys after. lie was severely wounded in this 
encounter, and was liberated on parole ; towards the close 
of the year he was exchanged and returned to Philadelphia. 
After the termination of the war, he returned to the mer- 
chant service. In 1791, he married a lady of Philadelphia, 
named Crathome. In 1794, he was selected by President 
Washington as one of the six captains of the Navy. Ob- 
taining a furlough, he again returned to the merchant ser- 
vice. . In iSoi, he commanded the squadron of observa- 
tion in the Mediterranean, and by his care and vigilance 
effected the dispersion of the Tripolitan piratical fleet. He 
was an eminently pious man, and a member of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Chuich. lie was also interested in religious 
efforts for seamen ; and had a large sail-loft fitted up as a 
chapel, known familiarly as " Dale's Chapel." He died 
February 24th, 1S26. 



ILV.'MN, WILLIAM, Manufacturer, was born in 
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, July 1st, 1807. 
He is a son of James McIIvain, a prominent 
agriculturist of that section, who also paid parti- 
cular attention to the improvement of the breed 
of cattle, especially sheep. He was among the 
earliest and Largest importers of the celebrated Merino 
sheep, paying sometimes as high a price .as S500 for the 
male, and $200 for the female; but he was far in advance 
of his times. His son was educated at the schools of the 
neighborhood, and worked on his father's farm until he had 
attained his majority, when he changed his occupation, and 
commenced working in a quarry, in a locality not far dis- 
tant from his home. In 1836, he went to Berks county, 
and there effected an engagement as superintendent of an 
iron-ore mine, which occupied his attention for ten years. 
In 1S46, he purchased an interest in the Gibraltar Iron 
Works, belonging to Simon Seyfert, the business being car- 
ried on in the name and style of Seyfert, McIIvain & Co. 
He remained in this partnership for ten years, when he dis- 




234 



mOGRAPIHCAL ENCVCLOI'.EDU. 



posed of his interest to II. A. Sc-yfert. In 1856, he com- 
mciiceil the erection of the present establishment of Wil- 
li.im Mcllvain & Sons, designed xs a Rolling Mill for the 
manufacture of boiler plate. It has very materially in- 
crea-sed since its original construction. Il went into opera- 
tion in July, 1857, with a force of about twenty men, and 
it produced, during the first year of its existence, 338 Ions, 
value<l at al>out $38,000. In April, 1S62, they commenced 
working "double-turn," by which the increase in the 
amount produced was very perceptible. The average 
quantity manfactured during the first period of five years, 
July 1857 to July 1S62, inclusive, was very nearly 800 Ions 
per annum. During the period embraced between July 
1862 and July 1867, the average w.is a little exceeding 
2240 tons; and during the five years ending July, 1872, 
though it had not quite reached the last named figures, yet 
the amount turned out in the year ending with July, 1S72, 
reached 2764 tons_ The works employ at present a force 
of over 100 hands, and the value of the products may be 
stated roundly at al)ont $700,003. They have the capacity 
of rolling sheets seventy-four inches wide, and from the 
thickness of one inch down to No. 16 wire gauge. In the 
year 1S64. he erected a forge in the Susquehanna V.^lley at 
Duncannon, which still continues in active operation, and is 
employed in producing the best boiler iron, used in locomo- 
tive-s. He is no politician, and though frequently solicited 
to allow his name to be placed before nominating conven- 
tions, for positions of trust and importance, has always de- 
clined. During the war of the Rebellion he yielded a 
hearty support to the cause of the Union, and contributed 
freely of his means for its preservation and the triumphs of 
its arms. He is an earnest churchman, and takes a deep 
interest in the various organizations under the patronage 
and control of the Episcopal Church. He was married in 
1834, to Sarah C. Morton, of Delaware county, a lineal de- 
scendant of John Morton, signer of the Declaration of 
Independence. He has four children now living: Morton 
C. and William R. are at the present time associated with 
him in the business, and are those to whom its duties will 
soon wholly belong, as the senior partner has almost en- 
tirely retired from active business life. 



.^,su 



y 




jHEATLEV, CHARLES MOORE, Geologist 
and Mineralogist, was born in England, March 
i6;h, 1822, and is the son of John Wheatley, a 
merchant, who emigrated to this country while 
his son was yet a child. His primary education 
was received in New York ; he entered upon a 
mercantile life in 1S35, and was subsequently with John M. 
Citlin. In 1S37, he became a member of the Mercantile 
Library, was elected a director of the same in 1841, 1842, 
and 1843; and recording secretary in 1844 and 1S45. He 



then disconlinuetl mercantile pursuits, and in 1S46 and the 
following year was the manager of the " Bristol Copper 
Mine," in Connecticut. In 1848 an<l 1849 he was the 
manager of the " I'erkiomen " Copper Mine, Pennsylvania, 
and from 1850 to 1857 wa.s general manager and part owner 
in company with K. V. Sandei-son, John J. Palmer, and 
others, of the " Wheatley Silver Lead Mines," discovered 
and opened by him. These mines have yielded the richest 
metallic salts ever obtained in lead mining; and thousands 
of tons of rich silver-lead ore. He has been mining also 
in Pennsylvania and in California on his own account, and 
is now occupied, in connection with his partner, James 
Harvey, in smelting copper ore, in Phtenixville, Pennsylva- 
nia. They were the first parties, in Pennsylvania, to suc- 
cessfully reduce copper ores. During the first year of their 
operations, they produced 130,000 pounds of that metal by 
the old Swansea process. He is a most ardent student of 
geology and mineralogy, and has gradually brought together 
an admirable libraiy, in which works on these subjects oc- 
cupy so prominent a place, that a high authority has ques- 
tioned whether the collection does not place within reach 
of the geological student a more complete apj)aralus for in- 
vestigation, than any of the great libraries of New York 
accessible to the public. He possesses also one of the most 
complete mineralogical cabinets in the country, of over six 
thousand specimens, most of them of great beauty and 
rarity. In leisure hours has he acquired his knowledge, col- 
lections, and library, having iidieriled no wealth, and having 
always had to rely solely upon his own industry and economy. 
I.'c was elected a member of the Lyceum of Natural His- 
toiT, New York, 1840; treasurer of the same from 1847 
to 1S5S; corresponding member of the National In- 
stitute, 1S43; honorary member of the Troy Lyceum of 
Natural History, 1843; member of the Association of 
Naturalists and Geologists; 1S46 ; member of the Ameri- 
can Association for the Advancement of Science, 1848 ; 
member of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadel- 
phia, 1850; member of the Geographical and Statistical 
Society of New York, October 1S56; and corresponding 
member of the Elliot Society of Natural History, Charles- 
ton, South Carolina. Yale College conferred on him the 
honorarium of "A. M." on June 29lh, 1858. From 1836 
to 1858 he made an extensive collection of minerals and 
shells, valued by Professor J. D. Whitney at $25,000, 
which were purchased by E. C. Delavan, and presented to 
Union College, Schenectady, New York, to be kept as 
" The Wheatley Cabinets " forever, subject to the control 
' of the University of New York. He pidilished a Catalogue 
of the Slu-lls of the Vniud Stales, in 1842-45, the only 
one of this description ever written. Me received a silver 
medal at the exhibitiim of 1855, ''"' specimens shown 
from the Wheatley mine, the jury, in their report, speaking 
in the highest terms of the superior excellence of the speci- 
mens and |>repared materials, the fulness and exactness of 
the plans of the mining operations, drawings of machinery. 



BIOGRArillCAL EXCYCLOP/EDIA. 



235 



etc., and especially noticing that the exhibition was the 
result of mining operations due entirely to the labor and 
skill of the exhibitor, and constituted a positive addition to 
previous knowledge of the resources of the countiy. In the 
course of his explorations he discovered a remarka1)le fissure 
or cave near Port Kennedy, on the Schuyllvill River, from 
which he took many specimens of fossil remains. An ac- 
coimt of these was read before the American Philosophical 
Society, April 7th, 1871, by Professor E. D. Cope, after 
whom one of the species entitled " Megalonyx Wheatleyi " 
was named. Professor Cope says : " This species is dedi- 
cated to Charles M. Wheatley, of Phoenixville, to whom 
Natural Science in the United States is under many obli- 
gations. The expense and much labor reciuisite for the 
proper recovery and elucidation of the remains contained 
in the cave are entirely due to his liberality and exertions. 
Similar devotion to science has preserved to us the finest 
series of fossils of the triassic period of the Northern States 
in existence, and the finest collection of fresh-water shells 
in America." 



jEIDY, JOSEPH, M.D., EL. D., Physician and 
Naturalist, is of German extraction, but was born 
in Philadelphia, September 9th, 1823. He studied 
medicine and graduated at the University of Penn- 
sylvania in 1844. In the same year he com- 
menced to practise his profession, but soon relin- 
quished it for other pursuits. In 1846, he was appointed 
Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Franklin Medical College, 
and from that period until 1852 delivered courses of private 
lectures on anatomy and physiology. In 1853, he was 
called to the chair of Anatomy in the University of Penn- 
sylvania. His accurate and extensive knowledge of the 
science of anatomy, both human and comparative, has made 
him celebrated; but while pursuing its study, he has de- 
voted a great amount of time and research to natural his- 
tory, especially to the branches of zoology and paleonto- 
logy, and to these studies he may perhaps chiefly attribute 
his present celebrity among scientific men. Since 1S46 he 
has been Chairman of the Curators in the Academy of 
Natural Sciences, and the valuable results of his labors 
during this time have been given to the public in a large 
number of ]5apers. The third volume of the Catalogue of 
Scientific Papers, comjiiled by the Royal Society of London, 
gives a list of one hundred and eleven of his published 
papers up to i860, and they have since been supplemented 
by many others. His works, all invaluable to scientific men, 
are too numerous for detail in this connection, but with his 
contributions to various scientific periodicals, they embrace 
a wide range of subjects comprising anatomy, physiology, 
paleontology, entomology, helminthology, and many other 
kindred branches of science. Those which will chiefly at- 
tract the general reader relate to the extinct mammalia and 




reptilia discovered in North America. The most important 
of his publications, however, appear to be those on the 
Fauna and Flora existing within living animals, and the 
Ancient Fauna of Nebraska, published by the Smithsonian 
Institution. Since lS6o, he has published .an Elementary 
Treatise on Human Anatomy, besides a large number of 
scientific papers, among them, is the Cretaceous Feptiles of 
the United States (Smithsonian Contributions, vol. xiv., 
1865). The first volume of Professor Hayden's final Report 
of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories, vc- 
cently published by the Government, was prepared by him. 
The work is entitled. Contributions to the Extinct Verte- 
brate Fauna of the Western Territories, quarto, 37 plates. 
His contributions to scientific literature have been so nu- 
merous, that it is utterly impossible in a limited space to 
give a just idea either of their value or character ; Init his 
anatomical details of the species, coupled with dissections 
and drawings, in Dr. Amos Binney's Terrestrial Air- 
Breathing Mollusks, are so remarkable that the following 
is quoted from the preface to that work : " They constitute 
the most novel and important accessions to science containeil 
in the work, and are honoralile evidence of a skill and in- 
dustry which entitle him to a high rank ainong philosophi- 
cal zoologists." A proof of the esteem in which he is held 
in this country and abroad is found in the following list of 
the learned societies of which he holds membership : Na- 
tural Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical 
Society, Philadelphia; American Academy of Arts and Sci- 
ences, and the Natural Historical Society of Boston ; Ly- 
ceum of Natural History, New York; Academy of Science, 
St. Louis; Imperial Society of Naturalists, Moscow; Im- 
perial Leopold Carol Academy of Sciences, Jena; Royal 
Zool. Bot. Society, Vienna ; Royal Academy of Sciences, 
Munich; Royal Bot. Society of Prague; Biol. Society, 
Paris ; Geol. Zool. Linnean Societies, London ; Natural 
History Society, Dublin. 



CKERT, HENRY S., Iron Manufacturer, was 
born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1S29. He is 
a son of Isaac Eckert of that city, a sketch of 
whose life appears in another part of this volume. 
He received a liberal education, and after the 
usual curriculum graduated at Marshall College, 
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. As it was his father's inten- 
tion that he should at some future period succeed him as 
the operator and one of the proprietors of the iron works he 
then controlled, he immediately entered the establishment 
in order to become fully acquainted with the various manipu- 
lations and processes therein effected ; and he shortly be- 
came the active and able manager of the same. He re- 
mained in this position until July ist, 18)^3, and on thai 
day formed a copartnership with his brother, under the firm 
name of Eckert & Brother, who thus at that time succeeded 




236 



I510(;rai>iiical encyclop.kdia. 



Ihcir father, who retired from active participation in the 
enterprise. Previous to this date, however, he had also 
been engaged in a separate enterprise, as a member of the 
firm of liclicrt, Mcllose & Co. in the rolUng mill business. 
It will l)c remembered that the financial Irouliles of the 
country culminated in September, 1873, but two months 
after he had become one of the firm of Eckert & Brother. 
The operations of this firm, however, have been continued 
as ihou^'h no panic whatever had taken jjlace. They neither 
reduced their force of operatives nor diminished in any 
de-ree the amount usually produced at the works, but con- 
tinued to turn out 250 tons of pig-iron as heretofore. 
Neither is the firm dependent on any outside parly for the 
supply of material. They have acquired the possession of 
extensive mines and beds of iron ore, both by purcha.se 
and lease of grounds, and thus mine their own ore, believ- 
ing; this the most judicious course they can adopt. They 
employ in their mines and works together a force of 
about 250 men. Henry S. Eckert has always taken a 
lively interest in political matters, especially as the prin- 
ciples of protection to the iron and coal interests of the 
Stale are due, in a great measure, to a rightful application 
of such doctrines by the parly which hxs always advocated 
them, and which now controls the destinies of the nation. 
During the war, and towards its close, he was the Republi- 
can candidate for Congress against J. Lawrence Uclz. He 
carried the city of Reading against the latter, after a very 
hird-fought and bitter contest; but the district outside the 
city being intensely Democratic he failed to be elected. 
He w.is, in 1872, presented .as one of the "Congressmen- 
at-lavg'.-," but inimical operations against the West defeated 
the object anci cut the district out. In local politics he ha.s 
taken a very prominent and important part, and is now 
serving his second term as President of the Board of Con- 
trol. He is also at present representing his district in the 
Select Council, and was elected, in 1872, the President of 
that branch of the city government, which position he still 
retains. He was the author of the plans to fund the city 
debt, which he succeeded in carrj'ing after much opposition 
had been made thereto. He is prominent in all matters 
affecting the welfare of the general public, more especially 
on financial topics, of which he has made a long and pro- 
found study. His efforts and influence in this direction 
have been productive of much good, and his labors are con- 
st.int and unflagging. In the Berks County Railroad, 
which forms the connecting link with the Del.aware River 
at Wilmington, he has been very prominent, and has served 
.as one of the Directors of the Company since it was first 
projected. This improvement is nearly completed, and it 
is expected that the road will be in full and successful ope- 
ration early in the spring of 1874. He is a Director of the 
Farmers' National Bank of Reading. He is, to some ex- 
tent, interested in military matters. At the lime of General 
I.ee's invasion, he volunteered and marched with the 
" emergency men " for the defence of the Sl.nte ; and during 



the war he labored incessantly at home, both with his 
means and by his j^ersonal eflTorts, to support the Union 
cause. He is one of the vestrymen of Christ Church Ca- 
thedral, and is prominent and zealous in the cause of reli- 
gion, and in the advancement of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. He was married, in 1S57, to Carrie, daughter of 
Nicholas Hunter, of Reading, and has four children; two 
of these are attending the High School, keeping them in 
the line of his devotion — the free schools. 




;Soc;eus, evans, 

/t town of West Ch' 



Merchant, was born near the 
Chester, Chester county, Pennsyl- 
vania, January I4lh, 1792. His paternal and 
maternal ancestors had long been residents of 
that part of Pennsylvania, and were members of 
the Society of Friends. Before attaining his ma- 
jority, he came to Philadelphia, and entered the mercantile 
hou^e already established by his older brothers. By the 
retirement of the Latter, he became the head of the house 
at an early age. He was an active, enterprising merchant, 
and was gifted with remarkable foresight. He saw the ad- 
vantages that would accrue to those who would embark in 
the same line of business in another locality, and himself 
established a flourishing branch of his house in New Or- 
leans, in which city he resided for several winters. He was, 
in reality, the pioneer in building up the hardware business 
in the southwest on an enlargcil and liberal scale. Another 
house was subsequently established in St. Louis, Missouri, 
by graduates of the Philadelphia concern, which is still 
the most import-ant firm in that city. Early in his con- 
nection with the West, he had the sagacity to discover the 
many advantages there ofl"jred for the investment of capital ; 
and throughout his whole life his transactions with that 
region were on a large scale, and contributed, in a marked 
degree, to the development of the city of St. Louis. After 
a short but very active business career, he retired from 
mercantile pursuits in 1830. He was an active Democrat, 
and during the administration of President Jackson took a 
prominent part in the movement against the United States 
Bank. On the breaking out of the Rebellion, true to the 
principles of the great chieftain who first combated the 
lea<lers of " Nullification," and who uttered the «entiment 
that the " Union must and .shall be preserved," he went 
with his whole heart into the cause of that Union, contribut- 
ing to its cause largely with his means and by his labor 
and influence. He was one of the Philadelphia Associates 
of the United States Sanitary Commission, and contributed 
to its success in alleviating sufiering on the battle-field and 
in the hospitals by every means in his power. Although 
he avoided political office, he filled m.any positions of trust 
and honor on boards and commissions; and, at the time of 
the re-organi/.alion of the Board of Prison Inspectors, w.as 
appointed by the Court a member of that body, anil ilis- 





. 0^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOr.EDIA. 



237 




charged the duties thereof with great zeal for many years. 
He was married, in 1830, to a daughter of Colonel Gideon 
Fairman, a well-known resident of Philadelphia. He died 
October 6th, 1S70. 

/ -^^^ 

^ELFRIDGE, GENERAL JAMES L., Merchant, 
Soldier and Politician, wxs born in Berks county, 
Pennsylvania, September 22d, 1824. His father, 
General Matthew Selfridge, was a Scotch-Irish- 
man, and an extensive merchant and miller of 
Allentown, Pennsylvania, whither he had re- 
moved during the infancy of his son. The latter, after a 
preliminary training in the schools of that borough, passed 
several years at a private academy, at Plainfield, Connecticut, 
and subsequently, in 1S40, entered Lafayette College, Eas- 
ton, Pennsylvania, where he continued until after his father's 
death. He left this institution in 1S43, and engaged in the 
study, of the law in the office of lion. Henry King, but 
at the expiration of a year was induced to go to Philadel- 
phia as the Agent of the Lehigh Transportation Company, 
of which his father had been one of the projectors. In 1847, 
he became a clerk in the commission house of Perot & 
Hoffman, and afterwards, 1852, engaged in businesson his 
own account on Delaware avenue. Tliis he continued until 
1857, when he removed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and 
opened an office for the purchase and sale of r^al est-ate, 
and also for the sale of coal on commission. At the. out- 
break of the Rebellion, he raised a company .of volunteers 
and reported to Governor Curtin on the iSthof April, four 
days after the surrender of Fort Sumter. On the 20th, he 
with his command was mustered into the service for three 
months, as company A First Pennsylvania Regiment. 
Their time expired on the eve of the first battle of Bull 
Run, and in response to his earnest appeal they remained, 
with three or four exceptions, about ten days over their 
time in order to meet the crisis. ' Immediately after his re- 
turn home, he was tendered a Colonel's commission by 
Governor Curtin, and began to recruit a regiment ; but being 
very impatient to take the field, he took part of a regiment 
to Harrisburg and united with a body of men under Joseph 
F. Knipe, afterwards General Knipe, and the 46th Regi- 
ment of Pennsylvania Volunteers was thus constituted, of 
which he became Lieutenant-Colonel. The regiment was 
organized on September 1st, 1861, and left Harrisburg for 
Washington, District of Columbia, on the 17th of that month, 
whence they were ordered to join General N. P. Banks at 
Darnstown, Maryland. In appreciation of his merit he 
was commissioned Colonel on November 29th, 1862, and, 
as the leader of his regiment, was conspicuous for gallanti7 
and for his brave conduct at Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, 
July i6lh, 1864. He was appointed Brevet Brigadier- 
General March 13th, 1865, receiving his full commission 
as Brigadier-Cleneral at a later date. His command never 
moved without him, and he shared with them the perils of 



every encounter in which they participated. He was at- 
tached to the Twelfth Corps of the Army of the Potomac 
until after the battle of Gettysburg, when he was assigned 
to the Twentieth Corps, under General Hooker, and parti- 
cipated in all the important movements in Tennessee, and 
the celebrated march of Sherman's army from Atlanta to 
the sea. After a service of four years and four months, 
he was mustered out of the same, August 25th, 1S65. 
Though in the service, he received the Republican nomi- 
nation, in 1864, for Congress in the Eleventh District of 
Pennsylvania, but the district being largely Democratic he 
failed to be elected, although he ran largely ahead of his 
ticket. He was appointed Assessor of Internal Revenue 
for the Eleventh District of Pennsylvania before he was 
mustered out of the military service, and took charge of the 
office September 1st, 1865. Declining to join the "new 
departure " under the leadership of Andrew Jcjhnson, he 
was decapitated politically by that President, September 
l6th, 1866. He was appointed by Governor Geary, of 
Pennsylvania, one of the commission to investigate the ex- 
penditures at the Antietam and Gettysburg cemeteries, with 
instructions to report to the Legislature ; and he was also 
by him appointed and commissioned a Maior-General of 
the Natmnal Guard of Pennsylvania. He was nominated 
in the ^evertlh Senatorial District of Pennsylvania as the 
Republican candidate for .State .Senator in 1867, but though 
running far ah'ead of hi* ticket failed to be elected. In 
January, 1868, he w.is elected chief clerk of the House of 
Represenlalives of Pennsylvania, which position he still 
holds. He became proprietor of the " Old Lehigh Hy- 
draulic Cement Works," at Siegfreid's Bridge, Pennsylvania, 
in September, 1872, which he still continues to operate. 
He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and 
one of the old members of the Artillery Corps of Washing- 
ton Greys, of Philadelphia, in which latter organization he 
attained a great knowledge of military affiiirs, eminently 
fitting him for his future military position. In the service 
of his country he left a pure and noble record, and in the 
public and private walks of life his actions have challenged 
the admiration of all. His generous hospitality and kindly 
sympathy attract the good of every station in life, and win 
the encomiums and esteem of his fellow men. 

y ~^^^ 

OTT, ABRAHAM, Coal Miner, was born at 
Oley Forge, Berks county, Pennsylvania, May 
20th, 1799. He is a son of John Pott, the founder 
of Pottsville. The family is of German origin, 
and springs from two brothers who came to this 
country in 1732. John Pott was one of a large 
family, all of whom became residents of Schuylkill* county. 
About the year 1804, he purchased the " Physick Tract," 
upon which Pottsville is now built, beside other large par- 
cels of land, including the site of the present town of Port 




=3S 



ISKKIRAPIIICAL F.NCVCLOr.KDIA. 



CarlK)n, his inteiuion being to engage in the manufacture 
of charcoal pig iron. In lJio6, he erected a furnace in that 
part of I'oltsvillc now known as the " (Jrchard," at the 
northwest corner of Coal and Mauch Chunk street-;. A 
forge was built shortly afterwards near the present location 
of the J'ioneer Furnace. The ores usetl were bog ore, 
procured in the neighborhood, and hall ore gathered from 
the surface of the ground, the latter being the richest in 
quality. These remained in operation until 1827, when 
John Pott, the elder, died. It was demolished to make 
room fur ihe canal basin. The Pott family moved to the 
furnace in 1810, at ihe lime the Centre Turnpike was ap- 
proaching completion. The present site of Pottsville was 
in a state of nature, except a log-house with a half acre of 
cleared ground. The iron, as run from the furnace, was 
cast into hollow ware and stoves, and traded to farmers, 
generally from the Susquehanna for grain, etc. This was 
ground in the " Shollcnberger Mill" which John Pott 
erected, and in digging for the foundation the outcrops of 
coal veins were struck, but this was not regarded as of any 
value. One David Berlin, a blacksmith, however, con- 
ceived the idea that it might be used in a blacksmith's fire, 
and did so use it for four months during the erection of the 
mill, lie built his fire with charcoal. Some others fol- 
lowed his example. It was not until 1816 that the method 
of burning it in stoves and grates was understood, and then 
Abraham Pott, who slept in the mill, discovered it by ac- 
cident. On a bitterly cold night during that winter he built 
a roaring fire with hickory staves, and on this threw some 
small pieces of the anthracite and retired to rest, but was 
aw.ikened about four A. M. by the intense heat, and found 
the stove red hot. He was much alarmed and ran for his 
father, who came ; an investigation was made, and the true 
mode of using the coal in small pieces, and not in the large 
lump, was made apparent. At this time the Schuylkill 
Canal was being built, but it was designed for the benefit 
of the lumber trade. Coal was taken to Philadelphia in 
1821 on flats by Abraham Pott, also in 1822 and 1823, two 
or three trips being made each year. The first boat built 
for the canal was by the company called the " Pioneer." 
Abraham Pott shortly after built the " Stephen Decatur." 
They each carried about twenty-eight tons. In 1824, they 
started on their first trip to Philadelphia, but only proceeded 
as far as Reading. In 1821, the speculators in land began 
to arrive, and during this year Abraham Pott started mining 
coal from the Salem and Tunnel veins, continued it for four 
years, and then operated and worked coal from Guinea 
Hill. In 1826, betook a contract from the North American 
Coal Company to deliver coal for Si. 70 per ton into Ixjals 
at the mouth of Mill Creek. The can.il at this lime was 
just being completed from Mount Carbon to Port Carbon. 
He had l>een a diligent reader of William Strickland's 
fiffiorts on Kni^lhh Raihuays, and appreciated the fact that 
coal could be moved cheaper by this mode than by wagons 
to ihc canal. Though he ha<l never seen a railway, yet 



from these reports he undertook to construct one, devising 
even the car to run on the road, and the style has never 
been altered. This was the first railway laid down in 
Schuylkill county, and was of forty inch gauge. The 
building of the railway necessitated the erection of a schute 
or bin to hold Ihe coal, and this he also constructed. When 
the canal was finished the directors of the company visited 
the work, and were amazed lo see a single horse drawing 
a train of eight or ten loaded cars with ease, and the inge- 
nious device for dumping the coal into the bin. The pro- 
jector was proud of his work, and advised the directors 
to enlarge their can.il, and at the next session of the I.egis- 
lature to have railroad privileges added to their charter — 
but they treated the m.atter as chimerical. In 1829, he went 
into partnership with Burd Patterson in the mining of coal 
on the MayfieUl tract, and was also connected with him in 
his early experiments in the manufacture of pig-iron with 
anthracite coal. Rev. Dr. Geisenheimer believed in its 
practicability, and he with Abraham Pott succeeded at the 
Valley Furnace in manufacturing some thirty pigs, but the 
machinery of the furnace was defective and only one casting 
was made ; but to Rev. Dr. Geisenheimer and his coadjutor 
is due the credit of having made the first anthracite pig- 
metal. The latter is still living, a hale, hearty old man, 
universally loved and esteemed. He is almost the last of 
the old pioneers of this region, and on account of his long 
practical experience, his judgment as to location of coal 
veins is still highly regarded. Possessed of ple.asant m.an- 
ners, and a memory' singularly accurate, many a pleasant 
hour is p.-issed in his company by the young men of the 
present generation, in learning the history of the past from 
one who part of that historj' was. 

\/ "^^^ 

IIOMAS, MOSES, Publisher, Bookseller and 
Auctioneer, was born in Frankford, Philadelphia 
county, in the year 1787. While quite young his 
(l^i^ parents removed to the city, where he received 
}- -j a liberal education. He commenced his business 
life as a clerk in a bookstore in Baltimore, where, 
however, he did not remain very long, but on his return lo 
Philadelphia became a clerk in the bookstore of Samuel 
Bradford, where he acquired a full knowledge of Ihe busi- 
ness. He had barely attained manhood when he opened a 
store on the southeast corner of Chestnut street and Hud- 
son's alley, for the s.ale of books, and commenced the pub- 
lication of T/u Ana/ectif A/iit:^a:in( in 1813, which he 
continued with great regularity for a series of years. Il was 
edited for some time by W.ishingfon Irving, with whom 
he had long been a correspondent, and with whom he was 
on terms of intimate friendship. During the War of 1812 
particular altenlion w.is drawn to Ihe naval and niilit.ary 
heroes of the day, and Ihe magazine furnished its readers 
with biographical sketches of the most noted, adding occa- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.^<:DIA. 



239 



sion:illy portraits, which were so faithfully drawn that they 
have been repeatedly copied to embellish the pages of more 
modern works. The first American edition of Scott's 
Waverley was pul)lished liy him ; also Johnson's quarto Dic- 
tionary, which proved a heavy loss; likewise other nume- 
rous and popular works. At this period he took an active 
part in the Fire Department, and was an active member 
of the " Resolution" Hose Comp.iny. In 182S, in connec- 
tion with his brother, he founded the celebrated Auction 
and Commission house of M. & S. Thomas. The first stand 
was at (old) No. 87 Chestnut street, where it remained for 
many years. Having long understood the wants of book 
publishers and dealers, he originated the annua! " Trade 
Sales," receiving consignments from the various publishers 
throughout the country, which were publicly sold to the 
many dealers who were attracted by this then novel method 
of disseminating and developing trade. For a long series 
of years these trade sales were carried on to the entire satis- 
faction of his patrons. But although the foregoing was his 
specialty, the business transacted embraced every descrip- 
tion of goods, and by the means of able assistants it was 
carried on in the name of M. Thomas alone, his brother 
having retired. The firm of M. Thom.is & Sons succeeded, 
two of his sons assuming a share in its cares and responsi- 
bilities. Business demanding more extended space, it was 
found in the present establishment, five stories in height, 
on Fourth street, below Chestnut. Here are conducted 
sales of furniture, books, pictures, coins, and invoices of 
fancy goods and articles of vertfi. At the Philadelphia 
Exchange weekly sales are held of stocks of all descriptions, 
loans, bonds, mortgages, ground rents and real estate, to 
the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The long 
establishment of the house and its admirable direction have 
caused it to become known all over the country and in 
Europe. As a private citizen, its founder was possessed of 
many admirable qualities. He died August 15th, 1S65. 

I .\TTS, DAVID, Lawyer, was born in Cumber- 
land county, Pennsylvania, October 2gth, 1764. 
His parents were Frederick Watts, a native of 
Wales, and Jane Murray, a niece of the celebr.ated 
David Murray, Marquis of Tulliliardine, a par- 
tisan of the Pretender, Charles Edward, who 
after the unsuccessful battle of Culloden fled into France. 
About 1760 they emigrated to Pennsylvania, then a province 
of Great Britain. After a short residence in Chester county, 
they moved westward and built a cabin on the western 
shore of the Juniata, near its confluence with the Susque- 
hanna, a locality in that day on the extreme verge of civi 
lization. It was about twenty miles from Carlisle, where 
Great Britain had, at that early period, erected a large brick 
barrack for the comfort of the soldiers eniploved in repel- 
ling the attacks of the aboriginal Indians. F'rederick Watts 




must have enjoyed the advantages of education in the 
mother country; for he soon became prominent among the 
disaffected of the Colonists, and was an active parlizan of 
the Revolution. He was appointed, and accepted the com- 
mission of General of a body of troops from Pennsylvania 
and Virginia, called " Minute Men," and served in that 
capacity during the war. When peace was declared, he 
became a member of the Executive Council of Pennsyl- 
vania — a provisional government formed prior to the 
adoption and establishment of the Constitution of the State. 
Under these unfavorable circumstances, the education of 
their only son, David, was a subject of much interest and dif- 
ficulty. The duty chiefly devolved upon the mother, whose 
strong traits of Scotch character seemed to be deeply im- 
pressed upon the immature mind of her son, and showed 
their bearing upon his conduct in after life. Dickinson Col- 
lege, in Carlisle, was founded in 17S3, and there he received 
as finished a classical and general education as the State could 
at that lime furnish. He graduated in the first class which 
left its halls, and bore away with him a taste for, and appre-. 
elation of, the literature of Greece and Rome that he re- 
tained throughout his subsequent life. Attracted to the 
legal profession he went to Phil.adelphia, where he entered 
as student the office of that eminent jurist, William Lewis, 
and was admitted to the bar after the usual course of read- 
ing. He then returned to his native county, and commenced 
the practice of his profession in Carlisle, where he soon 
obtained a large patronage, and took a prominent part in 
the political as well as in the legal questions which at that 
period occupied public attention. One of the most cele- 
brated of these was what led to the so-called " Whiskey 
Insurrection" of 1794. That spirit was distilled in large 
([uantities by the farmers of western Pennsylvania, and con- 
stituted their principal source of revenue. Therefore when 
the United .States passed acts levying an excise duty on 
the liquor, the measure was so dist.asteful to this generally 
peaceful class of the community that they rose in open re- 
sistance to the law. So serious was the trouble that General 
Washington went to Carlisle and reviewed there four 
thousand men under arms, preparatory to enforcing sub- 
mission to the authority of the general Government. One 
of these was David Watts, who had joined a company of 
local infantry. He was fully alive to the threatened danger 
to the Commonwealth, and so resolute in his opposition to 
the " Whiskey Boys," that when they had planted a " liberty 
pole " near Carlisle and threatened to shoot any one who 
would disturb it, he shouldered his axe, and alone and un- 
armed rode to the spot where it stood and felled it to the 
ground. He was distinguished for courage and energy, and 
these characteristics, united to a thorough education, soon 
placed him at the head of the bar in Cumberland county, the 
acknowledged equal of Thomas Duncan, who had been for 
years the recognised leader on that circuit. They were both 
men of extensive and varied acquirements in professional 
and general literature, and both were distinguished for learn- 



240 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



ing, polished manners, and integrity. It is to Iw regretted 
that he >hould have passed away in the maturity ul Ins n- 
lellcctual powers, and left so few traces of his great ahiluy 
l)eyond the printed volume of his arguments in the Stale 
ReiMrts of Pennsylvania. In this early day, the lawyers 
were obliged to attend the circuit, extending over several 
counties, often exposed to inclement weather, travelling on 
horsehack, and provided with |x>or accommodations. These 
exposures led to his early <le.ilh, which occurred on .Sep- 
tcmlier 25lh, 1819. He married, in September, 1796, Julia 
.\nna Miller, daujjhter of General Henry Miller, an emi- 
nent solilier of ihe Revolution. They h.id twelve children, 
of whom the majority still survive. They were brought up 
in the doctrine of the Episcopal Church, of which their 
parents had been lifelong members. 



(/PiNEASS, STB 

,- '<! 1 Surveyor, ws 

•||_ 1S21. He i< 



tt/-; 



STRICKI.AXn, Civil Engineer and 
w.is born in Philadelphia, July 29th 
: is a son of William Kneass, for many 
years Engraver to the United Slates Mint. He 
W.1S educated chiefly at Ihe Classical- Academy 
of the late James P. Espy, and left school' to 
enter the house of T. Albert Mrf\'en & Co., wherS he re- 
mained a year, and as he intended to adopt civil engineer- 
ing as a profession, was sert into the ficM upon the surveys 
for the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal, of which his eldest 
brother, Samuel H., was chi'f engineer. This work was, 
however, abandoned after 5300,000 had been spent upon it. 
He then became a student in the celebrated mathematical 
schools of Charles B. Trego and Peter .Stewart, after which 
he entered the field upon the surveys of the Philadelphia 
& Wilmington Railroad, his brother, above named, being 
chief engineer. On the completion of this road, he be- 
came a student in the " Renssel.ier Polytechnic Institute," 
at Troy, New York, whence he graduated in 1839 as Civil 
Engineer, taking the highest honor, besides a complimen- 
tary teslimoni.ll from Professor Eaton. He soon was made 
assistant engineer and topographer on the .State surveys, 
between Harrisburgh and Pittsburgh, looking forward for 
the construction of a railway between those two cities ; 
but the limes were not propitious to accomplish it. He 
next became draughtsman in the Naval Bureau of Engi- 
neering at Washington, and was afterwards employed by the 
British Commission in preparing Ihe maps of the northeast 
biun l.>i-y between the United States and the Provinces; 
and subsequently by the United .States Government on the 
general map of the boundary survey. In 1847, he w.as 
named by J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer, as one of 
his assistants in conducting the explorations, etc., which re- 
sulted in the building of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where 
he was engaged not only in the surveys, but also in con- 
structing that division of the road from Barre Forge to 
Tyrone, including nine bridges and the Tussy Mountain 



Tunnel. He was promoted to the position of Principal 
Assistant Engineer, and designed the fir>t sho|>s and engine 
house erecled by the Company at Altoona. It m.iy be 
added th.at his powers were severely tasked, as the construc- 
tion of the road from Altoona to the summit of Ihe Alle- 
ghanies was one of the mosl difficult engineering feals of 
the day. In 1853, he resigned to accept the position of 
associate engineer on the North Pennsylvania Railroad, 
where he remained two years, leaving in 1S55 to accept 
the office to which he had been elected, as chief engi- 
neer and surveyor of the newly-consolidated city of I'liila- 
delphia. To that posiiion he was reelected three limes, 
each for a term of five years. He here organized the 
Department of .Surveys, and ils development, under his di- 
rection, maybe regarded as one of the most valuable results 
attained in the city. Not only has it occupied itself 
with the necessary survey of building-lots, recording Ihcm 
in the Registry Bureau, and carefully mapping them in 
atlases, so that Ihey are available at all times for reference; 
but Ihe entire drainage system of the city was provided for 
in Ihe sur^'eys, which resulted in Ihe construction of the 
great sewers to carry off Ihe waters of Cohocksink creek on 
the'nonheaslern, and of Mill creek in the western part of 
the city; filling up the hollows, and not only providing an 
im'mehse numWr of building sites, but improving the salu- 
brity of the- atmosphere and the consequent heallh of the 
city. Ofihe-various bridges that span the Schuylkill, those 
at Soulh sfteet and Chestnut street are from his designs; the 
lasrnamed was the first of ils kind built in this counir)'. He 
was one of the first to encour.age ihe project of city passen- 
ger railw.ays, hnd has been chief engineer of many of these 
companies. He was also the designer of the rail now 
principally in use all over Ihe country, though he never applied 
for a p.itent. Governor P.arker employed him in 1.S59 lo 
.ascertain the probable cost of completing the Sunbury & 
Erie Railroad. In 1862, during Lee's invasion, he was 
tlespalched into the interior. an<l during his absence made 
an extended survey of the Susquehanna river, from Duncan's 
Island lo Havre dc Grace. He also assisted Professor 
Bache in preparing lopograjihical maps of the suiToundings 
of Philadelphia, with a view to the location of forl.s, etc. 
In 1869, he was appointed on the commission lo determine 
the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Delaware, 
and, in 187 1, mmle a survey and report on the feasibility 
of improving Jones' Falls, Baltimore, so as to prevent 
damages by freshets. He resigned his posiiion .as City En- 
gineer, April I2th, 1S77, lo accept the post of Assistant lo 
President Thomson of ihe Pennsylvania Railrcad, and the 
Select and Common Councils p.-i.ssed a series of compli- 
menlary resolutions, as was also the case with the Board of 
Surveys, the Park and South street Bridge Commissions, 
etc., clc. The public journals also attested to ihe value of 
his services by numerous apprcci.ilory notices. He is a 
member of the American Philosophical Society; of the 
Franklin Institute ; and of the .\merican Society of Civil 





f^ <y^a^ ^t^/Kii,:,c^dJ 



I! 



a 



i 



i 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



241 




Engineers. He is by education and conviction a Presby- 
terian. He was married, in 1853, to Margaretta Sybilla, 
daugliter of Hon. George Bryan, of tlie Supreme Court of 
Pennsylvania. 



^ VNDERSLICE, JOHN, Merchant and Capitalist, 
was born about three miles from Phoeni.wille, Penn- 
sylvania, May 27th, iSoi. He is the son of John 
Vanderslice, a prominent and prosperous farmer. 
Pie was educated in Pikeland Township, and, at 
an early age, worked witli his father. In 1S40, he 
removed to Phcenixville, where he purchased a fine property 
and real estate, on which he realized a handsome fortune. 
In the following year he entered into the coal and lumber 
business, at the same time keeping a store. He was suc- 
cessful in these undertakings, and maintained a high repu- 
tation for integrity and benevolence. In 185 1, he admitted 
his sons, J. and A. S. Vanderslice, into the coal and lum- 
ber business. He is a strong Republican, and did much to 
assist the Union cause during the Rebellion by his liberal 
contributions and heavy investments in bonds. He-, has 
held many important positions of honor and frtist" in 'the 
community, having been several times elected menilVef of 
the Town Council, and havingserved as direcRi?^ of banks, l?e- 
sides holding other offices of prominence. -^In'otl tfese, his 
sterling qualities and marked ability have b&sn' (!tnis^icu- 
ously displayed. He has been a very extensive ■'and'intel- 
ligent traveller, having visited all the .States in the tJnion, 
more than once, also extending his journeys to Cuba, and 
the other West India Islands. In 1851, he purchased an 
extensive tract of land in the West, comprising lSo,ooo 
acres, which he resold, realizing by the operation a very 
handsome profit. This was a very extensive transaction, and 
exhibits his skill and judgment in a most favorable light. 
In the same year, he made a comprehensive tour in Eu- 
rope, when he visited England, Ireland, and Scotland, and 
other countries. In 1873, he again crossed the Atlantic, 
travelling through the Holy Land, and other countries of 
ancient and historical associations. His letters from those 
biblical lands, published in the local newspapers, gained 
him a reputation as a descriptive writer, and a man of edu- 
cation, culture, and progressive views. They are enter- 
taining and instructive, giving graphic and picturesque ac- 
counts of his travels and the sights he witnessed. In style, 
they are clear and forcible, and contain historical facts and 
incidents of the most interesting and valuable character. 
He has been a Mason since 1832, and has attained the 
liighest rank, having taken his thirty-second degree. He 
has lieen treasurer of the Phoenix Lodge, No. 75, for 
more than twenty-five years, and treasurer of the Chapter 
since 1S61, having passed all the chairs. He has always 
been a good worker in the cause. He was married in 
1824, to Elizabeth Custer, and has seven children living. 
At the time of his marriage he scarcely possessed a dollar, 




but now, through his enterprise, energy, and foresight, he 
is worth over three hundred thousand dollars. He is in 
every respect a most extraordinary man, both in regard to 
his mental and physical faculties. Altliough seventy- 
three years of age, the former remain absolutely unimpaired, 
the activity and vigor of his intellect being as con- 
spicuous as in youth ; while his physical appearance does 
not indicate more than fifty years of age, as not 'a gray 
hair can be seen. His countenance is pleasant and agree- 
able, his manners courteous and afiable to all, indicating 
the benevolence which has led him to be so great a bene- 
factor to the poor, and to all those deserving of assistance. 
In religious matters, he belongs to the Baptist Church, of 
which he is a valuable and conscientious member. 

' i: ^^ 

REW, JOHN FREDERICK, Comedian, was 
born in Dublin, Ireland, September 3d, 1827. 
He was the son of Francis Nelson Drew, who 
with his family emigrated to the United .States in 
"l84(S--He received his education in the city of 
-New-Ybrk, l>ut having a penchant for the sea, 
entered-.tbe riierch^Ht 'sWvifce, and passed three years of his 
life on'ShipbbJrd.'^ "On his rettirn to New York he resolved 
to"m«Ve-the'stagefhis futui"e profession, and, though still a 
yoiilh, niade his-a«biff at the Richmond Hill Theatre, New 
-Yt>fk. Thenee, he travelled West, performing in various 
towns and cities with much success. After his tour was 
completed,- hfe reajVpeared in New York at the Bowery 
Theatre as~ "Dr. O'TooIe," in the "Irish Tutor." His 
first appearance in Philadelphia was on the boards of the 
(old) Chestnut Street Theatre, as " Trapanti," in " She 
Woidd and She Would Not," August 28th, 1852. He be- 
came, in conjunction with William Wheatley, a lessee of 
the Arch Street Theatre, August 20th, 1853. In 1855, he 
visited England and Ireland to see his family, and in 185S 
he sailed from New York for San Francisco, in which cit)- 
he first appeared in December of that year. Afterwards he 
embarked for Australia, where he passed some time, meet- 
ing with unvaried success. He returned to New York 
from England January 9th, 1862. He soon afterwards ef- 
fected an engagement at the Arch Street Theatre, Philadel- 
phia, where he played for one hundred nights, terminating 
on the 9th of May of that year. It was his intention to 
have returned to Ireland, to fulfil an engagement there, 
and his friends and patrons in Philadelphia had arranged 
for a complimentary benefit to be tendered him prior to his 
departure, when he was suddenly stricken by a severe ill- 
ness, which terminated fatally in less than three days from 
the first attack. He died May 21st, 1862, leaving a widow 
and three children, one boy and two girls. He was mar- 
ried July 27th, 1850, in the city of Albany, New York, to 
Mrs. Mossop. This lady's maiden name was Louisa Lane, 
and she was born in England, January loth, 1820. She 



242 



mOGRAPHICAI- KNCVCLOr.EDIA. 




made her debut M llie Liverpool Thealrc, as " Agib " in 
" Timour the Tartar." Her first a|)ix--araiicc in America 
was on September 26lh, 1827, at the Walnut Street Thea- 
tre, Philadelphia, as the "Duke of York" to Booth's 
"Richard." She appeared at the Park Theatre, New- 
York, June 3d, 1S28. In 1836, she wxs married to Henry 
Hunt, and in 1848 to Mr. Mossop, and, as noted above, 
two y4ars thereafter, to John F. Drew. She has been 
lessee of the Arch Street Theatre for the past thirteen sea- 
sons. She is, without doubt, the most wonderfully ver- 
satile actress on the American stage. Especially for her 
imiwrson.itions of the leading characters in the sterling old 
English comedies is she celebrated. In that of " Lady 
Teazle," in the " School for Scandal," she is unrivalled ; her 
thorough appreciation of the character, her elegant reading 
and very effective delivery of the salient points, combined 
with singularly easy and graceful movements, render her 
impersonation of that character without a peer on any stage. 



hVAYNE, FRANKLIN, Lawyer, was bom in the 
old city proper of Philadelphia, January 25th, 
1S44. His father, the late Dr. Iluson Swayne, 
was a highly respected citizen of Philadelphia, 
and a near relative of Justice Swayne, of the 
United Stales Supreme Court. On the ma- 
ternal side, he is a grandson of the late George Tryon, 
a well-known merchant of Philadelphia, during the early 
part of the present century, who was a prominent mem- 
ber of Old Christ Church, being a lay delegate to the 
Annual Conventions of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in connection with the venerable Horace Binney. He was 
eilucated in the (nihlic schools of Philadelphia, and gradu- 
ated at the Ili^h School with honor to himself and that in- 
stitution. He, shortly after leaving school, was appointed 
financial clerk in the Ordnance Department of the United 
States Army, at the Arsenal at Bridesburg, Pennsylvania, 
and held this position for three years, giving the fullest 
satisfaction to those in authority. He then resigned, to ac- 
cept the appointment of receiving teller in the National 
Bank of the Republic. His business tact was here tho- 
roughly tested, and the president and directors recognized 
that the careful and conscientious manner in which he per- 
formed his duties added no little to the success of the In- 
stitution. But, although occupying a position to which 
few of those just enterin:j manhood attain, his ambition was 
by no means satisfie<l. He ha<l long cherished a desire to 
study law, and accordingly registere<l himself as a stuflent 
in the office of the late Charles E. Lex, one of the fore- 
most counsellors of Philadelphia. His leisure lime was 
now devoted to study, and he applied himself as closely as 
his arduous duties at the bank wouUl allow. In a compara- 
tively short time he was admitted to practice as an attorney 
at the bar, and entered vigorously upon the duties of his 



% 



chosen profession. During the few years that he hxs thus 
devoted himself to this service, he has come prominently 
before the public through the imjxjrtant cases entrusted to 
his charge. .Vll his lime is entirely given to his legal 
duties, and his industry makes it lucr.alive. His prominence 
at the bar, his youth being considered, places him in the 
foremost rank of the young men of mark in his native city. 
In politics, he is thoroughly imbued with the principles of 
the Republican party, but is not a " politician " in (he 
modern signification of the term. His family connections 
are among the most ancient and respected of the city, dating 
from the landing of William Penn. 



T^^iPoDD, WILLIAM A., Journalist, was born in 
^ ll Philadelphia, Januai-)' 14th, 1834. He was edu- 
\t calcd in the public schools, leaving the Zane 
^^^ Street Grammar School at the age of sixteen to 
enter the publishing department of the Saturday 
Evening Post, where he remained until August, 
1855, a period of over five years. His predilections being 
in favor of the West, he turned his face towards Minnesota, 
and tarried for a while in St. Paul, afterwards efTecting an 
engagement with the proprietor of the Minnesota Demociat, 
a weekly Republican journal, published at Minneapolis. 
This town he saw grow greatly both in inhabitants and 
wealth; in 1855, the population numbered almut five hun- 
dred souls, while in 1858, it contained over four thousand. 
He remained in connection with this paper for some time 
after its change of name to the Minneapolis Gazette. Being 
a leading and unflinching Republican, he was compli- 
mented by receiving the unanimous nomination of the 
Senators of that party for the post of Secretary to the .Senate 
at the first session of the State Legislature, but failed at the 
election, owing to the Democrats having a majority of two 
votes in that body. He returned to the East in 1859, with 
a view of entering college, for which he had prepared him- 
self during his leisure hours, but he changed his purpose, 
and entered upon the study of the law. The Rebellion 
soon broke out, and, being an ardent Union man and a 
member of the " Republican Invincibles," of which organi- 
zation he had been one of the founders, he, in company 
with some of his brother members, opened a recruiting 
office for the enrolment of such parties as would be willing 
to uphold the honor of the flag. By the evening of April 
l6th, 1861, nearly three hundred men had volunteered, and 
three companies were organized as " Pennsylvania Guards;" 
he was nominated and elected as First Lieutenant of Com- 
pany A. A few days after, he, with a detachment of men, 
was ordered to Fort Delaware, for its protection, where 
they remained for a short time, until they were relieved by 
three full companies, which had been detailed to garrison 
the fortification. He then returneil with the detachment to 
Philadelphia, and on May 2lst, iSGl, the company was ac- 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP.ILDIA. 



243 



cepted in a body and mustered in as Company C of the 
" First California Regiment," Colonel E. D. Baker, after- 
wards known as the 71st Pennsylvania Regiment. He 
served with this regiment until September, 1862, when, on 
account of physical disability, he was invalided, and ad- 
mitted into the Seminary Hospital, at Georgetown, District 
of Columbia, whence, after a short stay, he was sent home 
on leave of absence by special permission of the Secretary 
of War. He was honorably discharged from the service, 
October 21st, 1S62. Elected by the officers to the Lieu- 
tenant-Colonelcy of the 176th Regiment Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers, in November, 1S62, ill health obliged him to 
decline. He remained in Philadelphia until Januaiy 1st 
1864, when he accepted a position in the establishment of 
Reaney, Son & Archbold, at Chester, and in May, 1864, 
left them, to become the General Book-keeper and Receiv- 
ing Teller of the First National Bank, of Chester, in which 
the above firm were largely interested. Here he continued 
for eight years and a half. On October 1st, 1872, he re- 
turned to newspaper life again, by becoming the Proprietor 
and Editor of the Chester Evening A^ews, a daily paper, 
which he still publishes. During his residence in Chester, 
he has been an active and leading Republican. As such, 
he has been complimented by the nomination and election 
as Councilman for three successive terms, from 1866 to 
1872, in which body he has served as Chairman of the 
Committee on Ordinances, and is the author of many city 
statutes. He was also President of this body, being elected 
to that position three successive times. Of the South Ward 
Water Works he was one of the projectors and first corpo- 
rators, and for several years was Secretary and Treasurer 
thereof. Desirous of devoting his- whole time to his busi- 
ness, he changed his residence from the South Ward to the 
Middle Ward, and this made it necessary for him to resign 
his Councilmanship and his connection with the water 
works. He is now the Treasurer of the Middle Ward 
Building Association; a Director of the William Penn 
Building Association; and was a Director and the first 
President of the Chester & Delaware River Railroad Com- 
pany. He has also been, on two occasions, a prominent 
candidate for the nomination of Mayor. He married, June 
nth, 1863, Rebecca, daughter of Samuel Archbold, of 
Chester. 



^llAUDENSLAGER, JACOB, Carriage Builder, was 

'"' '^ born in Philadelphia, July 12th, 1809. His 

grandfather, Michael Laudenslager, was a native 

of Germany, and, having emigrated to the 

United States, settled in Bridgeton, New Jersey, 

where George Laudenslager, the father of Jacob, 

was born. He attended the school of Charles Keyser, an 

eminent teacher of the Society of Friends, at German Hall, 

on Seventh street above Chestnut, now used as the office 




of the Gas Company, and completed his scholastic educa- 
tion in a school near Girard College, in what was then a 
suburban district of Philadelphia. In 1824, he became an 
apprentice to the saddling business with William Coles- 
berry, on Market street above Fourth. After the expira- 
tion of his six years' apprenticeship, he continued to work 
as a journeyman and manufacturer until 1837, when he 
went to the coach making establishment of George W. 
Watson, and took entire charge of the harness department. 
He subsequently became the superintendent of the whole 
establishment, in which position he continued until the 
death of Mr. Watson, February 8th, 1857, when he suc- 
ceeded to his business, and has since conducted the factory 
on Clover street, between Twelfth and Thirteenth, with 
office and repository at 1217 Chestnut street. He married 
Sarah W. Foering, the daughter of Abraham Foering, of 
Philadelphia, in 1S33. He has been for over forty years a 
member of the Pennsylvania Fire Company, and for a 
long time a member of the Washington Greys, the Old 
Guard of which he now commands. During the late civil 
war, he served as Captain of Company E, First Regiment 
of Infantry, Gray Reserves, and took an active part in the 
campaigns of 1862 and 1863, under the command of Colonel 
Charles S. Smith. Upon the organization of the Paid Fire 
Department, March 15th, 1871, he became the President 
of the Board of Fire Commissioners, and still (1873) con- 
tinues to exercise the functions of that office. He has held 
many other prominent local positions, and has uniformly 
acquitted himself as a man of true public spirit, actuated by 
a desire to promote the best interests of the whole com- 
munity. 



HAIN, BENJA>nN EVANS, Lawyer, was born 
in Norristown, Pennsylvania, October 15'h, 
1823. His father, John Chain, was also a native 
of Norristown, where his ancestors settled more 
than a century ago. His education was com- 
menced in the schools of his native town, and 
continued principally under the care of Eliphalet Roberts 
until he went to Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to be prepared 
for college by Hugh and Samuel Hammell. He entered 
the Sophomore Class in Jefferson College, at Cannonsburg, 
Pennsylvania, in 1839, and, having graduated in 1842, en- 
gaged in the study of law with G. Rodman Fox, of Norris- 
town. Having removed to Easton about Januaiy 1st, 1844, 
he continued his studies with Hon. James M. Porter until 
he was admitted to the bar, in November, 1844. On the 
22d of the same month, he was enrolled as a practitioner 
in the courts of Montgomery county, and has since been 
actively engaged in his profession at that place. He was 
the first District Attorney elected by the people under the 
law making it an elective office. Previous to the war of the 
Rebellion, he had been a prominent Democrat, and during 




244 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOl'.liDIA. 



ihat struggle gave his whole energy to the maintenance of 
the Government. Since that time he has taken no active 
part ill political affairs. He is a public spirited man, and 
has contributed much to the advancement of the public 
good. lie w.Ts one of the originators of the Gas Company, 
and for the first ten years of its existence was its President; 
he was also one of the founder.^ of the First National Bank, 
of Norristown, of which he lias been a director since its 
organization. 



^OSS, THOMAS, Lawyer, was born at Easton, Penn- 
sylvania, December 3d, 1S06. He entered the Ju- 
nior Class of the College of New Jersey, and be- 
came a member of the American Whig Society. 
He graduated in 1825, and commenced the study 
of the law under the supervision of his father, John 
Ross, then one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of 
Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the bar, in the county 
of Northampton, in 1829, and removed to Doylestown, 
Pennsylvania, where he began the practice of his ))rofession. 
In 1830, he was commissioned, by Philip Markley, Deputy 
Attorney General of the counties of Bucks, Northampton 
and Montgomery, at which time he was but twenty-four 
ye.irs of age. While acting in this capacity, he conducted 
the trial of Mina and Mrs. Ch.ipman, a le.iding case in the 
annals of American poisoning, with such marked ability 
that from that date he became one of the most prominent 
lawyers in Eastern Pennsylvania. In 1832, he was nomi- 
nated by the Anti-Masonic party as their candidate for 
Congress, but was defeited by a small majority. In 183S, 
he was appointed one of the Hoard of Visitors from Penn- 
sylvania to the United Stales Military .\cadeniy at West 
Point, and in the same year was nomin.ited by the Demo- 
cratic parly as a candidate to the convention to revise the 
Constitution of Pennsylvania, but was defeated. In 1848, 
he was nominated by the Democratic party of the Sixth 
Congressional District of Pennsylvania as their Representa- 
tive in Congress, and wxs elected, being again returned in 
1S50; in 1852, he declined a renoniination. While in 
Congress, he voted for the Compromise of 1850, against 
the Wilmot Proviso, and for the Fugitive .Slave Bill; al- 
though representing a district which was I'Vee Soil in its 
tendencies, he was sustained and re-eloctcd after giving 
those votes. From 1S52 to 1858, he pui-sued the practice 
of his profession, and was in the full tide of a lucrative 
business when he was attacked with paralysis, at the age of 
fifty-two, while in the court room, at the close of a laborious 
session. From this attack, which shattered his whole 
physical organization, though his mind was unaffected, he 
rallied in a great degree, and was able to resume his pro- 
fessional duties ; but, after a lapse of four years, he was at- 
tacked with softening of the brain, which, without dimin- 
ishing his intellectual powers, depressed his whole system 
and compelled him to retire from the active pursuits of life. 



He died suddenly, on the night of July 1st, 1865. He had 
a keen, bright, discriminating intellect, that operated with 
wonderful rapidity, enabling him to arrive at results, as it 
were, by intuition. He was .admirably fitted to perform 
the duties of an advocate at Nisi Prius, and had few equals 
as a Nisi Prius lawyer. He was a man of great pride of 
character, boldness of thought, and fearlessness of expres- 
sion. He was not a member of any religious denomination, 
but his whole life was characterized by an honesty of action 
and integrity of purpose that are rarely manifested. 
Though actively engaged in politics, and full of ambitious 
projects, he never sacrificed a single opinion for his own 
advancement. He was an advocate of free trade in the 
iron and coal region of Pennsylvania, and the opponent of 
Congressional legislation upon the subject of slaver)', 
though living among members of the Society of Friends; 
and indeed, such was his energy of purpose and strength 
of will, that he controlled, in a great degree, the ideas of 
his community. In every relation of life, lawyer, politician 
and citizen, he maintained the reputation of an able and 
upright man. 

/ — 

AMES, BUSHROD W., M. 1)., Physician, was 
born in Philadelphia, in 1836. He is the eldest 
son of Dr. D.avid James. He was educated in 
the public schools of the city, and eventually 
graduated from the Central High School. Hav- 
ing selected the medical profession as his future 
calling, he matriculated at the Homrcopathic Medical Col- 
lege, and graduated therefrom at the age of twenty-one 
years. He had ever been a close student, an ardent 
reader, and a steady inquirer after new theories, hypotheses, 
and scientific discoveries, as was natural to one of his tem- 
perament. He commenced at once to practise his profes- 
sion, which has become more and more lucrative with 
each successive year. As a surgeon, he has attained great 
reputation. His practice in this department is conserva- 
tive, when possible, rather than operative, but he is firm 
and skilful when occxsion demands an operation. Through 
his instrumentality the Homreopathic Medical .Society of 
Philadelphia was inaugurated, in which he served for 
seven years as Recording Secretary, and now holds the 
honorable position of President. He is connected with a 
number of scientific and literary associations in Philadelphia 
and elsewhere. He has travelled extensively through 
Europe and America. Being a close observer of men and 
things, he has of late acquired a high reputation as a lec- 
turer, and has ably described the scenes through which he 
passed while abroad. His extensive pr.ictice, beside other 
professional duties, have prevented him from appearing 
before the public, although frequently solicited to do so. 
In 1867, he was selected as a delegate to represent the 
American Institute of HomrEop.athy in the World's Con- 
gress of Physicians attached to that school, held in Paris. 




CU:IL 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



245 




He is an active member of the Executive Committee of the 
Institute, created for tlie purpose of arranging and develop- 
ing plans for a similar convention to be held in Philadelphia 
during the approaching Centennial of American Indepen- 
dence. As a writer, he is widely known. He is Surgical 
Editor of the American Observer, of Detroit, and for two 
years was Surgical Critic for the Medical Iiivestiga/or, of 
Chicago. He is a contributor to the Hahneniaitniayt 
Monthly, of Philadelphia, and also to numerous other 
medical journals. 

/ ^^^ 

JIPPE, ADOLPHUS, M. D., Physician, is a native 
of Germany, and was born at the family estate 
of "See," May nth, 1812. He is the eldest son 
of the late Count Ludwig and Countess Augusta 
zur Lippe. He was educated at Berlin, and is a' 
graduate of that university. He was originally 
destined by his parents for the profession of law, and, while 
prosecuting his legal studies, taste and opportunity attracted 
him to the more congenial pursuits of medicine, and at the 
close of a year he devoted himself thereto. He ernigrated 
to the United States in 1839, and presented himself to the 
only homoeopathic school there sustained,- at Allentown, 
Pennsylvania. After a critical examinatibn, he graduated 
at that institution, receiving his dj^iLoma- from the Presi- 
dent, Dr. Constanline llering,' July •27th, 1841. He 
located at Pottsville, and jiraclised his profession with suc- 
cess and growing ability until called^p a largeF field at- 
Carlisle. There the prevalent epidemics, of ihe Cumber- 
land Valley gave him a new distinction, by means of which 
he was, six years later, induced to settle in Philadelphia. 
Here he speedily attained a distinction that needs no pub- 
lication and cannot be overthrown. Aside from his strictly 
professional labors, he has been a regular contributor to the 
literature of his school. He filled the chair of Materia 
Medica in the Homceopathic College of Pennsylvania from 
1863 to 1868 with distinguished success and universal ac- 
ceptance. He also translated valuable Italian, German, 
and French homoeopathic essays and treatises that are now 
standard ; augmented and improved Homoeopathic Materia 
Medica, and, by his clinical reports, has shown how this 
may be rendered practically available and utilized in the 
application of homceopathic knowledge and principles. 
Having adopted homoeopathy after careful examination, 
when qualified to institute and conduct it; believing it to 
be progressive, rather than stagnant ; and having devoted 
the best years of a prosperous life towards establishing its 
claims in America, he has rejected all solicitations that re- 
called him to Germ.any. Defending the school in its in- 
fancy, and nurturing it through a crescent youth, he has 
had the rare felicity of witnessing the realization of his best 
hopes, and enjoying a success to which his labors have 
contributed a full share. Unwilling to abandon results he 
did so much towards securing, hopeful of farther progress 




and more decisive victory, when all but the last blow 
seems won, and supported by both pupils and patients, he 
is continuing his career in the field of its greatest triumphs 
with undiminished energy, and an ability that is increased 
by every day's labor, study and experience. He is assured 
of an honorable niche in the American chapter of homoeo- 
pathic history, and may eventually challenge a foremost 
position. 



HANAFELT, REV. ANDREW FULLER, Cler- 
gyman, was born in McConnellstown, Hunting- 
don county, Pennsylvania, March loth, 1832. 
In 1836, his father, Nicholas Shanafelt, with his 
wife, Keziah, and little family, removed to 
Clarion county, Pennsylvania, then called the 
west. His parents were persons of exemplary piety, and 
his father was for forty years a prominent member and a 
deacon of the Baptist Church. His paternal grandfather 
was a native of Germany, and served with honor in the 
Revolutionary army, being with Washington at \'alley 
Fftrge, and wounded at Brandywine. Two uncles also 
served' in'the War^of 1812. His maternal ancestors were 
English. ' His"father being engaged in gimsmithing, then 
a lucrative employment, he grew up in the business, and at 
sixPeeii was a very 'expert mechanic and rendered his 
father _yaluabi? assistance'^'' Having been convinced of the 
truths of Christianity, in January, 1851, in the Methodist 
Episcopal"Chui'ch,'/of which he subsequently became a 
member',' he felt that he was called to preach the gospel. 
Pie accordingly spent a year in the academy at Clarion, 
and then pursued his studies for a similar period in Alle- 
gheny College, designing to enter the ministry of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. His views of doctrine 
having changed, he united with the First Baptist Church, 
of Meadville, Pennsylvania. Subsequently, the infirmities 
and solicitations of his parents induced him to return home 
and assume the management of his father's business. He 
married Eliza S. Potter, of Clarion county, December 23d, 
1S52; but still feeling the irresistible call to the ministry, 
he entered the University at Lewisburg in 1853, whence 
he graduated, with his brother, John R., July 30th, 1856, 
and entered the Theological Department of the same insti- 
tution, supplying adjacent churches during his theological 
course. Having graduated July 27th, 1S58, he was or- 
dained pastor of the churches at White Hall and Derry on 
the 29th of the same month. He resigned that charge in 
1864, and accepted a call to the Logan's Valley Baptist 
Church, of Blair county, Pennsylvania. A call was ex- 
tended to him by the First Baptist Church of Chester, 
Pennsylvani.i, in November, 1866, and having been ac- 
cepted in December, he entered upon his duties as pastor 
in M.arch, 1867, and still labors with great acceptability 
and efficiency. He left home June 1st, 1873, for an ex- 
tended tour to Europe and the Holy Land, whence he 



246 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/KDIA. 



returned November 17th following, and afterward gave 
many interesting discourses upon subjects suggested by his 
travels. He is a member of the Board of Managers of the 
Pennsylvania Baptist State Association, and has sustained 
a relation to many other boards of the State. Of his three 
brothers, two are graduates of the University of Le« isburg 
and ministers of the Baptist denomination, while the third 
is a worthy and exemplary deacon. lie has been emi- 
nently successful in his work, having baptized over 500 
persons. He founded a new church at While Hall, Mon- 
tour county, Pennsylvania, and has been a prominent 
preacher of dedicator)', installation and ordination sermons. 
His literary attainments are of a high order, and his^pres- 
ence in the social circle is ever hailed with pleasure!*" 



^^JpHOMAS, AMOS RUSSELL, M. D., Physician, 
was born at Watertown, New York, October 3d, 
1827. He is the son of Colonel A?ariah Thomas, 
who served under General Jacob Brown, on the 
Northern Frontier in IheAVar of 1812. _ Thrown 
upon his own resources at an early age, he ac- 
quired his educ.ition, both literary antlj^rofcssional, bvhis 
unaided individual efforts.. Living jn jhc counly^until 
nearly twenty years of age, bjyjianual Jalior \ipm\ a farm,' 
he aciiuired a robust and vig»>rous t,)hv-!. .il »-. msiitution. 
His love for books led him to. devpi "ys and 

other intervals of leisure to study, and m ims m.uiner he 
qualified himself, and conimencijd, teacli|ng school in the 
western part of New York, in 1846. Four years after, he 
engaged in mercantile pursuits in Ogdensburgh, New 
York, but finding this employment an uncongenial one, he 
turned again to his books, and resolved to devote his future 
to a professional i)ursuit. By getting possession of an old 
Indian skull, which had been e.\humed in making an ex- 
cavation near his place of business, and borrowing a work 
on Anatomy, for the purpose of studying this skull, he be- 
came so much interested as to engage at once in the study 
of medicine. He entered the Syracuse Medical College in 
1852, and graduated in February, 1S54. lie thence re- 
paired to Philadelphia, and, after attending a course of 
lectures, again gr.-iduated in the Pcnn Medical Uni- 
versity. He was immediately offered the position' of Demon- 
strator of Anatomy by this medical school, which he 
accepted, and made Philadelphia his home. In 1 856, he 
was appointed to the chair of Anatomy, which position he 
filled for ten years. In the same year, also, he was chosen 
Lecturer on Artistic Anatomy in the Pennsylvania Aca- 
demy of the Fine Arts, where he delivered annual courses 
of lectures to artists and art students, up to the time of the 
sale of the old Acailemy buildings, on Chestnut street, with 
the exception of two years during the war. These lectures 
were the first of the kind ever given to art students in 



America. In 1863, he was appointed lecturer upon the 
same subject in the School of Design for Women, where he 
has since delivered annual courses. After the second 
battle of Bull Run, during the late war of the Rebellion, 
he volunteered his services as surgeon, and wxs assigned a 
position in the Armory Square Hospital, at Washington, 
where he remained in charge of one of the wards until the 
wounded from that disastrous field were cared for. Be- 
coming interested in an examination of the merits of 
homoeopathy soon after settling in Philadelphia, he was 
finally led to adopt that system of practice. In 1867, he 
was called to the chair of Anatomy in the Hahnemann 
Medical College, of Philadelphia, which position he still 
holds. As a lecturer on Anatomy, he has acquired a repu- 
tation fqj; clearness and accuracy, and for an impressive 
m.inncr, which at once attracts and retains the attention of 
the student. In addition to attending to a large profes- 
sional I^^ness, he has found time to contribute a number 
of important papers to the medical journals, besides writing 
^ work on /*<>;/ Mortem Examinations and Morbid Ana- 
/o/«j^ which has been highly commended by the medical 
press, and also to act as General Editor of the American 
\yournal of Ihmaopatliic Materia Medico. He has two 
children, a son and daughter; his son, Charles M. Thomas, 
■M.D., having-^rcccntly returned from a two and a half 
years' rniirsi" of -.huly ,Tnd travel in the Old World. 



HARSWOOD, GEORGE, Lawyer, anil Judge of 
' ' the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, was born in 
the city of Philadelphia, July 71h, i8lo. After 
receiving a thorough academical and classical 
b education, he matriculated ,it the University of 
Pennsylvania, from which institution he gradu- 
ated, A. B., in July, 1828. Having determined to embrace 
the legal profession, he entered the office of the late Joseph 
R. IngersoU, pursued the usual course of study, and was 
admitted to practice in September, 1831. His tastes led 
him to devote himself exclusively to the civil courts. He 
was elected as one of the Representatives of the city in the 
Legislature, for the session of l837-'38. At the following 
October election, he was nominated and elected a niemlier 
of Select Council, and served for the term of three years as 
a member of that body. In the autumn of 1841, and also 
of 1842, he was again elected a member of the Legislature, 
where he represented the (old) city for two years. In 
April, 1S45, he was commissioned, by Governor Shunk, a 
Judge of the District Court of the city and county of Phila- 
delphia, and, in February, 1848, was appointed President 
Judge of the same. Shortly after this period, the office of 
Judge of the various courts throughout the Commonwealth 
was made elective, and, in October, 1851, he was elected 
by the people President Judge of the same court U» the 





^o Mo '3I'M®3E^S, MI=1®= 



. PrOFESS'^P. OPANATOW' 



c^-.m 






•jc- H 'j'!Ei.rANH Medical College. 



II 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



247 




period of ten yeai-s, and at the election in October, 1S61, 
was re-nominated and re-elected to the same dignity. Be- 
fore his term had expired, he was chosen, in October, 1S67, 
as Judge of the Supreme Court of the .State. He is noted 
for his learning, the copiousness and perspicuity of his 
charges, the ability and thoroughness with which he takes 
hold of the subject matter in litigation, the faithfulness 
and impartiality which mark his decisions. He is the edi- 
tor of numerous legal works, issued from the press during 
the past thirty years, all of which have lieen well received 
by the profession in this and other Slates. 

,0 v/ ~^^ 

".REAS, PHILIP RAPIN, Journalist, was born at 
Marble Hall, Montgomeiy county, Pennsylvania, 
February 22d, 1S09, and is descended from 
ancient and honorable families. His paternal 
grandfatlier was from Saxony, and uncle to Jacob 
Frederick Fries (the correct orthography), the 
founder of a philosophic school in Germany, and a Profes- 
sor at Heidellierg in 1S05. He was a man of profound 
learning, and the author of numerous scientific and philo- 
sophical works. The maternal side claims descent from 
the celebrated Paul de Rapin de Thoyras, an eminent liis- 
toriographer, born in Languedoc, in i65i, who fled to 
England soon after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 
He subsequently went to Holland, and entered the military 
service, but returned to England with the Prince of Orange 
(afterwards William the Third), under whom he served 
with distinction at the battle of the Boyne and at the siege 
of Limerick. He was also for some time tutor to the Earl 
of Portland's son; but, in 1707, he retire 1 from public ser- 
vice, and devoted the last seventeen years of his life to the 
History of England, which he brought down to the Acces- 
sion of William and Mary, in 1689. This work he pub- 
lished in eight volumes. In America, the collateral 
branches of the family have borne themselves nobly, and 
especially in times of public danger. Philip Rapin, a mater- 
nal uncle of Major Freas, and whose name he also bears, 
was a commissioned officer in the Revolutionary War, and 
fell at the battle of Germantown. Daniel Rapin, another 
uncle, is still remembered as the first Mayor of Washing- 
ton City, and was afterwards appointed Justice of the Peace 
by President Jefferson. He was also the first and only 
bookseller at the Federal Capital for many years. In 1814, 
he had the distinction of having his dwellings, store and 
stock of books burned by the British, on the ground that 
he held office under government. He was Postmaster of 
the House of Representatives at the time of his death, in 
1825. Like many other men who have won honorable 
distinction, the early educational advantages of Major 
Freas were small, and ended at sixteen. He then entered 
the printing office of the Norrisimen Herald, where he 
served an apprenticeship of five years. On the day he at- 



tained his majority (February 22d, 1S30), he went to Ger- 
mantown, for the first time, and saw it as a stranger. He 
was unheralded and uninvited, yet he resolved to make in 
it his abiding place. He had but little capital, save his 
heart and brains, his industr)', energy and perseverance. 
He turned at once to journalism as his natural task, and 
forthwith arranged for the issue of a weekly family and 
agricultural paper. It should be remarked that this had 
been the dream of his life from childhood until he reached 
the measure of a man. A secret and powerful purpose 
seems to have urged lum on from the very beginning. The 
printing materials were obtained from Jedediah Howe, a 
type founder, on a credit of sixty days, without note, se- 
curity, or reference of any kind whatever. When after- 
wards asked why he had been so liberal of credit to an 
entire stranger, the type founder simply answered, that all 
he required was an honest face. It is scarcely necessary 
to add, that the obligation was discharged on the day il 
was due. The first number of the Gcritianto^vn Telegraph 
was issued March 17th, 1830 ; and it may be mentioned, as 
an evidence of its wide and lasting success, that during the 
forty-three years of its intervening historj', it has been en- 
larged no less than six times. The favor which greeted its 
firet appearance has known no abatement, but has gone on, 
steadily increasing. As a weekly visitor to the fireside of a 
large constituency, it has held its own in the presence of 
near and formidable rivals; and its reputation as a leading 
family and agricultural paper rests upon a solid and endur- 
ing basis. Its proprietor is a true and worthy representa- 
tive of the Franklins of the American printing press, and his 
name should go down side by side with a host of others, 
who have won their laurels on the same field of useful and 
honorable exertion. As long as such qualities as a stead- 
fast and enduring purpose, a strict integrity, an unflagging 
industiy, an editorial independence, a high sense of per- 
sonal responsibility and a great practical intelligence shall 
be deemed worthy of public recognition, his name and 
fame may be safely held aloft as a just example and incen- 
tive to those who follow after. 



/ 



OSS, JOHN, Lawyer, was born in Solebuiy town- 
ship, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, P'cbruary 24lh, 
1770. He was a son of Thomas Ross, a well- 
known and influential preacher of the Society 
of Friends. After receiving such education as 
the schools of his day afforded, he studied law 
under the care of his cousin, Thomas Ross, of West Chester, 
and was admitted to the bar. He settled at Easton, Penn- 
sylvania, in the practice of law,Mn 1792. On November 
igth, 1795, he married Mary Jenkins, of Jenkintown, 
Monfomery county, Pennsylvania, and on this account 
was disowned by the Society of Friends, she not being a 
member. He was elected Prothonotary of Northampton 



248 



niOGRAl'llICAL EN'CVCLOP.F.UIA. 



county, and served for several years ; he was a member of 
the Stale Legislature from lSl3to 1S16, and represented his 
district in Congress from 1816 to iSlS. In the latter year 
he received an appointment as Judge of the Common Pleas, 
and held the scales of justice upon the same bench now 
occupied by his grandson, Hon. Henry P. Ross, until 
April l6lh, 1S30, when he was appointed Justice of the 
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and fdled the position 
with honor until his death, on January 31st, 1834. The 
clearness of his searching intellect, together with his ster- 
ling integrity and high sense of justice, eminently qualified 
bim for the exalted position to which he was elevated. 



I 



<a 



I^RIFFEN, JOHN, Engineer, Inventor, and Iron 
Master, was boiTi in the township of Mantaj'O- 
neck, Westchester county. New York,, in ^f8l2. 
, lie is the son of John Griffen, a farmer of the 
same place. He is one of the fifth 'generation, 
born in the same house, which is 'one if the 
oldest in the country. His early education Was derived 
from his mother, a school teacher, wh'oiiistructed..him till 
the age of fourteen years, when he wasi'^entto ai^ietlds' 
school, at Nine Partners, in Dutchess sounly^' OiT" com- 
pleting his education, he entered the store ■o't'arf uncle, in 
New York, slaying with him till he was Iwcntj'-one years 
old, when he engaged in business with another uncle. 
This occupation, however, being unsuited to his tastes, he 
travelled for some time in the West, and took a position as 
bookkeeper, following that profession till the age of 
twenty-nine years, when, finding his health somewhat 
shaken, he came to Pennsylvania, and engaged a.s book- 
keeper at the iron works and nail manufactory of R. C. 
Nichols & Co., of Norristown. With them he remained 
three years, conducting the works during the latter portion 
of the lime. He seemed now to have found his true 
sphere of action, as, while with that firm, the talent for en- 
gineering and mechanical pursuits, which subsequently 
made him so celebrated, found an opportunity for develop- 
ing itself. His first attempt in that direction was the erec- 
tion of the works of Moore Hoovcn, of the same place, 
which he was unexpectedly called upon to do. While so 
engaged, he conceived and successfully applied a novel 
method of economizing the cost of using steam power, by 
saving the waste steam lost under the old system, of nests 
of boilers, and thus enabling steam to compete with water 
jjowcr in point of economy, and conse<|uently rendering it 
superior as a motor. He experienced much opposition in 
this matter; his theory was almo.st universally condemned, 
and his employers had nearly decided not to make the 
trial ; but he overcame all obstacles, and his principle 
finally remained triumphant. Though the idea had been 
previously suggested, he can fairly claim the merit of being 



the first to successfully apply it. In 1847, he was commis- 
sioned to erect the works of Reeves, Abbott & Co., at Safe 
Harbor. The design of these works had already been fur- 
nished, and closely resembled that of the Phrcnixville Iron 
Works ; his duties were consequently ctjiefly of an execu- 
tive character, but serve<i, nevertheless, to strikingly display 
his abilities. He remained with that firm till 1856, and, 
while with tMem, introduced the governor for controlling 
steam engines used in rolling iron, a great desideratum, 
but theretofore supposed impracticable; and likewise ma- 
chinery to run the carriage transporting the rail from the 
rolls to the saws, instead of employing hand labor. His 
well-known invention for making wrought iron cannon was 
also made here. It consists in winding rods, spirally and 
in several Jayers, around a central piece, in which is the 
^t»re, and then welding them between rollers, thus virtually 
making a tj^ist gun, possessing great power of resistance. 
Experiinents w-ere made with these guns, by Government, 
and one of«^20 pounds (regulation weight, 988 [lounds,) was 
tried^ which only-burst after 568 discharges. The charges 
and :vmnitiniliun were gradually increased, the last three 
trials being ivijh j^eyen iK)un<ls of powder and thirteen balls, 
while the test for a bronze gun of the same calibre is two 
pounds of p<iwd},T, §))9 wad and one ball. Many hundreds 
of these guns^mailej^iy ibe Phccnixville Iron Company, and 
knojkii as the.C'i'ifl^'V'mi", were use<l during the late war. 
He went to Phjpenixville in 1856, to take charge of the 
works there, and remained till 1862. His next invention 
was for rolling the large wrought iron beams, used in 
buildings, on the small rollers then in use. He obtained a 
patent for this in 1857, and put it into successful operation. 
His process was a complete success, and h.as undergone no 
change whatever. Thousands of Ions of these beams arc 
now made annually, and for several years he rolled the 
largest beams rolled in the world, getting them up to 15 
inches on rollers 19^ inches in diameter, while, by the 
old method, 9 inches was the maximum size obtained on 
larger rollers. He assigned all rights to this process, ex- 
cept that of employing it in any other mill with which he 
might be connected, to the Phitnix Iron Company. In 
1862, he engaged to erect the Buffalo Union Iron Works, 
for a firm engaged in the general iron manufacture and 
also in making the wrought iron beams, he having con- 
ceded to them his reserved right in consiileration of a 
royally. These rolling mills, although built in 1862, are 
still considered among the best in the country. In 1S67, 
he again accejited the position of mechanical and ci\il en- 
gineer, and, eighteen months later, returned to Phccnixville, 
where he was placed in charge of the works, as superin- 
tendent. He is now (1874) engaged in erecting a new 
and large works for the same company. It is intended to 
be equal to any in the world, and will cover 6^ acres, and 
is to be used for the finishing of iron. It will be the first 
mill in the world in which compound high and low pressure 
engines will be introduced. The general plan and the 




i| 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.KDIA. 



249 



arrangement of the machinery are his own. He was elected 
Burgess in 1857, and served as School Director very effi- 
ciently. On accepting the latter office, he found the facili- 
ties afforded very insufficient and set to work to remedy the 
defects, and in a short time obtained the construction of 
the fine new school-houses now in use. He designed and 
superintended their construction and had the schools graded. 
He was unanimously elected a second time, being the 
first man in the borough to receive that honor. He is one 
of the stockholders and a director of the Phoenix Iron 
Company, and also a member of the firm of Clark Reeves 
& Co., being one-fifth owner. A fine draughtsman and 
designer, he has designed many of the finest residences in 
Phoenixville. He was married, in 1837, to Esther, daughter 
of Reuben Leggett, of New York, by whom he had_five 
children, only one of whom is living. His first wife died 
in 1S49, andin 185 1 he was espoused to her sister, by wliom 
he has had five children, four of whom are living. "His 
eldest son, Robert N., was in the United States navy, and 
lost his life, l>y yellow fever, in the service of his country. ' 



jjg'UHLENBERG, HIE3TER H.^ M. D.,- Physician 
and Financier, was born in ^teajling, Pennsyl- 
vania, January I5lh, 1S12. j^is,J[ather was Plenry 
A. Muhlenberg, whose bjog^^hy^ajmears ehe- 
where in this work, and his mother, was "a daughter 
of Governor Hiester of this .State, "whose life alsc 
a record in these pages. His primary\education was 
received in his native city, under the Rev. John F. Grier, 
D. D., an eminent classical scholar. Subsequenily, he en- 
tered and attended the Sophomore class, under the Rev. 
Dr. Neill, at Dickinson College, where he graduated in 
1829. He then studied medicine, under Dr. Thomas 
Harris, a naval surgeon of high reputation, and graduated 
at the University of Pennsylvania in 1S32. Thereupon 
he commenced the practice of his profession in Reading, 
continuing the same for about eight years. After the panic of 
1S37 his remarkable financial ability was first brought into 
prominent notice, as he then took charge of the affairs of 
tlie Farmers' Bank of Reading for the purpose of restoring 
them to a proper condition, expecting to resume his ]:)ractice 
in the course of a year or two. This intention, however, 
was not carried out, as in March, 1S42, he was elected 
cashier of the bank, a position he continues to hold. His 
capacity carried the liank successfully through the great 
panic of 1857, through the troubles incident to the Rebel- 
lion, and, finally, through the severe crisis of 1873. During 
all these monetary difficulties the institution has been able 
to maintain its ground and secure the entire confidence of 
the public. He served in the first councils which changed 
the borough of Reading to a city, and had been pre- 
viously a member of the Borough Councils for nine or ten 
32 




finds 



years. He was the leading member of the Finance Com- 
mittee, and largely instrumental in reducing the municipal 
debts. These services established his well-deserved repu- 
tation as an able man of business and skilful financier. He 
entered the army, under the old volunteer svstem, as a pri- 
vate, but worked his way up from the ranks to be Lieuten- 
ant ; and during the riots of 1844 proceeded to Philadelphia 
from Reading with that rank, as a part of William II. 
Keim's command. In the late war, though somewhat ad- 
vanced in years, the same patriotic spirit impelled him to 
enter the emergency volunteers at the battle of Antietam, 
and subsequently to join the thirty days' re-enlistment dur- 
ing the exoitement caused by the battle of Gettysburg. He 
is one of this- three surviving (out of twelve) Trustees of the 
Charles Evas Cemetery Company, and was its President 
for many j-^ars. He served (about 1840) as Director and 
President of the Reading Water Company, and by his able 
management maintained the high character of that com- 
pany, as indeed he has always done of every institution to 
■jivhich he has 'given his services — invariably gratuitously, 
all his public positions, official or otherwise, having been 
honorary ones. He has been a member of the Vestry of 
the Luthera.n Church since 1835, and in religious matters 
his'djstjlayg^lhe same energy and talent as in enterprises, 
patriotic or otherwise, having for their object the benefit of 
rbe ciiy-or the welfare of the country at large. Since about 
1S60, he has been .iiiterested in the Leesport Iron Woiks, 
at Leesport, and with. .Mr. Eckert's Iron Works. Besides 
his other .^attainments, he is £f good German scholar and a 
fait -French one. ^ In. short, he is possessed of superior and 
varjcd talents, while the good he has accomplished would 
furnish an exemplary record not merely for one life but for 
several. He has been married twice: first to Amelia Han- 
old, whose father was a citizen of Louisiana at the time of 
its purchase, and afterwards to Catharine S. Hunter, of 
Berks county, by whom he has seven children, all young. 



RICK, SAMUEL REEVE, Architect and Civil 
Engineer, w.as born November 1st, iSog, in 
Woodstowh, Salem county. New Jersey. Pie is 
of Quaker parentage; the son of Joseph (jr.) and 
Elizabeth (Smith) Brick, and the fifth in the line 
of descent from John Brick, who as early as 
1690 settled at Cohansey, where he purchased extensive 
tracts of land. For it appears when Joseph Miller re-sur- 
veyed Samuel Demming's large tract of land on Gravelly 
Run or the southern branch of Stoe Creek (it being the 
boundai-y line between Salem and Cumberland counties at 
this time). Miller said he was assisted by John Brick and 
his two sons ; and that the difficulty they had to contend 
with proved more chargeable than he expected it would 
be to the proprietor. John Brick soon afterwards pur- 




250 



UK RlKAIillCAl. KNCVCLOI'.KDIA. 



chasc<l Ihc whole Iract. His son, John Brick, jr., who 
was the first President Judge of Common I'Icas of Cum- 
berland county, New Jersey, married, in 1729, Ann Nichol- 
son of Klsinboro' (who was born November I5lh, 1707). 
They commenced life together at Cohansey, and had eight 
children. Previous to his death, he purchased a large 
()U.intily of land lying on the south side of Alloway's Creek ; 
part of a neck of land, called " Beesley Neck," he devised 
to his second son, Joseph. John Brick, jr., died January 
23d, 1758, and his widow some twenty years thereafter. 
Joseph Brick married, first, Rebecca Abbott of Elsinboro,' 
aljoiit 1758, and they resided together for a short time on 
his properly on ;\lloway's Creek, when they removed to a 
farm in Elsinboro' which had been left to his wife by her 
father, Samuel .Mibott. Their family consisted of two 
daughlei-s, Anne and Hannah, and one son, Samuel. His 
first wife died November l6lh, 1780, and he afterwards 
married Martha Reeve and removed to Cohansey Creek, 
where he resided until his death. By Martha Rec«e»hd 
had two sons, Joseph John and Samuel Brick ;' the eldest 
son of Joseph married Ann Smart of Elsinboro'. ' Joseph 
married Elizabeth, d.iughter of David Stroith, a resident ol^ 
Manningion. He was a native of'Egg llafbor, and re- 
moved from there to Salem county when he \va#.at middle 
age. He was greatly respected fiir liis"upri>hW>csi "Siid 
quiet dejiortment among the peo|)le of*lW#.1ieij»hbTSphtX)d 
in which he dwelt. Joseph and his :^ife lia<l Tife i!&ns» 
among whom was Samuel Reeve. Mo rCCeivedhis"pKmarj' 
educntion in Salem, and subseJiuefilly*^ al' the "school ^n 
Mannington. In accordance witlTthi cilsiom flfihose clays; 
he was at the age of fourteen ycjl\*s' regftl.irly fr)dentured as 
an apprentice, which was done St Prtil,ifli?P|ihia, to one 
Robert Evans, a member of the .Society oF-Kricnds, to learn 
the business of bricklaying, and, as customary then, he be- 
came an inmate of Friend Evans' household. He re- 
mained with his preceptor and master until he attained his 
majority, and became a thorough master of the trade and 
calling which ho h.id acquired. He then carried on the 
business as master for ten years, after which he commenced 
to study in the city of Philadelphia the i>rinciples of archi- 
tecture, and also of civil engineering. Having given' his 
whole attention to these new and important subjects, and 
become thoroughly proficient In their v.arious details, he 
commenced the practice of his new profession, which he 
still continues. He has paid particular attention to the 
construction of gasworks, and has superintended the 
ereclionof many of these important improvements in various 
and distant parts of the country, in British America as 
well as in the United States. His labors in this direction 
may be umlerstood and appreciated when it is stated that 
their fruits dot the streets of larger and smaller localities 
of the several States of the Uni"'! from Maine to Florida. 
He holds at present the position of President of the Rich- 
mond County C/as Light Company, at Staplelon, New 
Vork. He also served for three years as a iVustee of the 



Philadelphia Gas Works. His political life commenced as 
a faithful adherent to the doctrines of the Whig party as 
exiwunded by the statesman Henry Clay, and he was nomi- 
nated by that party and elected as one of the Commissioners 
of the (old) District of the Northern Liberties, Philadelphia 
county. Since the dissolution of that party he has given 
his adherence to Republican principles. He is a life-mem- 
ber of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He w.is 
married March 23d, 1831, to Esther, daughter of James 
Gardiner, who was a prominent soldier of the War of the 
Revolution, and has had eight children, six of whom are 
now living. He is also Consulting Engineer of several 
works in the United States. His son Joseph is in the fifth 
generation of that name. 



ORG.VN, JOHN, Builder, etc., w.is born in Radnor 
. township, Pennsylvania, in the year 1786. He 
- ■ settled in Phcenixville when but a boy, and lived 
to see it grow from a mere village to one of the 
most prosperous business centres in the State. 
Uy trade he was a carpenter, and by care, energy 
.and thrift succeeded in amassing a handsome fortune. He 
bnlUlhoTirst brick house in Phcenixville, and was one of 
the orijnvitoik-.and promoters of the Reading Railroad. 
In 1S28. ho ^i^itc late Isaac Trimble, of West Bradford, 
were electrtHpt|fiTODemocratic ticket to the State Legisla- 
ture, and, im839,^«e'was again elected on the same ticket, 
witli Joshua."'H*lsh'on>e, Joel Swayne and Joseph Bally. 
Hcwai Prcsidtnr o'f the Pha-nixville Bridge Company (ill 
the'fime of his death, having been a member of that asso- 
cirtliorf .for' a long time. He died in 1872, universally re- 
gretted by his fellow-citizens and all those who knew hini. 
In his business character he was upright and exact in alt 
his transactions, quick and determined in his judgment, 
which usually proved correct, and in private life affable 
and courteous to all, extending his hand to the rich or the 
poor with equal cordiality. 




'P^ 




ALER, LEVI B., Merchant, was born in Robeson 
township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, January 
26lh, 1828. He is the son of John and Elizabeth 
Kalcr of the s.-ime place. His grandfather, 
Matthi.-is, was a native of Germany and settled In 
Berks county. He was a Justice of the Peace, 
and performed the marriage ceremony in the county. He 
had a family of ten children, John being the only son. 
Levi B. w.as educated chiefly in the common schools of his 
native county, with some .additional assistance from his 
pastor. He attended school during the winter, working on 
the farm in the summer. In 1S47, he went to Pha;nixvllle, 
at the a^c of nineteen, and engaged a.s salesman with Wil- 





&^zyz 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPyEDIA. 



liam Nyce in the dry-goods and grocery business, with 
whom he remained till 1855, with the exception of an ab- 
sence of three months passed in the West. In that year 
the proprietor retired from the business, which he, in con- 
nection with Nathan Wagoner, a fellow-clerk, purchased 
and carried on under the name of Kaler & Wagoner. This 
association lasted till 1S73, when it was dissolved by the 
death of his partner, the utmost harmony having prevailed 
in the firm during the eighteen years of its continuance. 
The business under their management grew rapidly until 
it became one of the most prosperous in the county, the 
amount of sales in the wholesale and retail departments, 
at the time of the dissolution, being $So,ocx) a year. During 
his residence at Phtenixville he has occupied a prominent 
position among the citizens, and has filled many important 
offices of honor and trust in the community. In 1S56, he 
was elected member of the School Board ; was re-elected 
twice and served till 1S62. During his term of service all 
the schools were graded and new houses built, he being 
very active in the promotion of the same. He wasr also 
Treasurer of the Hoard for over three years. He was elected 
member of the Town Council, in 1872-73, and was"v,ery 
influential in the successful building and completion of tlie 
new Water Works for the borough. He was cjiie of-the 
originators and first directors of the Phusmxville Bank, 
and one of the corporators of the Morris<.G-enietery, havirig 
acted as Secretary of the same from tlie ilat^ of the' chaj'ter, 
in 1865. He is Treasurer and clerk of thE^Union Associa- 
tion of Baptist Churches and member of its Board o£«Trustees^ 
and has been for seven years Superintendent of" Sundsty- 
schools. Is President of the Warkingmen's Building and 
Loan Association, and since the death of his partner has 
been elected Treasurer of the Black Rock Bridge Com- 
pany. During the Rebellion he w'as Treasurer of the 
Board of Relief, to which he contributed with his usual 
liberality. He took a prominent pirt in the construction 
of the Masonic Hall ; was President of its Board of Mana- 
gers; has served in all the positions in the lodge up to that 
of Knight Templar, and has filled for several years by re- 
election the position of trustee. He is a stockholder and 
Director (1873) of the Pickering Valley Railroad, and a 
Director in the Pennsylvania Mutual Insurance Company 
of Chester county. His 'firm was the first to introduce gas 
into Phoenixville. He has also acted as executor and guar- 
dian for estates and children. He is an entirely self-made 
man. He went to Phoenixville with only Sl.62; but now, 
through energy, industry and careful attention to business, 
is in the enjoyment of a handsome competence. He is one 
of the most active business men in the county, and is ever 
busy doing good for its own sake. He has always borne the 
highest character for morality and integrity, and his advice 
and example are of excellent service to the rising genera- 
tion. He was married, in September, iS5o, to Anne Oliva 
Nyce (now deceased), by whom he has had four children, 
uf whom the last, a daughter, only survives. 




251 



ORRIS, REV. ROBERT DESHA, D. D., Clergy- 
man, was born in Washington, Mason county, 
Kentucky, August 22d, 1814. He is the eUlest 
son of Colonel Joseph Morris, who removed frot^i 
New Jersey to Kentucky in 1794. The Morris 
family — Maur-rwyce : literally, " warlike, power- 
ful " — trace their descent from a chieftain primogenitor in 
Wales in 933. In later times, they had important com- 
mands, and fought in the battles of the Parliament against 
Charles I. ; but after the death of Cromwell they were ob- 
liged to flee from Monmouthshire to escape the vengeance 
of Charles II., and took refuge in the Island of Barbadoes. 
From this island his fourth grandfather, Lewis Morris, soon 
after s'ailed for New Jersey, and settled in that part now 
termed Monmouth county, where he was one of the Judges 
of the first Monmouth court. Another branch of the family, 
about the same time, settled at and gave the name to 
Morrisania, New York, and have become famous in the 
history of the country. His paternal grandfather was in 
the Re\^lutionary War, and having been taken prisoner 
, was confined with many other patriots in the " Old Sugar 
House," in_ Liberty street. New York, where they endured 
mitpl,d sufferings, pounded glass being sometimes mingled 
with their miserable food. His maternal ancestors, the 
Deshas, fled from La Rochelle on the Revocation of the 
Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV., in 16S5, and came to 
,New Rochellej New .York. They subsequently settled on 
,lhe Delaware, above thg NVater Gap, wdiere they lived many 
years. __In 1784, the, Deshas and the Overfields emigrated 
lo^Kentucky. They- were with the Kentons, Simon and 
•John, in , their st.ations, and shared in their struggles with 
frontier life and the merciless Indian. His mother being 
descended from the Huguenot stock, held tenaciously to 
the Reformed or Calvinistic faith. Her only son early im- 
bibed these tenets, to which he has steadfastly adhered. 
Having been prepared at Bracken Academy, Augusta, 
Kentucky, he entered Augusta College in the same place, 
andaftera four-years' course graduated August 7th, 1S34. He 
then went to the Theological Seminaiy, Princeton, New 
Jersey, where he completed another four-years' course, Sep- 
tember 24th, 1838. During vacations he attended lectures 
at the Theological Department of Yale College, and tra- 
velled extensively o\^er the counliy. He was licensed to 
preach by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, in that city, .\pril 
1 8th, 1838. His first sermon was preached in the Presby- 
terian Church at Newtown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, 
April 22d, 1838, and his second discourse was delivered 
on the afternoon of the same day in the old Ben Salem 
Presbyterian Church near the Philadelphia line. Having 
been called to Newtown, in August following he was or- 
dained and installed pastor of that church by the Second 
Presbytery of Philadelphia, October 23d, 1838, and sus- 
tained that relation for eighteen years. He removed thence 
to Oxford, Ohio, where he has been for over fourteen years 
President of Oxford Female CoIlet;c. He received the 



252 



UIUGKArillCAL liNXVCLor.KlMA. 



honorary degree of I). U. from Centre College, Kenlucky, 
June, 1870. Me was married. May 3d, 1842, lo Elizaljeth, 
the youngest daughter of Matthew L. Bevan, an eminent 
merchant and Christian gentleman of rhiladelpliia. The 
old Newtown Church was built before the Revolution, and 
had many historic associations. Washington's Headquarters 
were near by, and when the Hessians were captured over 
at Trenton almost in sight, many of them were lodged 
within the solid stone walls of the old church. A British 
officer, .annoyed at the curious crowds, took a piece of char- 
coal anil wrote on the wall opposite the pulpit : 

In times of war, .inci not before, 

God ami the soldier men adore ; 

When the war is o'er and all thinps righted, 

The Lord's forgot and the soldier slighted. * 

Ir 
These memories aided not a little to increase .the ze.1l of 

the young pastor ; and the old church was renovated and 
enlarged, and continues lo flourish. Besides difigcnt atten- 
tion to his (lastoral duties, he w.as abundant in labors and 
in preaching and planting churches in other_^ places. 
Several important churches in Bucks county owe their for- 
mation to his persistent efforts. In general improvement, 
in temperance .and educational movements, he was very 
active, having been President of the .Pennsylvania' St-ite 
Temperance Convention at Ilarrisburg, in 1846;, He scryc3 
as Director in the common schools, antt established a su-. 
perior Parochial .School and Classical .\cadeniy, now iii 
successful operation at Newtown. * Ile^as- for years aii- 
energetic and laborious Trustee fof 'LaThyette College, 
helping to raise her endowment artd sending her many^ 
promising young men. In Ohio his educational eflforts 
have continued with unabated interest. The 0.\ford Female 
College, over which he presides, has the well-deserved 
honor of being one of the best educitional establishments 
in the country. 



PENCER, JOHN, Journalist, was born in Hey- 
wood, Lancashire, England, March I5lh, 1S35. 
When but one year old his father died leaving 
a family of five young children to the care of 
their mother, whose strong will and sterling 
merit enabled her to successfully raise and edu- 
cate them. Her youngest son, when he had attained the 
age of fourteen years, was regularly indentured to learn 
the printing business in 01dh.am, .and during seven years 
of his apprenticeship faithfully applied himself to the craft, 
so that on .ittaining his m.ajorily he w.as a thorough master 
of his art. Leaving Oldham he repaired to London, where 
he worked for a short time and then emigrated to the 
United States, arriving in New York in 1S56. In that 
city he effected an engagement with John A. Gray, printer, 
Jacob street, with whom he remained for six years. After 
spending sometime in other offices in New York, he pa.sscd 
lo Boston, Augusta, Maine, and thence to Philadelphia, 




pursuing his calling in all these cities. In March, 1S66, 
he first reached Chester, Pennsylvania, where he opened a 
job jirinting oflice in Market street, and commenced busi- 
ness on his own account. In the following month of Oc- 
tober, in conjunction with Dr. Taylor, he started the AJ- 
T'ertiser, a small paper ten by thirteen, which after a little 
more than a year w.is enlarged lo eight columns. In the 
course of the following year he disposed of his interest in 
the paper to his partner, and finding his job business in- 
crexsing removed to more commodious quarters, to the upper 
rooms of the Post-office building, subsequently changing lo 
the present council chamber, where, on June 6th, 1868, he 
issued the first number of Uie Chester Aik'ocntc, intended 
pilVely as .an advertising sheet, and distributed gratuitously. 
Ihisiness connected with the job printing continuing to 
increase, a further change to more enlarged space was soon 
deemed necessary, and, in January, 1869, the present loca- 
tion on Edgemont avenue was first occupied. The Advocate 
had been enlarged to the dimensions of six columns, and 
now sold at the nominal price of one cent per copy. In 
October, 1872, the .size of the paper was still further in- 
creased by the addition of a column to each page, and the 
p'ice raised to two cents; the circulation continues to in- 
crease gradually but surely, and its proprietor is reaping 
from his enterprise in this direction. An additional build- 
ing has been recently erected, which is also occupied by 
him,, with a" fotaU frontage of forty-lwo feet and a depth of 
fifty/ feet. v.lt is of fine brick and three stories in height. 
The basement is used as a press-room, where four presses 
are worked by a five-horse power engine. An elevator 
communicates with the floor above, and is used for the 
raising and lowering of forms, etc. The first floor contains 
the oflice, composing rooms, etc., while the upper stories 
are occupied as a dwelling. Ever)- convenience is lo be 
found in antl around the composing and pressrooms, which 
are well lighted and ventilated. The building is healed 
throughout by steam from the boiler. The success which 
has attended the proprietor of the Advocate is solely due 
to his untiring industry and energetic perseverance. He 
takes particular pleasure in doing his work well, and in 
this way cannot fail to meet the .tpprobatioit of his patrons. 



M.TERS, GEORGE, Mechanical Engineer, was 
liorn in Pikeland township, Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, March 22d, 1810, and is a son of 
William and Catharine Walters. He w.is edu- 
cated in the district schools, and at an early age 
w-as apprenticed to learn the coach-making trade, 
.at which he faithfully ser\'ed until attaining his majority, 
when he continued as a journeyman for a year or more 
longer; and then fin.illy set up on his own account in the 
same calling, having first erected his own shops, etc. In 
183S, he removed to Phcenixville, and efl'ected an engage- 






tult~T"W, cAl 



(rv-\~xJ) 



! 



FILXIRAPHICAL i^NCVCLOr.EDIA. 



men! as pattern maker and driughtsman in the e^ 
r.^er; v^f Ree\i's i: WTiit.iVer, wher* he has ever > 

h ibem and their successors, a peridl ex' . 
a ccnwry. He has, daring this time, been : 
galarly advanced ihrvxigh all the A-arioas gravies, and is now, 
and has l<een for the past twenty-five years, the Qtief Ea- 
gijieer and Chief Draughtsman of the Pbcenix lion Com- 
pany. These wv>rts, the most complete of their kind in 
the United States, have tieen ere<xed from time to time. 
; to his plans .- 

have iieen 

and deep ■■■. , ^ - - 

he planned the Wast farsiaces at HaATe-de-Grace, Marr- 

land, erected there by Reeves & Whitaker, havii^ be«> 

sdected by the pioprietors ss the Ei^neer and Desigiter ; 

and henr. for the first tim« in the hisj> 

ture. was the gas taken frcon the tnnne! 

,-evi cndt-i ; ■,--;;rjxs.i.' 

: ^ - --"jrr-. .-.r ? - Tbrs IT".- 

inve; 

•S^5 

hUst fiimaces at Phoeoixvilfe, anvl soper. 
erection. Here, likewise, was tb? r*~ - — 
doced Binkr the boiieis, where :. 
a'v>Vi ' These two 

e;r.:- . Nfts, he was ac 

gentleiuaa £o turaish : 
simction of what was 

r- r- \. ".;■. 1: was ,- -.n May, 1S40, .: 

or. ".he iKi of Xov«iib.er ; ^ .he furnaces, mac 

nerr and other appiiances necesair in the manabctnte of 
ra;',r,M.i ;rv>n were compleied. ai»d rails soccessfally m.- ' " 
1— .-.j::- v.r.e'.y after this, the firm of Reeves, Abbott & v 
Si',,^ ' - ■ " _ ' "-.e erection •.■; 

^; ~ -Jrv. r^nnsv]- i 



V. nsea in the constractjon of 
; lad and other beams known 

to the trade. He was the Chief Engineer in the constrac- 
tion of the itvm work of the great International Bridge 
crvsarg the Xiagaia River, at ButEJo, connecting the latter 
jiSace with Fort Erie, all the drawings, etc., for which were 
preparev^i by him at the Phcenix Comi\inv"s oitict-s — where 

feveiT 

^c He 

< Chief Enginetr. in the cv^nstroction at 

e New Miii, Kvh frame-work and roof, 

which, when completed, is intended to be the most perfect 

of it^kind in the Xew or even the Old World. E»-en- thing, 

in £act, in and aroond the vast establishment owned and 

' ^ company bears the mark of his skill, 

-ity. Havin? had all the varied details 



;■- He ii.-is. liunng the coarse 01' his long and useful 

;-;,v. a;.; v-fected many contrivances, which he 

. have proved of great botefit to th^ 

He is known by these and his 

aection with iron manufacture, all 

. e ^ates, as o:>.e of the best mechanical 

.ly. and is highly esteemed, nrx only for 

'->r those > les and 

■-re ever tiu -::cs cf 

L I and wor.hy ciiiien. He is a 

er of the MeUiodiit Episcc^nl C- 

He was married, Decanber 37th, 1S32, to Rebecca, second 
- --ter of Fbilip and Catherine Gongler, of Chester 
,-. Pennsylvania, and has cme son, Xoah, living, who 
:* ^.s.^ :a the employ of the Fboenix Iivm Company, 



X; 



rolling mill, and selected him ss the Ei^neer to plan ar \ 
.-.— ar.ge the greater part of thfe improvement, all of wf.' 
-e .^co.^.;r".:shed to their entiic satis&ctioa. In l&to, !>.■ 
K;i ,^ ■ <-,-ime the proprietor of :' ^ " 

..: -. ,-^ ..--^le choice of the san: . 
:hecon<ri;, .-.rioBS boi". 

Wis e^ -::c- - ':ae gentlo-.- 

-.- ■-— _ .: the fareaoes, etc.. of the Camfaiia Iron Com- 
r-;;.y. .-.; T.instown, FteniEylvaBia. which bad likewise be- 
cv>3>e the cvopeitT of the saone operuor. Sbonhr after this 
had been - r-stp&lied. Reeves, Xidiols i 

C«x, of Br _ fnther imptoveatenis to their 

A ^i^, ii:i he was called upon :. - 
-irnctioa and ev^nipmest of a U:. 
miii tor I6e ttaaaiaotare of bott-weided eas tabes. Foi- 



JT^l ??ELL, WllXI.WI WHEELER, Lawyer, and 
4f| I-ve:i:orof the famous Thunderbolt Shell Fares, 
~ LLI *^'-'-''">*l'<»ro™'l»e'<'«™«"I>«strictoftheXorthem 
r Lilwities, now Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 
^th, tS2i. He is a son of Ttvman M. HabbeU, 
and grandsor " ~ ' I'Aell, of Massachnsetts, 

'""■> <iysg^t at Banker ; -jds was with Washing- 

- . and soid hts miU seal to pondiase shoes 
: his comrades in anas. The ancestors 
named Hubbeil emigrated from England in 1649, and set- 
tled in Connecticot, while thotse on the maternal side weie 
membeis of WHliam Penn's colony of Frieods, and settled 
near Cbesjer, PomsylTania. Sir Hotiy Hale Gnliam and 
Richard Flower wete his maternal great-grand and srand- 



mtsKxtsnes doni^ tiie dtsasirovs panic 01 t»57, he was 



254 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



obliged, at sixteen years of age, to leave school and labor 
for his daily bread. Ik-ing of an inventive turn of mind, 
a-d h-iving made some discoveries in chemistry, which he 
was enabled to turn to good account, he managed to earn 
the moans to prosecute the stu.ly of the law. This, in the 
office of his preceptor, Hon. John W. Ashmcad, now de- 
ce.xsed, was successfully carried out, but owing to his 
numerous experiments, to l>e presently notice.l, he was de- 
layed in applying for admission to the bar until March 5lh 
I S+5. 11 is career as a counsellor at law has been a marked 
one- in five years, he had attained to the dignity of an ad- 
vocate in the Supreme Court of the United States. Being 
conversant with the various mechanic.-il sciences, which he 
had acquired in his leisure hours by hard study and con- 
stant observation, xs well as with chemistry and its sevenil 
handmaids, he possessed that knowledge which eminently 
fitted him to be a solicitor in "patent cases," generally so 
termed. It was in 1853 that he was selected as counsel by 
a committee of the now New York Central Railroad Cora- 
pany, an.l made his mark in connection with W. A. Beach, 
of Troy, New York, an.l William Whiting, of Boston, Mas- 
sachusetts, in arguing for the defendants, in the case of-Ross 
Winans against O. Eaton, et. al., commonly known .as Hie 
"Great Eight-wheel Car Suits," for infringcment-of a patent : 
for the eight-wheeled car for railroads. Tlris casfftt^s n^^v | 
heard for the third time before Justice Nelson, df -fte* SO- 
prcme Court of the United States, at.Cooi^rstoTWl, NiW 
York (in the United States Circuit Couri),:*nd*e opened 
the case for the <lefendants in one of-tte. most .Kicid argu- 
ments ever delivered, which, for iti f,ild<!.Si,or,<letail-c<*- 
cring, as it does, 193 p.iges of malicvAaamiiUble armngc- 
ment. .and strict adherence to the tnul^, redounds W his 
credit, industry and thorough knowledge of e<i.iity and law. 
The case had been by other counsel previously tried in the , 
New York District, and a jury had given the plaintiff a 
verdict; under his preparation of defence, a decision for 
the defendants was obtained in this and another case, and, 
upon being carried to the Supreme Court at Washington, it 
was ihere sustained, and the decision so secured, in favor 
of the defendants, was virtu.illy in favor of all the railroad 
companies in the United Slates, as thcjT.werc all interested 
as much as any one in the decision. The case occupied 
four years, and inv61ve<l nearly two milKons of dollars. 
lie w.as also of counsel in the great case -against the Wheel- 
ing Bridge Company, in 1S50, and the W'oodworth Planing 
Machine, which w.as commenced in the previous year. He 
followed his pn.fession of the law steadily until the close 
of the winter of l856-'57, when he had the misfortune to 
be one of the victims or suff.-rers by the " National Hotel 
disease," so-called by reason of the fact that the guests of 
the National Hotel, at Washington, at the time of President 
Buchanan's inauguration, when that house was very much 
crowded with travellers, were simultaneously prostrated 
with a deadly sickness or poison ; many died in a few days, 
while the majority lingered only to die after many years of 



suffering. By his intimate knowledge of chemistry- and 
antidotes, he was enabled to withstand the effects of the 
deadly arseniated poison so received, saved his life, and 
finally recovered his health. Not only in the highest court 
of the land has he earned laurels, but on a far different 
arena has he made himself world-wide famous. When but 
a lad of thirteen years, he was playfully experimenting with 
armed percussion arrows and projectiles, which, in after 
years in explosive shells for naval and army service, he 
brought to perfection. It should be stated here that on h,s 
mother's side he is lineally descended from the renowned 
Grahams and Stuarts of Scotland, which families for many 
generations were oppressed by Great Britain; conse<,uently, 
it can be easily understood that his feelings of determ.na- 
I lion to resist the encroachments of that country were innate. 
When,.m 1840, there was a s,«;ck of war between the 
United States and Gre..t Britain, about the " Northeastern 
Boundai7 Question," he began to devise some plan whereby 
this country, if forced to fight, might prove the victor by 
land and sea. -After two years of i>atient investigation and 
c6ntin<.ed experiments, he exhibited his famous explosive 
t^Thunderbolf Shell Fuze," and its effects on a target at 
dose quarters and at a distance. The results of these trials 
w*refrcpo<io<Uto the -Secretary of the Navy early m 1843, 
by^SenrcnSnaMHiam A.AVurts, who had been especially 
issigned mtliii .&l?-*.v Commodore Frederick Engle, wh<, 
greatly ass-1s£e.l-itt.ina!.i»g known its great explosive po«^- 
I ers and- its-fecnCtM-^Kxefe. He was the first one to call, 
I in an omcial ifta»ner, «l.e attention of the Government lo 
ihisjiswprojectili.-'Corfimodorcs Perry and Stockton, in 
1843, and .General George Cadwalader, in 1S46, took a 
„e,-sonal.int«rtsf.in the matter by affonling the inventor 
various facilities t<, experiment with the shells. It was in- 
troduced into the United States Marine Service as'a secret, 
1 in 1S47 (then termed the "Navy Time and Impact fuze ), 
and he filed an application for a patent therefor (in the 
Secret Archives) in 1S46, where it remained quiescent for 
many years, when the war of the Rebelli.m broke out, .and 
he obtained his patent, J.anuary 7tl'. .862. It sunk the 
"Alabama" ia the British Channel, and ha^. never suffered 
a defeat He also is the- inventor of the great Land Shell 
Percussidn Fu5e. patdtital in 75^, which turned the scale 
in favor of the North, beginning with Antietam. This is 
technically called the " Percussion Fuze Explosive Shell 
for rifled cannon, allowing time for the shell to explode 
after it shall have penetrated -ihe object al which it is fire.l, 
or against the field and by percussion. Notwithstandmg 
the fact that the Government had availed itself o his m- 
ventions, several millions being use.l, to successfully prose- 
cute the war to a glorious triumph for the Union cause, and 
now arm the navy and army batteries therewith yet the in- 
ventor had never reaped his pecuniary reward. In 1864. 
Congress directed him to prosecute his case in the Cour 
of Claims, and for six years he urged his suit before that 
body In 1S70, it was concluded, and the following year 



EIOGRAPIIICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



255 



the United States Supreme Court dismissed and refused the 
motions and appeals of the United Slates, which affirmed a 
royalty of $200,000 to him as the inventor. Up to 1873, 
Congress had only authorized the payment of one-third of 
this amount, leaving the balance unpaid, though reported 
since in Congress in his favor, where it is admitted that his 
inventions saved the country in the war. Away back, in 
1S44, he patented the first adjustable hreechdoading gun, 
compensating for expansion in heating by a screw and 
sectional breech. The British Government ordered one of 
him, which was made and forwarded, and upon this the 
Snider Rifle and Armstrong Gun of the British service are 
modified improvements, in the shape of the elements, " the 
compensating screw, and gated or sectional breech." Upon 
this latter, the original inventor has improved and patented, 
on a decision in his favor by the United States Patent Office. 
The use of breech-loading arms is largely due to his early 
inventions. In the civil arts and sciences he has made and 
patented many inventions ; these embrace the Draft and 
Spark Arresters of Locomotives (in 1841); others in Refin- 
ing Iron and Metals by the use of Nitrates (l867-'70); the 
Solar Magnet and Engine (^Fire Insurance Journal, 1850); 
others in chemistry and medicinal agents, with which he 
restored his own health, as before stated, and e.Ntended the 
same blessing to many of his friends. PI is aged parents 
survive and live with him. On December 14th, 1848, he 
married Elizabeth Catharine, daughter of Paul Remley, of 
South Carolina, and has children living, Walter, Lawrence, 
Eleanor, Albert, Elizabeth and Paul. He is prosecuting 
his right to the full adjudicated compensation before the 
Forty-third Congress. It may be safely said, that his in- 
ventions of explosive shell fuzes of the army and navy of 
the United States have proved a great power to open the 
portals of the barbarian world to the advance of civilization 
and Christianity, China, Japan, and slavery having yielded 
to the influence of their fearful jiower. Forts, ships, and 
armies have failed, been destroyed, or surrendered before 
tliem , and, by the direction of Providence, the Union, 
freedom, peace, commerce, and national arbitration made 
t > prevail. 

ROSS, SAMUEL D., M. D., LL. D., D. C. L. 
Oxon., Physician and Surgeon, was born near 
Easton, Pennsylvania, July 8th, 1S05. After re- 
ceiving a classical education at the academy at 
Wilkesbarre, and at the High School, Lawrence- 
ville. New Jersey, he commenced the study of 
medicine with Dr. Joseph K. Swift, at Easton, and subse- 
(juently entered the office of the late Professor George Mc- 
Clellan, whose private tuition he enjoyed for nearly two 
years, graduating at the Jefferson Medical College in 1828. 
lie forthwith opened an office, and commenced the prac- 
tice of his professioii in Philadelphia, employing his leisure 




hours in close study and translating several standard French 
and German medical works, which he subserjuently ])ub- 
lished. In 1830, he gave to the profession his first original 
work on Diseases and Injuries of the Bones and Joints. 
Among other matters of interest, particular mention is 
made of the use of adhesive plaster as a means of extension 
in the treatment of fractures, now so generally employed 
by surgeons of this and other countries. During the same 
year, he returned to his native county and pursued his avo- 
cations at Easton. In 1833, he was tendered the position 
of Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Medical College of 
Ohio, which he accepted, and removed to Cincinnati. In 
this position he remained for two years, when he was in- 
vited to the Professorship of Pathological Anatomy in the 
Medical Department of the Cincinnati College, and, in the 
autumn of 1835, entered upon its duties. Here he deliv- 
ered the first systematic course of lectures on Morbid Ana- 
tomy which had ever been given in the United States, and 
while thus occupied he composed his Elements of Patholo- 
gical Anatomy, the first methodical treatise on the subject 
ever pidilished on this side of the Atlantic. The third 
edition was issued in 1857. He occupied this position for 
four years, when he was invited by the Trustees of the 
University of Louisville to accept the Chair of Surgery in 
that school, and in the fall of 1840 he removed to that city. 
For a period of ten consecutive years he gave his undivided 
attention to the duties of the lecture room, when he re- 
signed to accept, in 1850, a similar professorship in the 
University of New York, which had just been vacated by 
the retirement of the venerable Dr. Mott. At the end of 
the first session he withdrew from this school, and, at the 
earnest solicitation of his former colle.igues, returned to 
Kentucky to re-occupy the chair which he had relinquished 
the previous summer. In 1856, he was elected Professor 
of Surgery in the Jefterson Medical College, Philadelphia, 
a position which he then accepted and still occupies. He 
is a very voluminous author. In addition to the works al- 
ready named, he has, among others, written his System of 
Surgery, upon which his posthumous fame will most pro- 
bably depend mainly; it appeared in 1859, has passed 
through five editions, the last being thoroughly revised and 
brought up to the existing state of the science (1872), and 
is comprised in two volumes, Svo, pp. 2400, illustrated 
by upwards of 1400 engravings. It has been translated 
into the Dutch language and published at Nieuwediep, 
1863. Within the past few years, an edition in the Rus- 
sian language has appeared at St. Petersburg. The work 
is the most elaborate and exhaustive one on surgery ever 
written by a single man. He has also found time to edit a 
large work on American Medical Biography. He was one 
of the founders and chief editors of the JS'orth American 
JMedico-Chirurgical Re-ciiew, which, after a successful career 
of five years, was finally suspended at the outbreak of the 
Rebellion. He is a member of the American Philosophical 
Society; of numerous meilical societies in the United 



256 



BIOGRAPHKAI. ENCYCLOIVKDIA. 



Stales; of the Imperial Medical Society in Vienna; of the 
Medical Society of Christiana in Norway; of tlie Koyal 
Medical and Chirurgical Society of London ; of the Medico- 
Chirurjjical Society of Edinburgh, and of the British Medi- 
cal Association, to which, on two occasions, he was an accre- 
dited delegate. He was one of the founders and one of the 
early presidents of the Kentucky State Medical Society. 
During his residence at Louisville, he drew up and pub- 
lished an elaborate and exhaustive Kcporl on Kentucky 
Surgery, in which he first established the fact that the late 
Dr. Ephraim McDowell, of Danville, in that State, was 
justly entitled to the honor of being the Father of Ovario- 
tomy, an honor until that time erroneous'y ascribed ' to 
other surgeons. Shortly after settling in Philadelphia, he 
founded, in conjunction with Dr. Da Costa, the Philadelphia 
P.ilhulo^ical Society, of which he wxs the first president, 
and which now embraces a membership of nearly one hun- 
dred and fifty. In 1S67, he was electe<LjPr^i(.lent of the 
American Medical Association, and, in April, 1870, pre- 
sided at the Teachers' Medical Convenlion, held at Wash- 
ington City, to consider the .subject of Medical Education. 
In June of the same year, he was appointed President of 
the Pennsylvania State Medical Society. ,In J872, duriiig^ 
his second visit to Europe, the University of^Oxtord, at<its 
One-thousandth Commemoration, conferred uijon him the 
honorary degree of D. C. L., the only.coiiipliment of the 
kind ever bestowed upon an American physician.^. The 
Jeffereon College, of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, h>ad pre- 
viously conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. He has 
always been a warm and decided advocate of professional 
progress and of a higher standard of medical education. 
No one on this continent, perhaps, has so often and so 
fearlessly denounced the e.\isting mode of instruction as he 
has, or more deeply lamented its many deficiencies. As a 
member of a great and noble profession, he has been most 
faithful to its interests and its honor. From the moment 
of his graduation down to the present time, he has been a 
zealous and devoted student, seeking solace among his 
large collection of books, which he justly ranks as among 
his most instructive and cherished friends and companions. 
He has been eminently ajnan of system in all his pursuits 
and undertakings. As a lecturer, he is never a minute be- 
hind time ; and as a consulting physician and surgeon, no 
one could be more punctual or more conscientious in the 
fulfilment of his engagements. It is this characteristic trait 
which has enabled him to accomplish so much in the way 
of authorship. He has always been fully impressed with 
the value of minutes, well knowing that the hours would 
take care of themselves. Large portions of his works have 
been composed while riding about the city in the daily 
routine of his professional visits. He is still a young man, 
fresh, hale and vigorous. Years have brought with them 
no signs of decay, mental or physical. He lectures with 
the same force and anim.ition as he did a third of a century 
ago; his eye is not dimmed, nor does his h.ind tremble: 




and he performs the most diRicult operations in surgery 
with the same grace, ability and coolness that character- 
ized his movements in his earlier manhood. 



ORGAN, J.\COB B., Banker, was born in Pha>- 
nixville, Pennsylvania, in 1814. He is the second 
son of John Morgan (deceased), whose biography 
appears elsewhere in this work. He was educated 
in the country schools and Westchester Academy. 
On completing his education he entered a store, 
at the same time teaching school. He was appointed Post- 
nixster of Phocnixville under the Pierce and Buchanan ad- 
ministration. In 1868, he was elected Cashier of the Bank 
of Phocnixville, a position which he still ably fills. His 
management of the bank has been signalized by a large in- 
crease of its business and a great extension of public con- 
fidence; the institution at the present time having the repu- 
tation of being one of the strongest in the State. He has 
qccupied many important public offices in the town ; has 
b^en Justice of the Peace and four times Burgess, also Di- 
rgct9r and Treasurer of the School Board ; and for his 
ability -and general conduct during his administration of 
the last-named offices received a testimonial from the school 
teachers.in 1873. "I" '^7-1 '"^ "''*'' authorized to negoti.ate 
the water loan of $175,000, and brought lh.it large and 
important ^unilert.iking to a successful issue, without making 
any charge for his services. He is a Democrat and a firm 
supporter of the Union cause, which he .sustained by liberal 
contributions and active, earnest effi>rti in raising and dis- 
patching volunteers. He is also President of the Perseve- 
rance Building Association, and his influence has done 
much towards advancing its interests. He is a fine busi- 
ness man, conspicuous for his straightforward conduct in 
life, and for his constant efforts to a.ssist in every thing tend- 
ing to improve the city and its inhabit.ants, by whom he is 
iniiversally loved and rcspecte<l. He was niarrietl, in 1849, 
to Lavinia C, daughter of John Vanderslice, of Pluenixville, 
by whom he has four children living. 



lOGERS, GEORGE W., Lawyer, was born in 
Warrington, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, June 
15th, 1829. He is the sou of David Rogers, a 
native of Connecticut, and a member of one of 
the oldest families in that State: on his mother's 
side, he is of Irish descent. When quite young, 
his father removed to Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, 
and he placed his little son at first in the common schools 
of the district to receive his preliminary education, which 
w,as afterwards completed .at an excellent private academy 
in Little Britain township. At the age of twenty years, he 
commenced life as an instructor of youth, which jnirsuit he 






{ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



257 



followed in both Bucks and Montgomery counties for about 
three years. In Januaiy, 1852, he entered the office of 
Joseph Dorrance, of Norristown, as a student of law, and 
remained there until the death of that gentleman, in the 
following month of November, wliea he chose David 
Krause as his preceptor, and with him completed the usual 
course, and was admitted to practice at the bar in January, 
1S54. He at once opened an office in Norristown, and 
commenced the practice of his profession. His business 
qualifications were recognized at once, and during the 
spring of this same year he was elected Chief Burgess of 
the town, which office he held for a year. In the autumn 
of 1S56, he was elected District Attorney, and served in' 
that capacity for the full term of three years with credit to 
himself, and gave great satisfaction to the community who 
had selected him for so responsible a position. He was 
the Democratic candidate fir the ad.lilional Law Judge of 
the Seventh Judicial District of Pennsylvania, in 1873; but, 
although he secured a handsome majority in his own 
county, he failed to be elected, owing to the preponderance 
of Republican voters in the other portions of the district. 
He was elected a director of the Stony Creek Railroad 
Company, and was a member of the Board for one.year. He 
was married, July 1st, 1S58, to Cara, daughter^of _ Jess6 
Bean, of Norristown, Pennsylvania. 



' LKINS, WILLIAM LUKENS, Oil Refiner, was 
born in Western Virginia, May 2d, 1832. He is 
of Quaker parentage, and the son of George W. 
Elkins, one of the earliest paper manufacturers 
of the country. When he was eight years old, 
he came with his parents to reside in Philadel- 
phia, and olilained his education in the public schools, 
though he devoted his leisure hours to private study, and 
may almost be termed self-educated. At the age of fifteen, 
he left school and went into a store as entry clerk, where 
he remained about a year. He next engaged in the lumber 
business, Ijut here he was unfortunate, a freshet occurring 
which swept away the fruits of his toil and industry. About 
the year 1 85 1, he went to New York, where he embarked 
in the produce business, and was successful in this under- 
taking. In a year's time, he relumed to Philadelphia, 
where he associated himself with Peter Saybolt, under the 
firm of Saybolt & Elkins, in a similar calling, with their 
establishment at Callowliill and Second streets, and where, 
iu connection with their house in New York, t'r.ey trans- 
acted probably the largest produce Ijusiness in the countr>'. 
The firm continued prosperously until i860, when, by the 
purchase of his partner's interest, he became sole proprietor, 
and so remained until the " oil fever" broke out, when he 
repaired to Western Pennsylvania, having ]ireviously pur- 
chased certain shares in various oil con'.panios. He then 
33 




made an unbiassed investigation of the region where petro- 
leum was said to abound, and became convinced that it 
would be a growing business; but he believed that his 
proper sphere was in the refining of the crude article. He 
accordingly returned to Philadelphia, and was the pioneer 
in this branch of the trade. He erected works at his pres- 
ent location, near Lancaster avenue and Fiftieth street, 
Hestonville, Twenty-fourth Ward, in March, 1862, and 
gave them the name of the " Belmont Oil Works." There 
was no other establishment of a similar character save the 
" Crescent 'i (since out of business) for some time, and he 
then had almost the whole field to himself. His buildings 
■and yard scarcely occupied the extent of half an acre, and 
he was possessed of four or five stills of the small capacity 
of tweftty-five barrels each, producing — by the then slow 
process — only about 150 barrels per week, and giving em- 
ployment to about twelve hands. For the past twelve 
years, the business has wonderfully increased, necessitating 
enlargement of the buildings from time to time, as also of 
the area required to carry on the establishment to the large 
proportions ■ it has assumed, so that at the present time 
(1874) it covers an area of two and a half acres. There 
are six stills in operation, each oflhe capacity of 300 bar- 
rels, and capable of refining aliout 10,000 barrels per 
month. The tankage capacity is about 20,000 barrels. The 
average time required to convert the crude article into a 
marketable comfliodity is about three days. The works 
give employnftnt to over~thirty hands. The crude oil is 
received in ftink cars, which are run upon a siding directly 
irito the works, and are so arranged that the contents can 
be spontaneously emptied into a large iron tank holding 
5000 barrels. He has provided an abundant supply of 
water by sinking wells in various parts of the premises ; it 
is raised by steam power. The engine is of fifteen horse 
power, and, besides being utilized as above noted, is also 
employed for the blowers used in agitating the oil in pro- 
cess of refining. The works are in operation night and 
day, never stopping for any purpose whatever. The first 
gasoline ever manufactured was produced at these works. 
Notwithstanding that the greatest care is exercised at these 
works, he has had the misfortune on three several occasions 
to be burned out, but each time he has rebuilt without 
delay, improving on the character of the buildings so de- 
stroyed. In 1S66, he established the " Park Refineiy," 
which he operated till March, i86g, when the property was 
sold to the Park Commission. It had a capacity of nearly 
5000 barrels per month. He purchased, in March, 1867, 
of Bowers & Kitchenman, the Monument Oil Works, which 
he disposed of during the February following, to Taylor, 
Harbert & Co. While he was in possession of this property, 
he increased its capacity from 200 barrels to 11,000 barrels 
per week. In 1870, he purchased of James Miller the 
Riverside Oil Works, which are situated on the Alleghany 
river, at Willow Grove .Station (Western Pennsylvania Rail- 
road), about two and a half miles from Alleghany City. 



258 



niOGRAPIIICAL ENXYCLOr.'KDIA. 



The capacity was about 500 barrels per week at the date 
of purchase, which has since been increxsed to 6000 barrels 
per month. In December, 1871, he associalcd with him 
Georj;e \V. Elkins and David Uly, under the lirm rame of 
Elkiiis, lily & Co., who now oper.ite the works. He is also 
the part owner of some ten producing oil wells, and has, 
/rom time to time, assisted in sinking many others, at least 
fifty in number. Me has now invested in his various oil 
enterprises about $300,000. When it is remembered that 
he embarked in business primarily with no capital, except 
his energy and ability, his present abundant means is an 
ample proof of what industry will accomplish. In the midst 
of his oil operations he found lime to engage in another 
enterprise. In 1865, he purch.ised of Robert Culin an 
establishment at Co.iles and Third streets, where he manu- 
factured alcohol and vinegar for four yeai-s, disposing of the 
concern in March, 1869, to George O. Beach. He is likewise 
an active promoter of various public enterprises, - and is 
known everywhere as a thorough, active, energetic business 
man. He was ajipointed, in 1873, by Mayor Stokley, one 
of the Commissioners to represent the city of Philadelphia 
at the \'ienna Exposition, and the i-csults of his observations, 
together with those of his colleagues, are embovlied in an 
able Report, containing most valuable . suggestion's for the 
management of our own Centennial Exposition. 



1 ' 



I 



'IIOMPSON, THOMAS, Merchant, was born in 
Knglanil, and emigrated to the Unite;! States, 
arriving in Philadelphia March inh, 1834. He 
was a marble mason by trade, and commenced 
that business on a limited scale on Seventh street, 
north of Coates street. He had no cash capital 
whatever, but relied upon his industry, energy and perse- 
verance to accommodate and please his patrons. From the 
first he was successful, as his undoubted talent and skill 
w.is recognized, and fortune smiled upon his efforts. In a 
short time he rented a piece of groun<l at the northeast 
corner of Green and Thirteenth streets, where he erected a 
work-shop, and here l;ii business pro!»|>ered ami increased. 
In November, 1836, he associated himstif with his brother, 
Lewis, forming the firm of T. . & L. Thompson, and very 
shortly afterwards opened a branch of their establishment, 
which included marble work of every description, in the 
city of Louisville, Kentucky, and which latter they con- 
tinued with the most flattering success for several years. 
In 1S42, the brothei-s jiurchased land at Ridge avenue and 
Thirteenth street, and, in 1S45, erected a sp.acious marble 
and mahogany saw-mill and turning shop, which in M.iy, 
1848, was totally destroyed by fire, entailing a heavy loss 
upcm the enterprising firm. It may be mentioned that this 
destruction was caused by an incendiary, who was subse- 
quently arrested, tried, convicted, and imprisoned for the 



oflTence. With that undaunted zeal which had thus far 
carried the firm so safely on the tide of prosperity, they at 
once commenced rebuilding their establishment ; and, like 
the fabled Phtenix emerging from its ashes, the new mill 
arose more beautiful in appearance and grander in its pro- 
portions. In its interior arrangements many very important 
and valuable imjirovements were introduced, such as ma- 
chinery for the manufacture of furniture on a large scale, 
and for various other purposes. Prior to the last named 
date, viz., in 1848, Thomas Thompson had commenced a 
new line of business at No. 134 Dock street, for the impor- 
tation and sale of upholstery goods, being the first to en- 
gage in this line, not only in Philadelphia but in the United 
States, as it comprised not only a complete stock of up- 
holstery goods but also tTiat of cabinet findings. He pur- 
chased the properties Nos. 236, 238 and 240 south Second 
street, and upon it erected the magnificent five-storied 
brown-stone store now in his occupancy, and since known 
as No. 240 south Second street, which has been, and con- 
tinues to be, the most extensive establishment in this 
country for the manufacture and sale of the articles named 
above. The combined business of the mill and store 
having become of so vast a nature, it was deemed advis- 
able, by the firm of T. & L. Thompson to dissolve the co- 
parttiersliip?that each brother might assume the control of 
a separate branch ; Lewis taking charge of the manufactur- 
ingljusiness at the mill, while Thomas should continue the 
warehouse. Ill thus briefly narrating the business changes 
that have occurred during the residence of Thomas Thomp- 
son in Phila<lelphia, it is well to remark how steadily he has 
progressc<l from comparative poverty to affluence, and that 
this is entirely owing to exertions that have never flagged, 
notwithstanding the heavy disaster that in a few hours laid 
waste the accumulation and industry of years. It is a most 
gratifying feature of his career that as he has prospered so he 
has given, and given generously to the various and manifold 
charities for which Philadelphia is so eminently noted. He 
has acted the part of a faithful steward " in doing good to 
all men, especially to those of the household of faith." 
During his long connection with the " Church of the Na- 
tivity," he has not only given his personal services towards 
its well-doing, but has contributed to its funds to the amount 
of thousands of dollars. He has also been for many years 
a member of that noble charity, the " Society of the Sons 
of St. George," and his purse is ever open to assist the 
needy and comfort the suffering stranger in our midst. 
True to the needs of the country of his adoption, when its 
unity was endangered he manifested as ardent a love for the 
maintenance of the cause as the most ardent of those of na- 
tive birth, and devoted a large amount of his fortune fur the 
purpose of raising recruits, thus, with others, relieving the 
Fourteenth Ward from the inconvenience and har(lshii>s 
of a draft. Having, of late years, the valuable assistance 
of his two sons, Thomas M. and Lewis A. Thompson, who 
are now partners in the active management of his large and 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



259 




ever-increasing business, his position has become merely 
supervisory. Througli life his greatest solicitude has been 
to maintain a spotless name, and the importance of ever 
kee]iing this object in view he has thoroughly impressed 
upon his sons, who may succeed him. 



'ILL, GEORGE WASHINGTON, Corporation 
President, was born in Hulmeville, Bucks county, 
Pennsylvania, December 27th, 1831. He is the 
(„C7't youngest of eleven children, and the' only one of 
e) -K^ the family born in this country. His father, 
John Hill, was by birth an Englishman, a manu- 
facturer of cotton goods, and was noted for being pos- 
sessed of the strictest integrity. His mother's family is 
somewhat remarkable for the longevity of its members, 
one instance of which is presented in his great-grandmother, 
who is yet alive (November, 1873) at the great age of over 
one hundred years. He received his education at the 
Rittenhouse Grammar School, in Germantown, Charles S. 
Wilson, Principal. His moral and social life was, in a 
great measure, shaped by his intimate companionship dur- 
ing his boyhood with a most estimable young man, the .son 
of a clergyman, and through such associ.ations he was led, 
at the early age of fourteen years, to join the Methodist 
Church. After leaving school he was placed by his father 
with a confectioner, in Philadelphia, to learn the trade, but 
was not satisfied with it, and in the course of a year left 
that employment. He resolved to start in business for him- 
self, buying and selling yarns on commission. In this he 
proved m jderately successful, but knowing that "in union 
there is strength " he associated himself with his brothers, 
and commenced the manufacture of cotton yarns. The 
copartnership lasted three years, when it was dissolved, 
and he entered into the business of carpets and yarns, on 
Third street, in which he was most successful. After eight 
years of great prosperity he retired from active mercantile 
pursuits, although he yet retains a large interest in the firm' 
which succeeded him, as a special partner. In 1866, he 
was elected President of the Seventh National Bank, which 
position he ably filled for three years, giving the most en- 
tire satisfaction to the Board of Directors, as well as to the 
numerous stockholders and patrons of the institution. After 
his connection with the bank had terminated, he resolved 
tipon a season of relaxation, and with his family sailed for 
Europe, remaining abroad for eighteen months, during 
which time they visited many countries, and extended their 
tour as far as the Holy Land. Soon after his return he 
was elected President of the American Life Insur.ance 
Company, which position he still holds. He never aimed 
at political distinction, although he has held the honorable 
office of Elector, having been elected thereto on the Re- 
publican ticket in the campaign of 1868, which resulted in 
ihe choice by the people of General U. S. Grant for his 



first term. His selection for this position was made with- 
out his knowledge or consent. He has also served as 
School Director of the Twentieth Section for five years. 
During the war he espoused most warmly the cause of the 
Union; he also labored earnestly on behalf of, and con- 
tributed generously to the funds of, the Sanitary and Chris- 
tian Commissions, besides donating largely to other chan- 
nels of benevolence which were instituted for the welfare 
and comfort of the soldiers. Having been, as already 
stated, a member of the Methodist Church from boyhood, 
he has been prominent in matters connected with that de- 
nomination. For six years he was President of the Board 
of Trustees of the Tabernacle Methodist Episcopal Church. 
He has also been a Manager of the Church Extension So- 
ciety ever since its formation ; and likewise Manager of 
the American Sunday School Union, which has done so 
much to promote the well-being of the young. Dickinson 
College, at Carlisle, which is a denominational institution 
of the Methodist faith, numbers him among its friends and 
patrons, and he has served on the 'Visiting Committee for 
some time. He is identified also with the Masonic Order, 
his membership therewith dating back some seven years. 
His relations with all with whom he has been connected 
have been of a pleasant nature, exhibiting his benevolent 
and amiable disposition. As a merchant, he never en- 
gaged in speculations of any kind, his rule being to avoid 
all that was hazardous, and confine himself strictly to legi- 
timate profits. Judging from his life and character, he has 
inherited the strict integrity which was so markedly dis- 
played in his father's character. He was married, Septem- 
ber 2ist, 1852, to Sarah J. White. His children all give 
great promise ; his eldest son especially bids fair to honor- 
ably sustain the name he inherits. One daughter, of seven- 
teen years, has already made her mark as a superior musician. 



aEORGE, JESSE, was born in Philadelphia, No- 
vember 23d, 1786. He was a son of Edward and 
Sarah George, both of whom were of English 
descent, and whose ancestors emigrated to Penn- 
sylvania at an early day. He was, at the period 
of his death, the last survivor of a family of eight 
children, two of whom died young, and all unmarried ; the 
only representatives of the family now living are his cousins, 
who are also his executors. He led a quiet, unostentatious 
life on the estate which his father had devised to him, 
on the right bank of the Schuylkill river, within the pre- 
sent city limits, and was noted for his cheerfulness, urbanity 
and charities. His name, however, was not brought i)rom- 
inently before the public until 1868, when he presented 
the corporate authorities with the munificent gift of eighty- 
three acres of land, now included within the limits of Fair- 
mount Park, and thenceforward designated as " George's 
Hill," in compliment to the donor. It had previously been 




26o 



lilOGRArmCAI, ENXYCLOP^DIA. 



called "Chestnut Hill," and had come Into the possession 
of the family in the year 1721, and was a portion of a tract 
of 455 acres which his father had divided among his three 
sons. lie died February 14th, 1873, leaving a large and 
valuable estate, which, after various legacies to his kins- 
men, was bequeathed chiefly to charitable and benevolent 
societies. 



/.\YLOR, ENOCH, Lawyer and Conveyancer, was 
born in Cumberland county, New Jersey, April 
25tli, 1818. He is the son of Maris Taylor, for- 
jfo^^f mcrly of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and his 
^"^■^ mother was the daughter of John Elkinton, a far- 
mer of Cumberland county. New Jersey, of which 
he was a very prominent and influential citizen. When he 
was four years of age his mother died, and subsequently, 
in 1828, his father with his family of small chiHrfijirei^ 
moved to Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he received his 
elementary education. In 1833, he was pl.iced in the pri- 
vate .academy of Professor Roach, in Pliiladelphja, and 
there remained two years. After leaving school he entered 
the office of Samuel J. Curtis, conveyancer, and, in 1838, 
being twenty years of age, commenced that busiivess onjiis 
own account. He afterwards read law, ■"•■I i-^- iflmitted- 
to practice at the bar of Philadclplii I 1841. 

Since that period he has been en'r-ged in uit- inactrce of 
his profession, giving particular'attcrition'ta' eofiveyancin^ 
and the law of real estate. In May, iS4Cf, lie was'c3ecl(' 
one of the Managers of the Monument Cemetery and.,SL 
cretary of the Uoard.and has held both' petitions' ever sihce. 
In October, 1852, he was appointed by Samuel Allen, Hi<*h 
-ShcrifT of the county, as his Chief or Law Deputy. Thir 
was the most important position in the office, as in his hands 
were placed all the responsible business necessitating the 
utmost care in the performance of the duties required. In 
October, 1862, he w.as elected to represent the Twenty- 
second Ward in Common Council, and re-elected in Oc- 
tober, 1864. In December, 18O7, he was appointed by 
Henry C. Howell, High SheriflT, his confidential Law De- 
puty, being the same position he had occupied fifteen year^ 
previously under SherilT Allen. Agaiq in December, 187b, 
this important post was placed in his possession by .Williiim^ 
R. Leeds; and once more in December, 1873, he was 
called upon to fill the stme position by William B. Elliott. 
In June, 1868, he was electeil by Councils a Director of 
Oirard College, and remained in that position until the 
m.inner of holding the City Trusts was changed. In poli- 
ties, he commenced as an Old-line Whig, his first vote for 
President being cast for General Harrison. He was twice 
a candidate on the County ticket nominated by that parly 
for the Legislature previous to its division into districts; 
as the majority in the (old) county was largely Democratic, 
the candidates of the Whig party were always defeateil by 



as heavy a majority as those on the same ticket for the (old) 
city were victorious. When the old Whig party ceased to 
exist as a distinct organization he became a Republican, 
and has ever since adhered to that party. In October, 
1867, he joined the First Presbyterian Church of German- 
town, of which Rev. J. H. M. Knox, D. D., was pastor. 
In the spring of 1868, he was elected a Ruling Elder, also 
Superintendent of the Sunday-school ; and subsequently a 
Trustee of the church, also Secretary and Treasurer of the 
Board, all of which positions he still occupies. In fact, 
every trustworthy otfice to which he has been callcil seems 
to cling to him. He says himself that "the difl^culty with 
him has been that when he once accepted a position, ei'.her 
in his church or corporation (Monument Cemetery), etc., 
he was obliged to retain it, from their unwillingness to re- 
lease him from it." He is a retiring, diffident man ; had 
he not been such, he would probably have held important 
political stations himself instead of acting for others. He 
is liberal "towards any deserving object that appeals to him 
for hclp.'and is conscientious to a remarkable degree. He 
is very guarded, and carefully abstains from speech or act 
that'might offend or wound the feelings of others. He is 
otita nervous temperament and rather delicate constitution, 
.aWlffcfjlv ' he ' has done, and is still doing, a great deal of 
nientaWab^f. 



REV. CHARLES, D. D., Clergy- 
^ man, i.-, a native of Litchfield, Connecticut. His 
"early y^ars were passed in the struggle, so com- 
-••mon to,New England youth, for sclfsupport and 
{ education. The latter was received at Union 
College, State of New York, where he graduated. 
He subsequently studied for the ministry in the Theological 
Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey. He has ministered in 
the pastorate of four churches. His first call was to the 
Second Presbyterian Church, at Troy, New York, whence, 
after some years of labor, he was chosen as the spiritual 
head of the Arch Street Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. 
When he entered upon the chyge of^this congregatipn he 
found but twelve families ; the church edifice had been 
recently purchased at sherifTs sale, and the society burdened 
with the debtrfcir ih purchase, together with large sums 
necessarily incurred for repairs, refurnishing, organ, etc. ; 
and the la.st portion of the incumbrance was not removed 
until during the closing year of his minisliy. Having re- 
stored this church to a state of activity, sound religious 
health and prosperity, he turned his face westward, in an- 
swer to an appeal from the Calvary Presbyterian Society 
of San Francisco. On his arrival in that city he found the 
congregation deplorably demoralized by internal dissen- 
sions, which had culminated in the expulsion of the pastor 
from the pulpit and the city on account of political procli 
vities. Under his ministrations the congregation became 





Gslixv r-ub.Co.PhiUda 








BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



2C1 



once more harmonious, nnd its season of strife came to an 
end. By his energy it recovered completely from the blow 
it had received, and under his care and guidance it be- 
came a happy, thriving anfl vigorous community. After an 
absence of several years on the Pacific Coast, he once more 
returned to Pliiladelphia, to take charge of the former 
" Third Reformed," now known as the " Immanuel Pres- 
byterian Church," so long under the pastorate of Rev. Dr. 
liethune. After the latter's resignation and death, it gra- 
dually declined in its numbers and influence, and its 
Trustees being aware of the name and power of its present 
pastor for effecting a general reconstruction of a disinte- 
grating mass, tendered the vacant pulpit to liim. It was 
accepted, and since his accession he has infused a new spirit 
into the remaining members; the scattered portions have 
been gathered in, and the body is gradually becoming, 
sounder and augmenting in numbers. His life-work .'has 
ever been the building up of weak, or the rebiriWigg of 
disorganized congregations : ever jjouring the oil of peace 
on the troubled waters of dissension and strife! . During 
his ministry he has been repeatedly called from. his chosen 
sphere of labor to other positions, self-Gonsidered,*rnuch 
more eligible and desirable; and these from 'some 'of, the 
most prominent churches in New Orleans, Philadetphia, 
New York, Brooklyn, Boston and Baltimore, bur. tb'e,'calls 
have been disregarded. His additions to ihe Jrteratur£.of 
the country consist in the publication of 'a nunib.er cS siifgle 
sermons, as also a volume of discoiirses ^M^^ched-^.i.Cat^' 
vary Churcl), San Francisco, during 18^9 (li'rabJ; ]*i.T.36-7-)* 
In the pulpit he is remarkable -for the farce ofliB ai^ju" 
ment, the beautiful imagery in which the sufejectns'pres.ented, 
and the impressive manner in .which it is. delivered. *He 
is earnest and elotpient, clear -as. a.'ihiBker,**concise and 
powerful as a logician; and he carries out .in his practice 
that determination which characterized his great ancestor, 
Joseph Wadsworth, who secreted the Charter of the Con- 
necticut Colony in the famous " Charter Oak," at Hartford, 
Connecticut. 



(EARD, GEORGE PETRIE, President of the 
Cumberland Valley State Normal School, was 
born in Orange, Vermont, June 3d, 1834.. He 
is the son of Kendall aud Roxcinda (Richard- 
son) Beard, who are respectively .of:> Scotch 'and 
English descent. He was educated at an excel- 
lent public school in the neighborhood of his birth-place, 
subsequently at the Barri Academy, and finally entered the 
University of Vermont at Burlington, where he graduated 
with honors in i860. That " the boy is father of the man " 
was forciljly illustrated in the early traits of character and 
the incidents of his life. He was the acknowledged and 
chosen organizer and leader among his associates in school, 
in the debating club, in the literary society, and everywhere 




where leadership was demanded. In his course of studies 
he ranked high as a scholar, especially in language, litera- 
ture and mental philosophy, and its kindred subjects. His 
attention was early given to the philosophy of teaching, and 
he was one of the first and most efficient advocates and 
organizers of Normal Schools in his native State. In M.ay, 
1S65, he settled in Chillicothe, Missouri, where, as City 
Superintendent of Public Schools, he organized a graded 
system of schools for tliat city, which soon became noted 
for their excellence and marked success in their results. 
By the fame of these schools, his efforts before the people, 
the teachers and the members of the State Legislature, he 
was .largely instrumental in securing the necessary legisla- 
tion and appropriations, by which the public and Normal 
Schools of Missouri h.ive been inaugurated. He labored 
several years as organizer, instructor and lecturer in teachers' 
institutes throughout that State. In 1867, he represented 
the Misssuri ."State Teachers' Association in the National 
Teachers' Association; and subsequently, in 1870 and 1871, 
was elected President of the State Teachers' Association, 
a position .which he filled with great credit to himself and 
acceptance k to, the body over whom he presided. In the 
autnmmof' 1876, he received the unanimous nomination as 
the candida'te for- .State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
on the Re jiiblitan ticket; but was defeated in consequence 
df the utiion of the (so-called) Liberal Republicans and De- 
l,mocfat5.-;.>Ijt'.fhe Spring of 1S71, he was elected President 
k,of the State' Normal ' Sthool at Warrensburg, Missouri, and 
in ten dajiS'SftSr "accepting the office opened the institution 
with an attendance, of thirty pupils. He organized and ad- 
ministered the ■ affairs of this establishment, increased its 
membership I to nearly two hundred pupils in the space of 
filtfeen moiltfis — the first cla.ss of fourteen graduating in 
1S72 — and 'raised -the rchool to a high grade of merit and 
success. In the fall of 1S72, he was elected President of 
the Cumberland Valley State Normal School, at Shippens- 
burgh, Pennsylvania (the position he now holds), and en- 
tered at once upon his duties. He organized and opened 
this school in April, 1S73, with upwards of three hundred 
students in attendance. The unprecedented success of his 
efforts in the orra lization and management of this institu- 
tion has given him r uik with the foremost educators of the 
State. He has already labored largely as Instructor and 
Lectyrer in institutes and associations in Pennsylvania, and 
i^'a^uiMversal favorite with the teachei-s and people. Per- 
sonaHyT^he is tttUj straight and robust, with dark hair and 
eyes, and agreeable manners; sympathetic, genial -tempered 
and a lover of wit, he has many and warm friends. As a 
scholar, he unites the liberal and thorough culture of the 
university with the practical and progressive utilization of the 
learning of the present day. His oratoi-y is elegant and 
forcible, and often eloquent. His enthusiasm warms and 
moulds every thought and argument into living, vitalizing 
power. He speaks fluently, and habitually without manu- 
script or notes. He has contributed largely to educational 



262 



IJIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




literature. Several original poems and hymns from his pen 
have been pulilishcd and much admired. He has been an 
earnest Christian worker in the Sunday-school and church 
from youth, lie ranks with the most liberal of orthodox 
believers, having his church-membership with the Congre- 
gationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians, at different times, 
as Providential circumstances have ordered. All his talents, 
time, and efforts are entirely consecrated to the cause of 
education, in which he profoundly believes himself espe- 
cially called to labor. This devotion has won him a posi- 
tion in the front rank of the educators of the State. He 
w.is married, in December, 1S62, to Luna C. Griswold, of 
Randolph, Vermont, and has three daughters : Stella S., 
Lucy E., and Luna L. 

c^^ LLEX, GEORGE, LL.D., Professor, was born in 
Milton, Chittenden county, Vermont, December 
17th, 1808. He is a son of the late Hon. He- 
man Allen, who was a native of Massachusetts, 
but left that Stale for Vermont at an early day, 
and having studied law was admitted to practice 
in 1803. He was a man of marked superiority of intellect, a 
great lawyer, an eloquent speaker, and universally respected 
for the virtues of his private character. He was appointed 
a Judge of the Supreme Court by the Legislature, but de- 
clined to accept the office; and, afterwards, sat through four 
successive Congresses as a Representative. On the mother's 
side. Professor Allen is descended from the New-London 
Prentises, who reckon among their ancestors representatives 
of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and that branch of the Edgecombe 
family of which the Earl of Mount Edgecombe is now the 
head. He was educated primarily in the district school, 
which tt'.is taught during the winter by some of the students 
of the University of Vermont ; then at Mr. Osgood's Academy 
in Burlington, and partly by two graduates of Dartmouth Col- 
lege, who were successively students in his father's office. In 
1822, he w.rs sent by his father to Canada to acquire a know- 
ledge of the I'rench language, which he obtained by a resi- 
dence with M. Consigny,thc Cur^ of St. Matthias at Pointe 
Olivier, opposite Chambly. In August, 1823, he matriculated 
at the University of Vermont, which was at that time in a 
very precarious condition. During the Ixst eighteen months 
of his connection with that institution it was under the 
Presidentship of Rev. Dr. Marsh, for whom he ever after 
entertained the most profound veneration and affectionate 
regard ; and he it was who probably influenced his future 
course of life, especially in introducing to his notice the 
writings of Coleridge and Wordsworth, the best old Eng- 
lish authors, and the Germans. He graduated in 1827, and 
began to study law in his father's office, in conformity to 
the Litter's views rather ih.an expressed wish. In the spring 
of the following year his father removed to Burlington, 
Vermont, and Professor Torrey of the University being 



about to travel in Europe, the corporation to which his father 
belonged appointed him his substitute, and this connection 
with the institution lasted for the greater part of two years. 
During this period he was a p.assionate student of the clas- 
sics, so much so as to injure his health. It wxs the wish 
of President Marsh that he should remain a member of the 
Faculty, and as Professor of English Literature ; but to 
meet his father's views he returned to the study of the law, 
and completed his course of reading in the office of Judge 
Turner, at St. Alban's, who had been his father's preceptor 
thirty years before. He was admitted to practice in 1S31, 
and at once opened his office in Burlington. He had been 
trained up in the faith of " Congregational Calvinism," but 
during his college life had come in contact with the />ooi 
of Common Prayer, through a room-mate who was a Church- 
man. With him he had .attended the private services held 
by Rev. Dr. Robertson, his Greek and Latin Professor in 
the University. In 1832, Bishop Hopkins arrived in 
Burlington, became Rector of St. Paul's Church, and 
opened a Family School, afterwards the Vermont Episcopal 
Institute, in which Professor Allen assisted as Cl.issical 
teacher. He now commenced the study of Hebrew and 
theology, and in the following year was ordained by Bishop 
Hopkins to the Diaconate, and for some time thereafter 
acted as a home missionary, though still retaining his con- 
nection with the institute. Having been elected Rector 
of the Episcopal Church at St. Alban's, he accepted it, 
being ordained Priest in 1834. He retained the charge 
of this parish for three ye.ars, and was most happily settled. 
His old literaiy tastes were revived, and he .studied all his 
favorites with renewed energy an<l avidity. During this pe- 
riod also he became a ccmtributor to the A<Ti; York Review, 
and his first article. On the Study of IVorks of Genius, at- 
tracted great attention, and drew forth the congratulations, 
among others, of the poet Ilalleck. In the springof 1837, an 
attack of bronchitis caused him to resign his pastoral charge, 
and he was immediately offered the choice of four professor- 
ships, which were tendered him by different institutions. 
Through the kind offices of his friend. Rev. Dr. Henry, 
editor of the A'ew York Rei'ie-,v, among these, was offered 
for his acceptance that of Professor of Languages at Newark 
(Delaware) College, which he accepted ; he removed to 
the place in November, 1S37, and remained there for eight 
years. During this time he became warmly attached to 
one of his colleagues. Rev. William N. Pendleton, of Vir- 
ginia, who was afterwards the General Pendleton, Com- 
mander of Artillery in the Confederate Army from the fii^t 
battle of Bull Run to the Surrender at Aiipomatox. While 
residing at Newark, Professor Allen frequently visited 
Philadelphia, and through his love for Wordsworth inade 
the acquaintance of the American editor (the Lite Professor 
Henry Reed) of that poet's works. About that time, the 
venerable Rev. Dr. Wylie, ViceProvost of the University 
of Pennsylvania, and Professor of Ancient Languages, 
having become very advance<l in years. Professor Reed 



EIOGRAPIilCAL EN'CYCLOP.-EDIA. 



26.^ 



wished veiy much thai his new friend might become his 
assistant and successor ultimately. In 1845, he was elected 
to the full Professorship, and, in September of that year, 
commenced his duties in that institution. He found the 
Department of Languages greatly curtailed and cramped. 
When the opportunity was given him, by some act of the 
Board of Trustees, he recommended such modes of remedy- 
ing the deficiency as were possible with the Faculty as it 
was. On the death of Professor Reed, in 1854, with the 
cordial co-operation and help of his colleagues, Professors 
Vethuke and Frazer, he was enabled to cany his point ; 
twenty-four hours of Greek and Latin per week, instead of 
sixteen, became the rule, and he was entrusted with the 
sole guidance in the Greek language. His former pupil, 
Francis A. Jackson, was elected Assistant Professor of Lan- 
guages, and to him was confided the Department of Latin, 
of which he has since been made full Professor. Professor 
Allen co-operated actively with the present Provost, Dr. 
Charles J. Stille, in his reconstruction of the University; 
and the Trustees of the University, as a compliment and in 
recognition of his services, took the unusual step of con- 
ferring upon him, although one of their own Faculty, the 
honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. During his early con- 
nection with the University, his theological opinions under- 
went a change, and, in 1847, he became a member of the 
Roman Catholic Church. This action, however, produced 
no .change whatever towards him on the part of the Trus- 
tees of the University. He was married, July 7th, 1831, 
to Mai-y Hancock Withington, of Boston, as near a de- 
scendant as exisis of John Hancock of famous memory. 
It may be considered remarkable that the marriage was 
celebrated by no less a personage than Ralph Waldo Emer- 
son, of whose church the bride was a member. 



/ 



f ACKSON, SAMUEL, M. D., Physician, was bom 
in Philadelphia, March 22d, 1787. He was a 
son of Dr. David Jackson, of Chester county, .and 
his mother, Susan Kemper, belonged to a New 
York family of German descent. Having acquired 
a thorough classical education, he began the study 
of medicine with Dr. James Hutchinson, Jr., and, a{ his 
death, selected Professor Wistar as his preceptor, mean- 
while attending the regular courses of lectures in the Medi- 
cal Department of the University of Pennsylvania, whence 
he graduated in 1808. After devoting his attention for 
some time to the branches of chemistry, botany and phar- 
macy, as connected with medicine, he commenced the 
practice of his profession in Philadelphia, and soon his 
energy and genius obtained for him a prominent position 
among the physicians of that city. During the War of 
1812, he manifested his patriotism by joining the "First 
Troop of City Cavalry," and became an active member of 



that organization. In 1820, he was elected to the Presi- 
dency of the Board of Health, a position of much responsi- 
bility and importance, as, at this period, an epidemic of 
yellow fever was then prevailing and spreading through 
the city, causing a great dread and much agitaticjn in the 
community. In this connection, he displayed the utmost 
energy and the highest personal courage in comb.-ijing the 
advance of the disease, and in ascertaining the laws of its 
dissemination. Throughout the infected localities he fear- 
lessly took his way, and by his timely efforts in behalf of 
the sufferers, aided by the skill and wisdom of his minis- 
trations, he succeeded most happily in diminishing the rate 
of mortality and restoring to health and usefulness many of 
his fellow citizens. In 1 82 1, he was appointed Professor 
of Materia Medica in the Philadelphia College of Phar- 
macy, then just entering upon its successful career. His 
selection for this position was peculiarly appropriate, as the 
attention he had previously bestowed upon pharmacy and 
its kindred branches enabled him, at the start, to judge of 
the requirements necessary to instruct apprentices in this 
art. Neglected for the most part by ])hysicians, pharma- 
cology was but little cultivated or known throughout the 
country ; and there were no means provided to train up 
those who were willing and anxious to acquire a knowledge 
of this important practical science. By his personal eflbrts, 
in which he was aided by the venerable Dr. G. B. Wood, 
this institution was successfully established, and its influ- 
ence has been felt throughout the length and breadth of the 
land. Lie had now fairly entered upon his career as a 
teacher. He joined the association which was organized 
by Dr. Chapman, and here he first taught Medical Chem- 
istry, and afterwards Materia Medica and Therapeutics. 
This association was the germ of the " Medical Institute," 
which had its own special hall', and in after years (1837) 
was regularly chartered. In 1827, he was chosen by Pro- 
fessor Chapman as his Assistant in the University of Penn- 
sylvania, and there lectured with great success on the 
Institutes of Medicine. In these addresses, he first intro- 
duced to the American medical public the important dis- 
coveries of Laennec, in regard to Auscultation and Percus- 
sion, the influential doctrines of Broussais on Physiologi- 
cal Therapeutics, and the profound pathological studies 
of Louis. The advent of the cholera, in 1832, furnished 
him another opportunity to manifest his disregard for all 
personal considerations when the welfare of the community 
was at stake. He was appointed, by the Board of Health, 
one of a professional committee to visit Montreal, where 
the disease had first appeared on this continent, and the re- 
sult of his and their observations was embodied in a report, 
published July 8th, 1S32. He subsequently took charge of 
one of the city cholera hospitals himself, and puljlished two 
elaborate papers on the disease, after its subsidence. In 
1835, a separate chair of the Institutes of Medicine was 
created in the University, and its duties assigned to him. 
In this professorship he devoted himself with ^reat zeal. 



264 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP.«DIA. 



In his introtluctory, delivered early in 1837, he advocaleil 
llie iheory of ihc correlation of forces, a doctrine wliicli, in 
later years, lias been a<lo|)ic<l by the scientific world. He 
filleil this position for over a quarter of a century, when the 
advancing infirmities of age warned him to retire from the 
scenes of active life. Me resigned his professorship in 
1863. Although the hand of time began to show its weight 
upon him, the mind was ever bright and active, and he 
pursued his studies and wrote medical articles as late as 
1870. Always ready with the pen, his productions were 
generally in the form of contributions to periodical litera- 
ture or the transactions of societies, and confined to ques- 
tions of professional interest, llis professional practice was 
very large, and he retained it during the entire length of 
his active years. His remarkable sagacity in appreciating 
the causes of disease, and his wonderful skill to discern 
and suggest remedies, induced his professional brethren to 
seek his advice constantly in difficult cases requiring con- 
sultation. His opinions were sought by physicians from 
all parts of the country, and often from abroad. He w.is 
entirely unsparing of self to soothe the sick and dying, and 
especially to reconcile the latter to the inevitable decree — 
the lot of humanity — as much the duty of a Christian phy- 
sician as of a Christian minister. He never deceived, ex- 
cept when the consequences might prove fatal. Few ever 
possessed a deeper hold on his fellow beings. In "all the 
chequered scenes of many-colored life, an attractive influ- 
ence pervaded, and drew many around him to enjoy the 
inexhaustible resources of a mind th.at enriched and en- 
livened, at the same time adding a zest ami force to the 
originality of his ideas. He died April 4th, 1872. He 
was a member of the American Philosophical Society; and 
also a corresponding member of the "Academic Royale de 
Mu.lecinc," of France. 




y 



' ni.LE, CHARLES JANEWAY.LL. D., Lawyer, 
Professor and Provost of the University of Penn- 
sylvania, was born in Philadelphia, September 
23d, 1819. He is a son of John and Maria 
(Wagner) Stiilii, and of Swedish descent on his 
father's side, being descended from that Olof Stills 
who accompanied Printz — the first Governor of the Swedish 
Colony on the Delaware — on his voyage, in 1641, and who 
also, as the millwright of the colony, was probably the 
builder of the Swedes' mill on Cobb's creek, the oldest in 
Pennsylvania. On his mother's side, he is descended from 

Rev. Wagner, one of the companions and fellow 

laborers with Muhlenberg, the great missionary pioneer 
among the German emigrants of this State. He received 
his preliminary educ.ition in the Academical Department 
of the University of Pennsylvania, then in charge of Rev. 
Dr. Crawford, and at the E.lge Hill School at Princeton, 
of which Rev. Dr. E. C. Wines w.as Principal at that period. 



He matriculated at Yale College in 1835, and graduateil 
.\. B. in 1839. During his college life, he was a close stu- 
dent in .history and the belles lettres, and gaine<l a high 
reputation both as a writer and a debater. On his return 
to his native city, he entered the office of the late Hon. 
Joseph R. IngersoU, as a student at law, and was admitted 
to practice in 1842. A short time after this, he went 
abroad and passed two years in Europe, travelKng through 
many of its countries, beside pxssing a considerable time in 
.study. After his return home, although nominally an at- 
torney at law, he devoted his time chiefly to the manage- 
ment of important private trusts, and to the prosecution of 
his favorite studies. In October, 1861, a few months after 
the outbreak of the Rebellion, he became one of the mem- 
bers of the Philadelphia Associates of the United States 
.Sanitary Commission, the object of which organization was 
to collect money and supplies to aid the commission in its 
work of mercy in affording relief to the sick and wounded 
of the army. He was soon made Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Supplies, and served in that capacity during the 
whole of the war. With the aid of the late Horace Bin- 
ney, Jr., and Robert M. Lewis, he organized the Women's 
Branch of the Phil.adelphia Associates ; and also initiated 
the movement which culminated in the great Central Fair, 
commonly called the " Sanitary Fair," in aid of the fun<ls 
of the United States Sanitary Commission, which was held 
in Philadelphia during the month of June, 1864, in Logan 
Square. All these agencies contributed upwards of a mil- 
lion and a half of dollars to the general tre.isur)' of the com- 
mission. After the close of the fair, and at the request of 
the Executive Committee, he prepared a volume descrip- 
tive of the same, entitled, A Memorial cf the Great Central 
Fair ill Aid of the Sanitary Commission, held in Philadel- 
phia, June, 1S64. Shortly after this event, he became a 
member of the Standing Committee of the Commission, and, 
at the close of the war, he compiled, at its request, T/it 
History of the United States Sanitary Commission ,\\Ktc\i is 
the official record of its labors. During the war, he was 
engaged not only in benevolent but also in patriotic work. 
In December, 1862, he published a small p.amphlet, en- 
tilled, /■/o7V a Free People condttet a Lont^ War, which 
produced an extraordinai-y impressiim. Its object was to 
prove that the discouragements which our Government and 
people met with in their efliirts to put down the Rebellion 
were paralleled by the events of the Peninsular War in 
Spain. \Vhether it w.is that the parallel seemed complete, 
or, simply because words of encouragement in an hour of 
deep despondency are specially welcome, the result was 
very remarkable. In a short time, more than a half million 
copies were distributed throughout the countr)'. The 
author received letters from many of the most eminent men 
throughout the Union, bearing testimony to the great good 
which had been effected by it. Among others. President 
Lincoln wrote : " The pamphlet is by far the best produc- 
tion upon the subject it treats which I have seen ; the read- 



BIOGRArmCAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



265 



ing and re-reading of it have afforded me great pleasure, 
and I believe, also, some profit." A short time afterwards, 
its author printed another pamphlet : Northern Interests 
and Southern Independence. In May, 1 866, he was chosen 
by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Professor 
of History and English Literature. He soon felt that the 
instruction in that institution, although admirably con- 
ducted, was on too narrow a basis to satisfy the demands 
of popular feeling. In December of that year, he proposed 
to the Trustees, as a first step towards reform, that a system 
of elective studies should be adopted by the Board. Rev. 
Dr. Goodwin having resigned the office of Provost in June, 
1 868, the Trustees unanimously elected the present incum- 
bent as his successor. Yale College, his Alma Mater, con- 
ferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, 
during that summer. He was inaugurated to the high 
position he has since so ably held, September 30th, 1S68, 
and, in his (inaugur-il) address, took strong ground in 
favor of the establishment of a Scientific School on the 
general plan of the Sheffield School at New Haven, as a 
new department of the University. Shortly afterwards, the 
Trustees applied for the purchase of the site of the present 
University buildings in West Philadelphia. After a most 
tedious negotiation, which lasted more than a year, during 
which time he was a most active laborer, the City Councils 
consented to the sale. Arrangements w-ere soon made to 
erect the present beautiful building for the Collegiate and 
Scientific Departments. He prepared the plan of organi- 
zation, which was adopted in March, 1872. The building 
was opened for the reception of students in September, 
1872, with the two Faculties, that of Arts, and that of Sci- 
ences, filled with some of the ablest men in the country as 
professors, and thoroughly equipped with the best means 
of instruction. The number of students has more than 
doubled within the past five years, and is increasing annu- 
ally. His labors in this direction are appreciated not only 
by his colleagues and the Trustees, but by the public in 
general. He married, in 1S46, Anna, daughter of Joseph 
H. Dulles. 



f ALES, GEORGE, Merchant, was born at mid- 
night, on December 1st, 17S7, in Bristol, Rhode 
Island. His father, Nathaniel Kales, was of Welsh 
extraction, his ancestors having emigrated from 
Wales to America in 1640, and settled near 
Boston, Ma-ssachusetts. His mother's name was 
Eliz.ibeth Bradford, a lineal descendant of William Brad- 
ford, one of the Pilgrim Fathers who crossed the Atlantic 
in the famous " Mayflower," in 1620, and became the Gov- 
ernor of Plymouth Colony in 1621, retaininij that office for 
a period of about thirty years. Nathaniel P'ales was a far- 
mer in Rhode Island, and sustained a position of consider- 
able importance, having been at one time a Judge of the 
Common Pleas Court in that .State, and also a member of 
34 




the Legislature. George Fales is thus descended from the 
oldest American stock, the histoi-y of his family being 
bound up with that of the country; and he may well point 
with honest pride to the record of his race as that of men 
whose names are part of the annals of the New World, 
which Americans at least "will not willingly let die." On 
the completion of the ordinaiy school curriculum, he went, 
in 1802, to Boston, and there entered the office of his 
brother, Samuel Fales, who at that period carried on the 
business of a dry goods merchant in that city. Here he 
stayed some considerable time, learning his business thor- 
oughly, and acquiring those firmly fi.\ed habits of steady 
perseverance and integrity, to which, through a long life, 
he has persistently adhered, and which have had no small 
share in the success which has throughout marked his 
course. In 1814, aiming at an independent position, he 
struck out a line of action for himself, and went to Phila- 
delphia, there establishing himself in the di-y ^oods com- 
mission business, in partnership with a Mr. Cheever, under 
the style of Cheever & Fales. In 1827, the former died; 
and subsequently (in 1830), the firm became Fales, Loth- 
rop & Co., dealing principally in goods of American manu- 
facture. The film has continued, with slight modifications, 
up to the present time (1S74), the style of the house now 
being Wharton, Atkinson & Co., in which he is special 
partner. He has just completed his sixtieth year in the 
same business, and, notwithstanding his advanced age, is 
still hale and heaity, with every prospect of many years yet 
before him. He may well be considered one of the repre- 
sentative men of Philadelphia; a successful merchant, who 
is an honor to the city of his adoption, and who presents a 
worthy example of the natural result of persistent integrity 
and perseverance. He became, in 1840, a director of the 
Commercial National Bank, and, in 1857, of the Franklin 
Fire Insurance Company of Philadel]:>hia, both of which 
positions he still holds. He was piarried, in 1830, to Anne 
Rush, daughter of the celebrated Colonel Louis Rush, an 
old Pennsylvanian, who held the command of the regiment 
known as " The Philadelphia Blues." He still retains a 
connection with, and interest in, his native city and State, 
being the owner of property in Rhode Island which has 
descended to him from his paternal great grandfather, 
Timothy Fales, who graduated at Harvard, in 1711. 



S^ORDON, ISAAC GRANTHAM, Lawyer and 
Judge, was born December 22d, 1819, ia the 
borough of Lewisburg, Union county, Pennsyl- 
vania. His father, Zaccheus Gordon, was a 
coppersmith by trade, and was born in North- 
umberland county, Pennsylvania. The family is 
originally of Scotch descent, but pa.;sed subsequently into 
Ireland, his grandfather — John Gordon — being what is 
known as a Scotch-Irishman. He is one of that most hon- 




266 



BIOORAnilCAL ENCYCLOr.FDIA. 



orablc class of men who arc called " self-made " — men who 
by force of hard work and steady persislent cfiiirt raise 
themselves to eminence among their fellows. Having re- 
ceiveil — with the exception of a period of three months' 
tuition in the Lcwisburg Academy, which he with difiiculty 
obtained at a subsequent time — but the rudiments of an 
ordinary English education in the common schools of Lew- 
isburg, he has succeeded, i)y dint of the strictest economy 
of time — studying closely and earnestly at night and in the 
intervals of work — In giving himself a classical and scien- 
tific education not excelled by many who have enjoyed the 
full advantages of a university course. When about six- 
teen years of age, his father fell sick, and by this event the 
support of the whole family devolved upon him. lie ac- 
cepted the situation, and got employment in the Lewisburg 
Iron Foundry; in the first instance, as a common laborer, 
afterwards learning the trade of a moulder. Thus he con- 
tinued for about two years, with the intention of eventually 
establishing himself in business as an iron founder. It was 
not to be so, however. By one of those events called acci- 
dents, the whole course of his life was altered. When 
about eighteen years of age, his left foot was so badly 
burned by molten iron that he was injured for life. Being 
thus rendered unable to work, or even to leave the house 
for many months, through the kindness of his friends in 
lending him books to alleviate the monotony of his condi- 
tion, his attention was turned to literature, at first merely as 
a pastime. But, by degrees, he became more and more in- 
terested in literary and scientific pursuits, and acquired a 
habit of study which " grew with his growth, and strength- 
ened with his strength." The value and importance of 
mental culture and development being by these means 
impressed upon him, he determined, by a steady, persever- 
ing and systematic course of study, to acquire a more per- 
fect and complete education. This aim, most difficult of 
realization to one in his circumstances, he accomplisheil, as 
already stated, by studying at night, and whenever oppor- 
tunity offered. As soon as he could manage, with the aid 
of a slick, to limp to the foundry, he again began work for 
his father's and family's support. Thus he went on for four 
years, working hard by day in the dust and roar of the 
foundry, and, when evening came, silling down determin- 
edly to his books, and allowing no allurements to draw him 
away from his self-imposed task. So he acquired, during 
these years, simply by utilizing the odds and ends of time, 
a liberal and classical education, and prepared the way for 
passing to a more congenial occupation. At length, in 
1841, he commenced the study of the law in the office of 
James K. Linn, allorney at law, of Lewisburg, .and in the 
s.ame year joined the communion of the Presbyterian 
Church. He continued his legal studies for two years, and 
finally, in April, 1843, received the reward of his toilsome 
perseverance, by being admitted to practice in the several 
courts of Union county. In July of the same year, he left 
Union county, and opened an office in ('urwensvillc, in 




Clearfield county, shortly afterwards entering into partner- 
ship with the lion. G. R. Barrett. In 1846, he settled in 
Brookvllle, the county seat of Jefferson county, and, in the 
following year, was married to Mary C. Jenks, daughter of 
Dr. John W. Jenks, of Punxatawney, Jefferson county. 
Here he continued to reside and practise law until his 
election to the Supreme Bench, in October, 1873. He 
served in the Legislatures of 1S60 and iS6t for the district 
composed of Clearfield, Jefferson, Elk, and McKean, and 
in the latter year became Chairman of the Judiciary Com- 
mittee General. In 1S66, he was appointed by Governor 
Curtin to the President Judgeship of the Twenty-eighth 
Judicial District, to serve the unexpired term until the 
following December. 

RIER, ROBERT COOPER, Associate Justice 
of the United States Supreme Court, was born in 
Cumberl.and county, Pennsylvania, March Slh, 
1794. He w.is the eldest son of Rev. Is.-.ac 
(Jrier, and grandson of Rev. Robert Cooper, both 
of whom were Presbyterian ministers. In the 
autumn of 1794, his father took charge of the academy at 
Northumberland, Pennsylvania, having a full complement 
of scholars. At the same time he taught a grammar school, 
preached to three congregations, and tilled his own farm 
for the support of his family. He was a superior Lai in 
and Greek scholar, and, xs may be imagined, a man of re- 
m.ark.ablc energy of character. He educated his son in the 
best manner, commencing with the Latin tongue at six 
years of age; and when he Was but twelve years old, he 
h.ad mastered both it and ihe Greek langu.->ge. He contin- 
ued his studies with his father until iSll, when he entered 
the Junior Class at Dickinson College, and graduated there- 
from in 1I12. There he surpassed all his fellow students 
in his profound knowdedge of the ancient languages, beside 
excelling in chemistry. He remained at the college, after 
he had taken his degree, for a year, and taught a grammar 
school therein. His father's health laving failed about 
this time, he returned to Northumberland and assisted him 
in his education.il establishment. 'After his father's death, 
in 1S15, he succeeded him as Principal, lectured on chem- 
istry, astronomy, and mathematics, beside teaching Greek 
and Latin. His leisure hours he devoted to the study of 
law. He w.as admitted to practice in 1817, and opened his 
office in Bloomsburg, Columbia county; in 1S18, he re- 
moved to Danville, in. the same county. His practice 
increased till 1S33, when he was appointed by Governor 
Wolf, Judge of the District Court of Alleghany county. 
He now removed to Pittsburgh. On the 4th of August, 
1846, he was nomin.ited by President Polk one of the Jus- 
tices of the United .Stales .Supreme Court, and unanimously 
confirmed the next day. In 1848, he removed to Phila- 
delphia, and continued to reside there until his death, 
which occurred September 2^th, 1870. He was eminenlly 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOr/EDIA. 



267 




distinguished for integrity of purpose, fidelity to his client, 
and benevolence to those of limited means, preferring jus- 
tice to gnin. The esteem of his legal brethren was exhi- 
bited in the great deference given to his decisions, and 
their warm personal friendshij). At the death of his father, 
he took charge of his brothers and sisters, ten in number, 
cared for and educated all, as a faithful guardian, until 
tliey were settled in life. lie married, in 1S29, Isabella, 
daughter of John Rose, a native of Scotland. 



'ARP, THOM.-VS, Jr., Merchant, was born in 
Philadelphia, April Sih, 1819, and Vi'as the only 
son of Thomas and Rebecca Earp. His father 
was a native of England, and emigrated to tliis 
country at a very early age. He received a com- 
mon school education, and on its completion be- 
came a clerk in his father's office, who at that time had a 
hardware store on Market street. Here he continued until 
1842, in which year he commenced a produce commission 
business in partnei'ship with his cousin, John Young ; who 
shortly afterwards died. He continued, however, by him- 
self for a number of years, and was most successful, en- 
larging his trade and developing it to a considerable ex- 
tent. In 1852 he relinquished this calling, and established 
himself as a dealer in lard, oils, etc., succeeding to Charles 
S. Williams, who had begun the trade many years before. 
This was the first business of that nature establiihed in 
Philadelphia, and he continued it, having a factory at 246 
north Water street, until the year 1868, when he resigned 
it to his two sons, and retired from active mercantile life. 
This concern has been greatly extended since it was under- 
taken by him, and at present (1874) is not only the oldest 
established but bids fair to become the largest of its kind 
in the city. He was married, in 1841, to Ellen, eldest 
daughter of George W. Fobes, and has issue four chil- 
dren ; one of whom, a son, died in 1869. Though always 
systematically declining political offices and distinctions, 
he strongly espoused the Republican cause in politics, and 
w.as for many years a member of the Union Le.igue of 
Philadelphia. He died November Zlst, 1872, and will be 
remembered as one of the most prominent and respected 
citizens of the State. 



jIlITALL, JOHN MICKLE, Merchant, was born 
at Woodbury, New Jersey, November 4th, iSoo. 
The family is of English extraction. His parents 
were John S. Whitall, a native of Red Bank, 
New Jersey, who traded extensively with the 
West Indies, and Sarah (Mickle) Whitall. He 

received his education at the common school at Woodbury ; 

and when about sixteen years of age went ** before the 




mast " in the ship " William Savery," owned by Edward 
Thompson, which ran from Philadelphia to China for tea. 
In I $2 1, he had risen to be second mate in the ship " Ben- 
jamin Rush," and in the following year was chief mate of 
the ship " Dorothea," also trading to China, owned by 
Louis Clapier, a well-known ship owner and merchant of 
those days. He also made some voyages to Gibraltar and 
Antwerp, as chief mate of the " America ; " and, in 1S24, 
while yet scarcely more than a boy, he reached the summit 
of his profession, and received the reward of his steadiness 
and ability by being appointed Commander of the ship 
" New Jersey," which sailed from Philadelphia to Liver- 
pool, and thence to Canton. He made four voyages to 
China in this ship, some of them being unusually quick. 
While captain of the " New Jersey," he did a noteworthy 
act by beating right up the China Seas, out of season, against 
the northeast monsoon, instead of taking, as is customary 
at that period of the year, the eastern passage ; or what is 
commonly known among seamen as " East-about." By 
this means he effected a great shortening of the voyage, and 
opened up, out of season, a more direct route to China. 
While quite young he had been deeply impressed with re- 
ligious truths, and endeavored to bring them to bear also 
upon those around him. He succeeded so far in influenc- 
ing the seamen under his command that all profanity was 
banished from his ship ; no oath was ever heard there ; a 
fact which he records with pleasurable satisfaction, and 
which is a remarkable incident in connection with that class 
of men. In 1829 he left the sea, and in 1830 commenced 
a wholesale diy-goods business in Philadelphia, under the 
style of Capp & Whitall. Within some four or five years 
his partner retired, and he continued it alone until 1837. 
He was compelled to succumb in the great financial panic 
of that year, and effected a compromise with his creditors. 
This heavy trouble he met with firmness and decision. Not 
considering that his responsibility was removed by the 
ordinary legal discharge, he mentally determined to p.iy 
his creditors in full. This he believed to be a duty enforced 
upon him by his religious tenets, and not merely a point 
of honor. The self-imposed task, however, was not accom- 
plished easily or quickly ; nor without steady persistent effort 
and self-denial. He commenced and continued to practise 
the strictest economy, alw.ays keeping in view this one aim. 
And, to his honor be it recorded, that within twelve years 
from the d.ate of his failure he succeeded in discharging all 
his debts in full, jiaying both principal and interest. The 
simple statement of this episode is sufficient testimony to 
the stern integrity and unflinching uprightness, as well as 
the firmness, of his character. In 1S38, he was admitted 
a partner in the firm of .Scattergood, Haverstick & Co., 
glass manufacturers ; the factory of the firm being at Mill- 
ville. New Jersey. The style of the house eventually be- 
came Whitall, Tatum & Co., by which name it is at pre- 
.sent (1874) known. He continued in this business for 
twenty-seven yeais ; during which time he was successful 



268 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



in paying off all the indebtedness of his previous failure, 
as al)ove described, and subsequently achieved a compe- 
tency. He finally retired from active business life in 1S65. 
In lS6l,he w.is appointed by the District Court a Guardian 
of ihc Poor, an<l was President several years. During 
this time — alx.ut the year 1865 — while Chairman of a Com- 
mittee on Heating and Ventilation, he introduced success- 
fully into the Alms House a system of ventilation which he 
himself had long used, and which, while being perfectly 
simple and easy of application, has been proved by re- 
pealed and severe tests to be most eflfeclual. He argued 
that all the more injurious ingredients of the impure air of 
a room, the virus of contagion, etc., being of a dense na- 
ture, must sink to the floor; and that, therefore, the proper 
way to ventilate a chamber or room is to supply a vent or 
flue for the egress of foul air from the floor, and not, as 
usual, from just under the ceiling; at the same time intro- 
ducing pure air by a se]>arate flue, or by the ordinary pas- 
sage of the heater. After considerable discussion, he carried 
his point, and his system was adopted in the Poor House 
with the most beneficial results. Wards and chambers in 
that establishment which were furnished with this apparatus 
have remained entirely free from contagious diseases, while 
the same diseases have been rampant in other wards not 
so ventilated. And — further proof of its success — on its 
introduction into chambers hitherto ventilated on the old 
plan, where contagious diseases were, they have gradually 
decreased and disappeared. The Poor Asylum of Phila- 
delphia is now ventil.-ited on this system throughout, to the 
exclusion of every other system of ventihition, and the im- 
provement in the health of the inmates has most fully jus- 
tified the anticipations of its inventor. Were it only for 
his labors in this direction he would deserve well of his 
city and State. He has also taken great interest in the 
treatment of the insane. He was for many years a 
Manager of the Friends' Asylum for the Insane, at Krank- 
ford; and also for fifteen years a Manager of the Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital. In politics, he is a Republican, though 
he has never held any political office. 



C^^ AMAC, WILLIAM, M. D., Physician and Pliilan- 
ihropist, W.-US born in Philadelphia, November 
26th, 1S29. His great grandfather, by the pater- 
nal side, w.as Thomas Masters, an old resident of 
Philadelphia, whose daughter, Sar.a'i, married 
'l"urner Camac, of Dublin, Ireland. \V. Masters 
Camac, father of William Camac, married Klizabeth 
IJoynton Markoc, daughter of John Markoe, of Phila- 
delphia, who was the son of Abraham Markoe, the first 
Captain of the First City Troop of rhilaileli)hia in the 
Rcvolutionai-y War. Their son w.as educated at College 
Point, Flushing, Long Islancl, under the charge of William 
.\. Muhlenberg, D. 1 >., and at Columbia College, New York. 




"(3=> 



An earnest student and an excellent classical scholar during 
his course, although <|uite young, he assisted Dr. Muhlen- 
l>erg by teaching Greek and Latin to the younger students. 
Having studied medicine, he graduated at Jefi'erson College, 
Philadelphia, March, 1S52, but never applied himself espe- 
cially to the practice of his profession; entering the lalx>- 
ratory of Professor James C. Booth he studied chemistry, 
and afterwards entered into partnership with him ; during 
this time he lectured on chemistry at a medical school. 
Upon the breaking out of the Civil War, having been a 
member of the City Troop from 1S50, and .second Lieuten- 
ant for one year, he was actively engaged in the three 
months' service, and acted subsequently on the staff of 
General Patterson, with the rank of Major. In 1862, he 
was appointed by Governor Curtin Agent in New York to 
attend to the interests of Pennsylvania soldiers in that 
city ; not finding much to occupy his attention there, how- 
ever, he was api>ointed by Surgeon General Hammond to 
travel and provide for the comfort of all soldiers, with full 
authority to act, and under this order he spent some time 
at Fortress Monroe and York river. In August, 1S62, he 
was appointed Acting Assistant- Surgeon United -States 
Army, and put in charge of an Officers' Ilaspital ; this 
hospital was tlie old family residence in Camac's Woods, 
Philadelphia, which was tendered by him to the Govern- 
ment free of rent, and as such was used until the close of 
the war. Although fortunately relieved from the necessity 
of professional practice, he has been an active and efficient 
coadjutor in many scientific, artistic and philanthropic en- 
terprises and pursuits. He is a member of the Union 
League, Franklin Institute, Academy of Fine Arts, Horti- 
cultural Society, and various musical associations, frequently 
serving on various committees in these bodies ; he has been 
a Manager of the Asylum for the Blind, and is a Director 
of the Academy of Music, President of the Amphion Mu- 
sical Association, Member of the venerable Schuylkill Fish- 
ing Company, and its present Governor, and Founder and 
President of the Zoological Society, the success of which, 
now gu.iranteed, may, without derogation to others, be prin- 
cipally ascribed to his persistent advocacy and labors for 
several years; he was also on the Committee of Consolida- 
tion of the City in 1855, and the Committee of the Sanitary 
Fair in 1S64. He has also been a member of the Ancient 
York M.-isons in good standing for many years ; and w.os the 
fii-st ])crson to introduce aquaria in Philadelphia. In the 
early part of 1S60 he became a fin.ancial partner in the 
illustrateil humorous weekly, Vauily Fair, started in New 
York January 1st, i860, by W. A. Stephens, of Philadel- 
phia, sustaining it liberally through the adverse times of 
the early part of the war. The )iaper was discontinued 
July 4th, 1863, and although not a financial success it w.ts 
a literary one. He has been .1 frequent contributor to 
various literar)- and scientific papers and magazines. De- 
votedly att.icheil to music, he is .an excellent ainalcur pir 
former on the pianoforte and several other instruments. The 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CYCLOP.EDIA. 



269 



possessor of a fine voice, he has repeatedly sung and per- 
formed at charitable concerts given in aid of the Sani- 
tary Fair and other benevolent objects, besides lending 
his services in amateur dramatic performances at the 
Amateurs' Drawing Room, Philadelphia, for similar ob- 
jects, with approl^ation. He is also the composer of many 
songs, and other music published with success. Indeed he 
is remarkable for his versatility. He is skdful in the use 
of mechanical tools, and his house contains numerous 
specimens of his handiwork ; many of the books in his 
library were bound by him; he has printxl many things 
upon his private press, taken numerous photographs, drawn 
a variety of crayon and pencil pictures, besides painting 
creditably in water colors. He has made numerous voy- 
ages to the Old World, and has recently returned from an 
extended tour with his family in Europe, Egyjit, Syria, etc. 
He was married, November 25th, :85i, to Ellen Maria 
Mcllvaine, daughter of Bloorofield Mcllvaine, a brother 
of the late Bishop Mcllvaine of Ohio, and son of Hon. 
Joseph Mcllvaine of Burlington, New Jersey, for several 
years United States .Senator for that State. The former 
married Henrietta Bancker, daughter of the late Charles 
W. Bancker of Philadelphia. 




/ 



ALCOM, HOWARD, D. D., LL. D., Clergyman 
and Author, was born in Philadelphia, Penn- 
sylvania, January 19th, 1799. His maternal 
grandfather, John Howard, an opulent Philadel- 
phian, died in 1809, at the advanced age of eighty- 
four years. He was a descendant of Hugh 
Roberts, of Wales, an eminent minister among the Society 
of Friends, who came to this country about one year after 
the arrival of William Penn. Deborah Howard, a daughter 
of John Howard, married John J. Malcom, of Philadelphia, 
whose father came from Scotland. Howard Malcom was 
their son and only child. His collegiate education was ob- 
tained at Dickinson College, which he entered in 1813. 
On leaving college he was placed in the counting-house of 
Miller & Van Buren, a prominent shipping firm on Front 
street, Philadelphia, where he learned those accurate and 
punctual habits which have so largely contributed to his 
comfort and success in life. He was baptized by Dr. Wil- 
liam Staughton,of the S-insom Street Church, Philadelphia, 
in February, i8i5. In 1S17, he left the counting-house 
and commenced the study of divinity, and was licensed to 
preach in May, 1818, by the Sansom Street Church. He 
prosecuted a full course in the Theological Seminary at 
Princeton, and at the same time acted gratuitously as pastor 
of a Baptist church near by. In 1S20, he received a call 
from the Baptist church in the city of Hudson, New York, 
which he accepted, and was ordained in May of that year. 
He married and became their settled pastor. There he 
(established the first Sabbath-schools of that place, and spent 



a month eveiy summer in travelling, in his own conveyance 
and at his own expense, between Utica and Sackett's Har- 
bor, for the purpose of founding Sunday-schools. As none 
had previously existed in all that region, he became the 
father under whose fostering care sprang up those nurseries 
of the Church from which have flowed such beneficent re- 
sults. When, in 1825, the " Philadelphia Sunday and Adult 
Sch )ol Union " became the " American Sunday-School 
Union," it induced him to resign his pastoral charge and 
labor with them in the great Sunday school work. The 
duty assigned to him was to travel the countiy in order to 
organize auxiliaries and depositories, appoint local agents 
for the same purpose, and establish Sunday-schools. In 
this work he visited every principal city in the United States. 
While thus engaged he was prevailed upon to assume, 
though reluctantly, the pastorship of the Federal Street, now 
Clarendon, Baptist Church, of Boston, Massachusetts, then 
just organized, and became its first pastor in 1827. The 
climate proved uncongenial and necessitated, in I S3 1, a 
tour of seven months over Europe, from which, however, 
he received but transient benefit. In March, 1835, his 
voice so failed that' he could no longer speak in public. 
About this time circumstances rendered it necessary to send 
a delegate to all the Baptist Foreign Missions, to adjust on 
the spot important matters which were beyond the reach 
of correspondence, and he was appointed to the mission. 
This responsible and arduous duly occupied a period of two 
and a half years, and involved journeys by land and water 
amounting in the aggregate to seventy-two thousand miles. 
After having visited many of the missionary stations of other 
denominations in India, in order that he might first learn the 
mode of procedure, he then proceeded to all those of his own 
denomination, in Hindostan, Madras, Burmah, the Tenasse- 
rim Provinces, Tavoy, Siam and China, and returned home by 
way of Singapore, Malacca, and the Cape of Good Hope. 
Still unable to preach in large places of worship, he ac- 
cejjted, in 1S39, the Presidency of Georgetown College, 
Kentucky, then just established. His labors in this position 
were eminently successful, and he not only succeeded in 
giving to the college a thorough organization, but also in 
collecting during the vacation a considerable endowment 
and a respectable library and cabine*. In addition to his 
duties as President, he filled the chair of Metaphysics, Poli- 
tical Economy and Moral Philosophy. In 1S41, he received, 
simultaneously from the University of Vermont and Union 
College of New York, the honorary degree of D. D. 'In 
this position his teachings were openly anti-slavery, and in 
face of the growing vehemence of the slavery feeling pre- 
cipitated a crisis, which resulted in his resignation, in 
August, 1849. In August, 1851, he became the first Presi- 
dent of the University of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and 
continued to preside over that institution, filling also the 
chair of Metaphysics and Moral Philosophy, until increasing 
loss of voice compelled his resignation, in August, 1859. 
Subsequently he received from the institution the honorary 



270 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



degree of LL. D. In 1S61, he became the president of I 
llic American Baptist Historical Society, of which he was j 
virtually the originator; and in which he continues to labor 
without salary, giving time and money to promote its ob- 
jects. In addition to his other labors, he has produced 
some valuable works. In 1828, he published a Diclionary 
of Ihe Jiilili, of which there were sold in the first twelve 
months twenty thousand copies. It has passed through 
one hundred and forty editions in America and several in 
London, reaching an aggregate of about two hundred 
thousand copies. In 1829, he issued T/ie Nature and 
Exit-Ill of Ihe Aloncmail,m\\\\\f^ he maintains the Cal- 
vinistic view. It was followed, in 1830, by Thi Christian 
Rule if Marriage, \\\\\ch, by 1857, had reached a sale of 
fourteen thousand copies ; subsequently by a memoir of his 
wife, Lydia Malcom, and an interesting account of his 
travels in southeastern Asia. His Theological Index con- 
tains seventy thousand citations, alphabetically arranged 
under two thousand heads, with references to the principal 
works in every de])artment of religious literature, forming a 
concordance of religious literature, the value of which can- 
not be over estimated. He has also edited Baxter's Saints' 
Rest, Imitation of Christ, Keach's Travels of True Godli- 
ness, Robert Hall's Helps to Zion's Travellers, Henry's 
Communicants' Companion, Law's Serious Call, and But- 
ler's Analogy of Religion and jYalure, which is steadily in- 
crexsing in circulation in the colleges and high schools of 
our land. His Baccalaureate Address to the graduating 
class at Lewishurg, in July, 1857, excited favorable com- 
ment; a celebrated author wished every young man in the 
country could read it. He has also been a constant con- 
tributor to the current religious periodicals of his day. He 
was one of the founders of the American Tract Society, 
of which he wis made vice-president at the beginning, and 
is now the oldest director. He is also president of the 
.\mcrican I'cace Society. 



;RAZER, JOHN FRIES, A. M., LL. D., Professor 
of N.atural Philosophy and Chemistry in the 
University of Pennsylvania, from 1S44 till 1872, 
was born in Philadelphia, July 8th, 1S12. His 
great-grandfather, John Fraxer, originally from 
.Scotland, had emigrated to this cmnliy from 
comity Antrim, Ireland, in the early part of the eighteenth 
century, and established himself as a merchant in Philadel- 
phia. Persifor, th:; son of this ancestor, was a shipping 
merchant in Philadelphia, a signer of the non-importation 
resolutions, and, at the breaking out of the Revolution, 
raised a company of soldiei-s from his neighborhood in 
Chester county, to which he had removed, and attached 
himself to the regiment of General Wayne. He was present 
at the battle of Brandywine, and commanded the regiment 
of Colonel Jackson at Monnioulh, where, for his gallant 




conduct, he received a letter of thanks from General Wash- 
ington. Robert, one of nine children of Persifor Frazer 
and Mary Taylor, was born in PhiKadelphia in 1768, gradu- 
ated at Princeton, and studied law in the oflice of Jared 
Ingersoll. His specialty was land law, on which branch 
he was generally regarded as high authority. He practised 
in Philadelphia, and afterwards in Norristown, Chester, 
and West Chester. His first wife was Mary Ball, by whom 
he left no issue. By his second wife, Elizabeth Fries, he 
had five children, the youngest of whom was John Fries 
Frazer. Elizabeth Frazer died about two years after her 
youngest was born, leaving John, and one brother and one 
sister, the only surviving children, in charge of a nurse. 
Their father, Robert, died in 1820, when they were left in 
the custody of their maternal grandfather, John Fries. The 
two boys were soon after sent to school in Germanlo« n for 
a short time, when John entered Captain Partridge's Military 
Academy, in Connecticut, where he remained but one year. 
He was finally committed to the charge of the Rev. Dr. 
Samuel B. Wylie, D.D., in Philadelphia, who received him 
into his family, and not only took care of his instruction from 
this time, bu', treated him in every respect like his own son. 
He returned the Doctor's kindness with a filial affection, 
and devoted himself to his studies with enthusiasm. He 
stood firet at school, and maintained this position subse- 
quently among his classmates at college, after, in 1S28, pass- 
ing a creditable examination for admission to the junior 
class of the University of Pennsylvania at the age of sixteen. 
Here he excelled in the classics and mathematics, and was 
so preeminent in physical science as to win the warmest 
regard of Professor A. D. Bache, who made him his trusted 
assistant. It is somewhat singular that Professor Bache and 
Dr. W'ylie, the two men who exercised the most important 
influence on the career of John F. Frazer, should have been 
elected to their chairs at the same time that he entered col- 
lege. He graduated in 1S30, sharing the first honor with 
Mr. Clark. At this time Professor Alexander D. Bache 
was in charge of the Department of Natural Philosophy and 
Chemistry, and was so much impressed with his ability and 
industry, as well as his other trails of character, that he 
formed an attachment for him which brought them into 
most intimate relations till Professor Bache's death. The 
influence of this, one of America's greatest scientific men, 
on the intellectual development of his earnest scholar, 
w.-us necessarily very great, and his example determined 
the lalter's inclination to science. After completing the 
academic course, he entered his name in the oflice of John 
M. Scott as a student of law, and about the year 1833 passed 
" one of the best examinations in the memory of the ex- 
aminers." After this he studied medicine, and would have 
received the medical diploma also, h.ad not an enforced ab- 
sence from the city prevented. During this period (from 
his graduation in the Department of Arts until 1836) he was 
much in society, of which he was very fond, and which he 
was eniincnlly fitte>l to admn, but he never allowed his pas- 



BIOGRAPHICAL 

times to divert him from reading and study ; and while an 
active member of the First City Troop, the United Bow- 
men (an arcliery club), etc., he was fully alive to all that 
was transpiring in the world of letters and of science, and 
was an equally active member of the Academy of Natural 
Sciences (from September, 1S35), and the Franklin Insti- 
tute (from November l8th, 1835). In 1836, he spent a year 
in the field, as assistant to Professor H. D. Rogers, in the 
geological survey of Pennsylvania. In 1S38, he married 
Charlotte Cave, and shortly thereafter accepted a professor- 
ship in the High School, where "he assisted Professor Bache 
in a series of magnetic observations from 1S40 to 1845, 
contributing with nine other gentlemen to bear, " at first 
nearly all, and afterwards a considerable part of the ex- 
penses of the observatory." (Preface to Bache's report.) 
The immediate direction of the observations from Decem- 
ber, 1843, ^^^s '" 'li^ hands of Professor J. F. Frazer, and 
the duties were performed gratuitously. On the resigna- 
tion of Professor Bache from his chair in the University of 
Pennsylvania, Professor Frazer was selected to occupy it, 
and continued to perform its duties, with the exception of 
one year (1867), which his physician comj^elled him to 
pass abroad, until the day of his death. In 1842, he was 
elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, 
and shortly afterwards (1845) one of its secretaries, which 
position he held till 1855, when he was elected one of the 
vice-presidents. He was editor of the Franklin Institute 
Journal from 1850 till 1866, and Vice-Provost of the Uni- 
versity from 1856 till 186S (during one year of which time 
(1859—60) he was acting provost), when he resigned, and 
the office remained vacant till after his death. In 1S63, he 
was one of the fifty scientific men who were constituted by 
act of Congress a National Academy of Science, intended to 
be similar to the National Academy of France. His earnest- 
ness in the cause of science, together with his thorough ac- 
quaintance with the laws of the physical universe so far as 
yet understood, and the charm of his conversation, en- 
deared him to the first men of science and culture in this 
countiy. Professor Felton and the lamented Agassiz (who 
spoke of him as the first physicist in America), Professors 
Pearce, Benjamin Gould, Henry, Bache, Wolcott Gibbs, 
Lesley, Haldeman, Leconte, and Genth, were his intimate 
friends, and all prized his straightforwardness, his wit, and 
his scientific judgment. His personal qualities made him 
popular in every circle. The day after the inauguration of 
the New University building, October I2lh, 1872, he was 
engaged in placing the books of his private library on their 
.shelves; when, it is thought, feeling faint, and knowing 
that no assistance was at hand on the lower floor where he 
was at work, he ascended the circular staircase to his ap- 
paratus room, but, on opening the door, fell to the floor and 
expired instantly. A memorial window from the class of 
'72, and his portrait placed in the chapel galleiy by the 
Alumni, are enduring tributes of respect from those for 
whom his life's work was given. 




ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 271 

.0, 1/ 

RAZER, PERSIFOR, Jr., A. M., Professor of 
Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania, son 
of Professor John F. Frazer and Charlotte Cave, 
was born in Philadelphia on July 24th, 1844. He 
was instructed, while very young, at home, and 
at seven years was sent to Miss Learned's school 
in St. Luke's church, where he remained until he entered 
Mr. Arthur's school. In September, 1855, he was trans- 
ferred to Mr. Faires's school, from which he entered the 
University of Pennsylvania, in September, 1858. He 
graduated thence in July, 1S62; and at the same time re- 
ceived an appointment as Aid in the United States Coast 
Survey, and was assigned to the party of Assistant Henry 
Mitchell, then engaged in the hydrographic survey of Narra- 
gansett Bay. Here he remained until the party broke up, 
when, on application to the Superintendent of the Coast 
Survey, he was transferred to the United States Steamer 
" Bibb," then about to sail for the headquarters of the 
South Atlantic squadron, at Port Royal, South Carolina. 
He was relieved from the " Bilib " in the spring of 1863, 
and ordered to report for duty to Assistant Henry Mitchell, 
whose party was engaged in the survey of Sandy Hook. 
While here, the Southern army crossed the Potomac, and 
an earnest appeal was made by the Governor of Pennsylva- 
nia for "emergency men" to repel the invasion. Proceed- 
ing to Philadelphia, he joined the First City Troop, and re- 
mained with them during their brief campaign at Gettys- 
burg. He resigned from the Coast Survey in December, 
1863, and in September, 1864, was appointed an ensign in the 
United States Navy, and was ordered to the Fifth Division 
of the Mississippi Squadron, where he remained, taking 
part in the second Red River expedition, just before the 
close of the war. In November, 1865, he received an hono- 
rable discharge, and in May, 1866, went to Germany, where 
he passed three years in the Mining Academy in Saxony, and 
in travels in France, .Switzerland, and Bohemia. Returning 
in May, 1S69, he joined the geological survey of Colorado 
and New Mexico, under the charge of Dr. F. V. Hayden, 
as Mineralogist, and made a report to Dr. Hayden of the 
mineralogy of those territories. After visiting Wyoming, 
Colorado, New Mexico, California, and Nevada, he returned 
to Philadelphia and opened an office as Geologist and 
Mining Engineer. On the resignation of Professor Morton 
from the professorship of chemistry in the University of 
Pennsylvania in .September, 1870, Professor John F. Frazer 
appointed his son an instructor in chemistry. In 1S71, the 
trustees elected Persifor Frazer, Jr., "Assistant Professor of 
Natural Philosophy and Chemistiy," and after the death of 
Professor J. F. Frazer, on the separation of the chair of 
Natural Philosophy and Chemistry into two chairs, the 
professorship of chemistry was tendered to, and is still held 
by, him. He is an active and energetic member of the 
Academy of Natural Science, the Philosophical Society, the 
Franklin Institute, and the American Institute of Mining 
Engineers. 



DIOGRArillCAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



I ANCOAST, CHARLES STAGEY, Lawyer, is ihe 

son of Slaccy and Eliza (llallon) Pancoast, and 
was born in the- cily of New York, Oclobcr zglh, 
te|^ ^) 1823. The father was a native of Virginia, and 
' had left there to engage in business in New York. 
Charles was educated in that city, and afterwards 
removed to Philadelphia, where he entered the conveyanc- 
ing office of John Uonsail. After perfecting himself in that 
study, he read law in the office of James IL Castle, and 
was admitted to practice Miy 7th, 1S45. In 1S46, he mar- 
ried Mary, daughter of Edward Shelmerdine, who, in the 
early part of the present century, had the then well-known 
hat store on Chestnut street, next to the Farmers and Me- 
chanics Bank. By close application to his profession, and 
fidelity to the interests of his clients, he enjoys a fine prac- 
tice, with the reputation .ilso of being a conscientious and 
upright advocate. A Republican in [xditics, he was one of 
the earliest members of the Union Lcngue, joining it before 
its organii.ition was completed. He was the president of 
the Cermanlown Union League, and during the war gave 
an unfaltering support to the Government. 

JaCHE, ILVKTM.W, general. Topographi- 
cal Engineer, was horn in Phil.idelphia in 179S. 
He was a son of Benjamin Kmnklin and Mar- 
garet (NLirkoe) B.iche, and a great grandson of 
Dr. Benjamin Franklin. His preliminary eilu- 
cation was attended to in his native cily, and at the 
age of sixteen years he entered the United States Military 
Academy at West Point, as a cadet, whence he graduated, 
with the highest honors andstandirg, July 241I1, 1S18. His 
first commission bears that date as Brevet Cajitain Staff, 
Assistant Topographical Engineers. He was assigned to 
duty at once on the survey of Chesapeake B.ay and vicinity 
for a naval depot, and the subsequent year to New York 
harbor. From tlir.t time until 1S2S, he was variously en- 
gaged on surveys for the defences i,f Portland, Maine; 
Georgetown and Charleston, South Carolina; the Narrows 
of the Penobscot river, and the Naval Rendezvous of 
Mount Desert Island, Maine ; also for a canal from Conc- 
wago F.ills, Pennsylvania, to Port Deposit, Maryland ; 
harbor improvements at Marblchead, Holmes' Hole, and 
Martha's Vineyard, NLxssachusetIs ; and also of other works 
of public utility in Virginia, the two Carolinas, Georgia 
and Tennessee. I le w.xs promoted to the brevet rank of 
M.njor, July 24lh, 1828, "for ten years' faithful service in 
one grade." From that year until 1S32, he was mainly 
employed in surveys for hnrlmr imi)rovements of Long 
Island Sound, Sandy Biy, Massachusetts, the Delaware and 
Raritan rivers, and also for a railroad from Williamsporl, 
Pennsylvania, lo Elmira, New York. He was advanced, 
August 1st, 1832, to Ihe grade of brevet major on the staff 
of l()i-H)graphical engineers. 1 le next made surveys of the 




harbors of Lake Champlain, for a road in the valley of the 
Kennebec river, Maine, a lighthouse on Brandywine 
Shoals, and a roadstead at Cape May, New Jersey. He 
was the superintending topographical engineer of the 
light-house on the above-named shoals from 1835 lo 1847, 
and of harlxjr improvements, etc., in Delaware Bay from 
1839 to 1S52. On July 7th, 1S58, he became full major in 
the same corps. From 1S42 to 1S51, he served on surveys 
for defences at various points, lighthouses, beacons, includ- 
ing two years on the Florida Rerfs. He was apjKiinttd a 
member of the Board of Topographical Engineers for the 
Lake harbors and the western rivers, September i6th, 1S55, 
and .served thereon till November 20lh, 1855. He w.as 
also light house engineer for Delaware and Chesapeake 
bays during the same period ; and afterwards filled the 
same office on the Pacific division until March 2lsl, 1859; 
and was the Inspector of Light-houses on the Pacific co.xst 
during his three years' stay in California and Oregon. 
From 1855 to 1858, he was in charge of the military roads 
on the Pacific coast. From June l6th, 1859, to Ajiril nth, 
1861, he was light-house engineer for the fourth, fifth, and 
seventh light-house districts. At the outbreak of the Re- 
bellion he was in charge of the Bureau of Topographical 
Engineers at Washington, and was created lieutenant- 
colonel in th.it coi-])s August 6lh, 1861 ; he was m.ide assis- 
tantinlhe same bureau December nth, l86i,and remained 
there until June i6th, 1862, when he became a member 
of the Light-house Board. He was promoted to the 
colonelcy of topographical engineers, M.irch 3d, 1863, ami 
was appointed superintending engineer of Forts Mifflin and 
Delaware, and of the ten-gun battery o|iposite the latter, 
where he remained until November, 1865. He was com- 
missioned Brevet Brigadier-General United States Army, 
March 13th, 1865, for " long, faithful, and meritorious ser- 
vices," and was retired from active service March 7th, 1S67, 
having been borne on the army register for forty-five years. 
He married Maria, a sister of the late MajorGtneral 
Meade. He died in Philadelphia, October 8th, 1872. 



EWJS, ABRAHAM JARRETT, Merchant, was 
born in Baltimore, Maryland, Januaiy I2th, 1791. 
lie is the son of Captain Joseph Lewis, of F'air- 
fax county, Virginia, an officer of the Revolu- 
tionary army, and a grandson of Joseph Lewis, 
Barrister, originally from Monmouthshire, Wales. He 
was educated in Baltimore, and when quite young entered 
the counting-house of Samuel W. Lewis, dry-goods mer- 
chant of that city. Here he received a thorough business 
training, and soon established a reputation for fidelity, 
ability, shrewdness, and integrity, which h.is never forsaken 
him through a long and eventful mercantile career. In 
January, 1812, he formed a partnership with a younger 
brother, who hail also gained the confidence and good will 




J 



BIOGRArHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



273 



of the mercanlile commuiiily, and commenced the commis- 
sion and dry-goods business on his own account. This 
hiother, the Hon. Elisha Lewis, retired long since witli an 
ample fortune, and took up his residence on an estate in 
Maryland. The partnership endured, however, for many 
years. At a very early dale, they established a branch 
house in Manchester, England, presided over by the younger 
of the two brothers, and subsequently opened a liouse in 
New York. It is safe to assert, that no American firm for 
so long a period ever enjoyed to such an unlimited extent 
the confidence and esteem of the British mercanlile com- 
munity. Even at the present writing, the firm have accounts 
on their books which are still active after a lapse of forty 
years, during which lime the parties have never ceased 
shipping various fabrics at their own risk and for their own 
account, under jutlicious recommendations from this side, 
and in most instances without having had occasion to write 
a letter of reproof, or even to find fault with the manage- 
ment of their interests. In the spring of 1 8 14, during the 
War with Great Britain, the city of Baltimore was threatened, 
and the senior partner resolved to remove their entire stock 
of goods to PittslDurgh, which was effected by wagons over 
the mountains, requiring a fortnight of continuous travel. 
During the summer he was engaged in disposing of the 
same, which was to great advantage, and he returned to 
Baltimore with the proceeds of the venture, just in time to 
witness, from Homestead Hill, the vigorous bombardment 
of Fort McHenry, on the day and evening previous to the 
djmonslralion on Baltimore, in the landing of the British 
forces at North Point. He was at the battle of North 
Point, and was near the spot where the British commander. 
General Ross, fell. Plis brother, who had been a commis- 
sioned officer in one of the Baltimore artillery companies, 
was serving in this engagement as a non-commissioned 
officer. Here he displayed great gallantry, and was pro- 
moted on the battlefield. The firm remained in Baltimore 
until 1S29, by which time their business had so increased 
that it was deemed advisable to seek a more extended 
market. It was with great reulctance that they left Balti- 
more for Philadelphia, but were convinced that the step was 
judicious. The house became at once a favorite, and has 
ever since so remained, taking the front rank among many 
similar estalilishments. Abr.iham J. Lewis has continued 
ever since the senior active partner of the firm, covering a 
period of over sixty years. By his great foresight, long 
experience and careful management, the house has success- 
fully weathered all the great financial storms which have 
swept over the country at various times. Its credit has 
ever been unimpaired, and it has stood as firm as a rock, 
while so many have been irretrievably ruined. In politics, 
he was in early life a decided Federalist of the old school, 
and subsequently a Henry Clay Whig. He became a pro- 
minent member of S.lect Councils shortly after his removal 
to Philadelphia, when that body was composed of the 
leading citizens of the municipality, and he look an active 

35 



part in the politics of the day. Although accustomed to 
slavery, and even a slaveholder himself, yet on his removal 
to Philadelphia he manumitted his few black retainers. He 
was among the first to be enrolled on the Committee of 
Safety at the commencement of the Rebellion in 1861 ; was 
one of the original fountlers of the Union League, and gave 
both a moral and pecuniary support to tlie Federal Govern- 
ment during its hour of trial. Before leaving Baltimore he 
served as Director and Manager of several leading financial 
institutions, and for more than thirty years has been an active 
Director of the Bank of North America, beside serving on 
the boards of many other institutions both of a mercantile 
and benevolent character. He has been a prominent vestry- 
man of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal Church for over 
thirty years, and has contributed much of his time and 
means to achieve its present prosperous condition. He 
was married in 1S18. 




/ 



HAYER, MARTIN RUSSELL, Lawyer and 
Judge, was born at Petersburg, Virginia, January 
27th, 1S19. Plis parents were Martin Thayer 
and Mary Call Russell, the former being a lineal 
descendant in the sixth generation from Richard 
Thayer, who came to Boston with Winlhrop, 
Dudley and other founders of that city, in 1630. The 
family came from the county of Essex, in England. Martin 
Thayer removed to Petersburg, Virginia, at the age of 
twenty. Martin Russell Thayer was his third son. Losing 
his mother when hardly two years old, his nurture and 
early education were entrusted to a maiden aunt, Martha 
Russell, a woman of very thorough education, of many ac- 
complishments, of strong religious sentiments, who bestowed 
upon him exemplary care. When nine years old he was 
sent to Mount Pleasant Classical Institution, Amherst, Massa- 
chusetts ; subsequently he studied at Amherst College for 
a year. His father having in the meantime taken up his 
residence at Philadelphia, he removed thither, and entered 
the Sophomore class in the University of Pennsylvania, 
where he was graduated in 1S40, delivering the Valedictory 
Address. Having adopted the law as his profession, he 
became a student of the late Hon. Garrick Mallery, and 
was admitted to the bar September 5th, 1S42. He pursued 
his profession with success in Philadelphia until the autumn 
of 1862, when he was elected a member of Congress from 
the Fifth District of Pennsylvania; in 1S64 he was re- 
elected, but at the expiration of his second term declined 
re-nomination and returned to his profession. In 1867, he 
was appointed a Judge of the District Court for the City 
and County of Philadelphia to fill a vacancy, and, in 1868, 
was elected a Judge of the same court for a period of ten 
years — a position which he still holds. In 1862, he was ap- 
pointed one of the Commissioners to revise the revenue laws 
of Pennsylvania. While in Congress he took an active part 
in the deliberations of the House, speaking upon most of 



=74 



HIOORAnilCAL ENCYCLOIVEDIA. 




Ihc im;x)rlant topics which at that eventful period agitated 
the nation. lie was a strenuous supporter of the Govern- 
ment (luring tlie war, ami an advocate of the reconstruction 
measures adopted at its conclusion. He was also Chair- 
man of the Committee on Land Claims ; a member of the 
special committee which reported the bankrupt law, and 
of several other committees. lie took an active part also 
in the discussion of the various army bills, and tariff and 
intemJ revenue bills. He is the author of various publi- 
cations, anion.; which m.ay be mentioned : A Reply lo a 
Lel.'cr lo a FrunJ in a Slai'e Slale, The Dulles of 
Cilizensliifi, Tin Grcal Vicloiy, Us Cost and .Value, 
An Address at Gcllysburg College, On Librarm,' On 
the Law considered as a Progressive Science', The Life, 
Characler and Writings of I'rancis Liehcrx In 1 87 3, he 
was ap|K)inted a member, and elected President, of. the 
Board of Visitors to the United States Militaiy AcadfanyiU 
West Point, and wrote the Report which was made during 
that year to the Secretary of War. 



ITTLETON, WILLIAM ~E., La>v)*^r ^n4J'ol^- 
tician, was born January 1st, ^iSjS.^He was 
.^ educated .at Girard College, from which he gA- 
^ dualed in September, .1853. lieijjjg intomlcd foft 
S^t^ the legal profession, he was tdaced in a convey- 
ancer's office, at ihi^amertiipu (es^ding law un- 
der Richard C. McMurtrie, of Phila(ji;lphi:j^ lie wjs ad-, 
milled to the bar in March, iS^l, and ^iy^s talents .pn(^ 
devotion lo the l)cst interests of his cliejils jie,sr)<)n acfjuircd, 
a very excellent ])rofessional sLinding. -, At an gar_ly pcriotj 
in his career he began to manifest a l.irge and intelligent 
interest in public affairs, and his ability and char.icler have 
gained for him many positions of trust and honor. In 1S66, 
he W.TS elected a member of the Common Council from 
the Twelfth WanI, on the Republican ticket, to which he 
hail .always proved true. At the expiration of his term, in 
1S68, he w.as again a candi<late, but the political com])lexion 
of his ward undergoing some changes in that year, he wxs 
unsuccessful. In the following year he was elected a 
Director of Girard College, being the first and only gra- 
duate who ever held that position; and he was a member 
of the last Board appointed by Councils previous to the 
creation of the Board of City Trusts. In 1870, he was again 
returned to Councils from his own ward, this lime being 
chosen lo represent it in the Select branch. On January 
1st, 1S72, so greatly had his powers made themselves felt 
in th.at Imdy, he was elected President, receiving the un- 
animous nomination of the Republican ciucus. His course 
in this responsible position proved so cminenily satisfactory 
that, at the beginning of 1873, he w.as unanimously re- 
elected lo preside overlhe<leliberalionsof the Select Council 
for another year. In virtue of this Presidency, he was a 
member of the Board of City Trusts, of the Public Building 




Commission, and of the Park Commission, in which capa- 
cities he rendered marked services to ihe city. In 1871, 
he received a further evidence of public estimation in being 
elected from the Third Senatorial Dislrict a delegate lo the 
Convention called to revise the Constitution of the Slate. 
He has also been for two or three years a member of the 
Board of Directors of the Union League. A man of a high 
order of inlelligence and sterling integrity, he exercises 
considerable influence in local politics, and is, without a 
question, one of the most deservedly esteemed men con- 
nected with the politics of the city of Philadelphia. 



TIGHTER, JOSEPH LYBRAND, Merchant, was 
born in Reading, Pennsylvania, October 30th, 
1S13. He is a son of Peter Stidiler and his 
second wife Elizabeth (Lybrand), and grandson 
of Conrad Slichter, who emigrated lo .Vmerica 
from Lubeck, Germany, in the year 1 750, and setlled 
in Reading. .Peter Slichter was born in Reading, 1761, and 
ec^c.ited in^lhe schools of the neighborhood. When he was 
si.vl^n years of age he entered the Revolutionary anny, 
becomii;g a private in Lieutenant Miller's Company of 
B^rks Coui^^f^^litia. He subsequently served Ih a com- 
pany alt.-\ched_lo,Gejii.r.il Irwin's command at Klourtown, 
a^d w.as^savwith V^'asbington at Valley Forge. He was a 
man of sterling ^ egrity and great usefulness in his day, a 

tCommis^ioncr of i.ie c\>untv, and a prominent and leadinj; 

\^^ . ^ . . .■ -» - ' r »% 

niembcrvjn the Lutheran Church, also of the Lutheran 
^ynoil gf Pennsylvania. Joseph L. was educated in the 
German and English schools of the place, and when fifteen 
years old entered Ihe iron store of Keim & Drenkle as 
an .apprentice. He remained with them and Daniel M. 
Keim & Co. until 1837, when he formed a cuparlnersliip 
wiih John M. Keim, under the style of Keim & .Slichter. 
This house so continued until 1841, when the former dis- 
posed of his interest lo J.ames McKiiight, and Ihe style w.as 
then changed lo Slichter & McKnight. This association was 
dissolved in 1858, the senior partner purchasing the interest 
of Ihc junior and becomin ; sole proprietor. In 1871, by Ihe 
admission of his son, Thomas D., the firm became as it now 
stands, Joseph L. Stichler & Son. These several firms al- 
ways occupied the same jiremiscs, which in former tlays were 
known .is the residence and Indian rendezvous of Colonel 
Conrad Weiser, who was the inter|)reter duly commissioned 
by the Provincial Governor from 1731 lo 1753. The house 
underwent from time lo lime various improvements and en- 
largements, until finally it was accidentally destroyed by fire 
January l6lh, 1S72. The site is now occupied by a remark- 
ably fine structure, which is believed lo be one of Ihe most 
cle'.jant in the interior of ihe State. The business now carried 
on is the same as in former years, e.r.bracing hardware, iron, 
steel, paints, drugs, tin plates, metals, etc. The house hns 
always maintained a high position at home and abroad fur 




y^r:j/://A. „=_>1'. ' y//^»/i<}i^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



275 



solid credit and integrity. Originally a member of the 
Lutheran, Joseph L. Stichter joined the Episcopal Church 
in 1833, and has ever since continued an active member 
of the same, having served as Sunday-school teacher, vestry- 
man and chorister of the congregation. He has also fre- 
quently represented the congregation in Annual Conventions 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of 
Pennsylvania, and was present at the session last presided 
over by the venerable Bishop White. In 1869, he origi- 
nated and carried into successful achievement a choral 
celebration of the Fourth of July, at which over ten thou- 
sand persons were present and in which six hundred singers 
participated. It was a memorable event in the history of 
the city. In works of charity and Iienevolence he has al- 
ways taken an active part, especially in the establishment 
of the Reading Benevolent Society, of which he was the 
Treasurer for over a quarter of a century. He has also been 
identified with all the prosperous enterprises of the city, and 
assisted in establishing the telegraph line to Philadelphia; 
in building and maintaining the Reading Cotton Factory, 
of which he was also a Director for many years. He was 
also among the earliest friends and supporters of the Phila- 
delphia & Reading Railroad, the Lebanon Valley Rail- 
road, and the Eastern Pennsylvania Railroad, of which 
latter he is a Director. His house helped to maintain the 
credit of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad in 1841-42, 
when the company was entirely prostrated and their pro- 
perty was seized by the sheriff, by supplying material 
when no money could be obtained by them in Phila- 
delphia. He has always encouraged all enterprises calcu- 
lated to enhance the material prosper, ty of the city and 
county, and has ever been one of the most active and valu- 
able members of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society 
of the county, and has served as its Vice-President. He 
has been a leading member of the Masonic Order since 
1834, and has filled various important offices in that body, 
including that of District Deputy Grand Master. The 
present high character and prosperity of Masonry in Berks 
county owes much to his zeal, labor, fatherly counsels and 
care. He has received many flattering demonstrations in 
his retirement from M.isonic service, including testimonials 
from various lodges ; Lodge No. 254 at Pottstown is named 
Stichter Lodge. He was married, August 23d, 1S45, '° 
Elizabeth H., daughter of Thomas Dichl, a well-known 
Pliiladelphia merchant. 



■ ALLAS, GEORGE MIFFLIN, Lawyer and States- 
m.in, was born in Philadelphia, July loth, 1792. 
He was the son of Alexander James Dallas, an 
eminent lawyer, who was Secretaiy of the Trea- 
sury under the administration of President Madi- 
son. After a preliminary course of studies, he 
entered Princeton College, where he graduated with the 
hishest hitnnr'; in iSlo. He passed the two siiljsequent 



years in his father's office studying law, when war having 
been declared against Great Britain he patriotically enlisted 
for the defence of his country. His military service, how- 
ever, was of short duration, as he was soon after discharged 
to enable him to become the private secretary of Albert 
Gallatin, then about sailing for Russia, on the mission 
which terminated in the negotiations of the British and 
American Commissioners at Ghent. Previous to his de- 
parture he was admitted, in 1S13, to the bar. He returned 
to the United States in 1814 as bearer of despatches to 
the President. He now remained with his father, who had 
charge of the Treasury Department, assisting him in his 
arduous duties, for it was a time of peril and sore financial 
distress. He subsequently returned to Philadelphia and 
commenced the practice of his profession, and also entered 
into political life. On the Fourth of July, 1815, at the invi- 
tation of the Democrats, he delivered his first public oration, 
in which he fearlessly vindicated the policy of the United 
States in their controversy with Great Britain. This speech 
gained him immediate favor with the Democratic party, and 
in 1817 he was appointed Deputy Attorney General of 
Philadelphia, which position he occupied several years. 
In 1824 and 1828, he advocated the election of General 
Jackson to the Presidency, and was rewarded by the latter, 
on his succeeding, in 1828, by being appointed United 
States District Attorney. He had a short time previously 
been elected Mayor of the city, an office rarely bestowed 
on one of his political creed. In 1831, he was elected 
United States Senator to fill an unexpired term, and during 
his residence in Washington promoted his intimacy with 
General Jackson, who remained his warm friend to the day 
of his death. On the occurrence of this event, he was 
chosen by the citizens of Philadelphia to pronounce the 
funeral oration, which was remarkable from its eloquent 
pathos. At the close of his Sen.atorial term lie declined a 
re-election, and was appointed, by Governor Wolf, Attorney- 
General of Pennsylvania, but soon resigned it to become 
United States Minister to Russia. He remained in that 
distant countiy, filling the post with honor and credit to 
himself and the country, until he was recalled, at his own 
request, in 1839. He was now tendered the office of At- 
torney-General of the United States, but declined it. In 
1844, he was elected Vice-President, and was inaugurated 
March 4th, 1845. His casting vote in favor of the Tariff 
of 1846 created great excitement for the time, and in the 
address he made previous to deciding the question he gave 
his reasons, which though much commented upon at the 
time proved in the end the truth of his assertions. During 
the Buchanan administration he filled the position of United 
States Minister at the British Court, and returned to the 
United States about the time when the Civil War com- 
menced. He was outspoken in favor of the Union, but 
did not live to witness its final triumph. He died January 
1st, 1864. He w-as married to a daughter of the late Philip 
H. Nicklin. 




/ 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



ENCVCLOI^tDIA. 



fOUGHERTV, DANIKL, Lawyer, was born in 
I'liiladclphia, in 1S26, of Irish parentage. The 
ar(;iimentalivc and oratorical l>cnt of his talents 
was displayed early in life, and when he had 
obtained a careful preliminary education in his 
native city, he addressed himself to the study of 
law. Admitted to the bar in 1849, he soon attracted public 
notice by the force and fluency of his public addresses, his 
ability as a humorist, and his unusual control over the emo- 
tions of his auditors. These qualifications eminently 
adapted him for political life, and into this he threw him- 
self with characteristic ardor. Espousing the principles of 
the Democratic party, he gave forcible expression to the 
sentiments which they at that time entertained. One of his 
addresses, entitled " Kears for the Future of the Republic," 
which was delivered before the literary societies of Lafayette 
College in iSsg, foreshadows so significantly the events 
which not long afterwards took place, that it was quoted sub- 
sequently in the British House of Commons by Sir Edward 
Lylton Bulwer. \Vhen,however,all prospectsof themainten- 
ance of peace by kindly concessions had been destroyeil by the 
guns of Kort Sumter, he felt that all thought of party should 
be sunk in love of country, and from that time on he became 
one of the warmest adherents of the Union cause. He lost 
no opportunity, public or private, to aid in the maintenance 
of the Union and to condemn in the strongest language 
the efforts of those who sought its destruction. In 1862, 
he w.as one of the original thirty individuals who founded 
the Union League of Philadelphia. A year after, when 
the rebels had invaded Pennsylvania and were threatening 
Philadelphia, the names of these gentlemen were placarded 
by the friends of Secession, in hopes that the advancing foe 
would punish them condignly. In the campaign which 
placed Abraham Lincoln a second time in the presidential 
chair he entered with untiring vigor. His orations in Faneuil 
Hall, Boston, where he spoke at the request of Edward 
Everett, and at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, were 
listened to by audiences as large as those spacious buildings 
could hold, and with wrapt attention. When the war was 
brought to a triumphant close, he retired from political 
life and gave his time to the calls of his profession, in which 
he has been eminently successful. Occasionally he has 
been induced to deliver lectures on topics of general interest, 
some of which, such as one on " Orators and Ora- 
tory," and another on " The Stage," have achieved 
quite unusual reputation. His talents are equally well 
adapted to the demands of the legal profession and 
the calls of mixed audiences. The dramatic force of 
many of his passages proves him to be endowed with 
talents which would have brought him distinction on 
the stage had his tastes led him in that direction. But 
he has found for them abundant opportunity at the bar, 
at which he has taken a high position. In early life 
he married an estimable lady, and is surrounded by a 
pleasing family of children. 



* 



ORRIS, ROBERT, Author, Journalist, and Bank 
President, was bjrn in Philadelphia, and is the 
eldest son of the late Captain Robert Morris, who 
died in Bordeaux, France, from the effects of a 
collision at sea. His son received a liberal edu- 
^ cation, which was followed by a thorough course 
of study in medicine, but conceiving, while yet a youth, a 
passionate love for literature, which increased as he ad- 
vanced in years, he abandoned the lecture and dissecting 
rooms and turned his entire attention to literary pursuits. 
His contributions to the press, when quite young, attracted 
much notice, and at the early age of twenty he was called 
upon to assume the editori,il management of the Philadelphia 
Album, a popular weekly periodical on the plan of the Nnu 
York Mirror. He labored here successfully for several 
years, and won a position among the foremost writers of 
the day. His earliest prose effort intended for the press 
was, A Dream of Heaven. A series of stories, entitled 
Sketches of Roseville, obtained wide popularity, and were 
followed by The Idiol Beauty, Roy Reckless, and other 
productions, which greatly added to his fame as a writer. 
Various poems contributed to the Boston Legendary, edited 
by N. P. Willis, were copied by almost every paper in the 
country. He obtained a number of premiums for Ad- 
dresses written for dramatic festivals and other occasions. 
The Past and the Future, a poem delivered before the 
" William Wirt Institute," of Philadelphia, was received 
with enthusiastic applause, and obtained the warm com- 
mendation of the press. Man and the Universe, a lecture 
of great merit, was published in pamphlet form, but only 
for priv.ite circulation. He became attached to the Pennsyl- 
vania Inquirer, in an editorial capacity, in the early days 
of that journal. Here he won for himself an exalted repu- 
tation, and added to his already numerous circle of friends. 
His leading articles, and his many essays upon solid sub- 
jects, won for the Inquirer an enviable character — that of 
a calm, conservative, influential and pure-toned family 
paper. A number of the essays which first appeared in 
that paper, with Sketches, Scenes and E.xperiences in Social 
Life, were collected and published in handsome style under 
the title of Courtship and Matrimony. This was the crown- 
ing work of his commendable career as an Editor, which 
extended over a quarter of a century. His financial career, 
though brief, was uncommonly brilliant and salisfactor)'. 
The Commonwealth Bank, over which he was chosen to 
preside, went into operation in November, 1857, in the 
midst of a crisis and suspension of specie payments. Un- 
der his sagacious management, the young institution was 
navig.ated into the safe haven of the public confidence. Il is 
rare to find combined in one and the same individual the 
power to control so dissimilar enterprises as a bank and u 
newspaper. Though for some time released from the 
editorial chair, he still manifests a disposition for literary 
pursuits. An unpublished oocm entitled Expectation is his 
latest work. 




/iUiru, dA9i C4J^^^-^^^ 





/ 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



277 



y^UHLENBERG, HENRY A., Lawyer, was born 
in the city of Reading, Pennsylvania, July 21st, 
1S23. He was the son of Henry A. Muhlenberg, 
the elder, and Rebecca, daughter of Governor 
Joseph Hiester. He was instructed under the 
direction of his father, and received at his hands 
a most thorough education, enabling him, at the age of 
fourteen, to matriculate at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, 
where he remained a year, passing thence to Dickinson 
College, Carlisle, where he entered the Sophomore Class, 
and graduated therefrom with the highest honors in the 
autumn of 1S41. He was a close student, especially in the 
classics and history. Of the latter he was particularly 
fond, as he considered that an accurate and "complete 
knowledge of past events, their causes and consequences, 
was an indispensable requisite for those who hoped them- 
selves to assist in making histoiy. He passed the three 
years, from 1841 to 1844, in the office of his preceptor, 
Hon. J. Pringle Jones, a ripe scholar and an eminent jurist, 
engaged in the study of the law. The examination for 
admission to the Reading bar was then conducted.'nn open 
court, and any member was allowed to examine tlie candi- 
date. He here acquitted himself so well as'to receive tjie 
highest praise for his acquircments'frtmMlie Hon. uWm^ 
Strong, John Banks, and other leading. c(§unseUors. His 
father, who had been, in March,.- 1S44, |iorainated-,as the 
candidate of the Democratic party for-the .Gubernatorial 
chair of Pennsylvania, made his son his private secretary. 
The latter conducted all his father's correspondence during 
the canvass. The very sudden death', two months prior 
tj the election, of his father, to whom he was devotedly 
attached, was such a shock to him, that for a year or more he 
could turn his attention to nothing save the duties of his 
profession. In 1846, when the Mexican War broke out, 
he raised a company of Volunteers in Reading, and per- 
sonally tendered their services to the Governor; but the 
complement of Pennsylvania having already been filled, 
the offer was declined. In the county convention of 1846, 
he, with his brother Hiester — the 'President of that body — 
was mainly instrumental in causing the adop'tion of a Reso- 
lution approving of the principles of the Tariff of 1842, and 
demanding '* that as it was passed by Democratic votes, 
it should receive a fair consideration from a Democratic 
Congress." He also delivered a speech, in the same body, 
on the Oregon Question, in which he strongly favored the 
claims of the United States to all that district of country 
lying south of the parallel of 54° 40'. In 1847 and 1848 
he was occupied in writing a life of General Peter Muhlen- 
berg, of Revolutionary fame, which was published, early 
in 1S49, ''•y Carey & Hart, Philadelphia. It was dedicated 
to Jared Sparks, as a slight recognition of his services in 
elucidating our Revolutionary history. The volume was 
favorably received by the public, and a complimentary 
notice appeared in the North American Review, of 1849, 
from the pen of Francis Bowen of Harvard L^niversity. 



In the fall of 1849, he was elected to the Legislature as 
Senator from Berks county, and served the full term of 
three years. He there acquired such a reputation for integ- 
rity, eloquence and business ability as made him the leader 
of his party, in a body which contained within it some of 
the most brilliant men in Pennsylvania. Shortly after taking 
his seat, he delivered a powerful speech on the supplement 
to the Act incorporating the Philadelphia & Reading Rail- 
road Company, which greatly influenced the Senate in its 
decision to pass the measure, and by so doing prevented the 
impending ruin of that great corporation. He was, through- 
out his term, a member of the committees of Finance, the 
Judiciary and the Militia, and for two years chairman of 
the first-named body. In the second year of his Senatorial 
career: li£ was the Democratic candidate for Speaker, 
though the youngest member of that house, his competitor 
on theWhig side being Hon. John H. Walker of Erie (the 
President of the Constitutional Convention of 1872-73). 
The Senate then contained sixteen Whigs, sixteen Demo- 
crats', and one Native American, and a majority of all who 
voted was required to elect. On the eighth ballot — and on 
the tllird dax — when it was evident that no choice could be 
ihade unless the Whig candidate should vote for himself, 
the Democratic candidate, together with Messrs. Packer and 
•(Jnernsey,' also Democrats, out of political courtesy abstained 
from'voring. •..'ThfouglroitU the whole contest the two candi- 
dates reSp6ctiv:ely.vGted Tor -.Thomas Carson and William F. 
PackerrThe eatly history of the Commonwealth was always a 
subjeelfof. great interest to him, and as chairman of a select 
committee, to which was referred that portion of Governor 
Johnston's message for 1851 treatingof the care and preserva- 
tion of the State archives, he reported a Bill for the publica- 
tion, at the expense of the State, of the records of the Pro- 
prietary government, and of all papers relating to the Revo- 
lutionary war, down to 17S3. The report of the committee, 
written by him, was considered by men of all parties a 
most able production. The bill afterwards became a law. 
He procured also the passage of an Act, making an appro- 
priation -.to continue the ge6logical survey of the Slate, 
conducted'tby , Professor Rogers. He introduced many 
important bills to the notice of the Legislature ; among 
others, one embodying all the provisions of our present pos- 
tal money-order system. He favored also the building of 
new railroads to develop the resources of the Common- • 
wealth, though he was opposed to the State granting any 
direct aid to these objects. During the whole of his Sena- 
torial term, he was, in the words of Hon. C. R. Buckalew, 
" the bulwark of the Treasuiy against the assaults of out- 
side interested parties." He was strongly hostile to the 
enactment of a prohibitory law in Pennsylvania — similar to 
the Maine Liquor Law — as he considered that Government 
had no moral right to pass sumptuary laws, or to interfere 
with private or vested rights. He was ever outspoken in 
defence of a tariff of such amount and so levied as to pro- 
tect the great man^jfacluring interests of the country, and 



273 



riOGRAPIIICAL en"cvclop.i;dia. 



to enable them to enter into competition with the foreign 
made article. He also thought, that as iron was an indis- 
pensable requisiie for any nation, to provide against the con- 
tingency of a war, and to ri;ndcr the United Stales inde|)en- 
dentof any other counir)', that a high, though mt a prohibi- 
tory duty, should be imposed on that article. In the Senate, 
and in the County Conventions, he — in connection with 
Judge .Strong and other distinguished Democrats — de- 
manded a modification of the Tariff of 1S46, in favor of 
the Iron interest — in accordance with the views of Hon. 
Robert J. Walker, the author of that tariff, views ex- 
pressed at the time of its passage. lie was an earnest 
opponent of Slaveiy, and considered it "a curse to that 
community on which it w.as inflicted ; no one could <'.lslike 
it more than he did ; nor did he ever wish to be thought 
the friend and advocate of the institution." In his devo- 
tion, however, to the Union, and in his desire to do away 
with all causes which might inflame one section of the 
country against the other, looking upon the compromise 
measures of 1850 as a solemn compact between the North 
and South, he thought those measures, and the laws re- 
sulting from them, should be executed fully, honestly and 
completely. His devotion to the Union was one of the 
cardin:d principles of his political faith. The words used 
by his f.i'.her, in Congress, at the time of Clay's Compromise 
Act of 1S33, might be placed in his mouth also: "The 
Union is the first and gre.itcst of our national blessings, 
and to preser\'e it nothing can or ought to be deemed too 
precious. I go for the Union, the whole Union, and noth- 
ing but the Union. It must be preserved, peaceably if we 
can, forcibly if we must. " No one who knew him inti- 
mately cm doubt for a moment that he would have been 
foremost in the van of those Democrats who in the hour of 
greatest danger rushc<l to the rescue of their Government, 
and of their Union. At such a time he would not have 
been behind his brother Iliester, or his uncle, Dr. F. A. 
Muhlenberg of Lancaster, in forming that party which, in 
their opinion, hel'd the true Democratic doctrine, in that it 
advocated the greatest good to the greatest masses. In 
July, 1S52, he was nominated by acclamation the Demo- 
cratic candidate for Congress, in Berks county, and was 
elected in the following October by a large majority. He 
left Reading, late in November, 1853, for W.ishinglon, and 
was present at the opening of the 34th Congress, but had 
scarcely taken his seat ere he was stricken down by illness. 
Everything was done for him that was possible, ami it was 
believed at one time that he w.is materially improved : but 
a relapse occured, and he died January 9th, 1S54, of 
hemorrhage and congestion of the lungs. His remains 
weri laid to rest in the Charles Evans Cemetery near Read- 
ing. He was a warm and true friend ; no act of kindness 
was ever forgotten by him, and nothing within the limits 
of possibility was deemed too diflicult when done in the 
cause of a friend. His fearlessness in all departments of 
life was one of the most marked trails of his character; he 



never shunned bearing the responsibility of any of his 
actions: he did what he considered his duly no matter 
what the consequences might be. Above all, throughout 
the whole of his public life, he was a man of unswerving 
integrity, and unblemished honor; he would do nothing, 
however great the inducements to the contrarj-, which could 
lower himself in his own esteem, or in that of others. His 
standard was ever a high one, and when he believed him- 
self to be right, no power on earth could divert him from 
the path which honor, good faith, good feeling, and his own 
judgment pointed out. He jwssessed an ample fortune, 
from which he wxs ever ready to contribute to all objects 
whether charitable, religious, political, or litcrar)-, which 
deserved his support. As a citizen of Reading, he was fore- 
most in advancing, by jien, tongue and purse, all projects 
which could benefit or increase the prosperity of his native 
place. Itad he lived, he would have written his name on 
the historical records of his countr)', and would have im- 
pressed his character on her legislation ; cut off, untimely, 
in the flower of his youth, and in the very maturity of his 
powers, his loss was a great calamity to the Common- 
wealth. Me wxs married, in November, 1S47, '"^ '''* cousin, 
Annie II., daughter of the late Dr. F. A. Muhlenberg, of 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and a son and only child, born 
October 27th, 1848, survives him. 



HAPMAN, NATHANIEL, M. D., late Emeritus 
Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine 
in the University of Pennsylvania, was the second 
son of George Chapman, and was born May aSth, 
1780, at the family seat, " Summer Hill," (then) 
in Fairfax county, on the bank of the Potomac 
river, about midway between Washington and Alexandria, 
Virginia. lie was of English descent on his father's side, 
his paternal ancestor having been one of the original settlers 
of the colony, and was a second cousin of Sir Walter Ra- 
leigh ; his mother's family were of Scotch extraction, and 
her forefathers had also emigrated to Virginia at a remote 
day. He attended school at a tender age, and when but. 
eight years old, he had successfully imitated some of the 
early efforts of Pope, and paraphrased some of Horace's 
Odes. He also studied at the Classical Academy at Alex- 
andria — founded by W.xshington — where he remained s'x 
years ; and subsequently passed a short time in two colleges, 
though he took no degree. He commenced his medical 
studies in the office of Dr. John Weems of Georgetown, 
District of Columbia, with whom he remained for over a 
year, and afterwards with Dr. Dick of Alexandria. In the 
autumn of 1797, he came to Philadelphia, and became the 
private and favorite pupil of Dr. Henjamin Rush, attending 
the lectures in, and following the course of studies pre- 
scribed by, the University of Pennsylvania, whence he 
graduated, in 1801, .as Mil He sailed for Europe, 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.^iDIA. 



279 



without delay, to supplement his medical learning, and 
passed a year in London as a private pupil of the celebrated 
Dr. Abernethy, Thence he repaired to Edinburgh, where 
he attended the University lectures, and again took a de- 
gree. During his residence in this latter city, he became 
acquainted with many of the celebrities of the day, among 
them were the Earl of Buchan, Brougham (afterwards 
Lord Chancellor), and Dugald Stewart. On his return to 
the United States, his first preceptor. Dr. Vv'eems (who was 
also his kinsman), proposed that he should become his as- 
sociate and partner in his practice at Alexandria ; but as he 
deemed that Philadelphia was a more promising field in 
which to reap success, he concluded to settle in that city. 
In 1S04, he commenced his career as a medical practitioner 
in the city, which was his home for nearly half a century. 
His attractive manners and high reputation won for him an 
early and remunerative patronage. He became a favorite 
with a large portion of the influential families in the city, 
which he retained through his long life, until the advancing 
infirmities of age caused his retirement to ^private life. 
During his first year's residence, he also began his career 
as a teacher, delivering a private course of lectures on Ob- 
stetrics, which provel highly popular. In iSoS, he married 
Rebecca, daughter of Colonel Clement Biddle, a prominent 
and distinguished citizen of Philadelphia, with whom he 
lived in the greatest harmony and domestic felicity for up- 
wards of forty years. During the same year he was asso- 
ciated with Dr. Thomas C. James as an instructor of ob- 
stetrics, until the latter was elected to the newiy-created 
Chair of Midwifery in the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. 
Ch.apman, however, continued .his course of lectures, and 
his connection with Dr. James underwent no change. In 
1813, when Dr. Rush died, Dr. B. S. Barton was trans- 
ferred from the professorship of Materia Medici to the va- 
cant chair, that of the Institutes and Practice of Medi- 
cine. About the same lime Dr. Chapman was elected to 
the professorship vacated by Dr. Barton, and at the age of 
thirty-five became officially recognized as a full jirofessor in 
the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania. 
On the death of Dr. Barton, in 1816, he succeeded the 
latter, being unanimously elected by the trustees as Profes- 
sor of the Practice, Institutes, and Clinical Medicine of the 
same school, where he continued to deliver his lectures 
until the spring of 1850, when he finished his last course. 
He was thereupon elected Emeritus Professor. During 
his long term of service, he was the recipient of many tes- 
timonials from the different classes which he had instructed. 
During the cholera epidemic of 1832, he was in charge of 
one of the city hospitals, and when the scourge terminated 
he, in common with the other physicians who had super- 
vision over the several hospitals in the city and neighbor- 
hood, was presented by the corporation with a valuable 
silver pitcher " for his disinterested and intrepid exertions 
in a period of public calamity." He also performed a 
similar service during the yellow fever epidemic of 182c, 




having charge, in connection with Dr. Thomas T. Hewson, 
of the city yellow fever hospital. For a long period, he 
gave clinical lectures in the Philadelphia Almshouse; and 
for nearly a quarter of a century delivered a summer course 
of lectures in the Philadelphia Medical Institute, which he 
had founded in 1817, though he generously declined any 
participation in the fees, or control in the appointment to 
professorships. He Avas connected with several medical 
and learned societies ; was several times president of the 
Philadelphia Medical Society, and was the successor of the 
venerable P. S. Duponceau, in the presidency of the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society. He was also a corresponding 
member of several learned societies of Europe. In private 
life, he was eminently noted for his courteous manners, as 
an excellent convei-sationist, a brilliant punster, and a most 
delightful companion. His wit was without malice; he 
was frank, open-hearted, and generous. He died July 1st, 
1S53, of a slow and gradual decay, rather than from any 
positive disease. 



OARDMAN, REV. GEORGE DANA, D. D., 
Clergyman, was born August 18th, 1828, in the 
cityof Tavoy, Kingdom of Birmah. His grand- 
father, Sylvanus, and his father, George Dana 
Boardnian, were both clergymen before him. 
He is of American parentage, his father being 
from Maine and his mother (Sarah Hall) from New Hamp- 
shire. The latter was married a second time, to the Rev. 
A. Judson, D. D. He came to this country when but six 
years old, arriving in Boston in the year 1834, after a tedious 
voyage of eight months. He was educated in Worcester, 
Massachusetts, and graduated in Brown University, Rhode 
Island, in the year 1852. During the course of his aca- 
demic education he commenced the study of law, which 
he followed for a short time, in Indiana and Illinois. On 
graduation from college he entered the Newton (Massa- 
chusetts) Theological Seminary, graduating in 1855. That 
year was memorable in his life for two other important 
events. During its course he was married to Ella W. Covell 
of Albany, New York, and, in October of the same year, 
he was ordained as minister in .South Carolina. After re- 
maining but a short time in that State, he removed to 
Rochester, New York, where he became pastor of the 
Second Baptist Church, remaining in charge of its con- 
gregation for a period of nearly eight years. At the end 
of this time he g.ave up his position and removed to Phila- 
delphia, in May, 1864, to become pastor of the First Bap- 
tist Church, situated at the northwest corner of Broad and 
Arch streets. He has now for more than nine years held 
that responsible trust. In 1865, Brown University con- 
ferred upon him the degree of D. D. Gifted as a preacher 
and teacher with more than ordinary talents, endowed 
with exemplaiy piety, kind and benevolent in his social 



2S0 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOl'-EDIA. 



intercourse, he has peculiarly endeared himself to every 
member of his congregation, and won a high position in 
the respect and esteem of the community. 




HAFFER, THOMAS, Mechanical Engineer and 
Mill Manager for the Phoenix Iron Company, 
« as born in West Chester county, New York, 
May 22d, 1815. His father and paternal grand- 
father were extensive paper manufacturers. The 
latter emigrated from Germany to America prior 
to the .\merican Revolution, and having built a paper mjll, 
which was located in New York city — at a location since 
known as the " Five Points " — operated the sarne, and was 
one of the two paper makers who furnished.-tbe Govern- 
ment with paper for printing the " Continental Currency." 
Thomas Shaffer was left an orphan at an'^arjy age, and as 
his future depended upon his own exertions, he does not 
appear to have had any educational advantages, but became 
an errand b^y in a paper mill, and when tw.clve years of 
a'^e entered the Ulster Iron Works, at Saugenies- Ney 
York, where he became a general favorite, 'liotjonly with 
the employes, but also with the proprietors.A.'Blere he re- 
mained eighteen years, steadily advandiig step by.istep 
through evei7 department of the woUts^ l^ariluig'fevefythin'g 
relating to iron manufactu"re, incUidmg\Bwn"theTsecret and 
occult modes employed by the tBfiportEd».iirtisans ; for these 
latter ten.iciously adhered to their, rules ^i}d practice, aiid 
until they h.id imparted their-^viyluable • info||jfeition. and 
usages to him, had not divulged thfir secrets to'any .Xmeri- 
can. The manager of these works, who had acquired his 
skill not only in England but also in France, took pleasure 
in teaching his youthful proteg^ all the minutije respecting 
the manufacture of iron, so that he became the first " finished 
American workman " in this business. During the last of 
his years of service in this establishment he had reached the 
position of Workman Manager in charge of the three trains 
of rolls, being the highest st.ition occupied by an employ^'. 
In 1845, he removed to Pompton, New Jersey, as, Minster 
Workman of a rolling mill there, and rcmi^iiieil there about 
a year. He then was employed by Th?>inas"fi\rnt,>'6f Phiij-"" 
dclphia, in a similar capacity, and at the expiralfon of twelve 
months became Mill Manager and Master Workman of the 
Fairmount Iron Works. In 1850, he removed to Safe Har- 
bor, Pennsylvania, to take the position of the Superintendent 
of the rail and puddle mills at that place, and finally, in 
1856, entered the service of the Phreiiix Iron Company, at 
Phcenixville,* Pennsylvania, as Mill Manager, and which 
he still continues to hold. Under his care and supervision 
these mills have grown to their present v.ost proportions, 
and are known as the most extensive and complete works 
of the kind in the United States. All the practical ex- 
perience and work requisite to put into successful operation 
the several valuable patents owned by this company have 



been furnished and performed by him, or under his direc- 
tion. The wrought-iron chair ; the wrought-iron cannon 
( " GrilTen gun"); the wrought-iron beams and columns, 
all owe their successful manufacture to his untiring skill and 
industry. He is also an inventor of some note himself, 
having taken out a large number of patents, and allowed a 
still larger number of improvements to become public pro- 
perty. He has educated very many artisans in the most 
finished style, taking pleasure and pride in imparting the 
information he has acquired during his connection of nearly 
half a century with the manufacture of iron. During his 
whole career he has never sought employment ; all his posi- 
tions have sought him. In political matters he has been 
especially active, first as a Whig antl then a Republican, 
liut though a patriotic politician from a sense of duty, he 
would never accept any public office. During the Civil 
War-he aided the Union cause materially by his own active 
exertions, freely using his entire income for that purpose, 
excepting .what was necessai-y for the support of his family. 
T^il care of the families of soldiers was with him a special 
object, and he still continues his benefactions to the relatives 
ofthose who laid down their lives for their country. For 
■ thirty-two years he has lieen an acceptable member of the 
Meth'otlist Episcopal Church, and during nearly this whole 
jpeMod.has served the congregations with which he has been 
Jconnccted in "soiba official capacity. He was married, in 
1836, to Jane "Vosbnrgh', of Ulster county. New York, and 
ofli^. fantiFjt-ofi'lhtee children two are living. His only 
i<on, A^osbut^h N.':Shaffer, received a liberal collegiate edu- 
^catfou,- ai^d is' by profession a civil and mechanical engineer 
and. iron 'manufacturer, having filled already several respon- 
sible positions. He is at present in the publishing business, 
as editor and proprietor of the huit'pcndent PIksuLx, a paper 
published at Phcenixville, Pennsylvania. 




UCAS, JOHN, Manufacturing Chemist, was born 
at Stone, Staffordshire, England, November 25th, 
1823.. He is the eldest son of Thomas Lucas, of 
the same place, and a descendant of John Lucas 
of Ashbourn, Derbyshire, the warm friend and 
companion of the celebrated Izaak Walton. He 
received a liberal education at Fieldplace Commercial 
Academy, near his native town, which having terminated 
he entered the store and counting-room of his father, who 
was a grocery and tea dealer, where he remained for a 
short time. Finding, however, that mercantile pursuits 
were not to his taste, he commenced the study of agricultural 
chemistry. His progress in this and its kindred branches 
W.-IS so marked that to it he owes his present attainments as 
a manufacturer. As he desired to see something of the 
world, before selecting his future home, he left England, in 
1844, for a visit to the United States and the Canadas. He 
was so well pleased with the former that on his return to 



inoCRAPlIICAL EN'CVCLOIMCDIA. 



28l 



England he maile the necessaiy arrangements for immi- 
grating, and becoming an American citizen. It was in 
1S49 that he finally quitted the "old country," and it was 
to Philadelphia that he directed his steps. On his arrival, 
with the usual energy and activity which have ever marked 
his life, he entered at once i to business, and for a while 
pursued the calling of a foreign commission and shipping 
merchant. He represented several large European manu- 
facturing houses, selling goods F. O. B. in Europe, nr im- 
porting to order. His first store was at No. 33 north P'ront 
street, where he confined himself almost exclusively to 
paints and colors, or materials used in the manufactuve of 
the same; but finding it a difficult matter to ascertain — 
through the medium of the wholesale trade — the most de- 
sirable articles needed in the American market, and by 
painters, he took a large store on Fourth streetf rCodh of 
Arch, the /ora/c- then, as now, of the paint and color trade, 
and himself served behind the counter, thus commg-into 
direct contact with the practical painter, for the purpoSe^of 
discovering what were his actual requirements. By this 
means he learned that a good green paint w.as needed "to" 
lake the place of the Paris or arsenical green, so defieienf 
in body and so injurious to those using the same. 'NoW, 
his proficiency in chemistry was of immense service tohitti^ 
and, after repeated experiments, he discovered a- meUiod 
of producing the required article, and has ret^ftl'-leltSrs- 
patent for valuable improvements in the' nfe'chi n e r/re^ti - 
site in mnnnfacturing the same. In 1852, for^the purpose 



pre-eminence they now hold in the trade. Having become 
an American citizen by naturalization, he has ever since 
identified himself with every national movement. At the 
outbreak of the Rebellion, in l85i, he threw all his heart 
and energy into the Union cause, and took an active part 
in organizing, drilling, and equipping volunteers for the 
army. The location of his large interests in New Jersey 
has naturally caused him to feel a deep interest in the pros- 
perity of the Camden & Atlantic Railroad, of which he 
has been f.jr some years a Director, and through it in the 
v^elfaie of the town at its terminus on the sea-coast. His 
wodis, near " White-Horse Station," contribute revenue in 
no small degree to the road from the amount of freight 
shipped ancV received at that paint. Person.allj' he is 
genial and agable, combining the shrewd man of busim?^ 
with the polished gentleman ; while among the mercantile 
community his name for honesty and integrity has no 
supedor. 



^>U«NDORE, FRANKLIN, Merchant, son of Gab- 

~ riid and Lydia (Uavies) Dundore, was born in 

-* Berne township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, 

,^ Ai*il 6th, 1S38. The family is one of the oldest 

; (j ^J "'" ''^'^ Sfate,- having.been settled in Berks county 

r— t^ mor§_. than a hundred years at the time he was 

His immedratejJSncestors have all been engaged in 

agrfeilltural pflrsTwtiiJluJ hieing the first of his family who 




of extending his business, he associafe<l him^fw'ith'lign'" [l*fs devoted hit<iiielf"to"» mercantile life. His educat 



Foster, a relation of his, who was an old \ind tsipbrieticed 
color manufacturer. They removed their cslal)li\lrTncnt^6 
No. 130 Arch street, and he j^urchased a tract of lan<l*..in 
Camden county. New Jersey, on which tlio'c was a large 
sheet of remarkably pure water, entirely devoid of iron or 
lime (the head-waters of Cooper's creek). Thereon he 
erected the " Gibsboro' White-lead, Zinc and Color Works." 
The purity of the water enabled him to jiroduce the beau- 
tiful permanent " Swiss " and " Imperial French Greens," 
now so favorably known and so extensively used through- 
out the United States and the Dominion. The perfection 
to which he has brought the white oxide of zinc, effected 
by continued and careful chemical experiment, may be un- 
derstood when it is stated that the best judges of tjje article 
have pronounced it to be not only superior to any manu-. 
factured in this country, but fully equal to the world re- 
nowned Vieille Montaigne Company's production. The 
pulp steel and Chinese blue and primrose chrome yellow 
have superseded the French and En-^lish, and are now 
used by all the leading paper-hanging manufacturers in the 
United States. In 1857, Joseph Foster withdrew from the 
firm, when the senior partner was joined by his brother, 
William H. Lucas, who took charge of the salesroom and 
financial department, leaving the former at liberty to devote 
his sole attention to the manufacturing and chemical de- 
partments, a plan which ha; enabled the firm to attain that 
36 



*lu(:h"hc rcceived'TJaS'tly at home and partly at Pittsburgh, 
being Tinished, he began his mercantile career as book- 
keeper iiiAhe hardware stores, first of Bard cS: Reber, and 
afterwards of J. L. Stichter, both of Reading, Pennsylvania. 
From thence he entered the office of Seyfert, McManus & 
Co., at their works in the same city ; where he served for a 
period of two years, acquiring under their auspices a 
thorough and practical knowledge of the iron business in 
all its details. Having successfully passed through this 
probationai-y period, he became, in 1862, a partner in the 
house of Mcliose, Eckert & Co., iron manufacturers, also 
of Reading. ^ Upon the dissolution of this firm, which oc- 
curred m loj-phewas appointed Treasurer of the West 
Reading J?D;i 'Company, a position he resigned in the fol- 
.lywfngyear. In the" nearly part of 1S66, he left Reading 
and settled liimself in I'hiladelphia. Here he at once set 
to work on his own account, bpeninj an office for the trans- 
action of the iron commission business, dealing largely also 
in railway supplies, and at the samcviime acting as agent 
for Isaac Eckert (subsequently Eckert- & Brother), the 
well-known iron manufacturer and banker,' of Reading. 
This business he has actively pursued with success to the 
present time (1S74). He is one of the rising men of the 
city and State, a clear-headed man of business and complete 
master of his calling, which is one of the most important 
and lucrative in the country, and which in its development 



2S2 



moCUArillCAL ICNCVCLOIVKDIA. 




antl extension is iindorjitedly dcslincd to ]ilay n chief jiart 
in the national progress. lie married, i.\ iS6i,MaryJ., 
eldest daughter of Charles Rick, senior, of Reading. 



iF.RING, CONSTAXTIXE, M. D., Thysici.in, one 
of llic Hrst wlio introduced Ilomceopatliy outside 
of Germany on this Continent, was born in Os- 
chatz, Saxony, Januaiy 1st, 1800. His father 
was instrumental in introducing a system of edu- 
cation called the "people's schools," which at a 
later period was adopted in Prussia, and became known 
as Ihi- " Prussian System." lie attended the cl.issical 
school at Zillau, in iSlt.and continued his studies there 
for a period of seven or eight years. Following his incli- 
nations and tastes, he employed his leisure hours in ro.aniing 
the country, and .amid its mountains and valleys he studied 
the natural sciences, and made large collections of minerals, 
plants, and crania of animals. He pui'sued his medical 
studies in the .Surgical Academy of Dresden, .and the Uni- 
versity of Leipzig, where his preceptor. Dr. J. Henry Robbi, 
who had been a surgeon in the army of the First Napoleon, 
introduced him to practical surgery, and, in 1820, made 
him one of his assistants. While thus employed. Dr. Robbi 
was requested by the founder of a publishinj house (where 
at a later day a homceopathie journal was published, and 
which is now the oldest extant) to compose a work against 
homoeopathy. This Dr. Robbi declined, but referred the 
publisher to his young assistant as one perfectly competent 
for the task. Tlie latter undertook it, and had nearly com- 
pleted the book, wlien reading Hahnemann's note for his 
reviewers (see Halincniiinti's Lesser Wrilings, translated 
by Dudgeon, p. 659), he was struck by the truth of his re- 
marks. Unwilling even to do Hahnemann injustice, much 
less to misrepresent liim, he paused in his work until he 
could test by experiments the truth or falsity of the state- 
ments. The results so convincingly sustained Hahnemann 
that he resolved to examine the system as a whole, and 
thus to sift the truth from what he still honestly believed 
to be the errors of the doctrine. He pursued his new study 
with ardor, against the counsels of his teachers and the en- 
treaties of his friends. In this he persevered, notwithstand- 
ing his excision from society, and the persecution, poverty 
and pressing want which were the penalties he was forced 
to endure. Two years of close and searching investigation 
constrained him to acknowledge that Hahnemann was right, 
and he avowed unhesitatingly his adhesion to this faith. At 
this time an incident occurred which largely contributed its 
share to the decision at which he arrived. In making a 
vei"y difficult post-mortem examination for the authorities, 
he received a dissection wound, which would not yield to 
the usual treatment. The wound assumed a very un- 
favorable aspect, dry gangrene threatened, all efforts for his 
relief were baffled, and it was decided that amputation 



must be performed as the only reme<ly. In this exigency 
he met an old friend, a homneopathist, who encouraged 
him to take medicine by the mouth. This treatment proved 
successful, and he thereupon pled;jed himself to live for 
liomceopathy. In 1825, a younger brother by a loan of 
money enabled him to proceed to the famous pathologist 
ScliOnlein, and attend the hospitals at Wiirzburg. He there 
passed his examination with honor, and, in accordance 
with the customs of the German universities, read a treatise, 
or thesis, the subject of which .was, De Medicina Fiilura, 
in which he resolutely maintained the doctrine of Hahne- 
mann. He subsequently received, March 22d, 1826, his 
diploma as Doctor of Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics. 
Soon after his gradu.ation he accepted a situation as teacher 
of mathematics and the natural sciences in an academy at 
Dresden, which was devoted chiefly to the education of 
young noblemen. Here he remained during the summer. 
In the following .autumn, the President of the institution 
proposed that he should visit South America, especially 
Surinam and Cayenne — under the auspices and protection 
of the king — to make researches and collections in zoology. 
He accepted the position, sti])ulating only that an old and 
valued friend, Chrislophe Weigel, should accompany him 
as the botanist of the exi)edition ; and they together accord- 
ingly sailed for South America. His preliminary reports 
and letters were satisfactory ; but he also addressed some 
communications to the IliimeeopatJiie Archives, which, when 
pulilished in that journal, gave great offence to the king's 
physician, who w.as an old and bitter adversary of Hahne- 
mann. On his remonstrance, the Minister of the Interior 
caused a polite note to be .addressed to the distant explorer, 
requesting him in future to attend to his zoological duties 
exclusively, and to refrain from publishing anything that 
would be construed as objectionable. On the d.ay after he 
received this communication, he despatched by the first 
vessel that sailed his reports, with a full statement of his 
accounts, accompanied with a courteous letter in reply, in 
which he closed his connection with the mission. He then 
commenced the practice of medicine in Paramaribo, but 
still continued his researches and collections. He, how- 
ever, soon perceived that one or the other must be aban- 
doned. His decision was made, to confine his attention 
solely to the practice of his profession, and he thereupon 
presented his valuable collection — zoological and botanical 
— to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for 
which that institution paid him the compliment of an elec- 
tion as corresponding member. A few years later and he 
sailed from South America, intending to return to his native 
land; but stojiping in Philadelphia, in J.anuary, iSjj, to 
assist in introducing homoeopathy there, he found that his 
former .student, George Bute, had already opened the way 
by his remarkable and successful treatment of Asiatic 
cholera during the previous year. Instead of returning 
home, however, he remained in Pennsylvania, and adopting 
the plans proposed by Dr. Wesselhoeft, opened a School 



niOGRAPinCAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



283 



of Ilomreopathy in AUentown. Unfortunately for his 
scheme, but fortunately for the country at large, the funds 
of the academy were in the hands of one who secretly un- 
dermined it and caused its financial ruin. He thereupon 
commenced the practice of medicine again in Philadelphia, 
and labored diligently for the payment of all his pecuniary 
losses. In 1864, he accepted the chair of Institutes and 
Practice, and at a later day that of Materia Medica, in the 
Pennsylvania College, which he resigned in 187 1. Of his 
ability as a physician and teacher it is unnecessary to speak. 
His kindness to, and his interest in, his pupils are well 
known and appreciated ; and many among them can bear 
gr.iteful witness to his unostentatious beneficence. He has 
always been a laborious and systematic student. His in- 
dustry, though he has now arrived at an age when men are 
usually disposed to rest, is undiminished. He retires to 
rest between nine and ten at night ; rises at three o'clock, 
and from that hour until ten in the morning devotes him- 
self to preparing for the press the history of the labors of 
his past life. His Provings have been very numerous, and 
are among the most valuable of the contributions to the 
Pharjnacopaiia of Ilomaopatliy. In addition to his duties 
as physician, he has published a collection of the results, 
provings, and cures obt.ained in the homceopathic schools. 
He is an industrious writer in his profession ; and some of 
his productions have been translated into other languages. 
Space will not allow of a list of the many works he has 
given to the world. One of these, his Domestic Physician, 
has, since 1835, attained fourteen editions in this country, 
two in Great Britain, thirteen in Germany, besides being 
translated into the French, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Hun- 
garian, Russian, Swedish, and other languages. The British 
Quarterly Journal of lloinaiopathy remarks : " Dr. Ilering's 
Guide we have always considered the best and most original 
of domestic works." At present, he is engaged in publishing 
a practical work on Analytical Therapeutics. 



^)UTH, GEORGE W., Merchant and Financier, 
was born in the city of Philadelphia, February 
22d, 1799. His education was that usually ob- 
tained in the common schools of the day, the 
school-house being the old hall of the German 
Society, on Seventh street, south of Market, then 
called High .street. After completing his studies, he was 
placed with a firm engaged in the importation of cutlery, 
plated goods, French china, etc., where he served a regular 
apprenticeship to the business, becoming thoroughly con- 
versant with the various details of business life. After he 
had attained his majority he continued with the same house 
in the capacity of clerk for about a year, when, owing to 
linaucial difficulties the firm failed to meet their engage- 
nionls, and were compelled to make an a.ssignment. He 
\v,Ti chosen one of the assignees, and immediately entered 




upon his duties. So well were the latter performed, that 
in the course of two years all the creditors were paid in 
full, and the balance of the funds and property returned to 
the firm. In 1S24, he became one of the partners in the 
house of Lewis Veron & Co., importers of hardware, cutlery 
and fancy goods, and in which he remained until 1835, 
doing a very successful business. He then disposed of his 
interests in the same, with the intention of going into a 
similar business on his sole account ; but on January ist, 
1836, he was elected Treasurer of the County of Philadel- 
phia for one year, and immediately entered upon the duties 
of his office. In December, 1836, the Legislature changed 
the law, extending his tenure of the oflSce until June, 1837, 
and providing that the Treasurer thereafter should be 
elected for a term of two years. Before the expiration of 
this period, he was re-elected for two years. He had al- 
ways taken an active part in politics, being an earnest ad- 
vocate of Whig principles, and was chosen by the Councils 
of the (old) City of Philadelphia a member of the Board 
of Guardians of the Poor for the three years ending in 1839. 
After the term of his treasuiyship expired, he was offered 
'the post of Second Cashier of the Uniteil States Bank, 
which he declined. Resolving to devote his future years 
to agricultural pursuits, he removed to his farm in Bucks 
county, Pennsylvania, near the Neshaminy creek, and there 
resided for the next twelve years. During this time he was 
much interested in the political aflairs of the county, and 
continued a prominent leader on the Whig side ; he was also 
a member of every State Convention held in Harrisburg 
from 1S43 to 1852, besides advocating the election of both 
Generals Harrison and Taylor to the Presidency. By both 
the latter he was offered a post under the Federal Govern- 
ment, at Washington, but declined acceptance. In 1852, 
he disposed of his farm in Bucks county, and removed to 
Washington city, with the intention of becoming engaged 
in the banking business, but an unlooked for interruption 
occurred in his arrangements, and, finally, after a short 
residence there, he returned to Pennsylvania, and for six 
months thereafter resided at Bristol. In the spring of 1S52, 
he removed to Burlington, New Jersey, erected a house, 
and designed making it his permanent residence. He took 
an active interest in the railro.ids of the State, particularly 
in the Camden & Amboy Railroad and Transportation 
Company, and its various connections and tributaries ; served 
as a Director in several of these lateral roads for a number 
of years, and was intimate with all the leading men of the 
joint companies. In 1S54, the Legislature of New Jersey 
chartered the " Burlington Bank." He was one of the 
corporators of this institution, and was largely interested 
in the stock. The bank went into operation in 1S55, at 
which lime he was elected a member of the Board of 
Directors, and the latter body chose him as their President. 
He held the latter position for seven years, having the en- 
tire management of the institution, and superintending its 
affairs without receiving anv remuneration whatever. His 



2S4 



BIOGR APHICAL ENCYCLOP/^EDIA. 



lieallh having become impaired, he removed, in the aulumn 
of 1S62, to Philadelphia, where he has since resided, at- 
tending to his private affairs, and taking no part in politics, 
except that of voting at every election. 




V'^i*r>ICKOK, WILLIAM ORVILLE, Inventor and 
Manufacturer, was born in Genesee county. 
Western New York, October 6ih, 1815. lie is 
the son of John H. Ilickok, a school teacher by 
^2?= profession and an excellent and respected citi/.cn 
of New England by birth, with an ancestry dating 
back to the days of Cromwell and the Comnionwealth. The 
son received his elementary education at the distinct school 
and finished at the academy. .\t the age of fourteen years 
he went to Lewistown, Pennsylvania, whejigTie. entered a 
country store and remained four years. He next learned 
the book binding trade, in the same town, andjserved .an 
.apprenticeship of three years. In 1836, he removed to 
Chambei'sburg, and was engaged with his father in t]ie 
manufacture of blank books, beside doing some publishing. 
In 1839, he proceeded to Ilarrisburg, where he associated 
himself with — Cantine, the firm bting Ichuwn as Hickok 
& Cantine, publishers and blank book manufacturers. 
About 1848, he began to construct machinei-y for book 
binders, and gradually became engaged in the machinery 
business. He always had a taste for mechanics, and, being 
possessed of nn inventive faculty, found that after all this 
was his true forte and proper sphere. When he first started 
in business, at the age of twenty-one, he was not possessed 
of a dollar in capital, but by industry, energy, perseverance 
and the practice of a severe economy, he gradually saved 
and laid by some means, so that when he embarked in the 
building of machinery he w,is possessed of a small amount 
of capit.al. He started his shop in a single room of no veiy 
large dimensions, and confined his attention to the m.anu- 
facturc of ruling-machines and minor articles, and gradually 
increased his products. He continued to succeed, though 
he met with one reverse. However, this was suimounted, 
and now he sends his goods — among them quite a number 
of his own invention, and which he has patented — to all 
parts of the world. His principal products are ruling- 
machines and ruling-pens. He has also invented a port- 
able cider mill, which has proved quite successful, as it 
is the first one that was ever put in the market or entered 
at a fair. A large number have been manufactured and 
sold, and are in constant use during the season. In 1S36, 
as already stated, he started without a dollar of capital ; he 
has now, in 1874, about 8200,000 invested in his business, 
all the fruits of his own exertions. His factory is of brick; 
a fine building four stories high covers about two acres of 
ground, and i< fitted up with all the modern improvements. 
There are also on the premises a machine shop, wood shop. 



and two iron foundries. He employs from seventy-five to 
one hundred and ten men, and the amount of goods manu- 
factured amounts to about §1,500,000 per annum. The 
articles thus fabricated are almost exclusively made here, 
and are those principally of his own invention, he owning 
the patents. He has been emphatically .a le.ader in his line, 
having originally invented and then developed the first and 
most important machines used by book-binders and blank- 
book manufacturers. He takes a sincere and jirofound 
pleasure in stating that James McCorinick, a well-known 
and able lawyer, extended to him a helping hand, at the 
right time, when reverees suddenly came upon him; which 
aid enabled him to liquid.ate all his indebtedness, and 
jilaccd hini on the road to prosperity. He has served as a 
member of the City Council for seven years most acceptably, 
andj,for six years has filled the chair as presiding officer of 
that body. He belongs to the Presbyterian Church, and is 
one of the Trustees of the congregation. He has been a 
gryai traveller, and has visited not only the entire Union, 
including the Slates on the Pacific Coast, but also many 
countries.of Europe. He was married, in 1840, to Caroline, 
ijjughter of Charles Hutter, a prominent politician of the 
Elj^high Valley. 




INL,ETT.|:R, THOMAS KNIGHT, Lawyer and 
■ Judge Js the son of Thomas and Margaret (Dick- 
son) Finlettcr. The f.-vmi'.y is originally of .Scotch 
extraction, but settled in Ireland, becoming what 
is known as Scotch-Irishmen. His father emi- 
grated to America about the year 1812, and estab- 
lished himself in business as a manufacturer of cotton and 
woollen goods in Philadelphia, in which city Thom.as Knight 
Finletter was bom. He received his preliminary education 
in Philadelphia, subsequently went to Lafayette College, at 
Ea.ston, and finally removed to the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, where he graduated about the year 1 844. He then 
commenced to study law under the Hon. William A. Porter, 
afterwards Judge-of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1S46. In 1849, he became 
a member, of, the State Legislature, and served during two 
sessions. While in the Legislature, and during the session 
of 1S49, he introduced a bill, known as the "ten hours 
bill," for regulating the hours of labor in factories, and the 
age at which children should be admitted to work in the 
same. This most important measure he advocated strongly 
and persistently, and it became law during the s.ime session. 
Eicim 184910 1854, he also .served as .School Director for 
the district of the Northern Liberties. In :86o, he was ap- 
pointed Assistant City Solicitor, assigned to the department 
of the Guardians of the Poor, which position he held until 
1865, in which year he resumed the priv.ate practice of his 
profession, and continued the same until the year 1870, 
when he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 




/ 




f ^/ 



-^ 



^ 



inOGRAnilCAL ENCYCLOr.EDIA. 



2S5 




including the Courts of Oyer and Terminer and Quarter 
Sessions, and the Orplians' Court. Sliortly after his pro- 
motion to the judicial Ijench, he received the degree of 
Doctor of Laws from the Jeffei-son College of Philadelphia. 
He was married, in 1859, to Martha M., daughter of Archi- 
bald Mcllroy, a prominent citizen and manufacturer of 
Philadelphia, .and some time alderman of that city. A 
sound and capable jurist, clear, emphatic, and condensed 
in his judicial utterances, manifesting always a stern deter- 
mination to repress and punish wrong — especially such as 
lias been matter of complaint among the con.munity with 
regard to public officers — independent anil courageous in 
his disregard of party influence, his judicial career has been 
eminently satisfactory to his fellow citizens. 

fRY, JOSEn-I REESE, Banker, Author, Music 
and Art Connoisseur, was born in the city of 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the year 1S12. 
He was a son of William Fi-y,who was for many 
years the publisher of T/ic' National Gazette, a 
daily evening jiaper which for a long time en- 
joyed a high and deserved reputation for its solid editorials, 
sterling opinions, and the particular prominence given to 
foreign politics. In connection with this paper, Joseph R. 
Fry, like his brother William H., acquired a penchant for 
literary and art pursuits, which adhered to him through 
life. He had received a liberal education, and graduated 
in the Collegiate Department of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, in the class of 1830. He was a most accomplished 
scholar, well versed in several l.angu.ages, and was especially 
familiar with the history and literature of music, and wrote 
with facility and taste. He translated and adapted Bellini's 
great lyrical tragedy of Norma from the Italian for the 
celebrated Wood (English) Opera Troupe, and with his 
brothers, William and Edward, superintended its produc- 
tion in admirable style. He was the author of the libretto 
of Leonora, of which his brother William composed the 
music. The first representation of this opera on any stage 
was at the (old) Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, in 
the summer of 1S45, and a large number of amateurs, 
moving in the upper and fashionable circles of the city, had 
volunteered their services for the season of its performance. 
I le was also the author of the libretto of the opera of Notre 
Dame, the music of which was also of his brother's com- 
position. This latter work was produced under his direc- 
tion at the Academy of Music, Philarlelphia, in the summer 
of 1864, the proceeds being given to the fund then being 
raised l)y the great fair for the benefit of the Unitetl .States 
Sanitary Commission. It was brought out in the most 
magnificent style, the chorus numbering one hundred and 
fifty, a double orchestra of seventy performers, a full brass 
band on the stage near the foot-lights, and a cathedral organ 
and cliime of b.'lls in the rear. He was a man of lrn!v 




locality. 



remarkable energy in whatever he undertook, and the events 
of his life abound in illustrations of the success with which 
he achieved seemingly impossible things by mere force of 
character. Tbe production of A'orma, Leonora, and Notre 
Dame in Philadelphia, under his auspices, was in each case 
far beyond all rivalry, and marked the man as a pheno- 
menon in his way. The " Union League Brigade " for 
service in the field — at the time of the deepest gloom during 
the War of the Rebellion — was largely indebted to his efforts 
for its existence. Throughout his life he was thoroughly 
identified witli the growth and prosperity of the city of his 
birth. He died in June, 1S65. 



ELKER, RUDOLPH FREDERICK, Merch.ant, 
was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Februaiy 
17th, 1820. He is the son of Frederick Kelker, 
formerly of Lebanon, who removed from that 
place to Harrisburg, in 1S05, and opened the first 
hardware store ever established in the latter 
He was a respected citizen, a self-made man, 
prominent in every good work for the then small commu- 
nity, and a benefactor to the poor. His son was educated 
at the York High School, afterwards Mai'shall College. At 
the age of fifteen he was placed in the store which had pre- 
viously belonged to his father, and he eventually became 
one of the proprietors ; but ill health compelled him, after 
two years, to relinquish mercantile pursuits, when he re- 
moved to his father's fann, and occupied himself in attend- 
ing to it and to his father's affairs, he having made a fortune. 
In 1S42, he engaged again in business with — Oglesby, 
and so continued until 1846, when, on the death of his 
partner, he associated his two brothers, Emanuel M. and 
Heniy A. Kelker, with him, and the partnership so formed 
lasted until 1 85 1, when he retired from the same, after dis- 
posing of his interests to these brothers. Inheriting from 
his father the desire to engage in philanthropic labors, he 
early took an interest in the causes affecting the welfare of 
the masses. In 1837, he espoused the temjjerance cause, 
and was one of the six who started the first Total Abstinence 
Society in the county ; in this field his labors have been 
very effective. He commenced work in the Sunday-school 
in 1836; was for many years a teacher, and Superintendent 
from 1850 to 1870, and still continues to labor with energy 
in this field. He was elected an officer in the church ; 
from 1S41 to 1849, he served as Deacon, and from the 
latter date to the present has been a ruling Elder. He has 
often represented the Reformed Dutch Church in the classis 
and synods. He is a good theologian ; has i-ead much in 
sound works, and is a close student. He is a strenuous op- 
ponent of the ritualism which has divided the Church of 
late; wields great power in the religious body, and his 
labors arc constant and effective in opposing this ritualistic 



2S6 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CYCLOP.liDIA. 



tendency. lie is a worthy descendant of an ancestry origi- 
nally from Switzerland, and whose family have been mem- 
bers of the Reformed Church for three and a half centuries. 
In 1S65, he was elected one of the Directors of the Poor. 
The Uarrisburg Alms-house bad been for a number of 
years most wretchedly mismanaged. In 1866, he directed 
his .attention to the matter, and determined to re-organize 
the institution. By persistent efforts, he obtained the ne- 
cessary authority from the Legislature, though many ob- 
stacles presented themselves. A new building was erected, 
a model in its way, and large sums of money were received 
as donations, which were applied to its furtherance, and by 
his able efforts he brought the house into a splendid prac- 
tical working condition. lie is justly entitled to be called 
the parent of this institution, which stands as a monument 
to his memory and philanthropy. lie served for six years 
on the Board of Managers, which has brought it to its pre- 
sent high standing and prosperity, when he was compelled 
by ill health to retire from active participancy in the good 
work, although he yet maintains a careful watch over its 
interests. He has been for many years a Trustee of the 
State Lunatic Asylum ; and is foremost with heart and purse 
in anv cause designed to allevi.ate the miseries of the poor, 
the helpless and the sick. He is emphatically the poor 
ni.m's friend and adviser; his wh.ile time and means arc 
in constant daily use for their benefit, and all in the most 
<l«iet, unpretentious manner. His house has become a sort 
of Bureau of Beneficence ; his daily dream is how to aid 
the poor and distressed. In politic i he is a Republican; 
but although he has been offered numerous positions of 
trust and honor, he has invariably declined them all ; and 
his whole life is devoted to doing good in the manner al- 
ready described. He is very enlightened upon the past and 
present religious and political issues; a sound rca.soncr, and 
the holder of liberal and broad views. He was an ardent 
sup[)orter of the Union when the flag was insulted. He 
lias been a Trustee of Marshall College for many years 
past. In his temperance record, there should not be over- 
looked the great service he rendered the cause by his ar- 
raignment, in 1S72, of the State against Dauphin county in 
the matter of" licenses for the sale of ardent spirits." His 
rcjiort, which is embodied in the presentment of the Grand 
Jary, shows that the State received $6635 in money for 
license to sell liquor in taverns, restaurants, and stores — of 
which the county received not one cent — yet the citizens 
of the county were obliged to pay in taxes to support the vic- 
tims of this traffic who had taken refuge in the Poor-house, 
or were incarcerated in the jail, the sum of over 560,000; 
this was the direct result, not to speak of the broken health, 
the loss of property and the ruin of soul to the victims. 
The reiiort made a frreat stir throughout the State, and 50,- 
000 copies were demanded for circulation, beside being 
copied into all the leading p.ipers ; and it has likewise fur- 
nished a text for many a sermon delivcretl from the jiulpit. 
lie is also one of the founders of the City Hospital, which 




was established in 1S73. He w.as married, in 1844, to 
Mary A., daughter of Colonel William Ueily, of Harrisburg, 
and has two sons living. 



AMERLY, C. ERNEST, M. D., Physician and 
Druggist, was born in the (old) District of South- 
wark, Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, May 
I2th, 1822, and is of German parentage. His 
educational advantages were somewhat limited, 
yet he received thorough tuition in the English 
branches, and made considerable progress in both Latin 
and Greek. When he reached the age of seventeen, he 
entered the employ of the well-known firm of Michael 
Reed & Son, dr)'-goods merchants, but remained with them 
only a short period, as his tastes did not accord with this 
line of business, but h.armonized entirely with the study of 
medicine and its kindred sciences. His first step was to 
enter the drug store of Francis Greene, and there he gave 
his whole attention to acquainting himself with the apothe- 
cary's art in the compounding of medicaments, as prescribed 
by the physician. He remained at his post, faithfully adopt- 
ing and carrying out the instructions of his preceptor, until 
the War with Mexico broke out, when he accepted a posi- 
tion as Dispensing Apothecary with Dr. James M. Green, • 
who was attached as surgeon to one of the vessels com- 
posing the squadron engaged in the blockade of Vera Cruz, 
and where he remained until the city was captured. He 
returned to the United States on December 24th, 1845, and 
forthwith commenced the study of medicine under Dr. 
James M. Green as his preceptor, meanwhile attending the 
lectures delivered at the Pennsylvania Medical College, 
from which institution he graduated in the spring of 1847. 
He at once opened his office and commenced the practice 
of his profession, meeting with a liberal and lucrative patron- 
age. Being a laborious, patient, and at the same time a 
scientific practitioner, he has been singularly successful, and 
has been able to accumulate a handsome competence. His 
political bias is altogether in favor of the old Jeffersonian 
Democratic school, and he has always upheld its principles, 
though during his twelve years of service in the City Coun- 
cils he has cast party prejudice behind him, believing him- 
self the representative not of those who elected him only, 
but also of the entire district, his whole aim being to secure 
the prosperity and welfare of the people of the city. He is 
in full sympathy with all reforms which tend to develop 
the better nature of mankind and secure their rights, and he 
ever desires to wield his influence to encourage the indus- 
tries, utilize the capital, and increase the productions and 
manufactures of the city. His religious faith is that in 
which he was educated by his parents, who were worthy 
members of the German Lutheran Church, although he 
];)ossesses no sectarian feeling whatever, being eminently 
liberal towards those dilTcring horn his own convictions, 
believing that others should follow the faith in which they 



EIOGRArillCAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



2L7 




have been icareil, ami tliscountenaiicing the spirit of 
prosclytism which obtains so largely at the present time. 
His domestic life was passed in bachelorhood until he 
attained the prime of life ; at the age of forty-six, he 
found in Elizabeth Coffin a congenial friend and companion. 
His mother is still living, at the age of seventy-four, and 
her presence adds much to the happiness of his home circle. 



*ALSEY, JOB FOSTER, D. D., Clergyman, was 
born in Schenectady, New YorU, July I2th, iSoo. 
His father, Luther Halsey, was a captain in the 
Revolutionary army, and afterwards prepared his 
four sons for college. Job Foster entered Union 
College in 1S17, and graduated in 1S19. He then, 
after studying theology under the direction of his elder 
brother, was licensed to preach, in 1820 ; afterwards spend- 
ing two or more years in the Theological Seminary at 
Princeton, New Jersey, his brother. Dr. Luther Halsey, 
being then Professor of Chemistry and Natural Philosophy 
in Princeton College. He was ordained and installed in 
the Old Tennent Church, in Monmouth county. New Jersey, 
in 1S26. After an agency to carry forward the movement 
of the Nassau Hall Bible Society to supply the State of 
New Jersey with Bibles (of which movement he was the 
originator), he removed to Albany, New York, where he 
became the agent of the several societies of the Church 
over twelve counties in the Sate of New York for one year. 
Then he removed to Pittsburgh, where he restored and built 
up the First Presbyterian Church, Allegheny City. His 
health failing, he went to Marion College, Missouri, where 
becoming intimate with Dr. Nelson, he persuaded him to 
write his well-known work. Nelson on Infidelily. Thence, 
still being unable to perform the duties of the ministry, he 
went to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and continued there as 
Principal of a Seminary for Young Ladies until 1S51, when, 
his health returning, he took charge of the Presbyterian 
Church in Mont Clair, New Jereey, until 1S56, when he 
accepted a call from the First Presbyterian Church, Norris- 
town, Pennsylvania, of which he still (1874) remains in 
char'TC. 



LEMMER, ADAM JACOBY, late Lieutenant- 
Colonel Fourth United States Infantiy, Brevet 
Brigadier-General United States Army, was born 
in Frederick township, Montgomery county, 
Pennsylvania, January 24th, 1S29. Me was the 
youngest son of Adam Slemmer, at that time a 
member of the Slate Legislature. His ancestoi'S were of 
the nobility of Hungary, but the immediate branch of the 
family from which he is descended emigrated from Basle, 
Switzerland, about 1 740, and settled in Philadelphia. 




During the Revolutionary War llio family warmly espoused 
the patriotic cause, and his grandfather, Jacob C. Slemmer, 
at the age of sixteen — having been rejected the previous 
year on account of liis youth — entered the army, and served 
throughout the struggle, being one of the soldiers de- 
tailed to guard the Hessian prisoners taken at the battle of 
Trenton. When he himself w.as four years of age his family 
removed to Norristown, where he received his education. 
After leaving school he commenced the study of pharmacy 
under the supervision of an elder brother, with a view of 
becoming an apothecary, but being tendered a cadetship 
accepted the same, and at the close of the summer cam- 
paign of 1846 was received as a member of the class. Of 
necessity, he entered at the foot, the io6th ; but l)y his close 
application to study, his determination to excel, and his 
uniform correct deportment, he so advanced that at the 
close of his academic course he stood twelfth in the list of 
graduates, ranking among the honored men of his cla.ss. 
He was appointed brevet Second Lieutenant, 1st Artillei-y, 
and reported for duty, in .September, 1S50, at Tampa, 
Florida, and was soon thereafter promoted to full grade 
of Second Lieutenant, serving subsequently at .San Diego, 
Fort Yuma, and other military posts in California. In 
1S55, he was commissioned First Lieutenant, and joined 
his company at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, where l:e 
remained, however, but a short lime, having l)een assigned 
— at the request of the Commandant of the West Point 
Academy — to a Professorship in that institution. He 
served, in this last capacity, for four years, first in ethics 
and English studies, and afterwards in mathem.atics. While 
thus engaged, he w.is married, August 20th, 1857, to Caro- 
line Lane, daughter of Rev. John Reynolds, an Episcopal 
clergyman. Leaving the academy, he rejoined his com- 
pany, and remained with it until he succeeded to its com- 
mand, being stationed at Barrancas Barracks, Florida, in 
the autumn of l£6o. It was here that his military char.acter 
was to receive its severest test, for this was the eve of the 
outbreak of the Rebellion. Finding the barracks unten- 
al>le he abandoned them, first spiking the guns of Bar- 
rancas and Fort McRea, and with his handful of men — 
aided by supplies and transports with a detail of landsmen 
procured from the United States Navy-yard at Pensacola — - 
he armed Fort Pickens, then in an unfinished state, and 
with his little band held th.it important post for many 
weeks, luitil reinforced by Colonel Harvey Brown, in Apri', 
1861, having been so isolated as to be ignorant of the ac- 
tions of the Government, and deprived of news of all 
kinds. Being ordered to New York with his command, 
they were received at that city with an ovation ; and each 
was presented by the Chamber of Commerce of that city 
with a commemorative medal. The Corporation of Phila- 
delphia likewise tendered the hospitalities of that city. 
After passing a short time at his father's house seeking the 
rest he so much needed, he was promoted two gr.ades, being 
now M.ijor of l6th Infantiy. In the summer of 1861, he 



2S8 



ISIOGRAl'IIICAl, RNCVCLi )I'.KI)IA. 



was assigned to duty as Inspector-General, under General 
Roscncrans, in Western Virginia. The effects of his fatigue 
at Fort Pickens were not then wholly relieved, and expo- 
sure in the field caused him to be stricken down with 
typhoid fever, and, at one time, his life was in imminent 
peril ; but he recovered, and before perfectly convalescent 
was on duly. He recruited a battalion of men for his 
regiment, at Chicago, and, in May, 1862, with Iheni re- 
joined the army in Tennessee. From this jicriod he 
marched and fought with Buell's command, until at the 
head of his men at the battle of Stone Kiver, December, 
1862, he was severely wounded in the knee. For gallantry 
in this action he was appointed Brigadier-General United 
Slates Volunteers. His wound was so serious that ampu- 
tation was feared ; but ultimately the limb was saved. 
Meanwhile, by direct command of President Lincoln, and 
at the urgent request of (ieneral Scott, he was made Brevet 
Brigadier-General of the United .States Army for his gallant 
services at Fort Pickens. He next served as a member of 
the Board, ultimately becoming its presiding officer, to 
examine sick and convalescent officers; and subsequently 
as a member of the Board to examine disbanded volunteer 
ofhcers who sought commissions in the regular army. He 
was eminently qualified for these positions, and was thus 
retained by the War Department, though he requested more 
active service in the field. After the close of the war, he 
was placed in command at Sackett's Harbor, New York, 
and subsequently at Fort Laramie. He was a strict discip- 
linarian, but kind withal, and everywhere enjoyed the re- 
spect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact ; 
even the Indian looked upon him as more than an ordinary 
officer. His last official act was a conference with hostile 
Inilians, some distance from Fort Laramie, October 6th, 
I SOS. He returned to the fort, and feeling indisposed re- 
tired early. During the night he suddenly expired, owing 
to a stoppage of the mitral valve of the heart, la the 
General Orders of Colonel Deye, announcing his death, his 
many brave deeds and services are appropriately recited 
thus concluding : " during the eighteen years of honorable 
service, he stood far above the temptations of the hour, and 
exhibited in the discharge of his duties economy and Intel 
ligence; also great zeal and uncompromising f.iithfulness, 
which was no less honorable to the army than to himself." 



jOMEERGER, J.\COB C, Banker, was born at 
Mitldletown, D.iuphin county, Pennsylvania, 
December 1 6th, 1817. He is of German descent, 
his ancestors having emigrated from Baden- 
Baden, Germany, and is the only son of a poor 
but upright and respected wagon-builder. When 
fourteen years of age he entered a store at Elizabethtown, 
Lancaster county, where he rem.iinecl for some time ; thence 
he removed to Shippensburg, in Cumberland county, where 




he continued in the mercantile business until 1S45, when 
receiving a clerkship in the Bank of Middletown, he re- 
turned to his native town. He occupied this position until 
1851, when Itaving been elected Assistant Clerk of the 
Senate of Pennsylvania, he proceeded to Harrisburg and 
entered upon the duties of his office, which were so faith- 
fully and acceptably performed as to place him, by a unani- 
mous vote, x:\ the same post the following year. During 
this session, of 1852, he was instrumental in procuring a 
charter for the " Mechanics' Bank of Harrisburg." This 
institution was organized in M.iy of that year, and he wa.s 
elected its cashier, and served in that capacity until the ex- 
piration of its charter, in 1867. The success of the bank, 
of which he w.xs the leading spirit, was unprecedented. 
Regular dividends were declared semi-annually, which jiaiil 
a larje interest to the stockholders, and when — .at the ex- 
pira'.io;i of the charter— he was appointed to wind up the 
aftai.s lh_' shareholders received, in addition to the large 
dividends previously mentioned, about two hundred dollars 
for each sh.ire, the par value being only fifty dollars. 
Having effi;cted a final settlement of the bank's affairs, he 
commenced a private banking business on his own account, 
under the same name, and has continued it ever since, and 
with the same success that attended the operations of the 
chartered institution. He was appointed by Governor Cur- 
tin one of the Trustees of the Slate Lun.itic Hospital, and 
subsequently re-appointed by Governor Geary, his term of 
service being about ten years. He was a Delegate to the 
National Convention at Chicago which nominated General 
Grant for the Presidency, and supported him at his first 
election; but, in 1S72, when Horace Greeley was a candi- 
date in opposition, he ranged himself on the side of the 
latter. During the same year he w.as induced to allow his 
name to be used as a candidate fir the Legislature by those 
opposed to President Grant's policy, but although defeated 
(the district gave Grant about 40oom.".jority) he ran largely 
ahead of his ticket. His business qualifications being fully 
recognized by a large proportion of the citizens, they have 
selected him at various limes as executor and administrator 
of a great many estates, some of them being of considerable 
magnitude, and he has settled them to the gre.at advantage 
of those interested, being gifted with remarkalile prudence 
and foresight. He has acquired, by his industry, an ample 
comiietcncy, although unaided by any advantages of early 
education or means. His character for integrity and up- 
rightness is unimpeachable, and he occupies in the commu- 
nity where he is best kn.jwn a position that commands the 
respect and confidence of his fellow citizens. He is of a 
very benevolent disposition, being kind to all, especially 
to those who are not blessed with any 'lortion of this world's 
goods. He is ever ready to lend a helping hand to those 
who are worthy to receive aid, atid his unobtruriveness in 
his charities is proverbial. He is emphatically the poor 
man's friend, and no appeal from the suffering or distressed 
is made in vain. 




^. 



OA/^, 



i<n<^ 




.mSiusJi 



^^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 




('(=/n|EDWARD, JAMES, Cotton Manufacturer, was 
-:b III /. born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, Eng- 
land, December 14th, 1823. He lost his mother 
when he was but six years of ago, and though 
he was denied many advantages of early educa- 
tion, yet he was not to be deterred from the ac- 
quirement of that knowledge so essential to his future suc- 
cess in life. When he was eight years old, he was regularly 
apprenticed to learn the weaving trade, and in process of 
time he patiently mastered all the minutis of the business, 
and became an excellent operative. He worked in the 
mills of Thomas Mellor & Brother, in his native town, 
until 1845, when he emigrated to the United States. He 
first found employment in the mills of Joseph Ripka, at 
Manayunk, Pennsylvania, and at the end of five months 
became his foreman. Early in 1847, he removed to Up- 
land, Delaware county, where he was engaged in the same 
position in the mills of John P. Crozer & Son, remaining 
with this firm until 185 1, when he accepted an offer from 
James Campbell of Chester, Pennsylvania, who engagtd 
his services to put into operation the first looms ever run 
in that city. These were put up in the old jail building. 
Here he continued until 1S53, having, by his econQniy.an(l 
industry, laid by his first thousand dollars, and become .an 
American citizen by naturalization. He iigw returnedi to 
Manayunk, and rented a room in the building naw knowil 
as the Sciota Mills, and engaged in th.e--'nil<imifacture qf 
carpet yarns on his own account. Plere ,he, re«Hained,-uJiUl 
1859, when he commenced operating Datiiel;N.ippes_' JMill,' 
on Mill Creek, for the production of carpet lyain, knit 
goods and jeans. Early in 1864, he removed to the Good 
Intent Mills, in West Philadelphia, where he manufactured 
twilled jeans until the summer of 1866, when he purchased 
the " Sunnyside Mills," in Chester, Pennsylvania, which 
he filled with the most approved machinery, and began 
running December l6th, 1866, with a force of fifty hands. 
He here manufactured cottonades, cassimeres, doeskins, 
etc. The building was fifty-five by one hundred feet, two 
stories high, to which, in 1867, he added a two story picker- 
house thirty by twenty feet, and continued to enlarge the 
structures each successive year, as the undertaking proved 
very successful. On JuJy 1st, i87K, he_-adniitted his son 
into partnership with him. His Jiitsine^ increascsf,. and 
prospered exceedingly until January 4th, 1873, when the 
warehouse was destroyed by fire ; and this disaster was fol- 
lowed, on March 17th of the s^me year, by the heavier loss 
of a building used as a picker-house, warping and beam- 
ing room. Nothing daunted by these untoward accidents, 
he at once prepared to erect new buildings of increased 
dimensions and capacity, making the ones most liable to 
combustion fire-proof, and filling the same with all the 
necessary appliances of the most approved workmanship, 
and at the close of the year all the works were found to be 
in perfect running order. On New Year's day, 1874, he 
recommenced operations, with over one hundred hands. 

37 



2S9 



His active energy and enterprise have achieved for him a 
marlced success, and he stands as a fair example of a self- 
educated and self-made man. In 1S70, he was elected a 
member of the City Council of Chester, .and re elected in 
1873, and has taken an active part in promoting various 
enterprises of the city. He was married in February, 1847. 



ICKINSON, MAIILON HALL, Chief Commis- 
sioner of Highways of Philadelphia, was born in 
the (old) District of the Northern Liberties, Phila- 
delphia county, Pennsylvania, August nth, 1814. 
He is a son of Nathan and Martha Dickinson, 
the former of whom was a grain and flour mer- 
chant; after his death the business was continued by the 
latter, upon whom devolved the care of rearing and edu- 
cating five children. His ancestors on both sides were 
amohg' the first settlers in Pennsylvania, having left their 
homes in England to seek another clime where they might 
worship aeCof.^hg to the dictates of their own conscience. 
He was educated in private schools and seminaries of his 
native'city,- principally in those under the control of the 
Society of Friends. On leaving school, his mother appren- 
ticed him to letfrh ftie trade of bricklayer and mason, and 
after his term ftf siryice expired he conducted the building 
bTisiri'tss in PhilS^phia, inassociation with John Horton, 
•unrter the firm nanie of ' Horton & Dickinson, being em- 
ployed by the leadiiig merchants and business men of the 
ciiyiir'the constructioit of edifices. After the senior mem- 
btir "retired, he continued alone until i860, when, having 
amassed' a competency, he relinquished his occupation in 
favor of some younger men who had faithfully served him ; 
having erected during the time he conducted the business 
some of the most substantial edifices in the city, which now 
stand to attest the good and substantial quality of the ma- 
terial and workmanship employed in their construction. 
Having ever been an active and earnest business man, he 
had but little time to devote to public matters ; yet, at an 
early age, as he had attached himself to a fire company, he 
gave ujMch of his leisure hours to the interests of the old 
Volunteer Fire Department. In connection with his early 
and conslalit ■frien(r,-N\'illiam S. Slo^l^. (now the Mayor 
of Phibdelphia), he represented the " Harmony Fire Com- 
pany in the " Fire Association " for many years. He has 
held the position of President of the "Harmony" from 
1850 to the present date. He was also one of the Trustees 
of the Fire Insurance Company, known as the " Fire As- 
sociation," for many ye.ars, and at the time that institution 
changed its organization (in consequence of the disband- 
ment of the volunteer department) he w.as one of the first 
members of the old Board of Trustees that was elected 
Director in the reconstructed company. He never took 
any active part in political matters itntil the cflTort was maile 
to extend slavery into (he new Territories. Recalling the 



290 



lilOGKAPIIKAL EN'CYCLOP/EDIA. 



sentimenis which liad hcen instillcil inin liis miml, and the 
early training he Iiad received among " Friends," and also 
acting upon the impulses of his own heart, he entered the 
political arena, and was among the first in Philadelphia city 
to unite in the formation of the nucleus of the present Re- 
publican party. He was one of twelve delegates elected, 
early in 1856, to represent the city in the National Conven- 
tion to nominate a candidate for President, and the strength 
of the party then may be judged from the fact that the 
highest number of votes polled was but 159! He wxs 
then, as now, a resident of the Sixteenth Ward, and assisted 
in organizing a Republican Club in that ward, and a full 
ticket was nominated, being the first ward in the city to 
place a ticket of the new party in the field. After the no- 
mination of General Fremont by the Philadelphia National 
Convention, a joint electoral ticket was .agreed upon by 
the Old Line Whigs — who had nominated Millard Fillmore 
— ancl Re[)ublioans, when Mahlon H. Dickinson was chosen 
as Elector for the Third Congressional District. From this 
time forward he has continued to work actively in the ranks 
of the Republican party; for several years he was a mem- 
ber of the Republican State Central Committee; and on 
the decease of Hon. Joltn Covode, was made Chairman of 
that body to fill the vacancy. In 1858, he represented the 
Sixteenth Ward in Councils, and, in 1859, was elected by 
Councils — under a then recent Act of Assembly — a mem- 
ber of the Board of Guardians of the Poor. Great abuses 
had for many years existed in the management of this de- 
partment, and this change was made in its organization in 
order to effect a reformation, which, after much labor and 
perseverance on the part of the new member, was accom- 
plished to the entire satisfaction of the public. He con- 
tinued a member of the Board for five years, devoting a 
large portion of his time to its interests, and previous to his 
retirement from the same was its presiding officer. He lias 
also been one of the Managers of the Pennsylvania Train- 
ing School at Media for sixteen years, and has given that 
institution a share of his attention. He has been for many 
years a member of the " Society for Alleviating the Miseries 
of Public Prisons," and, as one of the Visiting Committee 
to the Eastern Penitentiary, faithfully discharged his duties 
up to 1867, when his attention was drawn to a wider field 
of action'. Through the efforts of this Society the notice 
of the public was directed to the gre.it abuses which existed, 
and more especially to the cruel treatment and neglect of 
the insane poor, who for want of proper accommodation 
were confined in jirison cells or Poor-house b.isements. 
After much difficulty, an Act of Assembly was procured 
which authorized the Governor to appoint a person to visit 
these several institutions, but " that this work should be 
done without expense to the Commonwealth." Governor 
Geary appointed Mahlon H. Dickinson, in May, 1867, as 
the visitor in question, and he accepted the commission 
without hesitation, although he was obliged to serve with, 
out compensation, beside bearing liis own expenses. 



During the ensuing seven months he visited as many of 
the prisons and almshouses as he could reach, and at the 
ensuing session of the Legislature laid before that body his 
report, showing the existence of abuses, and urging a re- 
medy for them. These representations drew the attention 
of the Governor and Legislature more closely to the sub- 
ject. He had many private interviews with both the Exe- 
cutive and many members of both Houses, enlisting their 
sympathies in the cause, and urging ujjon them the neces- 
sity of creating a Board to take charge of all the public 
charities, and to supervise the prisons and almshouses of 
the State. From a majority of these he received words of 
encouragement, and he now felt that the work so long de- 
layed was about to be accomplished, and that the time and 
money he had expended in the good cause were not lost. 
On March 1st, 1S6S, he was appointed Chief Commissioner 
of the Highways uf the City, an<l though his time was now 
more circumscribed, still he occupied all his leisure, includ- 
ing the usual summer v.ication allowed to city officials, 
which enabled him at the close of 1869 to submit to the 
Governor a more detailed Report of the state of things, in- 
cluding other points not embraced in his firat communica- 
tion. The Governor alluded to the subject in his Annual 
Message, and in accordance with the recommendation of 
the Visitor, an act w.is passed establishing an additional 
Insane Asylum for the northeastern section of the .Slate. 
The objects for which he had so long labored having been, 
to a great extent, accomplished, and the whole subject 
having been placed under the supervision of a responsible 
Board who are specially charged with the duty of can-ying 
out these much-needed reforms, his visits are now confined 
to those locations only where it is prob.able that his services 
may assist in alleviating the hardships these unfortunates 
may have t,o endure. He still retains the office of Chief 
Commissioner of Highways, having been constantly re- 
elected aniui.illy since 1868, without opposition, and having 
held the po.ition longer than any other incumbent since the 
consolidation of the city. In religious opinion, he adheres 
to that of the Society of Friends, but is liber.il in his views. 



NGERSOLL, JOSEPH REED, Lawyer and States- 
man, w.as born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
June I4ih, 17S6. He was the third son of Jaied 
^,_ and Elizabeth IngersoU. Both his father and 
i' grandfather were eminent lawyers of their d.iy, 
the former having been a member of that Con- 
vention presided over by George Washington, and wTiich 
framed the Constitution of the United States. His early 
school days were passed in the city of his birth, under the 
best teachers in eveiy department which it could then afford. 
He entered the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in the 
; year 1800, and graduated with the highest honoi-s of his 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



291 



class in 1S04. In this class were many men who nfter- 
wanls altaincil hi^h public eminence. He was a most 
eirnest and inclefati;^aijle student, ambitious, from the first, 
of that distinction which he succeeded in winning, and he 
often mentioneil the fact — which in itself was no small in- 
centive to his application and industry during his collegiate 
course — that almost every letter which he received from his 
father closed with the words, " rememlier the honors." He 
commenced the study of law in his father's office, and, after 
the usual course of reading, was admitted to the bar June 
2d, 1807. His practice soon became large and lucrative. 
In less than seven years after the last-named date he aver- 
aged lifty cases at each term of the District Court and Com- 
mon Pleas of the County, beside a very considerable prac- 
tice in the Supreme Court of the State, and the Federal. 
Few men at the liar ever enjoyed so varied as well as so 
important a line of practice. His reputation for faithful at- 
tention to the business entrusted to him, his popular man- 
ners, his pleasing address, his readiness and eloquence — all 
these combined to secure him numerous and valuable 
clients. He was an ardent student, not only in the line of 
his profession, but he delved into other domains of know- 
ledge. He prepared all his cases thoroughly, not only by 
research into authority, but by making himself acquainted 
with whatever subjects were incidental and auxiliary. He 
seemed equally conversant with medical jurisprudence, me- 
chanics and chemistry in patent cases, and on general mat- 
ters in geography and commerce. He always took copious 
notes of the subjects of which he read, as a means of im- 
pressing the various points on his memoiy ; and he kept a 
diary for many years of the most important cases in which 
he had served as counsel. His character at the bar was 
eminently dignified. He thoroughly identified himself with 
the cause of his client and threw his whole soul into it. 
His style of oratory was graceful, earnest, and at times im- 
pa.ssioned. He ever secured the attention of the juiy. To 
the Court he was as faithful as to his client, communicating 
to the Bench all the light, on any question, to be derived 
from books. He retired from practice about 1S41, or soon 
after. In 0;;tober, 1S32, he was elected a member of Se- 
lect Council of the (old) city of Philadelphia, and was im- 
mediately chosen its President, which position he continued 
to hold annually until 1S35. In 1834, he was elected a 
member of the Twenty-fourth Congress, took his seat in 
December, 1835, and served until March 3d, 1837, mean- 
while declining a re-election. In 1841, however, he was 
again induced to enter political life, and was elected to 
and served successively in the Twenty-seventh, Twenty- 
eighth, and Twenty-ninth Congresses. lie took an active 
part in the jiroceedings, and some of his efforts were of an 
elaborate character. He was a member of the Committee 
on Ways and Means for six years, and during his last term 
was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. His course 
lliroughout was undoubtedly consistent with Whig prin- 
ciples, which he always maintained and advocated. After 



his retirement' from Congress, President Fillmore, with 
whom he had served in that body, and who knew his abili- 
ties, tendered him a seat in the Cabinet as Secretary of the 
Navy, but this honor he declined. In the spring of 1S52, 
he was nominated and confirmed by the Senate as Ameri- 
can Minister to the British Court. He remained abro.ad 
one year, during which time he negotiated two treaties of 
considerable importance. During his long professional life 
he contributed much to polite literature. He also prepared 
many gentlemen for the bar, having been preceptor to over 
fifty, and these he aided, in numerous instances, by every 
means in his power, both during their tutelage and after 
their admission to the bar, and always manifested a deep 
interest in their success. Personally and socially, he was a 
gentleman in the truest sense of the word. His manners 
were elegant and refined ; his conversation easy and inte- 
resting. His house was the seat of open and liberal hospi- 
tality ; his board the constant scene of intellectual enjoy- 
ment. His charity was munificent and unbounded ; he con- 
sidered it a duty and privilege to give. Unfortunate in 
the loss of his wife and children, the greater part of his 
latter years were passed in childless widowhood. He was 
long a communicant member of the Episcopal Church, 
and for many years a W'arden of St. Peter's Church. He 
died February 20th, l86S. 

/ ^^^ 

TEVENS, RT. REV. WILLIAM BACON, M.D., 
D. D., LL.D., Protestant Episcopal Bishop of 
Pennsylvania, was born at Bath, Maine, July 
13th, 1815, and is the youngest son of William 
and Rebecca (Bacon) Stevens. His father was 
an officer of the United States army during the 
1812, and died while the lad was quite young. He 
was educated in Boston, where the family resided, and 
from an early age desired to enter Holy Orders. With 
this end in view, he began a preparatory course in the 
Tlieological Seminary at Andover, but owing to a pulmo- 
nary affection was compelled to abandon this pursuit for a 
time and turned his attention to medicine. He was also 
advised to travel, and was absent from home for over two 
years, making the circuit of the globe, and visiting places 
out of the ordinary beaten track of travel, such as the Sand- 
wich Islands, China, and parts of India. During the whole 
of this time he was actively pursuing the study of medicine, 
and, while in Canton, gave his services at the American 
Hospital, then under the direction of the celebrated Dr. 
Peter Parker. On his return to America he went to Georgia, 
and continued his medical studies, at first in Savannah, 
under Dr. Edward Coppee, and afterwards in Charleston, 
with Dr. Samuel Henry Dickson. In 1837, he received 
the degree of M. D. at Dartmouth College, and returning 
to Savannah entered upon the practice of medicine there 
with great success. In the following year, he received an 




war of 



292 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



nJ ciiiuLm (ioctoiale from the Soulh Carolina Medical Col- 
lege, where also he had been a student. His health being 
now completely restored, he felt free to carry out his origi- 
nal intentions. Accordingly, in 1S43, he relinquished his 
medical practice, which had become large and lucrative, 
and recommenced the study of theology under Dr. Stephen 
Elliott, the first Bishop of Georgia, his warm pei-sonal 
friend, and by whom he was ordained Deacon and I'riest in 
1843-44. Soon after his ordination, he was elected Pro- 
fessor of Belles Lettres, Oratory and Moral Philosophy in 
the University of Georgia, at Athens, where he also under- 
took the charge of an Episcopal Mission, which speedily 
developed into a flourishing church. While practising 
medicine in Savannah, he had been prominently connected 
with the organization of the HTstorical Society of Georgia, 
by which body he had been appointed, with the approbation 
of the Governor, the State Historian. The abundant ma- 
terial, collected at great expense both at home and abroad 
by order of the State Legislature, was placed in his hands, 
and thus was brought about the inception of his chief lite- 
rary production. The History of Georgia. Upon this work 
he has spent years of most laborious research — taking no- 
thing for granted, but tracing every item to its original 
source, even in its minutest detail. In 1847, the first volume 
appeared, and was received with special commendation 
from the best authorities, taking rank at once as a standard 
liislory, and placing its author foremost among State histo- 
rians. The second volume was published in 1859, the de- 
lay partly arising from his previous change of residence. 
He has also produced several other works of an important 
character, presently to be noticed, but it is on this history 
that his reputation as an author permanently rests. In 
1847, he was elected Rector of St. Andrew's Church, 
Philadelphia, and he commenced his ministrations there 
in the following year. In July, 1848, he received the de- 
gree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pennsyl- 
vania. He retained the Rectorate of this celebrated church 
for upwards of thirteen years, the period of his incumbency 
being marked by the greatest prosperity in the history of 
the parish, and by a most lively development of every 
branch of church org.inization. During this time his pen 
was actively engaged in the production of numerous works, 
an account of which is given at the close of this sketch. 
In 1S61, he was elevated to the Episcopate, being made 
Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania, succeeding Bishop Bow- 
man ; and, on the death of Bishop Potter, in 1S65, he be- 
came Bishop of the Diocese. At that time, this extensive 
See comprised the entire State of Pennsylvania; but, in 
November, 1865, the Diocese of Pittsburgh was set off, and 
six years afterwards the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania 
was created, so that now three Sees occupy the territory of 
original jurisdiction. In addition to the care of this im- 
portant Diocese, he has charge of the American Episcopal 
Churches on the Continent of Europe, and has twice visited 
these parishes, embodying the resu'.t of his investigations in 



a published address of great merit, entitled, .-/ Climfse at 
the Religions Aspects of Europe. In 1869, he received 
the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Union Col- 
lege, New York. As a preacher, he is thoroughly logical, 
practical, and evangelical, with a graceful and impressive 
delivery. As a writer, his style is correct, highly illustrated, 
and though ornate never heavy. As a liistorian, he pos- 
sesses the rare faculty of filling up the outline of historical 
facts with lively description, and full and appropriate illus- 
tration. He is an active leader in the missionary work of 
the church, and in the great social and moral reforms of 
the day. In 1S64, he was applied to by Hon. Asa Packer, 
of Mauch Chunk, with reference to the founding of some 
educational institution in the Lehigh Valley, for whose es- 
tablishment he/ proposed to give a large sum of money. 
To the development of this idea the Bishop devoted con- 
siderable time and attention, and thus was commenced what 
has since become the Lehigh Univei'sity,one of the noblest 
academic institutions in the United .States ; and he is Presi- 
dent of its Board of Trustees. The following list includes 
all the more important of Bishop Stevens' writings : Dis- 
course delivered before the Georgia Historical Society, Sa- 
vannah, February 12th, 1841 ; Treatise on the History of 
the Silk Culture in Georgia, contributed as an appendix to 
Harris' Memorials of Oglethorpe, 1841 ; History of Georgia 
from its first Discovery by Europeans to the Adoption of 
the present Constitution in 1 797; The Parables Practically 
Unfolded ; Consolation ; The Bo'iV in the Cloud ; Home Ser- 
vice, a Manual for private Worship, with appropriate Ser- 
mons ; The Lord's Day : its Obligations and Blessings ; 
The Past and Present of Si. Andrew's; a record of ten 
years' labor in that Parish; The Sabbaths of our Lord ; 
Discourse on the Life of Bishop Potter; The Undeveloped 
Powers of the Church, being the charge to his clerg)', 1864 ; 
The Relations of the Clergy and Laity, charge in 1S70. 
In addition to the above he has published a great number 
of sermons, religious tracts and contributions to periodi- 
cals. He has edited two volumes of the Georgia J/is- 
torical Collections, beside contributing to it much original 
matter. This production is scarcely second in importance 
to his History of Georgia. 



OCIIR.A.N, JOHN, Operator in Real Estate and 
Insurance Agent, was born in Chester, Pennsyl- 
vania, October 25th, 1824. His father, also named 
John Cochran, was born in Scotland, but his mo- 
ther was a native of America. He attended the or- 
dinary schools of Chester, but he is to a great ex- 
tent self-educated. Having left school, in 1S42, he en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits, and married Catharine, 
daughter of Samuel Johnson, of Springfield, on June 6lh, 
1849, and removed to Marcus Hook, in 1851, where he also 
en"a"otl in farming. He returned to Chester, in 1S52, and 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



293 



ciiliTcil upon mcrcanlilc business until 1S57, since vvhicli 
time he has been ]>rominently cngageil ii> the real estate 
anil insurance business. He is the projector and proprietor 
of the new town of Norwood, on the Philadelphia, Wil- 
niini;;lon & Ealtimore Railroad, and has contributed largely 
to the growth of Chester and vicinity. He has never 
sought or held jntblic office, having devoted himself assi- 
duously to business. He is a ruling elder in the Presby- 
terian Church. He w.is also an originator of the company 
formed for the erection of the buildings now occupied by 
the Pennsylvania Military Academy. He is full of energy 
and jiublic spirit, giving his sympathy and aid to every 
enterprise for the promotion of the best interests of the 
people. 

■ ^-^ RIZER, ENDS, Journalist, was born at Lawrence- 
viUe, Chester county, Pennsylvania, June :7th, 
1826. His father, Frederick Prizer, being a 
farmer in rather moderate circumstances, he was 
at an early age thrown upon his own resources. 
When about eight years of age he left his home- 
stead and went to live in the family of Mrs. Strautz, then 
proprietress of the hotel in Lawrenceville. Here he was 
employed with the usual farm labor, and made himself 
generally useful about the hotel. During his stay with the 
family, which lasted for a number of years, a strong feeling 
of affection grew up between him and Mrs. Strautz, and he 
regarded her as sacredly as his own mother. Owing to 
the kindly interest which she manifested towards him, she 
determined that he should learn a trade suitable to his tastes. 
Accordingly, when about fifteen years of age, he entered 
the Vilhii^e Record office, at Westchester, as an apprentice 
to the printing trade, much, however, against the wishes of 
his parents. His services to his employer during his mi- 
nority were not limited by the terms of an implied obliga- 
tion, but were rendered unsparingly and untiringly ; and 
when in the course of years he became foreman and chief 
business manager of that establishment, his energy and ap- 
plication made him an invaluable assistant. During his 
stay at Westchester he formed the acquaintance of Sarah 
Levis, to whom he w.as married on the iSth of February, 
1S52. About one year afterwards a partnership was formed 
lietween him and Henry T. Darlington, an associate of the 
iViVO/v/ office. The Bucks County In/fl/iffencer, pwhWsheA 
by John S. Brown, at Doylestown, was then purchased by 
them, and upon February 15th, 1855, the new firm assumed 
the management of the paper. His career as senior editor 
of the Intelligencer was an exceedingly prosperous one. 
He exerted his every energy to make the paper one of the 
leading journals of the county. Unfortunately, when just 
at the very prime of his manhood, it became manifest that 
his physical system had become undermined by consump- 
tion, and that the disease was making inroads upon his 
health with fearful rapidity. This did not in the least daunt 



his ambition or draw him aw.iy from his office duties; on 
the other lian<l, it seemed to be an impetus for increased 
activity and renewed exertion. When at last he had be- 
come so overpowered by the disease as to be loo feeble to 
walk to the office, he insisted that a carriage should be 
brought for him. Even though assistance was recjuired to 
lift him in and out of the vehicle, he continued going to 
the office until the day previous to his death, which oc- 
curred on the 25th of November, J864. In his public re- 
lations he was widely and favorably known. As a politician, 
he was ever a hearty and steadfast adherent and advocate 
of the great cause of union and liberty. Called upon by 
reason of his vocation to take an active interest in public 
affairs, he never descended to any act of a dishonorable or 
unworthy nature. Candid and honest in his political as 
well as business relations, he commanded at once the attach- 
ment and confidence of his party friends, and the respect 
and esteem of the opposing side. 




y 



OOD, GEORGE B., M. D., LL.D., Physician and 
Author, was born in Greenwich, Cumberland 
county. New Jersey, March 13th, 1797. He was 
educated at the University of Pennsylvania, where 
he gr.aduated, in 1815, with the degree of A. B., 
and, in 1S18, with that of M. D. He was Pro- 
fessor of Chemistiy in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy 
from 1822 to 1831; Professor of Materia Medica in the 
same college from 1831 to 1835; Professor of Materia 
Medica in the University of Pennsylvania from 1835 to 
1850; Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine 
in the saine from 1850 to i860; and a physician in the 
Pennsylvania Hospital from 1835 to 1859. He is the 
author of numerous and valuable works, chiefly relating to 
his profession, which rank among the classics of the me- 
dical sciences. His first important work, T/ie Dispensatory 
of the United States, was written in conjunction with Frank- 
lin Bache, M. D., and the original edition was published 
in Philadelphia, in 1833 (8vo., 1073 pp.). This at once 
stamped him as a man whose research and knowledge of 
his profession were of the highest order; it was thoroughly 
exhaustive in its description of the many medicinal agents 
peculiar to American practice, indicating minutely their 
various properties and effects. It has gone through thirteen 
editions, the last being in 1870 (8vo., pp. xii. 1810), about 
150,000 copies having been sold. Before 1830 there had 
not been any United States Pharmacopoeia or standard list 
of medicines and their preparations whose authority was 
generally recognised. In the year mentioned two such lists 
were offered to the public, one prepared in New York, the 
other chiefly the work of Dr. Wood. In a severe review 
Dr. Wood completely demolished the first of these, and by 
writing the United States Dispensatory cavi'^eA the authority 
of the other to be univcsally .acknowledged. In 1S47, he 



294 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPyKDIA. 



published a Tnalisc on the Practice of Medicine (2 vols. 
Svix). It ran Ihrouj^li six cililions, the last being in 1S67. 
lie also publishcil, in 1856, a Treatise on Therapeutics 
and Pharmacology, or materia mcdica, which had three 
editions, the last being issued in 186S (2 vols., Svo., pp. 
1S48), and a volume containing twelve lectures, six ad- 
dresses and two biographical memoirs, in 1859. It consisted 
of lectures and addresses on medical subjects, delivered 
chiefly before the medical classes of the University of 
I'ennsylvania. He has also written The History of the 
Pennsylvania Hospital ; History of the University of 
Pennsylvania ; Biographical Memoirs of Franklin Baehe, 
etc. In the first and last of these jiamphlets will be found 
an account of Wood and Bache's Dispensatory and United 
States Pharmacopa:ia, of which he, in connection with Dr. 
Bache, and others, was editor of the editions of 1831, 1840, 
1850, and i860. In 1S72, these memoirs, with the addition 
of the Ilistoiy of Christianity in India, of the British In- 
dian Empire, of the Girard College, and other papers, were 
collected into a volume entitled, Memoirs, Essays, and 
Addresses. In 1S65, he endowed the Auxiliaiy Faculty of 
Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, consisting of 
five chairs ; one of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, one 
of Botany, one of Geology and Mineralogy, one of Hygiene, 
and one of Medical Jurisprudence ; all of the subjects to 
be especially considered in their relation to medicine. 



^^OWNIXG, UORF.RT \V., President of Select 
Council of Philadelphia, and Assistant Controller 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was born 
in Philadelphia, January 22d, 1835, and is a son 
of James an<l Elizabeth Downing. Pie was edu- 
cated in the Public .Schools of Philadelphia, and 
subsequently in the High School, which latter institution 
he left at the age of sixteen, after having acquired an ex- 
cellent scholarship in the various studies there pursued. 
During his youth he was a frequent attendant at his father's 
shop, and being gifted with a certain amount of mechanical 
ingenuity, by constant practice he familiarized himself with 
the various details of his father's calling, the carpenter and 
joiner's trade. After leaving school he entered the em- 
jiloy of Robert Wood & Co., as an errand boy, but when 
he grew older he turned his attention to accounts, so that 
he eventually became their bookkeeper. At the .'ige of 
twenty he effected an engagement with John Naglee, Jr., 
as accountant, and regularly adopted the profession of 
bookkeeper as his business for life, but with the determina- 
tion to obtain a perfect knowledge of the art in all its de- 
tails, and the various methods pursued in ditlerent establish- 
ments. After a faithful service in this house, he left to ac- 
cept a similar ]iosition with the firm of Lindsay & Blakiston, 
pidilishers of medical works, tluis varying his experience, 



and at the same time gaining useful and valuable informa- 
tion, which he could not have arrived at had he continued 
in one situation. His next engagement w.as as a bookkee])er 
in the Bank of the Northern Liberties; and while in this 
institution he varied the monoto'ny of his duties by succes- 
sively filling every position of trust and responsibility ex- 
cept that of paying teller. He thoroughly enjoyed his occu- 
pation, beside giving perfect satisfaction during the entire 
period of three and a half years that he there remained, in- 
cluding also the time that he represented the bank in tlie 
Clearing House Association. The financial storm of 1857 
caused a change in his business relations, and for a slxjrt 
time he held a temporary position in the Western Bank of 
Philadelphia, but sortn was tendered the office of Auditor 
of the National Saving Fund and Trust Company, of which 
the late Henry L. Benner was President, and here also his 
many talents as a superior accountant were apparent. At 
the outbreak of the Rebellion, in 1861, he volunteered as a 
private .soldier in the " three months' service," and was a 
member of Company F of 17th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
Colonel Frank Patterson. After he was mustered out of 
the service, and in the autumn of 1861, he accepted the 
position of Assistant to Henry L. Benner, Paymaster United 
States Army, and on the death of this officer he transferred 
all the accounts, papers and moneys to Major-General 
Wool, settling up every item of business to the entire satis- 
faction of the Government, and then reported to Washing- 
ton for further orders. On his return to Philadelphia, in 
1862, he accepted the position of Auditor to Captain A. 
Boyd, Assistant Quartei-master United States Army, which 
he filled until this officer resigned, in 1864, when he was 
appointed Chief Clerk to Captain George R. Orme, the 
successor of Captain Boyd, and continued to fulfil the du- 
ties of this station with the utmost faithfulness for several 
months after the close of the war. During the entire 
period of his connection with the Government, he handled 
in vouchers and cash over fifly millions of dollars, with- 
out the discrepancy of a single dollar. The amount of labor 
was immense, but by his untiring energy all the details 
were accomplished with credit to himself. After a short 
season of rest, he became connected with the " Howard Ex- 
press Company," and when this was consolidated with the 
" Hope Express Company," of New York, together with 
Harnden's Express, the whole became the " Central Ex- 
press Company," of which he was unanimously elected 
Cashier. He remained in this capacity until i87i,whcn 
he resigned to accept the management of Hall & Garrison's 
Moulding Factory and Store. On February 1st, 1872, he 
was tendered the position of Assistant Controller of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which corporation is 
now operating 1574 miles of track in the States of Pennsyl- 
vania and New Jersey. He still retains this office, and 
gives his best energies and talents to the onerous duties de- 
volving upon him. He early manifesteil a partiality for 
the volunteer military organization, and became an active 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA, 



295 




member of the Artillery Corps of Washinglon Greys, serving 
in that organization the proscrihed term of seven years, and 
being now an honorary member of that body. He has been a 
School Director for three years, and was appointed a mem- 
ber of the Board of Public. Education for two terms. He 
has represented the Fourteenth Ward in Select Council of the 
city for the past four years, and is now (1874) the presiding 
officer of that body. He also is prominent as a member 
of the Masonic fraternity, and is connected with lodge 67. 
He was married, in 1S54, to Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph 
and Susan Addis, of Philadelphia. 



j E.\R, GEORGE, Lawyer, and Banker, was born 
in Warwick township, Bucks county, Pennsyl- 
vania, February l6th, 181S. He is the son of 
Robert Lear and Mary Meloy, who were of mixed 
Celtic origin, and was educated at the country 
schools of the county, finishing with a term at 
the Newtown Academy. He was raised on a farm, and at 
the age of thirteen assumed the responsibility of directing 
his future, unaided from any source. Engaged in such pur- 
suits as a laborer usually finds in an agricultural community 
until the age of nineteen, he then became a teacher of pub- 
lic schools, in which vocation he continued four years. At 
the end of that period he went into a countiy store, devot- 
ing his spare time to the study of (he law, under the pre- 
ceptorship of E. T. McDowell, of Doylestown, an eminent 
lawyer, and a member of the Constitutional Convention of 
1837-38. He removed to Doylestown in April, 1844, en- 
tered the office of his preceptor to pursue his legal studies, 
and w.ts admitted to the bar of Bucks county, November 
l6lh, 1844. In August, 1S48, he was appointed Deputy 
Attorney-General by Hon. James Cooper, was re-appointed 
by Hon. Cornelius Darragh his successor, and held the 
position until 1S50, when the office of District Attorney was 
created, and that of Deputy Attorney-General superseded. 
Since March, 1865, he has been President of the Doyles- 
town National Bank, but continues in the active practice 
of his profession, where he has risen by the force of indus- 
ti-y and intellect to a proud position among his colleagues. 
He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 
l872-'73 from the seventh Senatorial District, but did not 
sign his name to, nor vote for, the Constitution adopted by 
the Convention, because he believed in the people and their 
capacity for self-government. And, while he advocated 
and sustained all the important measures of reform in the 
Convention, he believed that the instrument as finally 
adopted contained such encroachments upon the rights, and 
restrictions of the powers, of the people as to deprive the 
Government of that flexibility, and power of adaptation to 
the vai-ying necessities of a progressive and free people, a-s 
lo render it inconsistent with a republican form of govern- 
ment. He was an early and persistent advocate of the 




temperance reform and contributed much to advance its 
interests. He married Sidney White, in January, 1845, and 
has three children, one son, Henry, and two daughters, 
Cordelia and Mary. His son i« associated with him in the 
practice of the law. 

(;^.^OORE, JOSEPH, Wire Manufacturer, and Prcsi- 
ik-nt of the Bank of the Northern Liberties, w.as 
Ijorn in Halifax, England, February 20th, 1816, 
and is the fourth son of Abednego and Sarah 
Moore. When four years old he came with his 
parents to America, landing in New York, where 
they remained one year, and then settled in Philadelphia. 
Ilis father had been largely engaged in the manufacture of 
woollen goods, and possessed an excellent education, which 
he was able to impart to others, especially to his son. He 
had been an ardent politician attached to the fortunes and 
creed of the Radical Reformers, and w.as a leader of that 
party, frequently rousing them to action by his eloquent 
and argumentative addresses. He partly instructed his 
son, as before mentioned, who completed his education in 
the school of Rev. William Metcalfe, a celebrated minister 
of the " Christian " Church, whose peculiar tenets consist 
in the disuse of animal food. His inclinations from boyhood 
had been in favor of machinery, particularly the steam en- 
gine, and when he was but seventeen years of age he con- 
structed one entirely by himself, for which the Franklin In- 
stitute awarded him a premium. His aspirations in this 
direction, however, were controlled by his father, who 
taught him his own business, that of wire-drawing, in which 
he became thoroughly proficient. In 183S, a year after he 
had attained his majority, he started in this manufacture on 
his own account, having first constructed a steam engine 
for use in his factory, which was so carefully and solidly 
constructed as to be constantly used by him for tlie twenty- 
five years that he carried on his establishment. He was 
very successful in his calling, and by his uniform and steady 
course of life, and persevering industry, amassed a com- 
petence. In this connection, it may be remarked, that his 
father was the first to establish this business in the United 
States, and that the son was the first manufacturer of insu- 
lating wire used for the magnetic telegraph. All tl'.e copper 
wire used by Professor Morse in the construction of the 
experimental line from Washington to Baltimore, fii-st laid 
down in 1846, was fabricated at his works. At a later 
period in life he turned his attention to his first love — -ma- 
chineiy — and assisted in the construction of several steam 
engines. In 1854, he was elected a Director of the Bank 
of the Northern Liberties, which position he occujiied for 
ten years, when he was chosen its President, an office he 
still continues to hold. The bank was originally chartered 
by the State in iSio, although it did not go into operation 
until 1814. It has stood firm amid the various financial 
storms which have shaken the country, although it did not 



296 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



escape some losses. Under his Presidency it has been 
eminently prosperous, and having adopted the National 
system, is now rcijarded as one of the staunchest of the city 
institutions. Since he has occupied the executive manage- 
ment of aff.iirs it has doubled its capital, while during Ihe 
past eight years its dividends have aggregated two hundred 
per cent., being an average of twenty-five per cent, per an- 
num. During the Civil War he l.ibored earnestly for the 
Union cause, and not only donated large amounts from his 
private means to further the cause, but was enabled by his 
position in the bank to influence heavy subscriptions to the 
National loans, that institution alone taking over^a half 
million— besides disposing of large amount* -to private 
citizens, it being one of the fiscal agents. He has also 
been connected with the Northern Liberties Gas Works for 



as Engineer for seventeen years, and' course of practical instruction in analysis in Professor 



many years, servuig 
latterly as a Trustee. He was a member of the Board of 
Directors of the County Insurance Company for some twenty 
years; and a Director of Girard College for three years. 
Originally a member of the Whig party, at its disso)ulion 
he united with the Republicans. He w.^ married, Novfim- 
ber 9th, 1842, to Cecilia, daughter of 'V^iira Fitlcii, a 
prominent Whig politician of his day„a;\d JlaS a famjlji^.f 
five children, three of them sons, and ail engaged iiv busi- 
ness. Two of them, William F. and.Alfred F., have suc- 
ceeded him in his business, and -are jHOiW..:extensively,en- 
gaged in the manufacture of wire.^t 537^1yna street. . yis 
second son, Joseph Moore, Jr., is a menlljei of the firni.^jf 
William D. Rogers & Co., the exteng.vq and well-knuwn 
carriage builders of Philadelphia. 



/ 
ARRISH, EDWARD, late Professor of Phamiacy 
in the College of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, was 
born in Ih.at city. May 31st, 1822, and was the 
seventh son of that eminent physician and 
surgeon. Dr. Joseph Parrish, and Susanna, 
daughter of John Cox, of Burlington, New Jersey, 
all members of the Society of Friends. He w<is"^u{ated 
in the Friends' School in PhilaiJetphia,.ancJ there OjC^vited 
a fair knowledge of the higher branches and the classics'. 
When sixteen years of age he entered as an apprentice to 
learn the apothecary's art in his brother Dillwyn's store, 
and piid earnest and faithful attention to his duties .and 
responsibilities, studying the necessaiy works and attending 
the different courses of lectures at the College of Pharmacy. 
In the spring of 1842, he took his degree as " Master of 
Pharmacy" in th.at institution. In 1843, ^^ purchased the 
drug store at the northwest corner of Ninth and Chestnut 
streets, which was then contiguous to the University of 
Pennsylvania. Here he remained until 1850. During this 
period — in 1848 — in connection with his assistant, W. W. 
D. Livermorc, he contriliuted a pa])er on Colloiiion, which 
was the first notice of that preparation, the discoverers at 



Boston not having published their process. Ilis proximity 
to the University brought him in constant contact with 
medical students and their wants, and this intercourse ex- 
hibited to him the great disadvantages which young physi- 
cians experienced in entering on their practice in rural 
districts without a practical acquaintance with pharmacy. 
He therefore conceived the idea of a " Practical School," 
where young men might be taught to prepare the medicines 
of the Plinrmacoptiia by actual maiiijiulation, by lectures 
and examinations. In the autumn of 1849, he issued his 
Prospectus and commenced with a class of fourteen. Soon 
after, this he removed and entered into business with his 
brother DilKvyn, at Eighth and Arch streets, where his 
" school " was better accommodated, and gradually increased 
in importance. In furtherance of his school, he took a 



Booth'.s laboratory, and subsequently attended the lectures 
of-the Department of Medicine in the University of Penn- 
sylvaMa. Feeling the need of a text book for his class, he 
concltijed to write one, and, in 1S55, published the first 
.Q{lt(to)i of an Introduction to Practical Pharmncy, fol- 
loiVed,.in 1859 and 1S64, by other more extended editions. 
He: had-crCrrydt^Jermined to pursue a scientific career, as- 
r|)iVed to a position hi the schools, and was deeply impressed 
with'a, belief in 'Wsi ability to teach. In 1850, he was a 
candiidate -for iHe, chair of Materia Medica in the College 
of Pha.rmacyt;fijit the traditional influence of the idea that 
it should Jje ifiJIeJ by a physician led to the election of 
another, fjn^the spring of 1S64, on its becoming .again 
vacant, he wds elected to the position, where he continued 
till 1S67; when he exchanged chairs with Professor Maisch, 
and assumed the duties of the Professorship of Practical 
Pharmacy. In March, 1845, he became a member of the 
Board of Trustees of the College, and Secretary until 1S52. 
In 1854, he was elected Secretary of the College, and so 
remained until he entered the Faculty. He was a delegate, 
in i860, to the Convention for Revising the P/inrniaco/iaia, 
and was elected one of three delegates to attend the Phar- 
maceutical Congress, of Paris, but was unable to attend the 
latter. From 1850 to 1S70, he w.is a member of the Pub- 
li^hijig Canin^uJ^ of the College. In 1852, he became a 
member of the XriieMcan PJiarmaceutical Association, was 
elected ^Recording Secretary in 1853, First Vice-President 
in 1S66, and President in i85S. His pen was never idle, 
being constantly engaged in the production of articles on 
the ethics of pharmacy, the advantages of education, etc. 
In 1858, he made a trip to Europe, and published a series 
of letters, in 1859, in the American Journal of Pharmacy, 
giving some of the results of his voyage. About this time, 
also, he published a little book, entitled, Tlie Phantom 
Bouquet, which treated of the art of skeletonizing leaves 
and othei' parts of plants. In 1864, Swarthmore College 
was incorporated, previous to which date he h.ad been 
zealously laboring in its cause. He w.as Secretary of the 
Board of Managers from December, 1864, to the completion 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.F.DIA. 



297 




uf ilio liuilding, in 1S6S. Al thi^ jiincliue, he was elected 
its first President, in whicli office he continued two years. 
On the passage of the " Pharmacy Act " by the State Legis- 
lature, in 1872, he was one of the five commissioners ap- 
pointed by the Mayor of Philadelphia to carry the law into 
effect. The labor incident to this service had some influence 
in undermining his health. In August, 1872, he was ap- 
pointed by the United States Government one of two Com- 
missioners to settle some difficulties with certain Indian 
tribes, and in prosecuting this task he became a victim 
to the malarial fever of the country. He was a consistent 
member of the Society of Friends, took much interest in 
various labors connected with it, and was engaged in carry- 
ing out one of its testimonies when the grim messenger 
came to him unexpectedly, far away from home and kindred 
in the western wilderness. He was married, in 184-, to 
Margaret, daughter of Uriah Hunt, whose death occurred 
a few months prior to his own. He died September glh, 
1S72, leaving four sons and a daughter. 



■ARTSHORNE, JOSEPH, M. D., Physician and 
Surgeon, was bom at Strawberry Hill, Fairfax 
county, Virginia, December 26th, 1779. His 
ancestry, on both sides, were of the Society of 
Friends, and the first of the name to arrive in 
America from Leicestershire, England, came in 
the year 1669; another member of the same family, and of 
the same name, was an associate and adviser of Wil- 
liam Penn, as well as one of the Proprietaries with him 
and the Duke of York in the Province of East Jersey. He 
subsequently became one of the largest land-holders of that 
section, and the original homestead on the Highlands of 
Neversink, near Long Branch, is still in possession of lineal 
descendants of the name, making a tenure extending over 
two centuries, and through some eight generations, plis 
father, William Ilartshorne, moved in youth from the banks 
of the Raritan to Phil.adelphia, about the year 1777, where 
he was educated and married the daughter of Joseph San- 
ders. Soon after he became a shipping and commission 
merchant in Alexandria, Virginia, having his residence at 
Strawberry Hill. He was a gentleman of the old school, 
and was a friend and neighbor of General W^ashington, 
with whom he was associated in the management of the 
Potomac Improvement Company, being tlie first internal 
n.^vi'^ation entcrjjrise ever undertaken in the United States; 
Wasliington being the President of the Corporation nnd 
himself its Secretary and Treasurer. Up to five years of 
age his son had been a remarkably active and vigorous 
cliild, but about this ])eriod, a severe cold supervening 
upon an attack of the small-pox, induced a violent inflam- 
matory affection of the feet, which pennanently lamed 
him. He entered the Alexandria Academy as a pupil, and 
manifested an unusual taste for intellectual pursuits; his 

38 " 



infirmity preventing him frnm indulging in his companions' 
athletic sports, he naturally betook himself for enjoy- 
ment to intellectual pursuits. The thoroughness of his 
academical training showed itself by his elegance of 
diction and writings, as also by the familiarity with the 
French and Latin languages, which he retained through 
life. On leaving school he entered his father's counting- 
house, where he passed two or three years, and his leisure 
hours were occupied chiefly in the perusal of medical works, 
though at that time he had no idea of studying the same. 
But finding that his lameness would interfere with his suc- 
cess in business, he finally decided to devote himself to the 
medical profession. He was persuaded to enter as a student 
with Dr. Kraick, the well-known surgeon in the American 
army, and at that time the friend and family physician of 
Washington, with whom he remained for about two years. 
Through the influence of his uncle, Samuel Coates, an in- 
fluential Manager of the Pennsylvania Hospital, he was ap- 
pointed to fill a vacancy in that institution as resident 
apprentice and apothecary, which position he assumed 
July 27th, iSoi. Under the tuition of the ablest physicians 
of the day who guided his reading, and aided by the clinical 
instruction afforded in the wards of the hospital, especially 
in surgical anatomy, all of which was supplemented by his 
attendance on the regular courses of lectures in the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, he graduated therefrom in the 
spring of 1S05. He continued in the hospital after gradua- 
tion as Senior Resident Physician, still prosecuting his 
studies. During his last year's term he was in charge of 
the outside practice, and during this period had collectively 
seventeen hundred patients under his immediate profes- 
sional care. The Hospital Library was his especial charge, 
and he prepared its first catalogue. He also found time to 
prepare and publish the first American edition of Bayer's 
Treatise on Diseases of the Bones, with notes and addi- 
tional plates. He also devised an improvement of Boyer's 
splint for fractured thigh, which, in fact, was a complete 
remodelling of that ajiparatus, and wliich is in use to this 
day. On leaving the hospital, he effected an engagement 
as Surgeon and Supercargo of an East Indiaman, and made 
two voyages to Batavia, being absent, in all, some two 
years. On his returrj from his second voyage he settled 
in Philadelphia and commenced the practice of his pro- 
fession ; but not meeting at once with the desired success, 
lie became part proprietor of an apothecary store, from 
which he retired after two or three years of trial, finding 
that it was a hindrance to his professional calling. Having 
been tho physician of the poor w'.tile in the hospital sendee, 
these same poor were his earliest patrons, and in process 
of time were not a little instrumental in bringing him pro- 
minently before the public. The Irish, especially, who had 
a high opinion of his skill, he always believed to have had 
no mean agency in founding for him the extensive practice 
he afterwards obtained. In 1S15, he was elected one of 
the Surgeons of the Pennsylvania Hospital, which brought 



298 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



him more prominently into notice as a practical surgeon, 
and his reputation in that branch of the profession steadily 
increased. In 1820, during the epidemic of yellow fever, 
and up to 1S30, Philadelphia was subjected to various epi- 
demics. During all these years he had a vast number of 
patients under his immediate care ; 280 cases of fever in a 
single autumn. In addition to this, he was continually 
sought for as a consulting physician and surgeon. He re- 
signed his position in the hospital, in 1821, owing to the 
extent of his private practice. For over a quarter of a cen- 
tui7 he was one of the most laborious and indefatigable of 
medical advisers, and enjoyed an unusual share of health. 
In the autumn of 1848, after a consultation held at some 
distance from the city, he was attacked by chills, and sub- 
sequently suflfered from jaundice, but recovered and was 
able to bear his part in the cholera epidemic of 1849. In 
the autumn of that year he had a return of his former mal- 
ady, with an affection of the liver and a frequent passage 
of gall stones, but he did not allow his own illness to in- 
terfere with his duties to his patients ; and there is no doubt 
that his life by these means was shortened. In the sum- 
mer of 1850, he was taken, at his own request, to Brandy- 
wine Springs, where he died, August 20th of that year. He 
was elected a member of the Philadelphia Medical So- 
ciety in 1805, and was its Treasurer for several years, of 
the American Philosophical Society in 1815, and of the 
College of Physicians in 1S24. lie devised the prepara- 
tion of opium in vinegar and alcohol, known as Harts- 
horne's Acetated Tincture of Opium, and was largely in- 
strumental in calling the attention of physicians in this 
country to the use of nux vomica in paralysis. He was 
married, in 1813, to Anna, daughter of Isaac Bonsall of 
Philadelphia. 

'^ - - EGARGEE, SYLVESTER JACOB, Paper Manu- 
facturer, was born in Philadelphia county, Sep- 
tember I4lh, 1819. His parents were Jacob and 
Tacey Megargee. He received a common school 
education, and on his father's death, which oc- 
curred when he was about fifteen years of age, 
commenced work as a calico printer. He continued at 
this employment for aliout two years, and was then bound 
apprentice to a brass-founder. His indentures were shortly 
afterwards cancelled, and, in 1S36, he went to Green 
county, Illinois, where he was employed by the firm of 
Ptgrani, Yates, Rodgers & Co., who were engaged in an 
extensive trade as general merchants. Here he remained 
until 1840, in which year he returned to Philadelphia and 
established himself as a paper merchant. In 1842, he com- 
menced to manufacture paper, and started a mill, called 
the " Doe Run " Mill, in Chester county. He continued 
this business with great success until iS6l, two of his 
brothers being admitted into partnership with him. After 
his withdrawal from the house, he continued without active 





occupation until 1S69, when he .again connected himself 
with the firm of Megargee Brothers ; his brother, Theodore, 
and Patrick D.iyle being in partnership with him. lie oc- 
cupies a prominent position in the city of Philadelphia, not 
only as one of its most successful merchants and manufac- 
turers, but also on account of the interest which he has al- 
ways shown in its philanthropic and charitable institutions, 
with several of which he is intimately connected. He has 
in an especial manner associated himself with the various 
institutions for the care of the insane, holding that these 
unfortunate persons have the first claim on the sympathies 
of the community. 



\RSED, RICHARD, Cotton Manufacturer, was 
born in Yorkshire, England, on September iSth, 

1519. His parents were natives of the same 
place, and his father was a joiner by trade. In 

1520, the family emigrated to America and settled 
in Baltimore, Maryland, but removed to Philadel- 
phia in 1822. His father was a progressive man, and upon 
his arrival in this country engaged in manufacturing, and 
became a pioneer in that business. Richard began his 
manufacturing career as an operator in a mill at New I lope, 
Bucks county, Pennsylvania, when only eight years of age. 
In 1830, his father embarked in the manufacture of power 
looms in Delaware county and he became an apprentice, 
lie succeeded to his father's business in 1840, and, in 1842, 
commenced the manufacture of damask table and piano 
covers by power looms ; this was probably the beginning 
of the manufacture of articles of this description in I'ennsyl- 
vania, if not in America. He removed to Frankford, in 
1S43, and '" partnership with his brother, John, operated 
the Middlesex Mill in Ar.amingo; he there extended his 
operations to the spinning of cotton and other branches of 
cotton manufacture. He was married, in 1843, to Miss 
Benton, a daughter of John Benton, an early manufacturer 
of woollens in Haddington. In 1S53, he, in association 
with his brother, John, erected the Wingohocking Mills. He 
also owns the I'"rogmore Mills, and was in the firm of 
Garsed Brothers until January, 1872. He has t.aken a very 
active interest in the introduction of improved machinery 
into cotton mills, and has been an importer of machinery 
for twenty-five years. He allows no improvement or inven- 
tion to escape a fair and critical examination, and none 
possessing sterling merit has failed to be introduced into 
his mills, and after standing his tests to be reconmiended by 
him to other manufacturers, who rely implicitly upon his 
experience and mechanical skill. \Vilh entire freedom 
from all mercenary motives, he has labored with com- 
mendable zeal in this field, and has prob.ably contributed 
more to the advancement of American manufactures th.-in 
any man in the United States. He has crossed the Atlantic 
seventeen times, each voyage, except the first, being m.ide 
exclusively in the interest of manufactures. He has con- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



299 



tributed m.iny valuable inventions and improvements in 
machineiy for textile manufacture. Between 1837 and 
1840, he succeeded in increasing the speed of power looms 
from eighty picks per minute to one hundred and forty per 
minute. He invented the scroll cam, in 1S46; it greatly 
simplified the power loom, and was almost universally 
adopted on the sliding cam loom. He invented a loom 
for weaving seamless bags, in 1848, and exhibited salt bags 
of this description at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, 
also at the American Institute in New York, but another 
person subsequently obtained a patent for a similar adapta- 
tion and received the fame and profit. He has made many 
other improvements in this department. He possesses re- 
markable executive ability, and his mills are a model of 
neatness and system. He has uniformly declineM all poli- 
tical preferment, but has been deeply interested in every 
important reform movement, and is now a prominent and 
active member of the Municipal Reform Association. His 
first vote was cast for Henry Clay. At one time a consistent 
Whig he subsequently became a Republican. He was an 
early member of the Union League, an ardent laborer in the 
raising of volunteers during the war, and the disburser of 
the funds furnished for tlie relief of soldiers' families in the 
Twenty-third Ward. He was the leading agitator upon 
the subject of horse railways in Philadelphia, and strenu- 
ously advocated their adoption through the columns of the 
Inquirer. Upon the organization of the Frankford & 
Southwark Passenger Railway, which was built during the 
great financial panic of 1857, and started on January 20th 
1858, he was chosen its President, and continued his efforts 
until its success was assured. He thus became the first 
President of the first passenger r.ailway in PhiUdelphia, 
except the old Willow Street Railway, constructed with the 
ordinary T rails. He continued a managing Director of 
the road until 1866, and was instrumental in having intro- 
duced upon the Frankford end of the route the dummy 
invented by Grice & Long. The prime end of his life has 
been to improve manufactures and establish our real inde- 
pendence. He spares neither time nor expense in cari-ying 
out his designs for the best interests of the manufactures of 
this country. 



l.\RRISH, CLEMMON.S, Pharmaceutist, was born 
in Philadelphia, August ist, 1848, and is the 
second son of the late Professor Edward Parrish, 
a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. 
He was well educated in the Friends' Academy 
of his native city, and, in 1864, was apprenticed 
to learn the pharmaceutical art practically to the manu- 
facturing firm of Parrish & Miller, with whom he remained 
one year, afterwards engaging with his father, under whom 
he finished his studies and apprenticeship, meanwhile at- 
tending the lectures at the Philadelphia College of Phar- 
macy, from which institution he graduated, in 1868. He 



subsequently engaged with his father in the business of 
manufacturing and compounding medicines, under the firm 
name of E. Parrish & Son. He was elected a member of 
the College after graduation, and for two years served as 
Registrar of Pharmaceutical Meetings. In :S73, ^^ was 
elected President of the Alumni Association, which posi- 
tion he retained but a few months, being compelled to re- 
sign by his business engagements increasing very materially 
and occupying his entire time after the death of his father. 
The business is not confined to the ordinary preparation 
of physicians' prescriptions, but extends to a wide range of 
specialties, prominent among these is what is termed the 
" chemical food," or compoAid syrup of the phosphates 
of which the human system is largely composed. Large 
quantities of this preparation are exported to England and 
the Continent. The manufacture of instruments and com- 
pounders' apparatus is very extensive. A large line of 
toilet articles, and various flavoring extracts are also pro- 
duced. He thus carries on an extensive business with 
credit to himself and with honor to the name he bears. 
His religious faith is that of the Hicksite school of the 
Friends. In politics, he favors the strict Republican creed. 
Though but a young man, he has already earned a place 
in the ranks of steady, industrious and meritorious citizens. 
He was married, in 1872, to Emma Powell of Mount Holly, 
New Jersey. 




/ 



ARTSHORNE, HENRY, A. M., M. D., Physi- 
cian, was born in Philadelphia, on March i6th, 
1823, and is a son of the late Dr. Joseph Harts- 
horne, an eminent physician and surgeon of 
Philadelphia. He was thoroughly educated at 
Haverford College (then Haverford School), 
whence he graduated in 1839; and having turned his atten- 
tion, like his father and elder brother, to the medical pro- 
fession, after a long and judicious course of study, including 
the prescribed terms of the University of Pennsylvania, 
graduated therefrom as M. D. in 1S45. He was elected 
Professor of the Institutes of Medicine in the Philadelphia 
College of Medicine in 1853 ; and, in June, 1S55, the Board 
of Guardians of the Poor selected him as one of the Con- 
sulting Physicians and Lecturers on Clinical Medicine in 
the Philadelphia Hospital. A portion of the years 1858-59, 
he travelled in Europe, visited Egypt, and ascended the 
Nile as far as Thebes. On his return to the United States 
he was elected, April 27th, 1859, Professor of the Practice 
of Medicine in the Medical Department of Pennsylvania 
College, to fill the- vacancy occurring by the resignation of 
Dr. Stille. In the following month of the same year he 
was chosen Attending Physician of the Episcopal Hospital. 
He was named Professor of Anatomy, Physiology, Natural 
History and Hygiene, in 1862, in the Philadelphia Cen- 
tral High School. In 1866, he was elected to the Pro- 
fessorship of Hygiene in the University of Pennsylvania ; 



300 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLUIMiUIA. 



and was made I'rofcssor of Organic Science and Philosophy 
in Ilaveiford College in 1S67. He hxs also held, at dif- 
ferent times, Professorships in the Pennsylvania College of 
Dental Surgery, Girard College, and the Woman's Medical 
College of Pennsylvania; and, in addition to the hospitals 
previously named, has also been Attending and Consulting 
Physician of the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia. He 
has been, and still continues, quite a voluminous author, 
both scientific and literary. His first production, in 1846, 
was his graduating thesis, entitled, Water versus Hydro- 
pathy. Next followed a Monograph on Glycerine and its 
Uses ; Facts and Conclusions upon Cholera ; Memoranda 
Medica ; Guide to the Mcdic'ne Chest and Family Adviser ; 
Essay on the Arterial Circulation, being the prize essay of 
the American Medical Association for 1856. His Essen- 
tials of the Principles and Practice of Medicine first ap- 
peared in 1867. Within four years after its original pub- 
lication two large editions were exhausted; in 1872, a third 
edition, thoroughly revised, was put forth, and in 1S74 a 
fourth edition appeared. It was most favorably noticed, 
and highly commended by the ablest medical journals of 
both Europe and America. The Dublin Medical Press 
characterizes it as " teaching much and suggesting more; " 
while the London Lancet remarks that " the sifting process 
has been judiciously performed, and the power of conden- 
sation has been carried to the utmost." The American 
Practitioner terms the volume " a mirror of the daily prac- 
tice of a sound, conservative, judicious, and experienced 
physician; " and the l^'cstern yournal of Medicine declares 
it to be " incomparably in advance of any work of the kind 
of the past, and will stand long in the future without a 
rival." In 1869, the first edition of y/ Conspectus of the 
Aledical Sciences was issued, being hand-books on anatomy, 
physiology, chemistry, materia medica, practical medicine, 
surgery, and obstetrics. This work was prepared with the 
aid of collaborators, or experts in some of the special sub- 
jects entrusted to them. This evinced his admirable fore- 
thought, as he himself devoted his attention solely to the 
divisions of anatomy, physiology and practice of medicine. 
It was .also most favorably noticed by the American medi- 
cal press, the Nashville Medical and Surgical Journal pro- 
nouncing it to be " incomparably superior to any of its kind 
in existence." It has since passed to a second edition. 
He also edited, with considerable additions, the last edition 
of Sir Thom.as Watson's Lectures on the Practice of Medi- 
cine, which task was so well performed as to call forth a 
very kind and favorable acknowledgment from the distin- 
guished author of the book, which was communicated in a 
letter to the pidjlisher, Henry C. Lea. For many years he 
was a very frequent contributor, especially in reviews of 
medical works, to the American Journal of the Medical 
Sciences. He has also written occasionally for the Ameri- 
can Naturalist. A number of his papers have appeared in 
the " Transactions of the Philadelphia College of Physi- 
cians;" one {On Organic Physics) in the "Proceedings 



of the American Philosophical Society;" one On the A'c- 
lation between Vigor and Sex in the *' Proceedings of the 
American .'\ssoci.xtion for the Advancement of Science ; " 
and a paper on IVhat to do Against Yellmv Fever for the 
American Public Health Association, 1873. He contri- 
buted, i872-'73, a number of important articles to John- 
son's New Illustrated Cyclopccdia ; among which may be 
named, those on Anatomy Philosophic, Brain, Bread, 
Chess, Circulation of the Blood, Deaf-Mutes, and Evolution. 
Of these, the last was the most original and elaborate ; en- 
deavoring to give a full and concise summary of the whole 
subject, with the conclusions justified by the present slate 
of science. Ilis literary works embrace. Woman'' s Witch- 
craft, or the Curse of Coquetry, a dramatic romance, which 
appeared, in 1854, under the nom de plume of Corinne 
L' Estrange. This book is credited, by mistake, in the 
catalogue of the Philadelphia Library, to some lady author. 
Summer Songs, by H. H. M., were published in 1865. He 
has also contributed several poems to periodicals ; especially 
to Lippincott's Magazine, The Friend, and the Friends' 
Review ; and also prose literaiy essays to the first and last- 
named serials. He also contributed European Correspon- 
dence and other facetia to Vanity Fair, edited by Charles 
G. Leland, lS5o-'6i. In 1858, he filled the position of 
Secretary of the State Medical Society of Pennsylvania; 
and, in 1S57-58, was Recorder of the Biological Department 
of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Born 
a member of the Society of Friends, he has continued al- 
ways in membership with that Society, from deliberate con- 
viction. He has written a great number of brief essays on 
religious subjects, published from time to time, especially 
since lS67,in the Friends' Review ; and has also taken part 
in the editorial department of that periodical since the fall 
of 1S72. He was married, in 1849, to Mary E. Brown, 
daughter of Jeremiah Brown of Philadelphia. 

HOMSON, J. EDGAR, Civil Engineer, President 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was born 
in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in 1808. His 
father, John Thomson, was also a civil engineer, 
well known for his enterprise and early eflbrts in 
the cause of internal improvements. He w.is 
among the oldest civil engineers of this country, and was 
early engaged in the location and construction of its canals, 
turnpikes and railroads. Towards the close of the last 
century he united his efforts with those of the celebrated 
Beniamin H. Latrobe, Sr., in laying out a canal lietween 
the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. Through the failure 
to raise the requisite means to accomplish the desired 
object, the project did not then succeed. For several years 
he was in the service of the great " Holland Land Com- 
pany," in Western Pennsylvania and New York. While 
thus engaged, in 1793, he encamped at Presque Isle, near 




BIOGRAPHICAL EXCVCLOP.EDIA. 



301 



Erie, Pennsylvania, where, with the ordinary tools used on 
an engineering expedition, and with the aid of but one 
person, he built the schooner " White Fish," in which he 
sailed from that place to Philadelphia, the schooner having 
been hauled by teams of oxen around Niagara Falls to 
Lake Ontario, thence through this lake to near the site of 
the present city of Oswego, and up a small river to Oneida 
Lake. Passing through this lake, he again carried his 
vessel over land to the Mohawk river, and followed the 
imperfect navigation of this stream to the Hudson, along 
which he sailed to New York, from whence he reached the 
Atlantic Ocean, and, entering Delaware Bay, arrived at 
Philadelphia; there his schooner found a place in Inde- 
pendence Square, where it remained until destroyed by 
lime. This was the first vessel that ever passed from Lake 
Erie to New York and Philadelphia. Pie also laid out 
and constructed, in 1S09, what is said to have been the 
first railway in the United .States. It extended from 
Leiper's Stone Quarries, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, 
to the Delaware river ; a plan of it, found among his papers 
by Dr. Ash, was recently deposited by him with the Dela- 
ware County Institute. The parents of J. Edgar were both 
descended from the pioneers who accompanied \Villiam 
Penn to this country. One of these, Samuel Levis, was a 
minister of the Society of Friends, and a member of the 
first Legislative Assembly of the province; another, B. 
Copic, was a member of the first provincial council. After 
the requisite preparation received from his father, the 
youth commenced his professional career in the service of 
his native State, in the spring of 1827 (under Major Wilson, 
Chief Engineer), on the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad, 
now a part of the line owned by the company of which he 
is President. He was transferred, in 1830, by Major Wil- 
son, from this work to the Camden & Amboy Railroad ; 
the eastern portion of which was located under his direc- 
tion and supervision. Soon after this, ever zealous in 
pursuit of knowledge appertaining to his profession, he 
visited Europe to gather information regarding the railroad 
and canal systems of the old world, and, shortly after his 
return, received the appointment of Chief Engineer of the 
Georgia Railroad, a line which extends from Augusta to 
Atlanta, with a branch to Athens, in all, two hundred and 
thirteen miles of railway. He commenced the surveys for 
this work in 1S34, and continued in charge of its location, 
construction and subsequent management until his unsoli- 
cited appointment, early in 1847, as Chief Engineer of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, nearly thirteen years. The western 
terminus of the Georgia Railroad was named Marthasville, 
which, in view of the prospective importance of the place 
as a railroad centre, was changed by him to Atlanta, from 
the word Atlantic, the line of railroads from the West first 
touching the waters falling into the Atlantic Ocean at this 
point. During the period of his engagement at the South, 
the Montgomery & West Point Railroad, of Alabama, fell 
into bankruptcy, and was purchased in its unfinished con- 



dition by him and a few friends, and under his direction, 
as Consulting Engineer, it was completed and became a 
very profitable enterprise. The Nashville & Chattanooga 
Railroad was also laid out by him during this period and 
built, immediately after his return to the North, upon the 
route he had traced. While Chief Engineer of the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad, he was offered large inducements to 
return to the South and take charge of the Charleston & 
Memphis, Nashville & New Orleans lines, and other works 
of that region ; but having become deeply interested in the 
location and construction of a line of railway over the diffi- 
cult country between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, he de- 
clined all other engagements until this work should be 
completed. In 185 1, while absent in the West, he was 
nominated for the position of President of the Pennsylv.mia 
Railroad Company. His interests and inclinations prompted 
him to decline this npmination, but the circumstances sur- 
rounding his selection were such that he felt compelled to 
permit his name to be used as a candidate, and his election 
followed by a large majority. When he assumed the duties 
of his new position, the treasury of the company was en- 
tirely empty and heavy obligations pressing for payment. 
In a short time, however, by his efforts, its finances were 
fully restored, and the company has ever since enjoyed the 
highest credit. After the consolidation of the sever.il lines 
between Pittsburgh and Chicago, in which the Pennsylvania 
Railroad Company had become interested as a shareholder 
to the extent of nearly one million of dollars, he was elected 
a director of the consolidated company, of which George 
W. Cass was made President. Eighty miles of this railroad, 
extending from Plymouth 'to Chicago, were at the time un- 
finished. In this condition, the line proved neither profit- 
able to the shareholders nor advantageous to the ])ublic. 
Its funds were nearly exhausted and its credit became un- 
available. The directors spent weeks in deliberating upon 
what measures should be taken to preserve the property to 
the shareholders, without reaching a satisfactoiy conclusion. 
He was sent for to assist in these consultations, and after 
investigating the condition of the company and estimating 
the probable cost of completing the line, without which its 
affairs could not be improved, he pioposed that the Board 
should appoint him their Chief Engineer, and place in his 
hands all the assets of the company applicable to its con 
struction — they had no cash — and that he would then see 
the road through. They unhesitatingly accepted this ofl^er, 
and shortly afterwards, for the purpose of facilitating the 
construction of the work, also elected him President of the 
company. With the assets thus furnished to him and the 
use of his'individual credit, the railway was speedily fin- 
ished, the finances of the company were then thoroughly 
reorganized, and the entire line soon became one of the 
best and most successful entei-prises of the Union. Of the 
assets handed to him to complete the extension beyond 
Plymouth, he was enabled to return to the company about 
■ $200,000, unexpended. In order to enable the Pen«syl- 



302 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



vania Railroad Company to obtain its share of the South- 
west travel and freight, he directed his attention to the 
completion of a direct line from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati. 
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company having advanced 
large sums prior to the financial disasters of 1857-58, to 
the local companies, in order to secure this trade ; but in 
consequence of the difficult character of the country which 
this line of road traverses, added to the unexpectedly high 
prices they were compelled to pay for labor, the aid, 
though deemed ample, proved insufficient, and the affairs 
of the different companies upon the route fell into seem- 
ingly inextricable confusion, from which, however, his 
system,- knowledge of the railroad business and skill in 
finance finally released them and placed the entire road 
upon a satisfactory basis. Finding that these arrangements 
entered into to obtain continuous railway communications 
between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the trade centres 
of the West (through assistance liberally extended to effect 
the construction of the most important works undertaken 
for that object) would not secure the permanent adhertnce 
of such lines to the main stem, but would render the com- 
pany at all times liable to have its sources of business di- 
verted to other channels, by stock gamblers and other 
interests, he determined to change the policy pursued, and, 
instead of becoming allies by contracts of doubtful legality, 
to obtain control of these lines by lease, or through the 
ownership of a m.ajorily of their shares, that they might be 
placed in a position to be worked as one harmonious sys- 
tem, without rivalry with each other and with a view to 
the best interest of the parent stem. To effect this object, 
he caused the procurement of the charter of the Pennsyl- 
vania Company, and all the interest in leases and railroad 
stocks held by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company west 
of Pittsburgh, that had been completed for use, were trans- 
ferred to it, and its capital stock, to the extent of $8,000,000 
(or two-thirds of the whole), received therefor. This 
arrangement has fully accomplished the object desired, 
producing the best results to the public and to the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad Company, and as a whole, it returns reason- 
able dividends upon the share capital invested in it. His 
tastes, interests, education and life-long experience, all 
tended to make him thoroughly acquainted with every 
branch of his profession, and hence he could see and over- 
come difficulties that were not observed by others. Per- 
sonally, a more dignified, refined and courteous gentleman, 
of kind heart and generous hand, never lived. As the 
official, he is a strict disciplinarian, insisting that those 
under him should fully live up to the rules which ever 
guided himself; regularity, punctuality and personal ac- 
countability in the discharge of their several duties being 
ever demanded of every employee, from the highest to the 
lowest subordinate. As a financier, his talent seems 
innate; aside from bringing successfully several immense 
corporations out of the abyss of ruin and enriching the 
stockholders thereof far beyond even their most sanguine 



expectations, he has amassed a reasonable fortune for him- 
self, which he has ever managed with the same wisdom 
that marks his administration of railroad affairs. The 
political arena he has, throughout his entire life, refused to 
enter. Numerous tempting offers of high political position 
have been made him at different times'; and still higher 
could have been obtained, had he sought such honors, but 
he would have none of them. Public notoriety he despises, 
still he was ever very popular. While never seeking selfish 
gain, power, office, or applause, he is fully alive to his 
duties as a citizen, and anxious to discharge them to the 
utmost ; in patriotism, he is second to none, and his ser- 
vices to the Union cause during the war of Secession, in 
aiding the President in the fonvarding of troops and in 
numerous other ways, known and fully appreciated by the 
then commanding authorities, fully attest his devotion and 
loyalty to his country. The chief characteristic of such a 
mind as his is growth. Perhaps the process is slow, but it 
is none the less sure. In such a mind the great progres- 
sive ideas of this centuiy may have to battle against old- 
established prejudices; but, having once gained entrance, 
they become part of the man's nature. Few men have so 
harmoniously united common sense with genius. He has 
had as great responsibilities to meet as any man of his pro- 
fession ever had ; but there never was a time when he was 
not equal to the occasion. It is needless to speak of the 
benefits to the State and the public generally resulting 
from his labors. Diligently and perpetually the talents 
given him he has admirably employed in the advancement 
of great works, the influences and grand results of which, 
in the improvement of the rural districts, morally, physi- 
cally and intellectually, which advanced as his lines of 
railroads pushed their way forward, in the encouragement 
given to education and useful labor, banishing at once 
ignorance and idleness, are destined to be felt by the entire 
community for all future time. [He died May 27lh, 1S74.] 



NDREWS, SILAS MILTON, D. D., Clergyman, 
was born in Rowan county. North C.irolina, 
March 5lh, 1805. Both father and mother were 
Scotch-Irish, and the family have been Presby- 
terians from time immemorial. He was prepared 
for college at liethany Academy, in North Caro- 
lina, and entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill, in 1822, whence he graduated in 1825. The follow- 
ing three years he spent as teacher in an academy and a 
tutor in the University. He entered the Theological Semi- 
nary at Princetop, New Jersey, in 1828, and having gra- 
dtrated, in 1 831, proceeded directly to Doylestown, where 
he was ordained and inst.alled pastor of the church com- 
posed of the congregations of Deep Run and Doylestown, 
on the l6th of November, 1831. He married, April iSth, 
1833, Matilda M. Dubois, daughter of Reverend Uriah 






^:^e.-ii^^ .^/^J^^^ 




lilOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



30J 



Dubois, the former pastor of the clnirch. For seventeen 
years he taught a select school in addition to his ministe- 
rial duties. During his pastorate of over forty years he 
has labored zealously in the cause of religion, and his con- 
gregation has grown from a mere handful of devout wor- 
shippers to be one of the largest and most prosperous 
churches of that section. The old church had been en- 
larged and remodelled several times, and finally, in 1871, 
to attest its appreciation of his protracted and efficient labors, 
as well as to provide increased accommodations, the con- 
gregation erected upon the former site a handsome brown- 
stone structure, with a main audience room capable of seat- 
ing about one thousand persons, with chapel. Sabbath- 
school rooms, etc., in the lower story. For twenty-two 
years previous to the union of the two branches of the 
Presbyterian Church he was Clerk of the Synod of Phila- ; 
delphia, and he has been for many years a member and 
Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Lafeyette College. 
The degree of D. D. was conferred by Washington College. 
His first wife died April ist, 1S63, and he was married 
again, on the l6th of May, 1865, to Harriet M. Waller, the 
daughter of Phineas Waller, of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania. , 
He is distinguished for punctuality and method. His en- 
gagements are kept to .he very minute; afid'all Tiis affairs 
are managed in the most systematic ma'niier. ■ Though past 
the meridian of life he has lost little'^hii rfctive enbrgy, 
and his counsels are greatly esteemed irt'ffle-ecclesiastical 
courts of his church. His devoted ]iie1fy' comiiiand^ the 
respect of all, and his social temperament readers him be- 
loved by young and old. 

/ —~ 

JLARK, GIDEON, Brigadier-General United States 
Volunteers, and Register of Wills for the City and 
County of Philadel])hia, was born in that city, 
June 19th, 1S22. He is a son of Thomas and 
Hannah (Walker) Clark, the former a native of 
Maryland and the latter of New Jersey, her father 
being the Rev. John Walker of the Methodist Protestant 
Church. His father and two of his uncles served in the 
War of 181 2, one of the latter, for whom he was named, 
was a First Lieutenant in one of the Marylafid reginrtents 
and fell at the battle of Lundy's Lane, which was won by 
the late General Scott. Both his grandfathers were sol- 
diers of the Revolutionary War. He was educated at 
Brown's Academy, and on leaving school was apprenticed 
to Gaskill & Copper to learn the business of engraving, 
which having mastered he commenced this avocation on his 
own account, about the year 1S50. As may be imagined, 
he look a great interest in all that related to military matters, 
and at the age of twenty joined the Philadelphia Greys, an 
artillery company under the command of Captain (now 
General) George Cadwalader. When the War with Mexico 
broke out he volunteered in the organization which that 
officer effected, composed of a majority of his command. 




which was designed to be a " flying artillery " company. 
The President, however, declined to receive them as the 
complement from Pennsylvania was full. He continued 
his membership with the company, and on the breaking out 
of the Rebellion was Second Lieutenant of the " Greys." 
He assisted to raise two companies which were attached to 
the First Regiment of Artillery of Philadelphia, and was 
appointed, by Colonel F. E. Patterson, Adjutant of the same, 
which was afterwards known as the 1 7th Regiment Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers. On his return from the three months' 
service, he was appointed, by Colonel P. C. Ellmaker, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of the iiglh Regiment, which he look into 
camp in the vicinity of Nicetown, and, on September Ist, 
1S62, marched to the front, where he participated in the 
splendid campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. At Sa- 
Kin 'Ch9rch he rendered faithful service under General 
Sedgwiclc. He commanded the regiment and led the 
charge at Rappahanock Station, November 7th, 1863, and 
candying the* works at the point of the bayonet captured the 
entire force, with artillery and battle-flags, Colonel Ellmaker 
feting i* command of the brigade. In 1864, the latter 
having 'designed from the service, and after the Mine Hill 
campaign, the regimental command devolved on Colonel 
Clark. ■ In the spring camjiaign, under General Grant, he 
particip.ited w'lth his regiment in the battles of Germania 
Ford, the Wilderness, and Spottsylvania ; at the latter point 
his" regiment planted' 'tTieir colors on the enemy's works. 
On-Juhe 12th, 1864^' 'General Eustis being relieved by a 
special order, he^wa!?"-pliced in command of the brigade 
over a 'superior officeff -At Bermuda Hundred and Ream's 
Station he rendered excellent service; and at Cold Harbor 
he led the charge in that action and carried the works. 
He was subsequently complimented in special orders for 
driving in the enemy's picket line in the Shenandoah Val- 
ley, and establishing a new and better one for our troops, 
and was breveted Colonel. The service rendered by his 
regiment with Sheridan at the battle of Winchester was 
especially brilliant. On April 2d, 1S65, he assaulted and 
carried the enemy's works in front of Petersburg, on which 
occasion, after penetrating the enemy's lines, he captured 
three forts^' eight pieces of ■'artillery, two ballle-flags, and a 
large iiumber of "prisoners. He was severely wounded after 
capturing the third fort (Steadman). One week afterwards 
the rebel surrender took place. For these gallant and meri- 
torious services he was breveted Brigadier-General of Vol- 
unteers. With the regiment, he was mustered out of the 
service Junj 19th, 1865. He has served .as a School Di- 
rector for many years in the Twentieth and Twenty-ninth 
Wards. In October, 1866, he was appointed Master War- 
den for the Port of Philadelphia, by Governor Curtin, and 
was subsequently re-appointed by Governor Geary. In 
1872, he was appointed Bank Assessor by Auditor-General 
Hartranft, and the following year was made Mercantile 
Collector of Delinquent Taxes by City Treasurer Widener. 
In the autumn of that year, he was nominated by the Re- 



304 



BIOGKArillCAL KNCVCLUl'.F.niA. 




pu1)Iic,in party as their candidate for the office of Register 
of Wills, and was elected at the general election in Oc- 
tober, lie was originally a Democrat, but united with the 
Republicans in defence of the country, when he took up 
arms in its behalf. He is a genial, warm-hearted, generous 
man. During his administration of the ofTice of Port War- 
den he did much to advance the interests of the city. lie 
was an active member of the Volunteer Fire Department 
for seventeen years. He was married .September ist, 1850, 
to Louisa D., daughter of Hon. Thomas Guirey, of the old 
township of Passyunk. 



ROTTER, NATHAN, Merchant, was bom in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the year 17S7. 
While yet a youth, he entered the ccjuptingi 
house of his elder brother, William, who had 
been engaged in mercantile pursuits for a con,- 
siderable time, as may be learned from Claypoole's' 
American Daily Advertiser, of August 22d, 1800, wherein 
the latter advertised his then recent jmportatiuns of tin 
and steel. It is believed thatjijs business had commenced 
some five to ten years previous to. the last-named date. 
In 1813, he was admitted hitQ-partncr^ig, Thejirai con- 
tinued until March, 1815,- when his brother diet!,' and ^lic 
thereupon assumed the manajicmeutiof the businass, ,, A 
short lime thereafter he admittecj Jtis^brother, Joseph, and 
the firm w.xs styled Nathan T£ottieVv,& Co., -which^j con- 
tinues to this day, a period of fifty-nine,years...i Joseph 
Trotter withdrew from the house, in 1830, to enter ^the 
liank of Pennsylvania, first as clerk, then cashier, and lastly 
as President. The senior partner continued the business, 
and, on Januai^ 1st, 1844, admitted his two sons, Edward 
H. and George, into the firm; and six years later two other 
sons, William II. and Charles W., became members of 
the partnership. The senior member took an active part 
in many of the enterprises of the day, and, in connection 
with others, was instrumental in oj'ganizing the Lehigh 
Crane Iron Company. This comiiany erected the first f^r- 
nace for the manufacture^^of pi;J,-iron with anthracite coal ^ 
their works were located on the Lehigli river, at Catasauqua, 
under the supervision of David Thomas. He was also a 
Director of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, 
and of the Bank of Pennsylvania. He died in January, 
1853, but the business of the house, which he founded, was 
carried on by the surviving memben;, his sons, who re- 
tained their father's name. With the close of the year 
1S54, George Trotter terminated his connection with the 
firm, leaving his three brothers to continue the prosperous 
business. Edward H. Trotter, the then senior member of 
the house, after receiving his e<lucati6n in his native city, 
spent a year in Europe, and immediately after his return 
to the United States had entered his father's store to arrive 
at a full knowledge of the business that he was, at a later 
date, to participate in and control, as previously mentioned. 



Not only w.-is he a highly successful merchant, but he g.ive 
his attention to other interests outside of his own business 
sphere. He was President of the Board of Trustees of 
the City Gas Works; a Director of the Lehigh Valley Rail- 
road Company, in which he was largely interested ; a Di- 
rector of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society; of the 
North American Fire Insurance Company ; of the Girard 
Life Annuity and Trust Company; of the American Steam- 
ship Company ; and for a number of years an Inspector of 
the County Prison. In business, he was a liberal, honorable 
merchant, and by his enterprise contributed largely towards 
the development of the city's commercial prosperity. In 
society, he was genial, cultured and generous; in all the 
relations of life his influence was great. 




V 



LLEN, WILLIAM HENRY, M. D., LL.D., 
President of Girard College, was born near the 
dty of Augusta, Maine, M.arch 27th, 1808. He 
is the son of Jotham and Thankful Allen, and 
his paternal grandfather was a descendant of the 
Braintree branch of the Aliens of Massachusetts. 
■His early life was spent at home on a farm until he en- 
tered the Wesleyan Seminary (Maine), where he received 
his educaliqiv,- preparatory to entering Howdoin College, 
;[Vhich he did^^gt the age of twenty-one, graduating there- 
froii] after a four-year coui'se. Immediately after leaving 
college, he was called to take charge of the Greek and 
Latin classes at the Oneida Conference Seminai-y, at Cassa- 
novia, New York, where he remained for two and a half 
years ; when his worth and ability being appreciated by his 
own towns-people, he was invited to return to Augusta, 
and preside over the High .School in that city. He re- 
mained in this latter locality, however, but six months, as 
he had been tendered the Professorship of Chemistry and 
Natural Philosophy at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsyl- 
vania, whieluhe accepted. This chair he occupied for ten 
years, and was then transferred to that of English literature 
in the sairie institution,, which he filled for three years. 
During much of the time he resided in Carlisle he was a 
re;;ular contributor to the Methodist Quarterly Review. 
He also wrote and delivered numerous addresses and lec- 
tures on educational and general subjects. He has delivered 
lectures in several cities of the Union — among them, Phila- 
delphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Indi.inapolis. In January, 
1S53, at the request of the municipal authorities of Phila- 
delphia, he pronounced a Eulogy on America's greatest 
statesman, Daniel Webster. This eloquent and able dis- 
com-se was highly esteemed by the public. It was ]iub- 
lished, and took rank with others delivered by prominent 
men throughout the country. In January, 1850, he was 
appointed President of Girard College, succeeding Judge 
Jones, who had held the position from the opening of the 
institution two years previously. The Board of Directors 





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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



305 



foumi in him a gentleman whose education and superior 
administrative al)ilities admirably titled him to become the 
Executive ot an institution of this peculiar character. His 
duties there were entirely difTerent from those required in 
the same position in other colleges. Here he was not only 
called on to organize and harmonize a staff of professors 
for the educational department of the college, but there de- 
volved on him also the organization of what may be termed 
a "household staff" of officers — ladies and gentlemen — 
whose duties are the care of the pupils when not engaged 
in school. It was also his duty to officiate in all the re- 
ligious and devotional exercises of the institution, as the 
will of Stephen Girard, the founder of the college, pro 
hi..ited the admission of clergymen within its pale. No 
sectarian teachings were to be introduced, and the minds 
of the pupils were to be kept free from denominational bias, 
so that when they should leave the institution, by reason 
of their advanced age and education, they could better 
choose the creed they would adopt for the future. Thus, 
it will be seen, that there devolved on him the supervision 
of the school, the home, and the moral training of about 
five hundred boys. It was a great task, when it is con- 
sidered that they embraced those ranging from the tender 
age of eight years to the active and impulsive youth of 
seventeen. How well and admirably he performed his 
manifold duties, how complete the satisfaction of the Di- 
rectors, his long continuance in office testifies; and how 
well he has succeeded in gaining and keeping the respect 
and esteem of the numerous professors and officers of the 
institution is also proved by their many years of service un- 
der his administration. Last, but not least, the love and 
regard in which he is held by hundreds of tlie graduates of 
the institution, adds another link to the testimony, all going 
to show that in him the college has found a man equalled 
by very few, and surpassed by none in his peculiar fitness 
for the position. In December, 1862, he resigned the posi- 
tion, which he had filled so acceptably for thirteen years, 
and retired to the walks of private life, taking up his 
abode on a farm on the banks of the Delaware, not far 
from the city. Here he remained for two years, when he 
received a call from the Pennsylvania Agricultural College 
to become its President; he accepted it, and continued in 
the position two years. In 1867, ho was recalled to Girard 
College, thus receiving the most emphatic endorsement of 
the efficiency of his former administration. In religious 
belief, he is a Methodist, and has been for many years a 
member of that church. He was honored, in March, 1S72, 
by being elected President of the American Bible Society, 
which position he continues to hold. In 1S50, the year 
he was first inaugurated as Presi<lent of Girard College, the 
degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by the 
Union College of Schenectady, New York, and also by 
Emory and Henry College of Virginia. He has been 
■ married four times. Fir^t. in 183'), to Martha, daughter 
of Bishop Richardson, of Toronto, Canada. His second 
39 



wife was Ellen Konora Curtin, of Bellefonte, a sister of 
Governor Curtin ; his third, Mary Quincy of Boston ; his 
fourth and present wife was, at the time of her marriage, 
Mrs. Anna Maria Gemmill, the widow of one of Philadel- 
phia's most successful and highly esteemed merchants. 



ART.SI-IORNE, EDWARD, A.M., M. D., Phy- 
QjX"%| sician, was born in Philadelphia, May I4tli, 1818. 
He is the secondson of the late Dr. Joseph Harts- 
horne, who was for nearly half a centui-y one of 
the leading hospital surgeons and medical practi- 
tioners of Philadelphia. After careful prepara- 
tory studies, he entered Princeton College, where he gra- 
duated, in 1S37. He at once commenced the study of 
medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, which institu- 
tion, in 1840, conferred on him the degree of M. D., and 
the same year he received that of A. M. from his alma 
mater. For nine months immediately succeeding his gra- 
duation he was occupied in dispensary practice, the greater 
part of which was under the direction of Dr. W. W. Ger- 
hard, then one of the Attending Physicians of the Philadel- 
phia Dispensary, the largest out-patient charity in the city. 
During this period also he was engaged in revising his 
graduating thesis for publication ; this honor having been 
conferred upon it by the Faculty of the University. It was 
entitled, Monograph on Pseitdarthrosis, or False Joints 
from Ununited Fractures. After publication it was highly 
complimented and most favorably noticed as a literary and 
scientific production. In December, 1S40, he was elected 
First Assistant Physician to the Pennsylvania Hospital for 
the Insane, then just organized as a separate department 
from the old hospital, and he entered upon his duties at 
the new hospital building in West Philadelphia, with Dr. 
Kirkbride as Superintendent. He successfully commenced 
the organization, under the direction of the Superintendent, 
and transferred nearly all the male patients to the new 
establishment during the winter. In April, 1841, he was 
elected Resident Physician of the old Pennsylvania Hos- 
pital, and having transferred his residence thither, com- 
pleted the removal of the insane, male and female, to the 
West Philadelphia building during the year. He subse- 
quently served for short periods as Assistant to Dr. Kirk- 
bride, and for a few weeks became the substitute for Dr. 
Pliny Earle at the Friends Asylum, near Frankford ; but 
by far the greater part of his hospital service was in the 
medical and surgical wards and the obstetric department 
of the Pennsylvania Hospital. During this period he also 
devoted part of his time to the examination of medical stu- 
dents, and contributed numerous reports of cases to the 
Medical Examiner, the leading medical magazine at that 
time. In April, 1843, he was elected Physician to the 
Eastern Stiite Penitentiary, famous as the model of the 
" separate system," frequently but erroneously termed the 



3o6 



BIOGKAl'l I ICAL P:NCVCL0P,-EDIA. 



" solitary system." It was the duty of the Resident Diysi- 
cian to demonstrate the effect of this experiment upon 
the mental and physical organisations of the convicts ; and 
as he was well fitted by previous experience for such ob- 
servations, his report was anticipated with considerable in- 
terest and anxiety. The results of his investigations, as 
embodied in the " Annual Report " of 1S43, and a partial 
"Report" for 1844, published by the Inspectors in 1S44 
and 1845, showed a marked improvement in the health 
and discipline of the prisoners ; and attracted much atten- 
tion, being widely circulated in Europe as well as America, 
as the first extended and professional Report of the effects 
of the system. A second edition having been issued in 
Philadelphia, it was largely circulated in England and also 
on the Continent, being translated and published in France, 
Germany, Belgium and Holland, receiving particular at- 
tention and approval. In June, 1844, he went to Europe 
and passed two years in medical study, and in visiting 
hospitals, lunatic asylums and penal institutions, as well as 
the medical schools of England and the Continent. He 
received marked attention and enjoyed unusual advantages 
on account of his peculiar and valuable prison experience. 
Soon after his return home, in Septemljer, 1846, he was 
induced to untlertake the "volunteer" editorship of the 
riiiladelphia Journal of Prison Discipline, but fortunately 
for his professional interests, was obliged, by ill health and 
other impediments, to withdraw after the conduct of a single 
volume. lie then devoted himself more exclusively to pro- 
fessional pursuits, partly in connection with, and partly in- 
dependent of, his father. Although his attention was largely 
absorbed by practice, he contributed for years in succession, 
over the signature of " E. H.," critical and analytical re- 
views, and bibliographical notices of leading works to the 
American yournal of the Medical Sciences, the leading 
and oldest medical quarterly in the United States, long 
known as one of the best, if not the best, in the language. 
He wrote numerous similar papers for the Philadelphia 
Medical Examiner, and the Philadelphia Medico-Chirur- 
gical Review. His review of the " Beale case," published 
in the Medical Examiner (1855), had a large "run," two 
editions of the number containing it being exhausted in a 
few days, without supplying the demand, and it was largely 
noticed, discussed and quoted, in many cases in full, by 
newspapers, medical and dental journals. As a member 
of an Association of Lecturers — composed of some of the 
most promising young physicians of the day, engaged in 
the conduct of a summer session — he was for a short time 
occupied in the delivery of courses of ^ectures on medical 
jurisprudence, which, however, he was obliged to relinquish 
on account of pressure of professional duties. While yet a 
stuflent of medicine he was junior Secretary of the Philadel- 
phia Medical Society. He w.is Secretary of the first Prison 
Discipline Convention, held in Philadelphia about the year 
184S; Secretary of the first Sanitary Convention in the 
United States, held in Philadelphia; and for several years 



Secretary of the College of Physicians, as well as one of the 
Censors of the College, and Secretary of the Building 
Committee. He has been a number of years an earnest 
and active Manager of the Episcopal Hospital, having 
been Secretary of the Building Committee ; and he is also 
understood to have been the author of several of its Annual 
Reports. During the whole of its existence, he was Secre- 
tary of the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Branch 
of the United States Sanitary Commission, having been 
active in organizing and establishing it. He was Chairm.an 
of the Committee of Arrangement of the American Medical 
Association for the meeting in Philadelphia, in May, 1862, 
an arduous and responsible post at the head of a large com- 
mittee, the results of whose labors were recognized very 
generally as a gratifying success. He has served as Vice- 
President and President of the Pathological .Sjciety, also 
of the Ophlhalmological Society, both of Philadelphia. 
He has been Chairman of the Executive Committee of the 
Medical Alumni .Society of the University of Pennsylvania 
since its organization, four years since, an office which has 
involved a large amount of executive labor. He was elected 
one of the Vice-Presidents of this Association during its first 
year, but withdrew, with others, to make way for older 
graduates. He was for seven years one of the Attending 
Surgeons to Wills' Hospital for Diseases of tl.e Eye, and 
afterwards succeeded his father as one of the Attending 
.Surgeons of the Pennsylvania llospit.il, which position he 
was compelled, by ill-health and other occupations, to re- 
sign in the spring of 1864. During the War of the Rebel- 
lion he was constantly engaged as Acting Assistant Sur- 
geon United States Army, serving in the field during emer- 
gencies, and at other times as Consulting Surgeon at the 
McClellan, Nicetown, or other army hospitals in Philadel- 
phia. In 1863, while serving the crowded surgical wards 
of the Pennsylvania Hospital, in addition to the army hos- 
pitals, he was infected — through a scratch on his finger — ■ 
with poison from the gangrenous shot-wound of a soldier, 
and during the three summer months of that year suffered 
from a painful illness, which nearly cost him his life, and 
resulting in a permanently injured — though not disabled — 
left hand. He has been called upon to edit several re- 
prints of English medical text-books ; the most important 
and best known of which are two successive editions of the 
American reprint of Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence, pre- 
pared with the express permission and subseijuent approval 
of the author. He added numerous notes, the greater part 
of which the author himself afterwards introduced into the 
work, giving the American editor credit therefor. He is 
a veteran Life Insurance Examiner and Adviser, having 
been steadily engaged in the work since May, 1847, wdien 
he commenced with the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Com- 
pany, and which he has never left ; he was one of the 
earliest of their insured members, and is now the -Senior 
Officer of the Com|)any, the oldest Life Insurance Medical 
Adviser in Philadelphia, and probably one of the oldest in 



I 




/ 6 / //^/■i-^'iy L>^/%^^;^/' 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



307 




the coimtr)'. As an oriijinal officer and member, he has 
always lieen deeply inlercsteil in its affairs; and maybe 
regarded as having ccmlribuled much to assure the success 
of one of the oldest and staunchest companies in the State. 
lie is one of the Vice-Presidents of the Princeton Alumni 
Association of Philadelphia. He has been connected, for 
many years, with the Church of the Epiphany, Rev. Dr. 
Newton, rector, and for a time he was a vestryman of it ; 
and in his various fields of labor, has been an indefatigable 
worker, and an active originator and promoter of public 
and benevolent enterprises. He married, December 26th, 
1850, Adelia C, widow of Oliver Pearse of Philadelphia, 
and d.aughter of John B. Swett of Philadelphia, formerly 
of Boston, Massachusetts. Of the five children given them, 
the eldest, a son, still survives. j^-. ■ 



ENSON, ALEXANDER, Banker, was born in 
Baltimore, Maryland, November 21st, 1794, and 
was the son of Richard and Catherine Benson, 
He was educated at Brown's Seminary, Balti- 
more, where he graduated at an early age with 
the highest honors, and was rewarded ' by ljei>ng 
publicly crowned with laurel on commencement-day.. ^Hf 
became familiarised with the dry goods: l^iness in.all its 
details, which was carried on in Philadelphia! under, the 
firm of Richard Benson & Son, and wliich^graciually meuged 
into the carpet trade. He subsequently comnienccd as 
banker and broker as one of the firm of Buckmaji & Ben- 
son, at No. 2 .south Third street, and on:the 'retiremqnt,.of 
his partner, established the firm of Alexander. Benso.n & Co., 
with a younger brother, which house continued for many 
years thereafter. He was probably engaged in this" laftcr 
calling for fifty years, and was, for a long time a member 
of the Standing Committee of the Board of Brokers. At 
the time of his death, he stood Number Two on the list of 
members of the Stock Exchange, one member — B. P. 
Hutchinson, who is still living (1874) — having been elected 
before him. He was a Director in the Pennsylvania Fire 
Insurance Company. He retired from active business 
pursuits, January 1st, 1868, having left a record of great 
integrity and indomitable industry. He was frequently 
consulted by those who desired prudent and careful advice 
on financial matters, his judgment therein being considered 
pre-eminent. As a far-seeing banker and business man, it 
is safe to assert that he had few, if any, equals among his 
compeers in Pliiladelphia. His success in his business was 
perhaps partly owing to a strict attention to a legitimate 
lianking career, without endeavoring to engage in gigantic 
commercial speculations, or trying to construct, on his own 
account, extended railroads which should be built rather by 
combined efforts than by individual enterprise. After 
having been known as an Old Line Whig for many years, he 
with numerous others merged his political sentiments into 



those of the Republican party, and sujiported Fremont for 
President in 1S56, Lincoln in 1S60 and 1S64, and Grant in 
1S68. But while taking a warm interest in politics, he 
never participated in any active way in a contest. He never 
sought nor would accejit office, preferring to live in the 
retirement of home, and thoroughly believing that " the jjost 
of honor is the private station." His favorite newspaper 
was the New York Tunes, under the regime of Henry J. 
Raymond. During the late rebellion, he was out-spoken in 
his views, as a staunch loyalist ; and contributed freely of 
his means in sustaining the government which protected 
him. After a life of industry, integrity, and spotless 
morality, he died calmly and quietly on the morning of 
>L-iy 13th, 1S70, surrounded by his family, who think of 
him with fervent gratitude and affection, and mourn his loss 
with sincerity. As was eminently proper, he was borne to 
his last resting place in the Woodlands by the leading bank 
p;-esidents>of Philadelphia, who had so often relied on his 
judgment and .sought his advice. He was married, April 
22th, 1824, to Sarah, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Caleb 
NoitD,^ rff the Revolutionary Army, an honored member of 
the Society of the Cincinnati, and, at one time. High 
Sheriff of Phihdelphia. 



e.^ 




\lSDkLTU,J3AVID, Seed-grower and Merchant, 
, 'wa*boj-n.:in -Bhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1802. 
^ Ji'WS?, fathelv.who bore the same name, was a native 



(C**^ » of Engiandj and emigrated to America, settling at 
^Pliiladelphia, where, as soon after as his circum- 
stances admitted, he established himself in the 
■nursery and seed trade. He thus formed the nucleus of 
that which has since become a business of vast proportions ; 
each acre of that day is now represented by a hundred, 
occupied, operated, and tilled by his son and grandsons. 
His son is the head of the present firm of D. Landrelh & 
Sons, and, although now adv.anced in life, retains a personal 
interest in every movement designed to effect the prosperity 
of the house, with which he has been identified through 
life. In 1827, he was active in founding the Pennsylvania 
Horticultural Society, the first American association of its 
kind. In the following year, he was chosen as its Corres- 
ponding Secretary, which office he filled for nine successive 
years. His rural ta.ste, however, has not been bounded by 
th.at for horticulture. As an associate of the Philadelphia 
Society for the promotion of Agriculture " aptly styleil the 
" fertile mother of all agricultural societies of the Union," 
he zealously co-operated for many years, and for two suc- 
cessive terms filled its highest official station. It was during 
his occupancy of the Presidency, that the United States 
Agricultural Society held its famous exhibition at Powelton, 
when the members of the parent society vied with each 
other to ensure its success. And this was secured, as never 
before, on such an occasion ; forty thousand dollars — a large 



3o8 



BIOGKAPHICAL EN'CVCLOP.EDIA. 




sum for Ihat clay — being exiwndetl for premiums, etc. His 
rural writings are dilTused through periodicals and pamph- 
lets ; some of the latter have attained a wide circulation, but 
are, in their character, fugitive and evanescent. His life 
has been one of too much action to submit to regular, sys- 
tematic authorship. He is now spending his latter days at 
Bloomsdale, on the Delaware, his residence for many years 
past. It is an est.ite of five hundred acres, devoted to seed 
culture; but he has found room for an arberetum, princi- 
pally of cone-bearers and other evergreens, of interest to 
Botanists, and the admiration of all who love trees. These, 
with experiments in steam-ploughing, and the use of 
advanced machinery for tillage and other rural operations, 
he finds an agreeable occupation, and ample verge and 
scope enough for mind and body. 



A ROCHE, CHARLES PERCY, A.M., M.D., 
Physician, was born in Philadelphia, April 23rd, 
1S34. He is a son of Dr. Rene and Mary Jane 
(Ellis) La Roche, and gr.andson of Dr. Rene La 
Roche, who came to this country many years 
since from St. Domingo, now the Republic of 
Hayti. The latter w.as one of the most distinguished — both 
on account of his ancestry and t.ilents — of the many who 
left that unfortunate country at the time of the great insur- 
rection. Charles Percy La Roche was placed in St. Mary's 
College, Baltimore, to avail himself of its educational ad- 
vantages ; and when that institution ce.ased to exist, in 1S52, 
he repaired to Georgetown College, District of Columbia, 
where he graduated in the department of arts, in July, 1853. 
In the following month of October, he commenced the study 
of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, from which 
school he graduated in March, 1856, as Doctor of Medicine. 
Shortly afterwards, he became Resident Physician in St. 
Joseph's Hospital, where he remained about one year ; and 
then became attached to the Philadelphia Dispensaiy, where 
he fulfilled the duties of Vaccine Physician for some six 
ye.irs. In July, 1863, he entered the army, and w.as de- 
tailed for duty at the United States Army Hospital at 
Chester, Pennsylvania, where he continued for the space of 
eight months, and then resigned the service. In the year 
1866, when St. Mary's Hospital was founded, he was ap- 
pointed one of the physicians, and to thnl institution he is 
still .attached. His colleagues have been among the most 
prominent of the younger members of the profession. He 
succeeded his father, as a member of the Board of Health 
of Philadelphia, and with it he is still connected. He was 
elected a member of the County Medical Society, in 1856, 
and resigned therefrom in i860. He is now a member 
of the College of Physicians of Phi!adcl))hia ; of the Phila- 
delphia Medical Society; of the Pathological Society; of 
the American riiiloso]ihic.il Society ; and of the La Salle 
Institute, all of Philadelphia, and of several societies both 



in this country and Europe. lie was married, June nth, 
1873, to Agnes Williams, daughter of General William A. 
Stokes, of Philadelphia. 



USH, RICHARD, Statesman .and Diplomatist, son 
of the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the 
Declaration of Inde]>endence, and grandson of 
Richard Stockton of New Jersey, another signer, 
was born in Philadelphia, August 29th, 1780. 
He graduated at Princeton College in 1797, where 
his father and grandfather graduated, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1800. He was distinguished for his forensic 
abilities and fearless discharge of professional duty, while 
at the bar, and afterwards for the number and variety of high 
appointments successively conferred upon him from an early 
period of life. He was appointed Attorney-General of 
Pennsylvania in 181 1, by Governor Snyder; Attorney- 
General of the United Stales in 1814, by President Madi- 
son, who gave him the choice of that post, or the post of 
Secretary of the Trcasurj- ; acting .Secretary of .State in 1S17, 
by President Monroe, and six months aftenvards, on the 
return of John Quincy Adams, from England, to be Secre- 
taiy of State, he was appointed his successor as Minister to 
England, at the age of 37. He remained nearly eight 
years in England, and was recalled in 1825, by President 
Adams, to be Secretary of the Treasury, on whose renomi- 
nation as President he was nominated with him for Vice- 
President. In 1831, he declined a nomination for the 
Presidency from the Anti-Masonic party of Pennsylvania, 
when William Wirt (Monroe's Attorney-General) was 
afterwards nomin.ated. In 1836, he was appointed by 
President Jackson to go to England, and recover for the 
United States the Smithson legacy of $500,000 to found at 
Washington an institution " for the diffusion of knowledge." 
This trust he executed successfully, and returned with the 
whole fund in gold, depositing it on the day of his return 
.at the Mint in Philadelphia. Jackson had previously sent 
him, with Colonel Howard of Maryland, to Ohio and 
Michig.in, to endeavor to settle amicably a boundary dispute 
between those States ; a mission which had the best results. 
In 1847, President Polk appointed him Minister to France, 
with the unanimous confirmation of the Senate. While in 
France he was the first of the foreign ministers to recognize, 
without wailing for instructions, the new Republican form 
of government, then first established there since 1792, on 
the dethrnnement of Louis Philippe. On his return home, 
he was appointed by Congress a Regent of the .Smithsonian 
Institution, and continued actively to discharge that duly 
till his death, July 30th, 1859, in the seventy-ninth year of 
his .age. While minister to England, he helped to lay the 
foundation of the celebrated Monroe doctrine. While there 
and in France, he was the associate and correspondent of. 
Castlereagh, Canning, Wellington, Brougham, Jeremy Bent- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



309 




ham, Wilhcrforce, Guizot, and Thiers. Subsequently he 
published his AU'co/A'c/ions of the Knglish atui FrencJi Courts^ 
Washington in Domestic Life, etc., etc. He married in 
1809, an elegant and accomplished woman, Catherine Eliza 
Murray, daughter of Dr. James Murray, of Annapolis, 
Maryland, by whom he had several sons and daughters. 
His integrity w,is spotless. The obituary notices of his 
death bore testimony to the fidelity with which " he per- 
fonned the duties entrusted to him through the con.'idence 
of successive administrations;" that " his private life was 
free from reproach; " th,at " he was singularly truthful and 
fearless, and wronged no one," and that " he died with 
the calmness of a Christi.an." 



/ 

|USH, BENJAMIN, eldest son of Richard Rush, 
was born in Philadelphia, January 23d, 181 1. 
He was educated in England, while his father 
was United States Minister there. He graduated 
at Princeton College, 1829, with the highest 
honors, being the valedictorian of his class. 
Admitted to the bar in 1833, he immediately entered into 
active practice, at first in the United .States Courts, with 
Henry D. Gilpin, then United .States District Attorney. 
He was nominated for the legislature in 1S34, by the Demo- 
cratic party of Philadelphia, and again in 1835, when 
Muhlenberg was candidate for Governor, receiving each 
time the highest vote of any candidate on his ticket. He 
was one of a Committee of the Bar to accompany to Vir- 
ginia the remains of Chief Justice Marshall, who died in 
Philadelphia, in 1835. In 1837 he was appointed Secretary 
of Legation, at London, where Andrew Stevenson was 
Minister. He remained there four years, being part of the 
time Charge d'Affaires, while the celebrated Lord Palmers- 
ton was Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and was thus brought 
into official relations at an early age with one of the greatest 
statesmen of the century. Among (he more serious questions 
with England at that time, were those of the North-Eastern 
Boundaiy ; the slaves, liberated off the Bahamas, ultimately 
paid for while Mr. Stevenson was Minister, and the memor- 
able case of " The Caroline." He returned, in 1841, to his 
profession, devoting himself to it with zeal for many years, 
with his brother J. Murray Rush, and repeatedly declining 
to be a candidate for office, though frequent and earnest in the 
expression of his opinions at public meetings, and through the 
newspapers, on the stirring political topics of the day. In 
1S49, he married the only daughter of Dr. William Simpson, 
of Pittsburgh, by whom he has two daughters. Always of' 
the Democratic party, like all his family, he nevertheless 
supported zealously the war to put down the rebellion, and 
w.as among the first to sign the memorial from the people 
of Philadelphia to President Lincoln for the preservation 
of the Union at any cost. In November, i860, he published 
An Appeal for the Ionian, occupying an entire side of a 



newspaper, " the demand " for which was " so great," .said 
the editor on the following morning, " that it exhausted an 
unusually large edition of our paper. Such indeed is still 
the demand, that we have found it necessary to republish il 
this morning. It was a most effective presentation of a 
menacing peril, and its ominous significance caused men to 
feel and tremble." In 1862, he drew up the memorial from 
the people of Philadelphia to Congress, presented in the 
Senate by Andrew Johnson, and in the House by John J. 
Crittenden, to celebrate Washington's birthday by reading 
his farewell address before both houses, the President, and 
Foreign Ministers, which was done. In 1863, in the intro- 
duction to Dawson's edition of the Federalist, there ap- 
peared a letter from him in reply to one from the editor, 
asking for some materials. " Had there been more students 
of the Federalist,'" he writes, " there would have been fewer 
intellects scathed by the delirium of secession; the halls of 
Congress would not have been deserted for fields of civil 
strife; nor would the future historian be compelled to 
chronicle a gigantic and infamous rebellion, which, while it 
checked for a time the amazing prosperity, served only to 
demonstrate the still more amazing power and resources, 
and imperial gi-andeur of the United States." He sought 
earnestly by his writings to have the Federalist mn([c a text 
book in our schools and colleges. The college at Williams- 
town and the university in New York have niade it so. 
The war over, he defended with equal zeal, the policy of a 
magnanimous and just treatment of the South, in a pamphlet 
entitled. President Johnson and Congress. In 1866, he 
visited, with his family, the principal cities and countries 
of Europe. His only son, a promising youth of eighteen, 
died at Dresden. He is a man of fine classical and literary 
attainments, and an accomplished writer. While in Europe, 
he edited a new edition of his father's Recolleftions of the 
Enj;lish and French Courts, which was very favorably 
received. He returned in 1873, ^.nd is now living with 
his family in Philadelphia. 



USH, J. MURRAY, Lawyer, second son of Rich- 
ard Rush, was born in Washington, July loth, 
1S13. He received his early education in Eng- 
land, and graduated with distinction at Princeton 
College in 1831. Admitted to the Philadelphia 
bar in 1 834, he jjractised with much success for 
many years, at one time conducting the public prosecutions 
with marked zeal and ability. During the memorable 
Philadelphia riots of 1844, his intrepidity and energy in 
bringing to justice the ringleaders of that atrocious con- 
spiracy against law and order, elicited high praise from all 
quarters. He was distinguished for his fervid eloquence, 
not only in denouncing the wrong-doer, but in asserting or 
defending the rights of his client, to whose cause he adhered 
with unyielding tenacity. His high qualities, genial dis- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/KDIA. 



position and popular manners, talents and attainments, made 
him a universal favorite ; and he was frequently solicited to 
enter the political arena. On the 4th of July, 1852, he 
delivered an oration before the Democratic citizens of the 
Third and Fourth Congressional Districts of Pennsylvania, 
of which one of the newspapers remarked the next clay, that 
" for depth of thought, extensive political research, and 
sound Democratic doctrine, it has seldom been equalled in 
this city ; and was worthy the acknowledged talents of its 
author, an accomplished lawyer and gentleman, and firm 
and unflinching Democrat." In 1859, he edited, in con- 
junction with his brother, as his father's executors, the 
Occasional Productions, of the latter, " Political, Diplomatic, 
and Miscellaneous," including " \V.Tshington in Domestic 
Life." In i860, nearly five hundred of his fellow-citizens 
sought his consent to become a candidate for Mayor, ad- 
dressing him as " one on whose patriotism, abilities, honesty 
and tried Democracy, the community can rely with implicit 
confidence." His reply was so replete with bold, inde- 
pendent views, especially in denouncing the practice of rota- 
tion in office, which he avowed he would utterly ignore if 
elected, that it was thought to have cost him the nomina- 
tion. " With an officer's vote," he declared, " I could have 
nothing to do. He might vote as he pleased ; it w'ould be 
nothing to me. But I certainly would not permit any 
ofiicer to mingle as an active partizan in party politics." 
Such a letter, it was thought, did him more honor than if he 
had gained the nomination. On the breaking out of the 
rebellion he immediately took the strongest ground for 
sustaining the Government, regardless of party; signed the 
memorial to President Lincoln pledging him the support of 
the people of Philadelphia in any measures to preserve the 
Union ; and though himself a large slave-holder, through 
his marriage to a Maryland lady, took an active and leading 
part in advocating the war, regardless of his personal in- 
terests. " As long as this war lasts," he wrote to a com- 
mittee of citizens, September 21st, i86i, " I will recognize 
no party but that of my countiy." He died, February 7th, 
1862, in his forty-ninth year, leaving by a first marriage, one 
son, Richard Rush, now a Lieutenant, United States Navy, 
and a daughter by a second marriage. 

j'JSH, RICHARD HENRY, Soldier, fifth son of 
Richard Rush, was born in Philadelphia, Penn- 
.sylvania, January 14th, 1S25. When eleven 
years old, he accompanied his father to Eng- 
land, and was entered at a superior pre[)aratory 
school at Hampstead. Soon after his return to 
the United States, he was appointed to a cadetship in the 
Military Academy, at West Point. He graduated therefrom 
in June, 1846, number twenty-six, in a class of fifty-nine, 
and was appointed Second Lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment 
United States Artillery, on duly at Fort Columbus, New 




York harbor ; and was immediately detailed for duly with 
the Engineer Corps of United Stales Sappere and Miners, 
then being organized and instructed at West Point. In 
November, 1846, he was assigned to duty at the Military 
Academy, as Assistant Instructor of Artillery and Cavalry, 
which position he filled until June 1847. He was the first 
Instructor who taught the proficiency of drill of the Light 
Artillery Battery, to that degree, which enabled it to man- 
oeuvre at a "gallop." Having been promoted to First 
Lieutenant of Battery M, of his regiment, he joined it near 
the city of Mexico, and served with it during the remainder 
of the Mexican war. Returning with his regiment, after 
the treaty of peace, he was on garrison duty at Fortress 
Monroe for two years, when he was detailed for duty with 
the Board of Artillery Officers, ordered to prepare a Manual 
of Instruction and Drill for the Heavy Artillery. In 1849, 
he was detailed as an assistant to Professor Bache, Chief of 
the United States Coast Survey, and served with him for 
one year in the office, in charge of the maps and drawings ; 
and for one year with Captain T. I. Crane, of the Engineer 
Corps, in barometrical observations and verifications of alti- 
tudes of stations on the New England coast. In 1851, he 
was assigned to duty as First Lieutenant of " Sedgwick's 
Battery," 2nd Regiment of Artillery, at Fort McHenry, 
near Baltimore, where he served for two years, when he 
was appointed Aide-de-camp to Brigadier-General Bank- 
head. From this position, he resigned from the regular 
service, and occupied himself in civil pursuits until the 
breaking out of the rebellion in 1S61. Forseeing the hos- 
tilities, before they actually occurred, he had visited Harris- 
burg, in February 1861, and urged upon the Governor, as 
well as the Military Committee of the .Senate, the great im- 
portance of at once passing an Act to create a military 
force, for the defence of the State, and presented the draft 
of a bill for 50,000 men ; at the same time tendering his 
services to the Governor to assist in the organization and 
instruction of such a force. But the North was not yet 
aroused, nor could believe there would be war; and the 
Legislature adjourned without acling on his suggestion. A 
few weeks later, however, an extra session of that body was 
called for the purpose of putting the .State in a condition to 
defend herself; and, at this session, the proposition which 
he had made nearly two months before, was reduced to 
the shape and form of creating that corps afterwards known 
as the "Pennsylvania Reserves," of about 13,000 men. 
The Act, as passed, |)rovided that the Governor should 
name one Major-General and two Brigadier-Generals, to 
command the same. In pursuance thereof, the Governor 
■immediately appointed the former chief officer, in the 
person of Colonel George A. McCall ; but the Executive of 
the Commonwealth hesitated to n.ime the Brigadiers, 
although General McCall earnestly solicited him to name 
those whom he had selected, namely, the late Colonel 
Charles J. Biddle, and Richard Henry Rush. Other, 
parties urgently pressed these nominations, but the Gover- 




:^^ \ 



**'*«(^J Co -BhOaM^ 



■4^ ^^i^^^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



3" 



nor failed to accede to these suggestions, or indeed to make 
any appointment whatever, and the " Reserves " finally 
started for the seat of war under the Major-General alone. 
After the first battle of Bull Run, Richard Henry Rush — 
although allied by marriage to a Virginia lady, herself a 
lar^e slave owner — at once offered his services to the general 
Government, by whom they were promptly accepted, with 
the request to raise a regiment of cavalry. He at once in- 
vited some of the most prominent of the young men of the 
" three months" service, Philadelphia Volunteers, to join him 
as officers, which they did, and all went actively to work to 
recruit the regiment. In a few weeks, the " Philadelphia 
Light Cavalry" was organized. Before receiving the 
carbine, pistol, and sabre, with which it was intended to 
have been armed, a telegram was received from General 
McClellan, then General-in-chief of the armies, requesting 
that this regiment should be armed and equipped "as 
"Lancers." The proposition was subinitted to the -regi- 
ment, and it was at once decided to comply with the request 
of the General-in-chief. Hence it was, that the regiment 
became known as " Rush's Lancers ; " on the State rolls it 
was called the " 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry," Colonel Rush. 
His previous military experience and training, and the great 
assistance he received from the zeal, industry; ahd untiriYig 
efforts of his Captains and Lieutenants" — anriong.st whom 
may be named, Newhall, Morris, Sta'ir,' WrighlfV-'Clymer; 
Cadwalader, "Whelan, Muirhead, Treichel; Fiun'ess,"Mitchell, 
Leiper, Frazier, Whitehead, Hazeltine,aKdoth*s— enabled 
him to bring this regiment to the highest state "of efficiency 
and discipline in a very short time; and when it was orderfed 
to the " Army of the Potomac," in October, fully armed, 
equipped, and mounted, it was made a part of the Brigade 
of Regular Cavalry. His services were most active and 
arduous in the Peninsular, Anlietam, and Fredericksburg 
campaigns. He was commended by General McClellan 
f >r his services in front of Richmond, for his reconnoissance 
before and at the battle of Hanover Court House; for 
Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, the retreat to Harrison's Land- 
ing, and for his pursuit of " Jeb Stuart " in the raid of the 
latter in front of Richmond. In the battle of Antietam, he 
charged with the Cavalry Brigade, th.at- carried the cen"tre 
bridge, defended by light artillei-y- btitlerites and HnBn'tfy' 
supports. He w.as twice recommended, by General Mc 
Clellan, for promotion to the grade of Brigadier-General. 
In the spring of 1863, he was ordered to special duty in the 
War Department, as one of the Assistants to the Provost 
Marshal General, then organizing and perfecting the ar- 
rangements for the " Draft " on the male population of the 
country, in order to fill up the ranks of the army. While 
on this duty he organized, from the partially disabled men 
in hospitals, "The Veteran Reserve Corps," a force of 
20,000 men, composed of veteran soldiers, capable of 
iloin;:; guard duty at depots, hospitals, and military prisons, 
thereby relieving an equal number of active troops to 
lake the field. Upon the expiration of the three years' 



enlistment of his regiment, in the autumn of 1864, he 
returned to civil life in Philadelphia, where he now 
resides. 




/ 



RISWOLD, GEORGE W., Dentist and Inventor, 
was born in Bainbridge, Chenango county. New 
York, September 29th, 1820. His father, Richard 
Griswold, was of a New England family, a highly 
intelligent man, and a watchmaker by trade. He 
taught his business to his son, who became an 
.adept in it by the time he had attained his eighteenth year. 
But as he disliked the calling, he persuaded his father to 
allow him to follow the bent of his inclinations, and to study 
dentistry. -To this profession he has given much attention, 
and practised it for many years. He, however, has devoted 
much tmie and study to devices calculated to benefit the 
public, wfech he has patented, and which though they have 
not'aggregated a fortune for the inventor, at least have con- 
tributed not only to his comfort in a pecuniary point of view, 
but hav^lightened the labors of the many, besides affording 
to soiff^a remuneration consequent upon the vending of the 
diffeie'nt-'artid'es so repeatedly called for and desired by the 
public J^ntrally. "'*He"'!has received more than twenty 
patents", both in this tSdiitry and in Europe, for his several 
(Ife-vices, a few ^flVhi"A''\vill be presently named. His 
ihvefltive faculty never' se'^riied to be dormant, although he 
was pf-actising a '^dfession. Whenever he observed a 
defect ifi'-any method "or process of any nature whatever, his 
mind would be involuntarily engaged, and mental images 
conjured up which must be realized in tangible form by the 
aid of his hand. During these hours of relaxation from his 
business, he would from the chaotic mass of ideas with 
which his mind was filled evolve some atom which, gradu- 
ally taking shape and form, would grow into being, guided 
by his intellect and mechanical skill. About twenty years 
since, he removed to Pennsylvania, locating at Carbondale ; 
but recently he has settled at Factoiyville, Wyoming county. 
He is an ardent lover of nature, and has paid much atten- 
tion' to geology and mineralogy. In the course of his 
waYKleriitgs, h^»has coHected and accumulated many rare 
fossiUxirid miner.ilsj.whi^h- form one of the finest private 
cabinets in the country. This collection is continually in- 
creasing, and it is highly prized by its owner, who takes 
pleasure in exhibiting it to the studious and curious. Among 
his inventions may be recited several which are in constant 
use, and others which, though not immediately available, are 
highly inger'ious: i. A burglar-proof lock, for the use of 
travellers ; weight, ha.f an ounce, portable in the pocket. 
This is commonly termed the " Star Lock," its object being 
to secure the door of the room when occupied at night, from 
intrusion. Over 150,000 of these locks are used in this 
country. 2. A duplex wrench, so arranged that each 
" notch " on one side of the instrument forms a separate 
and distinct wrench, rendering it, for most purposes, .is 



BIOGRAPHICAL E^•CYCLOPyEDIA. 



valuable as an adjustable wrench. Large numbers of these 
are in use. 3. A metallic counter-brace; being a curvcil 
piece of metal inserted between the inner and outer leather 
of the counter (of a boot or shoe) to give a tone to the 
article and prevent its being trodden out of shape. Large 
numbers of these stiffeners have been used, for many years, 
in the manufacture of boots and shoes in New England, 
and arc still largely employed. 4. A metallic shield for 
lamp chimneys, to prevent break.nge by heat of the blaze. 
5. A method or process for determining the relative specific 
gravities of particles. He has also inventfd^.a very fine 
rotary pump, which, however, is too expej^iv£ in its con- 
struction to come into general use. His-ljje'st-j.itent is the 
" Eureka .Steamer," a new method of cooking, by which tlie 
continued attention of the cook is dispensed 'jyith. This 
utensil is constructed with double sides and,_lK)tt0m, in 
which water is continually cont.iined between ^t' 
the article to he cooked. This, though in sojjjj^tsSP'^'?'^ 
similar to other cookers of its class, is very {I'ff'ixsjtlyj^- 
structed, being skilfully arranged and at <tii[B<^ame timg^ft < 
great simplicity, and ol>tainable at a \jpryfheap rate. Oe. is 
an ardent lover of music, and ha^j^yoted mucktiiugjlo its 
study. He was a fair orgaijist lit sistelJ^^ye:^FS.1^*ge, |)lay- 
ing regularly in church, and for ipanjjyears, has5(|i>^'ht the 
piano and organ in alternation wijfh tlje prjctice/ji^t^is pro- 
fession. His ideas of music are .Somgw^t. djff^feuL from 
those generally held by the majority of.i\>ojern,ctj||nposers, 
who seem to sacrifice the very soul of-Ii.-ymony t^triljing 
effects, instead of rendering the chords expressive' of the 
sentiments which inspire the composition. He believes 
that to be true melody, which after its strains have ceased 
to flow, lingers yet in the mind of the auditor and con- 
tributes to his happiness. 



|UG1I, JONATHAN H., Silver-plater and Commis- 
sioner of City Property, is the youngest son of 
Jonathan and Rebecca Hayworth Pugh, and was 
born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 15th, 
1823. His parents- wer^^- ■worthy "Tmeinbefs^^f 
society, his father l^eirt^ a goocl— mechanic jnd a 
great-grandson of one of \VilIiam''Penn's associates. When 
he was about five years of age, his parents removed to 
Montgomery county, where he received his primary educa- 
tion, which was subsequently completed in his native city. 
At the age of fourteen he was regularly apprenticed to learn 
the trade of a silver-plater, and during the six yeai-s, or 
thereabouts, of his service, thoroughly mastered all the de- 
tails of the business. On reaching his majority, he com- 
menced work on his own account with a borrowed capital 
of one hundred dollars, and by the most devoted and 
untiring industry established an excellent line of business, 
which constantly increased, and in twenty-five years of 
active mechanical life secured for himself an ample compe- 




tence. A short time after he had opened his store, an inci- 
dent occurred to him, which though trifling in itself, had .in 
important bearing upon his future career. He had purchased 
of Samuel J. Cresswell, a large bill of materials to be paid 
for at a certain time, but when the day arrived, he had not 
the amount necessary to liquidate it. He called upon his 
creditor, however, stated the position of affairs, and tendered 
all the cash he li.id at that lime. Instead of reproof, which 
he had expected, lie received a hearty compliment from his 
creditor, who praised him for his indefatigable industry, 
assuring him that he deserved encouragement for the 
straightforward, honorable course he was pursuing. For 
over a quarter of a century he continued his dealings with 
thi^gentlcman, maintaining a constant friendship with him, 
and eventually becoming associated with him in the city 
government. His political bias was originally in favor of 
-fir^ ai)d 'Whig principles, and when that party disl^anded, he natu- 
rally adopted the Republican faith. In 1S50, he received 
tjie nomination of Representative to the State Legislature, 
but although running largely ahead of his ticket, failed in 
the election.. During the term of Mayor Henry's first ad- 
ministration he'was nominated and elected a member of 
City C^uhcHs.^afid was subsequently re-elected. He was 
espefiatlx«4ej'<^>l to .the best interests of the city, and 
during tiisAvb^titeiJii of four years' service in that body, 
w.as al«(<\j's prStijt in his seat, except on one occ.xsion. He 
was. ever conservative. His individuality being well de- 
veloped,, his. active and independent course drew around 
him the most influential members of the council. In 1S64, 
he was unanimously elected Commissioner of Markets, 
Wharves, and Landings, and during his five years' service 
in that position, fulfilled its duties with credit to himself, 
and benefit to the city, as during each successive year of his 
administration the revenue from these several sources was 
largely au<;mented. In 1868, when the Department of 
Markets, Wharves, and Landings, was united with that 
of City Pro]ierty, he was unanimously elected Chief of the 
Department so consolidated, and has since been re-elected 
annually to the present date (1874). When the Public 
Buildings Commission was created for the erection of 
buildings on Independence square, he was a prominent 
member of the same ;.^ but this body was subsequently 
superseded by the Building Commission, for the erection 
of public buildings at Broad and Market streets, and his 
duties consequently terminated. He has been a member 
of the Park Commission, since its organization, and has 
been a faithful and active participant in all the important 
measures which have been taken in that body. He is 
President of the Fair Hill Improvement Company, which 
is believed to be the most successful of all the many land 
companies of the city. He is a prominent member of the 
Masonic fr.aternity, as well as of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows. He was married, in 1842, lo Sarah L. 
Forebaugh. He has seven children — four of whom are 
now married and prosperous. 




cr 



^T^Tr^fy^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPyEDIA. 



313 




?MOEMAKER, JOHN L., Lawyer, wa5. boni in 
Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery county, 
Pennsylvania, October 7th, 1832. He is the son 
of Jesse Shoemaker, a retired farmer, who is yet 
living in Philadelphia, at the advanced age of 
eighty-three years, and the great-great-grandson 
of Peter Shoemaker, who came to this country in the year 
1685 in the ship " Frances & Dorothy," from London (with 
his father, Peter, who erected the first house in Germantown, 
in 1686), and in 1697 married Margaret, the daughter of 
Herman Updegrave, also one of the first settlers of Ger- 
mantown. His paternal grandmother was a great-grand- 
daughter of William Walton, who emigrated to Pennsylva- 
nia from Byberry, near Chester, England, as early as 1675 
(seven years before Penn arrived), and settled in that part 
of Philadelphia county since called after his old home, liy- 
berry. She was also a great-great-granddaughter of Thomas 
Walmsley, who came from Yorkshire, England, to this 
country with William Penn, in the ship " Welcome," in 
1682. His maternal ancestors were also of the earliest 
settlers of the country. His mother, Edith (formerly Edith 
Longstreth), was the daughter of Isaac Longstreth and 
great-granddaughter of Bartholomew Longstreth and Ann 
(formerly Ann Dawson), his wife, Bartholomew having 
emigrated from " Longstreth-dale," Yorkshire, in i6g8, 
and settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, near what is 
now known as Hatborough. His early ancestors were 
compatriots, associates and friends of William Penn, and 
of the same faith, as were likewise their descendants ; and 
his character and the course of his whole life have been 
largely moulded by the Quaker influence thrown around 
Uim. He has always adhered to his early religious train- 
ing, and is still a member of the religious Society of Friends. 
His father, Jesse Shoemaker, had but two sons, James, born 
in 1822, a successful farmer, still residing near the home- 
stead of his father, and himself. Plis childhood and youth 
were spent upon his father's farm, and attending such 
schools as the neighborhood afforded, until lie left home to 
finish his educUion. He never had the advantages of a 
regular collejiate education; but the foundations had been 
l.rid broad and deep, and a naturally quick and intuitive 
mind had long before decided upon a devotion of physical 
power and brain to that " most jealous of all mistresses " — 
the law. In the year 1853, he went to Philadelphia and 
entered the office of Charles M. Wagner, as a student-at- 
law. During his studies he attended the University of 
Pennsylvania, and graduated in July, 1 856, LL.B., with 
high honor to himself and the satisfaction of his precep- 
tors. In October of the same year he was admitted as a 
practitioner in the Courts of Common Pleas, Quarter Ses- 
sions, and the District Courts, and in March, 1858, to the 
Supreme Court, the highest known in the State. He at once 
turned his attention especially to that branch of the profes- 
sion kno«'n to the bar of Philadelphi.i as *' the civil prac- 
tice," embodying jury trials in the civil courts, real estate 
40 



transactions. Decedent and Orphans' Court business, thus 
avoiding, as might be expected from his quiet nature he 
would, the turmoil, and ofttimes unpleasantness of a crimi- 
nal practice. With his natural ability, untiring energy, 
strict integrity, and conscientious faithfulness, it was not 
long before he had obtained an extensive and valuable 
business, and the confidence alike of his associates at the 
bar, the Court, and the community at large, which he still 
enjoys, being the legal adviser in many large estates and 
for some of the principal corporations of the city. In this 
connection it may be mentioned as a singular fact, that his 
first school teacher has since been his pupil, the latter having 
chosen his former scholar as his preceptor in the study of 
the law, and, under his tuition having been admitted to the 
bar, where he is now a successful practitioner. In the au- 
tumn of l85l, although at the time living in a district 
strongly Democratic, he was, as a Republican, elected to 
the City Councils, and presented with his certificate of elec- 
tion, which entitled him to claim his seat as a member of 
the lower branch of the city government. The regularity 
of the army vote (without which his opponent would have 
had a few majority) being questioned, he personally ex- 
amined all the records affecting the fact of his election, and 
becoming convinced (as was in other cases decided by the 
Courts afterwards) that the accusation of irregularity in 
the vote was well founded, he refused to take the seat, and 
owing to that branch of the city government being nearly 
equally divided in political power, much anxiety was felt as 
to its permanent organization. He was strongly urged by 
those less conscientious to claim his seat ; all means perso- 
nal and political were brought to bear, but steadfast in his 
faith, at the first meeting of Common Council in 1862, he 
wrote his memorable letter, so characteristic of the whole 
course of his life, which stands to-day in the records of the 
body as an indication of his public purity and official recti- 
tude. In that letter, after referring to the part of the vole 
which had been called in question as irregular, and stating 
that he had personally examined the evidence which could 
be obtained upon the point, he said : 

*' I believe it to be my moral, legal, and political duty to 
the community, to my party, and to my>elf, not to sustain 
what seems to be a fraud, by using technical advantages, 
based as they may be upon the outrages upon the purity of 
the ballot-box and the sacred rights of our fellow-citizens; 
but on the contraiy to refuse to accept any benefit wh.itever 
which might be supposed to be derived from acfjuiescing in 
a wrong, and to repudiate and denounce all such infamous 
frauds, no matter by whom committed, as being alike 
ruinous to person, party, and country, and thereby showing 
that if any individual is so base as to perpetrate such crimes, 
our party will denounce them. Permit me, therefore, to 
say, I will not accept an apparent advantage unless founded 
upon an honest reality. First, because to do so I believe 
would be wrong; and second, because I believe the princi- 
ples upon which my party is based, if possible more than ever 
Hdw, in this trying hour of our country, calls upon every man 
to do his whole duty to its institutions. For these reasons I 
respectfully decline claiming my seat or presenting you the 
certificate I hold as a member from the Twelfth Ward." 



3'4 



BIOGRAMIICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



On Christmas eve of 1863, he married Emily R. Peirce, 
only daughter of Charles \V. Peirce, orijjinally from Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, and has two children, Anna P., 
and Charles P. In the spring of 1863, Mr. Shoemaker 
received from the Government an appointment oflicially 
and professionally connected with the Provost Marshall's 
department, which position he held until the close of the 
war with credit to himself, and rendering, while in that 
responsible position— delicate as it was in all its bearings 
— invaluable services to the Government; and, be it said 
to his credit, that while thus employed, and at the time 
not subject to draft, at his own private expense he sent a 
personal representative to the field. In the same year 
(1S63), he represented his district in the Gubernatorial Con- 
vention at Pittsburgh. In the October campaign of iS66j 
he was elected by the people of the Thirteenth Ward, one 
of their representatives in the City Government, and took 
his seat in Common Council on the 1st of January, 1867 ; 
he was re-elected in the following year, and in June, 1868, 
resigned his position, the resignation to take effect on the 
1st of Januaiy, 1S70, when one year of his second term 
was yet unexpired. In October, 1869, he was elected to 
represent his ward in Select Council, and was re-elected in 
the fall of 1872, for tliree years. His record jn the City 
Government is of the brightest and purest character, and 
no member of either branch is regarded with greater re- 
spect ; clear-headed, speaking rarely, cogent in his argu- 
ments, fair in his dealing, courteous to his fellow-membei's, 
he never rises to speak without commanding the attention 
of his compeers, while at all times he has proved himself to 
be a faithful, fearless, and honest representative. As a 
member of the City Government he was at once placed upon 
the most important committees, upon which he continues to 
serve, being, first. Chairman of the Law Committee of 
Common Council ; afterwards Chairman of the Committee 
on Finance; and in Select Council, Chairman of the Joint 
Committee on Law, until he resigned to attend to the 
onerous duties of the Chairman of the Committee on 
Centennial. To further this great national enterprise, he 
has labored incessantly, intelligently, and unselfishly, and 
to him, perhaps, more than to any single man, whatever of 
progress has been made in the work is due. There are 
now hundreds, nay, thousands, who are working nobly and 
well, to make " our " Centennial a grand success, commen- 
surate with the progress of the age, but in 'January, 1870, 
even those who had thought of it were groping in the dark 
as to the massiveness and gigantic proportions of the under- 
taking. He, however, laid hold of the veiy " horns of the 
altar," and on the 20th of January, 1S70, made the first 
public speech and official motion in a legislative body, for 
definite action looking to the inauguration of the great Cen- 
tennial movement of 1876. This was in the Select Council 
of the city of Philadelphia, directly over the room which 
had echoed to the tread of Hancock and Adams, and 
Jefferson and Lee, the fathers of the country, and the 



founders of a nation of freemen. In a room over Indepen- 
dence Hall, Mr. Shoemaker, on leave, offered the following : 

Resolution to provide for the appropriate celebration of 
the Centennial Anniversary of American Independence. 

A'eso/ved, by the Select and Common Councils of the 
City 01 Philadelphia, That an international exhibition of 
arts, manufactures, and products of the soil and mine, would 
be an appropriate mode of celebration for the Centennial 
Anniversary of our National Existence. 

A'l-sph'i'i/, That Philadeliihia, from its accessibility, both 
domestic and foreign, from its ability to accommodate-a large 
transient population, as well as provide ample ground con- 
venient of access, and from having been the original seat 
of the national government, would be the most ajipropriate 
place for such an exhibition. 

Resolved, That a Joint Special Committee of nine from 
each Chamber be appointed to present these resolutions to 
Congress, and to solicit legislation to further the object in 
view, and also to make all necessary arrangements for the 
appropriate celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of 
our National Independence. 

The resolutions were read and unanimously adopted. A 
Joint Special Committee was at once appointed with himself 
at its head, a position which he still continues most ably to 
fill. He prepared the resolution which the Legislature soon 
after passed, endorsing the action of the city, and from that 
sprang the original State Committee of the Speakers of the 
Senate and House, with six other members of the Legisla- 
ture, which with the City Joint Special Committee and the 
Franklin Institute Committee, composed a General Joint 
Committee representing the whole Commonwealth of Penn- 
sylvania, of which he was also unanimously elected the 
chairman. This committee on the 24th of February, 1870, 
prepared and forwarded to Congress the following memorial, 
which he signed as Chairman of this General Joint Com- 
mittee, and which is the original application to Congress 
upon the subject : 

To Ihe Honorable the Senate and the 

house of Representatives of the United Stales. 

The Declaration of Independence having been written 
and signed by its patriotic authors in Philadelphia, and its 
promulgation to the world first made in that city, and as the 
Centennial Anniversary of that memorable and decisive 
epoch in our country's history is neaily approaching, it 
behooves the people of the United States to jjrejiare for its 
celebration, by such demonstrations and approjiriale cere- 
monies as may become a nation, so rapidly risen from strug- 
gling infancy to a position of power and i:)rosperity, as at 
once to command the respect of all governments and the 
admiration of the world. 

In order, therefore, to stimulate a pilgrimage to the 
Mecca of American Nationality, the home of American 
Independence, on an occasion so worthy of commemora- 
tion, it has been wisely suggested that i>rominent amt>ugst 
the features for celebrating our One Hundreth Anniversary, 
there shouhl be an International Exhibition of Arts, Manu- 
factures and Products of the Soil and Mine, as thereby we 
may illustrate the unparalleled advancement in science and 
art, and all the various appliances, of human ingenuity, for 
the refinement and comfort of man, in contrast with the 
meagre achievements of a century past. 

For the fulfillment of this, where so fitting a spot as the 




\\^^^^\^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



315 



cradle of our country's liberty, or, when the time, as on the 
Cenlenuial Anniversary of the year her freedom had its 
birth? 

In furtherance of an undertaking, truly national in its 
character, and so commendable in spirit, the councils of the 
city of riiiladelphia, the Board of Managers of the Franklin 
Institute, and the Legislature of the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, have each appointed committees, who, clothed 
willi authority to act from the Ixxlies they represent, respect- 
fully solicit Congress by its action to recognize the fact, that 
the city of Philadelpliia is, and of right should be, the place 
to hold, and that the year one thousand eight hundred and 
seventy-six, would be the time to inaugurate an Exhibition 
of the inilustry of all nations. 

Wlien such action as your wisdom may deem proper shall 
have been taken in order to place the grand design under 
your fostering care and control, it is hoped the President of 
the United States will be authorized, in due time, to invite 
the participation of all governments. 

The memorial having been referred by Congress to its 
committee on manufactures, he obtained a hearing, and with 
his committee appeared before, and with others addressed 
the Congressional Committee upon the subject. Returning 
to Philadelphia, he made a report to the councils of the city, 
the following extract therefrom showing how clearly he 
foresaw the magnitude of the great undertaking, and the 
many difficulties to be encountered and overcome to insure 
success ; 

Your committee would here mention that while they are 
doing all in their power to accomplish the purpose of. their 
appointment, and while no true patriot can deny there should 
be in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six a celebra- 
tion of the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration 
of Independence, and that the city of Philadelphia, within 
whose limits stand the sacred walls of Independence Hall, 
must be conceded is the place for sucli an anniversary to be 
held ; yet, with all this, a great effort is being and will be 
made to have in the city of New York, in that year, an 
international exposition, and, if so, thus deprive this great 
republic of the true and projjer means of celebrating its 
centennial anniversary at Philadelphia, the birth-place of 
her liberties and independence. We therefore, with confi- 
dence, ask the public-spirited people of the age, the states- 
men of the day and the powerful influence of tJie press, to 
aid in securing for the people of the United States, and the 
world at large, a proper celebration of our centennial anni- 
versary at the Mecca of American nationality. 

In the following month of June, he was the escort of the 
Congressional Committee of Foreign Affairs and Manufac- 
turers to Philadelphia, which city they reached by special 
train from Washington, making the quickest trip on record 
(three hours and forty-two minutes). For several days, 
assisted by his committee on behalf of the city — whose 
guests, this large body of distinguished statesmen were — he 
gave a series of the most useful, practical, important and 
dignified receptions, by which the city had ever been 
honored. Congress subsequently passed the bill, by which 
the United States Centennial Commission was form.ally 
created, and the city of Philadelphia definitely and oflicially 
determined upon, by the nation, as the place wherein to 
hold the first centennial celebration of the Imperial Repub- 



lic. This Act of Congress was approved by the President, 
March 3, 187 1. From that period, and until March 4th, 
1872 — when the commission first assembled in Indepen- 
dence Hall, and he, in an able and appropriate address, pre- 
sented them to the mayor, by whom they were welcomed to 
the hospitalities of the city, and the furtherance of the grand 
enterprise was thus committed to the national control — by 
his able management and untiring patriotic zeal, the great 
results achieved were more than to any other due. He 
wrote hundreds upon hundreds of letters, promptly carrying 
on an enormous correspondence to stir up the enthusiasm 
of the people. He offered and passed the ordinance to 
restore Independence Hall to its proper condition, and also 
to establish the National Museum in the State House. He 
is one of the most active members of the special committee 
appointed by the mayor for its management, which has 
been so successful. He has made and received sugges- 
tions ; entertained numerous centennial delegations from the 
various States and cities; issued and signed the official 
formal invitation for the whole United States Centennial 
Commission to meet and organize ; and with heart, head, 
and pocket, furthered the project in every possible manner, 
during the whole time, personally keeping a carefully 
arranged scrap history of all printed matter connected with 
the subject and its progress, forming several large volumes 
of the facts as they transpired, and being the most complete 
basis in existence of the first three years of the movement 
for the use of future historians. The work he has done to 
further this grandest project of the age, no one will ever 
know ; volume after volume could be filled, but this is not 
the time nor place to enter into the many interesting details 
connected with it ; the careful perusal of the " Centennial 
History," when published, will give a shadow of what it 
was, and is. From its very ince])tion he has been one of its 
ablest managers, and has seen the work grow and develop, 
until it thrills a continent, and arouses forty millions of 
people. On the 25th of May, 1872, he was elected by ac- 
clamation the Counsellor and Solicitor of the United States 
Centennial Commission ; upon the reorganization of the 
Commission on May loth, 1873, he was unanimously re- 
elected. In that capacity, in addition to his various other 
public and professional duties, he is giving a large portion 
of his time, and the most earnest and effective attention to 
further the great project which he, from the very beginning 
of the enterprise, labored hard and unremittingly, both as a 
private citizen and as chairman of the Centennial Com- 
mittee of the City of Philadelphia, to make a success, and to 
his constant efforts in this behalf is due, in a great measure, 
that which is now attracting the notice of millions of our 
own citizens, as well as those of foreign lands. He has 
thus been largely instrumental in inaugurating an under- 
t.aking destined to ultimately seal the bonds of brotherhood 
throughout the land, and crown the principles of a republi- 
can form of government with a monument of success never 
before witnessed. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP.EDIA. 



»AN'COCK, SAMUEL P., Lumber Merchant, Brick- 
maker, and Controller of the City of Philadelphia, 
was born in Gloucester county, New Jersey, 
about one mile south of Swedesboro, January 
22d, 1 814. His lineage is English, his ancestors 
having emigrated from Great Britain about 1726 ; 
one branch of the family settled at a town, now called 
Hancock, a few miles southeast of Salem, New Jersey ; an- 
other located in Massachusetts, from whom the celebrated 
John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, de- 
scended. Samuel P. Hancock is the son of Samuel and 
Hannah Hancock, afterwards of Burlingtim county, and 
was educated in and near Philadelphia, closing his studies 
at Clermont Academy, under Professor Griscom. After 
leaving school he engaged in the lumber business with 
Henry and John Stiles, on Coates street wharf on ihe^De-' 
laware river, and when he became of age took. charge of 
a lumber yard at the northwest corner of Chestnut and- 
Nineteenth streets, where he continued until 1847. He 
then entered into business on his own account', at the foot 
of Market street, on the Schuylkill, which wasvjihen open 
to the river on the south side of the bridgej " jiAe he re- 
mained until the property was sold to the Philaddpl\ia Gas 
Works, when he became identified with" the- .tnahufacture 
of bricks, his establishment being located oil the''Gray's 
Ferry Road, and adjoining the United States Aiseoal. i He 
subsequently added to his busiiiess another yard,- located, 
near Hestonville, on ground wTitch he::ha"d"purchased: in 
1851 ; and such was the quality of the manufactur'ed:arficle, 
and his manner of transacting his business, that every one 
who is acquainted with his career as a brickmaker bears 
testimony to his straightforward, unswerving honesty and 
integrity, and fidelity to the principles which had been in- 
stilled into him during his youthful days. His family and 
all his associates were meml)ers of the Society of Friends, 
and he had been educated in the liberal principles of the 
Hicksite branch. It is not strange tlierefore that he 
became imbued with that love of liberty which was and 
still continues to be a characteristic trait of that Society. 
Accordingly, he early identified himself with the old " Lib- 
erty Parly," commonly termed Abolitionists ; and, from 
1838 to 1843, was an earnest laborer in the cause. Having 
the welfare of the African race at heart, 'he occupied his 
winter evenings in teaching colored youth; in Clarkson Hall, 
■ Cherry street, above Sixth street. He is an earnest ad- 
vocate of the principles of Radical Repvdilicanism, and of 
reform in all cases of systematic abuse of human rights. 
In 1863, he entered the office of City Controller, where he 
at once saw vast room for improvement. His positive ideas 
in favor of reform were fearlessly expressed, and upon 
their being put into practice a great change for the better 
in the routine of the office was at once effected. Being, 
at this time, a warm advocate of Republican principles, 
which had accepted the dogmas of the old Liberty Party, 
he was honored with the nomination by that party, in 1868, 



to the office of City Controller, and was elected by the 
people in the fall of that year. The election being con- 
tested it was thrown into court, and after eighteen months 
had elapsed, and a vast amount of labor and argument had 
been given to the case, it was finally decided in his favor. 
He was now able fully to carry out all his views in ad- 
ministering the affairs of the office faithfully and for the 
welfare of the city. He looks forward hopefully and earn- 
estly for the time when every one in office, women as well 
as men, or occupying other influential positions, will feel 
their individual responsibility, and honor their places with 
a single eye to the public good, and to the welfare of future 
generations as well as to those of the present. He is tho- 
roughly in earnest in whatever he undertakes, energetic, 
hard-working, and diligent. His habits, like those of his 
sect, are temperate and regular; his manners unassuming. 
He is'in the enjoyment of excellent health, and though he 
his passed over three score years of life, he yet appears 
only to have attained his prime. He is the occupant of a 
pleasant home in which he enjoys the fruits of a well-spent 
\i(e'. He was married, February 22d, 1844, to Charlotte, 
daughter of Jonathan GiUingham, a successful iron merchant 
of Philadelphia. 



<^& 



t ALQSIi,; WILLIAM, Bank President, was bom 
in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, July 
3'ist, 1 82 1. He is the son of William Calder. His 
educational advantages were very limited indeed, 
r^/'^ f""" ^^ ihe early age of tweve years his father — 
^ who wa.s the very Napoleon of stage-coach pro- 
prietors — inducted him into all the mysteries of the busi- 
ness, training him under his own eye, so that as he grew 
older and more experienced he might give him assistance, 
and eventually succeed him in his great undertaking. It 
was the era of stage-coach travelling, and prior to the rail- 
road and locomotive. His father ran two lines of stages 
to Pittsburg, on the Northern Route, also one to Buffalo, 
New York. He had also three lines to Philadelphia, two 
of these being by the way of Reading, and one via Down- 
ingtown ; besides, he had canal lines to many points. He 
had over oite tliousand horses, distributed through the Stale, 
and very marty cAacheS. In 1837, the State Railroad from 
Philadelphia to Columbia was completed, and he ran the 
first car through to Philadelphia. At this time he w.as six- 
teen years old, and to him his father entrusted the entire 
charge of the "Pioneer Packet Line" from Columbia to 
Pittsburg, this being by canal via Harrisburg and Dun- 
can's Island, and the Juniata river to Hollidaysburg, at 
which point the canal terminated on the eastern side of the 
mountains. The portage railroad with its ten inclined 
planes carried the traveller to Johnstown, where the western 
division of the Pennsylvania Canal with its line of packets 
awaited the passenger, so conveying him by water to Pills- 
burg. In 1851, he succeeded to his father's business and 





^a^^^/(Zy 




:^^ -^.^^^^^/^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



317 



took sole charge of the same, and having by this time been 
thoroughly educated in the stage business was able to bring 
it up to a better standard than ever had been effected pre- 
viously. In 1857, he undertook a veiy hazardous enter- 
prise. The contractors of the Lebanon Valley Railroad 
became insolvent, and all work on the improvement was 
abandoned. He immediately entered into a contract with 
six hundred men to pay them on April 1st of that year their 
wages from the 1st of September previous. Without one 
cent of cash he completed the road, which brought people 
to the inauguration of Governor Packer. The men received 
every cent of the pay which was due to them. In 185S, 
he became one of the partners in the banking firm of 
Cameron, Calder, Eby & Co., of Harrisbiirg, which on 
the introduction of the National Bank system was changed 
to the First National Bank of Harrisburg, of which he be- 
came President ; he had previously served as Director of 
the old Harrisburg Bank for six years. In the same year 
he was elected one of the Directors of the Northern Cen- 
tral Railroad Company, and was most prominent in the 
interest of his native State against Baltimore men in main- 
taining the supremacy and control of Pennsylvania in the 
road. In this connection he was ably assisted by General 
Cameron and others associated wiih him. He has ever 
manifested much interest in railways, especially in the 
Pennsylvania Railroad; and he it was who recommended its 
present energetic and indefatigable first Vice-President, 
Colonel Thomas A. Scott, to the management of the Cor- 
poration — in fact, the progress and prosperity^pf .this line 
and its many branches have been his life-study. . In 1861, 
his father died, and he then assumed much greater respon- 
sibilities. At this period also the War of the Rebellion 
opened, during the course of which his abilities and ad- 
mirable business qualifications were manifested in behalf 
of the Union cause and the Government. At the very 
commencement of the war, before the first battle of Bull 
Run svas fought, and when Washington was in danger of 
being captured by the insurgent forces, horses were in great 
demand. From his great knowledge of these animals, his 
long career as a stage owner and the transportation of pas- 
sengers, he w.as looked to as the one most likely to afford 
aid to the Government in this emergency. Generals An- 
drew Porter, Fitz John Porter and Graham made a call or 
demand for four hundred animals to be furnished within 
three days. He responded, and at once turned over seventy- 
five head of fine stock from his own farms ; and by the aid 
of the telegraph, and his wide acquaintance with the owners 
of good horse-flesh, he succeeded in placing the Govern- 
ment in possession of the requisite number within the time 
specified. The funds necessary to pay for the animals thus 
purchased were obtained by him from the banking firm of 
which he was a p.artner, and at six per cent, interest. All 
that the Government was called upon to p.iy was the amount 
in gold (which he paid to the house and used currency) for 
the stock so furnished. The insinuation which was made 



during the war, that he had some partnership connection 
with Simon Cameron, can be pronounced utterly destitute 
of truth. The Senator's son, and he only, was benefited to 
the extent of his partnership share of the six per cent, 
interest on the first amount of §200,000 gold which the 
banking firm raised and advanced, until William Calder 
could recover from the Government the amount which was 
due to him ; and it may be further remarked, that owing to 
the " red tape " surroundings he was obliged to wait the 
pleasure of the Government for two whole months, when 
the amount then due aggregated 8450,000. Nor was it 
only the knowledge he possessed as to the source whence 
the animals were to be obtained. The facility with which 
he was enabled to fill the ordere was remarkable; and it 
should be particularly noticed, that his judgment and 
opinion regar4ing the fitness and soundness of each animal 
was equally reliable. Furtliermore, he saved to the Govern- 
ment a large sum of money by himself naming the price at 
which they should be sold. It is but human nature, after 
all, that takes advantage of the fact that when any article 
is in great demafid there should be a corresponding increase 
in the price. . When he assumed the responsibility of pur- 
chasing horses, etc., for the Government, the traders de- 
manded__as high as $175 for each animal. He established 
the Governmlnt price at $125 for horses and §117.50 for 
mules, qjBiite-nting himself^ with a moderate commission, 
which.was,chargeable tc^thei owner of the stock. The ex- 
ten^ of his operations, in thiij^line during the war may be 
demonstrated when it js knipMtn' that he furnished 42,000 
horses and 67,000 mule§..for<;he service, besides thousands 
of^ tons oi hay. _He was one of the originators and founders 
of the Jiarf isburg Car Works, in which his father had been 
interested. By his care and ability, conjoined with T. W. 
Hildrup, the enterprise was successfully established. In 
1863, he was one of the foremost in establishing the Lochiel 
Rolling Mills, which continue in successful operation : 
among his associates was Simon Cameron. Another of 
his undertakings resulted in the re-organization of the 
Harrisburg Cotton Mills. This manufactory h.ad been 
started on a small scale with a moderate capital, but for lack 
of more means«and energy in its management was in a 
declining state. With the aid of a friend to the enterprise, 
he raised $300,000, which established the concern on a 
firm foundation, and since the period in which he has been 
interested in it it has thrived, giving employment to some 
350 hands, and is even now carried on by himself and his 
associates, with the generous and charitable object of keep- 
ing this class of hands so employed. He was the main 
projector of the Harrisburg Foundry and Machine Works, 
which by his persistent efforts was developed to a success. 
Prior to the panic of 1S73, no less than 1400 men were here 
employed, turning out fourteen 8-wheeled cars each day. 
In 1867, the Fire Brick Works were established, which 
owes much of its success to his financial assistance and 
general business advice. He has also taken part in locating 



3ia 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.KDIA. 



and developing the Pennsylvania Steel Works at Baldwin. 
Ill addition to his Presidency of the bank previously noticed, 
he has been one of the Directors of the Central Insurance 
Company of Harrisburg. In politics, he first adhered to 
the fortunes of the Native American party, and then became 
a Whif,'. After the latter ceased to exist, he gave his whole 
heart to the Republican cause, though he has never sought 
office. He has, however, served in the City Council for one 
term. He, in conjunction with others, organized, in 1873, 
the Harrisburg Hospit.al ; and principally through his de 
termiiied efforts, the same is now in full operation. He is 
a Trustee of the Insane Asylum, and also of the_ Home for 
Friendless Children, both of which institutions owe much 
to his charity and labor. He is attached to the Methodist 
Church, and is a Trustee of the congregation worshipping 
in the new edifice recently erected on .State street. HeAvas 
mainly instrumental in founding the same, and^.furnishing 
the funds wherewith to build it. He was married, in 1S48, 
to Regina C. Greenewalt, of Harrisburg, whosj Jlmily were 
among the earliest settlers of that section. The name is a 
historical one in revolutionary annals. Of the siit children 
resulting from this union, five are now living. *' 



|.\TTS, HENRY M., Lawyer and Statesman, was- 
born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania,* OctoBer' lolh, 
1805. He is the second son of the late David 
Watts, an erudite scholar and profound lawyer. 
Under the tuition of his father, the son received 
an excellent chassical education, and- he subse- 
quently gra<luated from Dickinson College with the usual 
diploma. In 1827, he was admitted to' the, bar, and com- 
menced practice in the city of Pittsburgh, receiving shortly 
thereafter the position of Deputy, Attorney-General, which 
gave him prominence as a young gentleman of ability in 
the ranks of his profession, and introduced him rapidly into 
a general civil practice. His success in the argument of 
causes in the Supreme Court of the State, and of the 
United States, in Washington, greatly extended his reputa- 
tion as a lawyer. In 1S35, he was electeit by the citizens 
of Pittsburgh and of Alleghany county, to represent them 
in the popular branch of the Legislature, and he continued 
to serve them in that capacity for three successive elections 
— from 1835 to 1838. This brief period was marked as 
an interesting and brilliant epoch in the history of Penn- 
sylvania. The Legislature was composed of extrttoVdinary 
men, and the Acts of Assembly were of an extraordinaiy 
character. The great commoner, Thaddeus Stevens, was 
the leader of the popular side, and the Senate had several 
distinguished men. The measures were the inauguration 
of a system of canals and railways, extending from the 
western and northern parts of the State, to connect with the 
eastern and southern at tide water, so as to reach the com- 
mercial cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore. The former 




plan for the edncation of children, called the pauper, was 
so impolitic and offensive that it was changed by the intro- 
duction of the present common schools. The undigested 
laws of the State were codified and rendered more intelli- 
gible. The old Bank of the United Slates, whose ch.arter 
had expired, and the renewal of which occasioned such an 
uproar in the nation, w.as re-chartered by Pennsylvania, and 
the enormous bonus paid into the treasury of the State, by 
the bank, was applied by the Legislature to the establish- 
ment of schools and internal improvements. Measures 
were also adopted which favored the gradual disapproba- 
tion and extirpation of slavery in the United States. In 
all these important measures, he took the affirmative and 
decided part, and for so doing was rewarded by the gene- 
ris support of his constituents, so that, notwithstanding 
the political party to which he belonged was overturned in 
his county in 1836, he alone was reelected, with three Demo- 
cratic associates. Declining further honors, he married, in 
1838,' the second daughter of Dr. Peter Shoenberger, and re- 
rhoved to'PhiLadelphia. After a two years' residence, he was 
appointed, by President Tyler, United States Attorney for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In lS56,he relinquished 
the practice of his profession, and, with his family, embarked 
for Europe, and f3r two years resided in Paris, superintend- 
ing the education of his children. He returned to the 
United StffM in 1858, and in 1861, on the outbreak of the 
Rebellion, his' tv^eldest sons, Heniy and Ethelbert, though 
still in their minority," volunteered their services as privates 
to aid in its suppreS.iron. During the war of the Rebellion, 
it would hive been unnatural for him — descended as he is 
from patriots of the Revolution, both on the paternal and 
maternal side — to have pursued any other course than that 
of unfaltering devotion to the Union. He was an original 
member of the Union Club, an association of a few gentle- 
men only, who were organized to preserve and protect the 
Union from the dangerous and insidious assaults made upon 
it by some of the leaders in fashionable life. Out of this 
coterie originated the more numerous and useful Union 
League, which exercised so powerful an influence during 
the war. He liberally contributed to the funds raised for 
recruiting and hospital purposes, and was earnest in sustain- 
ing the policy of the President and Congress, regardless of 
scruples about the constitutionality of the means adopted 
to save the life of the nation. In 1864, he again visited 
Europe, with some of his younger children, for educational 
advantages ; and, after a sojourn of nearly two years, re- 
turned again to the United States. In 1868, he was unex- 
pectedly honored by appointment as the United States 
Minister to Austria. This nomination by President John- 
son was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. During 
the administr.ation of President Johnson, the relations of 
the Executive with the Congress were not harmonious, and 
when vacancies occurred in both the missions to Berlin 
and Vienna, the dominant party in the .Senate rejected 
more than one nomination sent in by the President : but 





^^Cc Cdy^cx^-'t:^?^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.-EDIA. 



3'9 



when H. M. Walts' name was submiltcd to their action, 
the hostility ceased, and, a firm and undeviatiiig advocate 
of the measures of President Lincoln's a<lminislration 
(Uiriiij; the war, and of the Congressional plan of recon- 
structing the Government, he received, as already stated, a 
unanimous confirmation. His residence in Vienna was ex- 
tremely interesting, and he had the gratification of knowing 
that, both politically and socially, Europe had been taught, 
by the splendid achievements of our military operations, 
by the collapse of the Rebellion, and the peaceful restora- 
tion of the united political power upon wider and firmer 
foundations, that the Union was no longer a rope of sand, 
and the infant Republic had grown to a colossal manhood 
in the family of nations. Our Minister was received by 
the Austrian Court with unusual deference upon all public 
occasions, and in his private intercourse assurance was 
given of the most friendly character. His position was 
most favorable for observing the inner workings of a great 
empire, then just emerging from the stolid despotism of a 
stern feudal aristocracy, and for centuries oppressed by the 
Papal authority. The Emperor had dissolved the " Con- 
cordat," modified the objectionable regulations devised by 
the Roman hierarchy for the elementary teaching of chil- 
dren, and had introduced a policy more in accordance with 
the civilization and enlightenment of the world. Since his 
return to the United States, his attention has been given to the 
manufacture of iron, in which he is now extensively and 
usefully engaged, contributing by his energy to the wealth 
of the nation, and by his unexceptional character affording 
an instructive example to his fellow citizens. 



j OMIG, JOHN, M. D., of AUentown, Pennsylvania, 
was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, Janu- 
ary 3d, 1804. His parents were of German ex- 
traction, his paternal grandfather having come to 
this country about the year 1732. Having re- 
ceived the degree of M. D. at the University of 
Pennsylvania in 1825, he commenced to practise the same 
year in the town of Fogelsville, Lehigh county. In the 
spring of 1829, he removed to AUentown, and formed a 
partnership with Charles H. Martin, M. D. In 1833, he 
commenced the practice of homoeopathy, and was one of 
the original members of the Northampton Homoeopathic 
Medical Faculty, also one of the projectors and founders, in 
connection with Drs. Hering, Wesselhceft, Detwiller, 
Freytag, and other prominent physicians, of the North 
American Academy der Homoeopathische Heikunst, at 
AUentown, and after its incorporation by the Legislature of 
Pennsylvania, was chosen Vice-President. He also oflRci- 
ated as Professor of Obstetrics in its faculty. Dr. Hering 
being President. In the fall of 1838, he removed to Balti- 
more, with other practitioners of repute, to introduce homoe- 
opathy. Drs. IIayn.al and McManus, of that city, having 





already made it a study, then to some extent practised the 
system. His stay in IJaltimore covered two years; he then 
returned to .-VUenlown to reside permanently. He has ever 
been an active temperance advocate since 1842, and was 
one of the projectors of the Fii'st Division of the Sons of 
Temperance, No. 7, in AUentown, Pennsylvania. Since 
1836, he has been an active and devoted member of the 
Presbyterian Church, also an elder in said church for a 
number of years. He has two sons — William H. and 
George M. Romig — now practising physicians; graduates 
of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as of the Hahne- 
mann College of Philadelphia, and now copartners with 
him. He is recognized as one of the most prominent 
practitioners of his school. 

/ -^^ 

OOKE, J.\Y, Banker and Financier, was born at 
Portland (now Sandusky^, Huron county, Ohio, 
August loth, 1821. He is the second son of the 
late Eleutheros Cooke, a distinguished lawyer of 
the State of New York, who moved to Ohio in 
1S17, and subsequently represented his district in 
the State Legislature and Congress. The Cooke family 
trace their descent from Francis Cooke, one of the original 
Pilgrim Fathers, who erected the third house bu.lt in Ply- 
mouth. Jay Cooke was educated chiefly at home by his 
father and mother, although he afterwards attended an 
excellent school, where he devoted himself especially to 
algebra and the higher mathematics. When but thirteen 
years old, he entered a store in Sandusky, where he proved 
to be an excellent clerk, and learned book-keeping. Re- 
maining here nearly a year, he was prevailed upon to go to 
St. Louis, but his employer becoming embarrassed, he was 
obliged to leave and returned home, and once more attended 
school. In a few months thereafier he accepted a position 
with his brother in-law, William G. Moorhead, who, at 
that time, was largely engaged in railroad and canal enter- 
prises, in Philadelphia. He remained there a year, when 
the firm was dissolved, and he once more returned home. 
Shortly after this time, his father received a letter from E. 
W. Clark, the founder of the eminent house of E. W. Clark 
& Co., Bankers, of Philadelphia, asking permission to take 
his son Jay and train him for a banker. He was not quite 
seventeen years old when he entered the house, but he so 
impressed the partners by his earnest zeal to understand 
thoroughly the intricacies of finance, and by his careful 
attention to business, that some time before he attained his 
majority, he was entrusted with full jiowers of attorney to 
sign the name of the firm; and when, in 1842, he was 
twenty-one years old, he was admitted as a partner, and so 
remained until 1858, being for the greater part of the time 
its active business nian.ager, and for some time its real head. 
In the early part of 1861, he went into partnership with his 
brother-in-law, W. G. Moorhead, in the banking business, 



3=0 



lilOGRAPIIICAL F.NXYCLOr.EDIA. 



tlie style being Jay Cooke & Co., their chief object being 
to provide business careers for their sons. In the spring 
of 1861, when the Government issued the first of the War 
Loans, this house obtained and sent to W.ishington, with- 
out compensation, a large list of subscriptions, and despite 
the great financial and commercial depression under which 
the countiy was then suffering, succeeded in placing a large 
part of the par loan of Pennsylvania. The subsequent pros- 
perous condition of the house, and its happy success in 
placing the great loans authorized by Congress during the 
War of the Rebellion, are a matter of history, and made 
the name of the Financier of the Rebellion noted through- 
out tlie world. After the war closed the house continued 
to prosper, until, in an evil hour, it became the Bankers and 
I'"iscal Agents of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. 
To this Corporation it made heavy advances, trusting to be 
able to re-imj«irse itself from the sale of bonds ; Imt a finan- 
cial storm swept over the country, which the Tirm could 
not withstand, and it closed its doors, Septemjj^ iSth, 1S73, 
and has since been placed by its creditors in -bajjiruptcy. 

'L.\CK, J.VMES R., Lawyer, and Brevet Major- 
General United States Volunteers, waS^bofn-in 
Bucks county, P-'nnsylvania, Septeinber -zStK,' 
1818, and was there educated, hfe.laM'ntlainments [; 
being acquired at the Academy at^e.wu3wn* At 
the age of nineteen years he eniigrmed t(? Dela- 
ware county, Indiana, with his father's famHy; &ivi duriflg 
the next two years remained on the farm assisting-.h'is father, 
and there began the life of an agriculturist. Dufiiig the win- 
ter of l8j8 he taught school, meanwhile reading (he lawj 
as he had determined to enter the legal profession. In 
1S39, he joined a corps of engineers who were engaged in 
the construction of the Indiana Central Canal, and con- 
tinued in that employment until the State authorities sus- 
pended the work. His whole energies were now concen- 
trated in pursuing his legal studies, and on the day when 
he attained the age of twenly-two years, after passing his 
examination before a committee of members of tlie bar, he 
was admitted to practice his profession of Attorney and 
Counsellor at Law. A few weeks thereafter he removed 
to Huntington, Indiana, wherein to commence life on his 
own account. The population of the entire county of' 
Huntington was but 1560 ; that of the town /but Sixty^five 
souls, and the whole country fliercab'outs was literally a 
howling wilderness. His cash capital was but six dollars, 
and his wardrobe slender. But possessing energy and a 
determination to succeed, he commenced by teaching school, 
and after the term had ex]iired he obtained employment in 
the County Clerk's office, where he continued for two years. 
The Legislature of the State having created the office of 
County Auditor, he was elected to that post in the summer 
of 1842, and re-elected twice thereafter, continuing to hold 
the position until March, 1 851, when his offici.al term ex- 




pired. In the ensuing summer he was nominated by the 
Democratic party and elected to the State Senate, and held 
that position two termi immediately following the adoption 
of the new Constitution. At the expiration of his Sena- 
torial career, he resumed the practice of his profession, and 
did not again enter the political arena until the summer of 
1854, when he was nominated as Representative in Con- 
gress by the Democratic party of his district, but owing to 
the joint efforts of the Anti-Nebraska element and the 
Know-Nothing movement he was defeated. In 1858, he 
again received the nomination of his party for 'the State 
Senate, was elected by a large majority, much larger than 
his party strength, and continued to fill that position for four 
successive sessions, and until May, 1861. As soon as the 
war became an established fact, he at once espoused the 
cause 'of the Union, and, by his fervid eloquence and deter- 
mined purpose, contributed largely to the raising of troops 
in j'arious. parts of the State. In the autumn of that year, 
he was appointed Colonel of the 47th Regiment Indiana 
Volunteei'S, by Governor Morton, and at once commenced 
the severe task of enlisting his command, his efforts being 
pu'tTorlh only in his Congressional District — a task w-hich 
many then deemed hopeless, as one regiment had already 
been raised in the district, and volunteering seemed indeed 
to have come to an end. By his energy and determination 
he sfton OvSneame every obstacle, and, on December 1st, 
iS&ij-hiiJregtWeht was filled. On the 13th of the same 
month.; Wwls-iardcred to move with his command to Ken- 
tucky, wheiS' be rem.iined two months. In February, 1862, 
he was ordered to Commerce, Missouri, there to report to 
General Pope, who was then concentrating a foice to ope- 
rate on Island Ten and New Madrid. On his arrival at 
Commerce, he was placed in command of a brigade con- 
sisting of five Indiana regiments, and so continued until 
after the capture of Island Ten, when he proceeded to Tip- 
tonville, Tennessee, where he wa-s placed in command of 
the District, embracing that point. Island Ten and New 
Madrid. While so situated, he a.ssisted in the attack on 
Fort Pillow, in M.iy, 1862. When Corinth surrendered, in 
June, the fort was evacuated, and he was now ordered to 
assume command at Memphis, which was in a very turbu- 
lent condition, where he remained until General Grant 
reached that city, in July, and was then relieved, and next 
appointed Post Commander at Helena, Arkansas. Here 
he was in quarters until December, 1862, when again being 
placed in conliiiand of a brigade, he took part in the White 
River Expedition, and at the close of that campaign parti- 
cipated in the celebrated Yazoo Pass Expedition. On his 
thinl return to Helena he was assigned to the command of 
the .Second Brigade, Twelfth Division, Thirteenth Army 
Corps, and figured somewhat extensively in the celclirated 
camp.iign for the reduction of Vicksburg, being engaged 
in most of the severe battles up to that rebel stronghold, in 
one of which — the battle of Chamjiion Hill — he lost nearly 
thirty per cent, of his command. On the advance of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.'EDIA. 



3^1 



Uiiian Army on the entrenchments at Vicksl)iir^, he was 
left on the east bank of Black river to resist the advances 
of tlie rel)els under General Johnston, where he rested till 
relieved, and then moved immediately to the works of 
Vicksburg, and participated in the assault until the surrender, 
July 4th, 1863. The next day he advanced with his com- 
mand to Jackson, Mississippi, in an a;4gressive movement 
against the rebels under General Johnston, having the ex- 
treme right of the position. The struggle lasted seven days, 
when the enemy was dislodged and the Union forces 
marched triumphantly in. On the day following the sur- 
render of Jackson he returned to Vicksburg for a fortnight, 
and thence to Natchez, where he tarried two weeks, and 
proceeded to New Orleans, in which department he re- 
mained during the war, taking part in all the battles and 
campaigns of that army, closing with the last contest of the 
war in the capture of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely on the 
east side of Mobile Bay, and the surrender of Mobile 
two days thereafter. He then moved with his command 
to Spring Hill, six miles distant, where he remained till 
June 1st, 1865, when his men were sent to New Orleans, 
while he himself was ordered to report to Major-General 
Steele. He was thus separated from those with whom he 
had been associated for nearly four years, an association 
greatly intensified by the hardships of innumerable cam- 
paigns and the strife of many a bloody field. Soon after, 
he with General Steele started for Brazos Santiago, Texas, 
where he was placed in command of about 5000 men, the 
rennrant of the Thirteenth Army Corps, stationed at Clark- 
villc, near the mouth of the Rio Grande, where he was en- 
trusted with the delicate charge of maintaining quiet and 
peace between the United States forces and the French 
army then in Mexico; part of the latter being located at 
Bagdad, a Mexican city on the opposite shore. After a 
two months' sojourn he was ordered to Brownsville, forty 
miles up the river, where he remained until the middle of 
September in the same command, w.ien he was relieved 
from duty and ordered home, after four years of almost con- 
stant service in the field. lie was made Brigadier-General 
in November, 1864, and Major-General by brevet in March, 
1S65. He was mustered out of the service in January, 
i865, when he immediately resumed the practice of his 
]irofcssion at Huntington, Indiana. His militaiy career 
from its commencement to its close is worthy of the grate- 
ful remembrance of all his countrymen. He was wise in 
counsel, energetic in achievement, unflagging in zeal, ever 
vigilant, true, and unmurmuring. No officer looked more 
carefully after the interest and welfare of his command ; 
hence their devotion to him to the last. He continued in 
the practice of his profession until April ist, 1873, when he 
was elected Judge of the Twenty-eighth Judicial Circuit. 
The district was heavily Republican, but notwithstanding 
this he was elected by 7S9 majority over his opponent. 
He had jireviously been selected by the Democrats as their 
candidate for Governor, but declined the nomination. 
41 



ARTSHORNE, CHARLES, Vice-President of 
the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, was born 
in Philadelphia, September 2d, 1S29, and is a 
son of the late Dr. Joseph Hartshorne, an 
eminent and respected physician of that city. 
He was educated primarily at Haverford School 
and College, an institution under the control of the Society 
of Friends, and subsequently entered the University of 
Pennsylvania as a member of the Junior Class, in Septem- 
ber, 1845, and graduated from the same in July, 1847, with 
the degree of A. B.; he took the degree of A. M. in 1850. 
He shortly afterwards turned his attention to the study of 
analytical chemistiy, for which purpose he entered the labo- 
ratory of Professor James C. Booth, where he thoroughly 
mastered this science. He subsequently became interested 
in the development of the railroads of the coal regions. In 
June, 1857, he was elected President of the Quakake Rail- 
road Company ; and when the same organization extended 
the line and became the Lehigh & Mahanoy Railroad 
Company, he was, chosen President of that corporation. In 
i865, this last-named company was merged in that of the 
Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, becoming one of its 
feeders or branches, and with this change he became asso- 
ciated with the trunk line in the Board of Directors, and, 
in the spring of 1S68, was elected Vice-President of the 
corporation, which position he still occupies. From i860 
to 1S68, he was engaged in active mercantile pursuits, as 
a member of the firm of Yarnall & Trimble, importers of 
drugs, but was obliged to relinquish this avocation on ac- 
count of the duties pertaining to the position to which he 
had just then been elected. He is connected with several 
charitable and benevolent institutions of the city of Phila- 
delphia as Director and Manager. He was married, June 
8th, 1859, to Caroline C, daughter of Edward Yarnall, and 
grand-daughter of the late Thomas P. Cope of Philadelphia. 




/ 



'IRNEY, I>ANTEL BELL, Lawyer, and ex- 
Major-General United States Volunteers, was 
born in Pluntsville, Alabama, in the year 1S25. 
He was a son of the late Hon. James G. Birney, 
an Alabama planter and statesman, who emanci- 
pated all his slaves and went North, first to Cin- 
cinnati .and afterwards to Michigan, to advocate the cause 
of freedom to the slave ; and was the candidate of the Lib- 
erty Party, in 1844, for the Presidency. His son received 
his academical education in Cincinnati, where he also 
studied law, and was admitted to practice at the bar, but 
for two or three years was engaged in mercantile pursuits. 
In 1848, he removed to Philadelphia, where he associated 
himself with O. H. Davis, under the style of Birney & 
Davis, Attorneys at Law, and opened a law and collection 
office with a branch of their establishment in New York 
city. The firm aecpiired a large practice in the several 



322 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



courts of Philadelphia, beside having a heavy coUeclion 
patronage extending to every State in the Union. General 
Birney was enanujureil of military ali'airs, an<l early con- 
nected himself with a volunteer company in Philadelphia, 
passing through all the grades up to the rank of Lieutenant- 
Colonel of an infantry regiment when the War of the Re- 
bellion broke out. As his command w.ts among the first to 
respond to the call for men, he marched with the rest and 
served for the three months they were in the field. At the 
expiration of this term of service, the regiment re-enlisted, 
with him as Colonel, and joined the Army of the Potomac. 
In February, 1862, he was appointed Brigadier-General, 
and served in all the battles of the Peninsula as well as those 
before Washington. In the battle of Fredericksburg, as 
also in that of Chancclloisvnie, he greatly distinguished 
himself, and in the latter action his brigade rendered effec- 
tive service in checking the advance of J.-ickson's troops 
after a panic in the Eleventh Corps. After the death of 
General Berry he took command of the Division, beirig pro- 
moted to the rank of Major-General, May 23d, 1863, and 
led it in the battle of Gettysburg after General Sickles was 
wounde<l. When the Second Corps had been, subsequently, 
recruited to about 40,000 men, he was assigned to com- 
mand one of its Divisions, and in the campaign of 1S64 
his bravery and skill called forth the warm commendations 
of his superior officers. In pushing Lee back from the 
Wilderness; in the movements towards the North Anna, the 
crossing of that river, and the Pamunky ; in the actions of 
Hanover Court House and Bethesda Church ; and in the 
battle of Cold Harbor, his Division was ever in the fore- 
most van and the post of danger. On July 23d, 1864, he 
was promoted by General Grant to the command hf the 
Tenth Army Corps. Early in the following October he 
was attacked by bilious fever and ordered home. He 
reached Philadelphia on election day, and was carried to 
the polls so that he might deposit his vote, and then to 
his residence, where after a few days of suffering he died, 
October l8th, 1S64. 



fcCLELLAN, GEORGE B., ex-Major-General 
United States Army, was born in Philadelphia, 
December 3d, 1 826, and is a son of the late 
eminent physician and surgeon. Dr. George Mc- 
Clellan. When fourteen years old he entered 
the University of Pennsylvania, and shortly after- 
wards accepted a cadetship in the United States Militai7 
Academy, whence he graduated, in 1846, standing No. 2 
in his class. He entered the army, July 1st of that year, as 
brevet Second Lieutenant of Engineers, and was at once 
ordered to Mexico. For services at Vera Cruz, while at- 
tached to Worth's Division, and at Cerro Gordo and the 
City of Mexico, while connected with Twigg's Division, he 
wa.s especially commended. He won his brevet rank of 




First Lieutentant at Contreras and Cherubusco, and ijiat 
of Capt.iin at Chapultepec. After peace was declared, he 
was ortlered to West Point as Director ot Field Labors 
and Instructor of Bayonet Exercise, and while so employed 
translated from the French a Manual of Bayonet Exercise, 
which became the text-book of the service. His next sphere 
of duty was at Fort Delaware ; subsequently he proceeded 
with the Expedition to Explore the Red River. In Septem- 
ber, 1851, he proceeded to Texas to survey the rivers and 
harbors of that State, and, in the spring of 1852, was ordered 
to Washington Territory, where he explored the Yakima 
Pais and other portions of the Cascade Range, and the most 
direct route to Puget Sound ; the first volume of the Pacific 
Railroad Surveys is made up of the Report of his observa- 
tions in th.it Territory. He soon after this was occupied 
in examining the Railroad System of the United States, with 
a view of obtaining such information relative to construc- 
tion, equipment and management as might prove useful in 
the successful operation of the Pacific Railroad. A secret 
mission to St. Domingo and other islands of the West In- 
dian group was entrusted to him, which he fulfilled to the 
benefit of the Government. In July, 1853, he was com- 
missioned First Lieutenant, and in March, 1855, promoted 
to a Captaincy in the First Cavalry. One year later he was 
sent to the Crimea, as one of three officers to study the or- 
ganization of the opposing armies. His Report was pub- 
lished by order of Congress, and subsequently republished 
in Philadelphia. He resigned from the service, January 
l6th, 1857, removed to Chicago, and for three years filled 
the positions of Engineer and Vice-President of the Illinois 
Central Railroad Company. He afterwards became, first, 
the General Superintendent of the Ohio & Mississippi Rail- 
road Company, and two months later President of the 
E.ostern Division of the s,ame road, with his residence at 
Cincinnati. While so located, the War of the Rebellion 
broke out. Governor Curtin wished him to organize the 
Pennsylvania troops for service ; but he had already been 
made Major- General of Ohio Volunteers, and at once pro- 
ceeded to organize the Nine Months' men from that State, 
and W.-IS made Commander of the Department of the Ohio, 
M.iy loth. On the 14th of the same month, he was ap- 
pointed Major-General in the Regular Army. He left Cin- 
cinnati June l8th, and assumed command of the Union 
forces on the 20th. The campaign thus commenced was 
terminated in twenty-five days, resulting in the victories at 
Phillipi, Rich Mountain and Carricksford, and he reported 
that "Secession was killed in Western Virginia." One 
week later occurred the disaster at Bull Run ; and to him 
the Nation now looked as their future leader. He was 
sent for and reached Washington, July 25th. His first effort 
was to restore the morale of the army, and then to organize 
that army properly. He laid his scheme of the war before 
the President, August 4th, which required a force of 300,000 
men ; and he superintended the fortification of the Capital. 
During this month the brigade organizations were perfected ; 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



two months later the divisions. The people at the North, 
the pubUc press, and the non-combatants at Washington, 
were all anxious that the Army of the Potomac should be 
doing something. Their Commander sought to perfect all 
his plans before making an advance, but the others vocife- 
rated, " On to Richmond," charging the late favorite with 
supineness. Against his better judgment, he ordered the 
advance, and the disaster at Ball's Bluff, October 20th, was 
the result. On the 24th the Union forces successfully re- 
crossed the Potomac. General Scott, on October 31st, re- 
signed from the command of the United States Army, and 
General McClellan was appointed in his place the succeeding 
day. On January 27th, 1862, President Lincoln assumed 
command of the military and naval forces of the country, 
and ordered a general advance, February 22d. General 
McClellan chose a southern route to move on the enemy. 
The President desired him to change it, and some time was 
occupied in the correspondence. Early in March, some of 
his troops, amounting to many thousand men, were ordered 
by General Halleck — now named General-in-Chief (Mc- 
Clellan being restricted to the Army of the Potomac) — to 
join General Fremont. The Peninsular Campaign was 
inaugurated. May 1st, by an assault on Yorktown, which 
the rebels evacuated on the 3d ; and on May 6th he fought 
and won the battle of Williamsburg. On the 9th, Congress 
voted him and his command the thanks of the Nation. 
For over a fortnight thereafter there was constant skirmish- 
ing, and on the 25th the army crossed the Chickahominy. 
Then ensued a series of desperate battles — Hanover Court 
House, Fair Oaks, the Seven D.iys' Fight, and lastly his 
famous change of base to Harrison's Landing. On July 
7th, he gave the President his views on the proper conduct 
of the war. In the following month he was ordered to 
move the army back to Acquia Creek, and, on September 
1st, he was directed to turn over the command to General 
Pope, while he was assigned to the Command of the De- 
fences of Washington. The very next day the Union Army 
was defeated under General Pope, and in full retreat to 
Washington, Then ensued the Maryland Campaign, with 
the battles of Crampton's Gap, South Mountain and Antie- 
tam, where the flower of the rebel forces were conquered. 
He was ordered, October sth, to cross the Potomac ; he w.is 
destitute of army supplies and deinurred. Halleck insisted, 
but McClellan convinced him that the movement was not ad- 
visable. Still he had to be sacrificed to satisfy the whims of non- 
combatants, and was displaced from command. Two years 
later, he was nominated as the Democratic Candidate for the 
Presidency, but had a majority in three Stales only, though he 
received 44.9 1 of the votes polled. He resigned from the army 
on election d.ay, November Sth, 1864. He then visited Eu- 
rope, and on his return was engaged for some time by the Ho- 
boken Improvement Company. He has contributed various 
articles to serial publications ; his latest effort, on " Army 
Organization," will be found in Harper's Magazine, for 
April, 1874. 




323 



EAFIE, JACOB G., Marine Engine and Ship 
Builder, w.as born on Christmas day, 1S15, in 
Monmouth county, New Jersey ; his parents being 
John G. and Margaret (Garrabrant) Neafie. 
^\^lile he was quite young, his family removed 
from New Jersey to New York city, where his 
father died, in 1834. His education was obtained at a 
common school in New York, and, in 1831, when si.xteen 
years of age, he left school and commenced to learn the 
trade of a blacksmith and machinist. He had shown from 
an early age a strongly-marked mechanical bias, which, as 
he grew older, displayed itself in the making of models and 
patterns. This circumstance was the means of determining 
the special direction for his talents, and of inducing him to 
select Phil.idelphia as his future field of labor. In 1832, 
while he was on a. holiday visit at Barnegat, on the New 
Jersey coast, the steamboat " Norfolk," owned by Thomas 
Halloway, marine engine builder, of Philadelphia, put into 
the inlet at that place. The owner of the boat was him- 
self on board, and while there some of the models made by 
Jacob G. Neafie were shown to him. He was attracted by 
the ingenuity and talent which they dispLayed, and offered 
the young machinist a position in his engine works in Phila- 
delphia. The offer was accepted, and he left with his new 
employer on board the " Norfolk," which then completed 
her voyage to New York, and in due course returned to 
Philadelphia. His indentures were made out, and he com- 
menced his apprenticeship. His great natural aptitude for 
the trade enabled him to master its details very rapidly, and 
within a short time he became foreman of the establishment. 
He served with this employer until attaining his majority, 
in December, 1836. He then left this employment, and 
for two years worked as a journeyman in other machine 
shops. In 1838, he started in business on his own account, 
by renting a workshop on the corner of Germantown road 
and Second street. It was immediately after the disastrous 
commercial panic of 1837, and every kind of business was 
in a most prostrated condition. He persevered, however, 
taking any sort of mechanical work which he could get, 
and continued steadily on until his trade had so increased 
as to require larger accommodation. In 1844, he took a 
lease of a portion of the premises now occupied by his firm 
on Beach street, and removed there, forming a partnership 
with Thomas Reaney and William Smith, under the style 
of Reaney, Neafie & Co. The firm continued thus until 
1861. In 1S45, Captain John P. Levy was admitted into 
the copartnership, as financial partner, the style remaining 
the same. In 1849, ^^ ''''nr built the engines for several 
Government ships engaged in the Mexican War, and, in 
1850 and 1 85 1, when the discovery of gold in California 
directed attention so largely to th.it point, did an extensive 
trade in manufacturing stamping mills, and other machineiy 
for separating the gold from the ore. A large business has 
also been developed by the firm in propeller wheels for 
steamships, for which they have a patent. This department 



3^4 



lUOGRAriHCAl, ENCVCUtr.EDIA. 



of llic l>ii-.iiicss 111. Iiccii ill a parlicular manner cxtciulcd in 
llie West, iherc bcin^ a groat demand for these iiiopellers 
for the steamships on the Western Lakes. The trade was 
seeurcd by J. G. Neafie while on a pleasure tour through 
the Western Slates. It may here be mentioned th.al the first 
|)ropeller tugboat built in America was constructed by him. 
The firm have made the machinery for several Government 
vessels, among others, for the sloops of war " Lancaster " 
and " Pawnee," and in the merchant service their name 
as engine builders is universally known. The steamships 
"Ilavanna" and " Oriental," of the New York and Ha- 
vanna trade, may be mentioned, among very many others, 
as su|;)plied with engines by this firm. The number of com- 
plete engines built by them is now over 6oo. In 1861, 
Thimias Reaney retired from the firm, ami the style became 
Neafie & Levy. Captain Levy died in i863. Among the 
noteworthy men of Pennsylvania Jacob G. Neafie holds a 
conspicuous, place ; not only as one of its most successful 
men,,and as the head of a large house engaged in a most 
important industry of which he has been the pioneer, but 
also for his personal worth and benevolence. 



^ LIFER, ELI, Manufacturer, and Ex-Secretaiy of 
the Commonwealth, was born in Coventry town- 
■ship, Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1S18. He 
was left an orphan at an early age without fortune 
or influential friends, dependent only on his own 
energies. In 1834, he was apprenticed to the 
hatting trade in Lewisburg, and served his time, afterwards 
continuing as a journeyman in the same calling for three 
years. I lis leisure hours were devoted to reading and study, 
and he acquired a fair amount of knowledge, although pre- 
viously deficient in even the rudiments of an English edu- 
cation. In 1841, he removed to Northumberland, Pennsyl- 
vania, and engaged in the boat building business. In 1S45, 
he returned to Lewisburg, and in partnership with William 
Frick established the same business on a larger scale, sub- 
sequently adding the manufacture of lumber. The firm 
of Frick & Slifer became well known in commercial circles, 
gave employment to over 100 men, and was quite success- 
ful, so much so that after some years Eli Slifer retired with 
a reasonable competency. Subsequently, and with several 
others, he became interested in a foundiy and machine shop 
for the manufacture of agricultural implements, in which 
business he is still engaged. In 1848, he fii-st participated 
in political matters as a leader, and displayed a high mea- 
sure of ability in the public discussions in favor of the prin- 
ciples and candidates of the Wiiig party. In 1849, he was 
unanimously nominated as the Whig candidate for the Le- 
gislature in the district now composed of Union, Snyder 
and Juniata counties, and was elected by a decided ma- 
jority. His Legislative career was so heartily approved 
that he w.is renominated and re-elected by an overwhelming 




majority. In 1851, he was selected as the Compromise 
candidate for the Senate, each county in the Senatorial 
district having put forth a candidate. He was elected with- 
out opposition, and that in a district which was successfully 
contested by the Democratic })ariy the same year for im- 
portant offices, a fact indicating the universal confidence 
reposed in him by the people of all political faiths. In 1855, 
he was elected State Treasurer, but retired in 1856, his 
party being in the minority. In 1S59, the first Legislature 
in which the Republicans predominated, he was again 
elected State Treasurer, and re-elected in i86o. In January, 
1861, four months prior to the close of his term, he resigned 
to accept the important office of Secretary of the Common- 
wealth, under Governor Curtin, which position he held 
during the war, and to the close of the Governor's second 
term, in 1867, when he retired with his health irretrievably 
shattered, and has since sought rest. He passed nearly a 
year in Europe, going on a Government vessel by invita- 
tion of the National authorities. The services he rendered 
his State during the Rebellion were e.xcessively arduous, 
exacting and untiring, and all were performed with notable 
unselfishness and a patriotic devotion to the public weal. 
Since his retirement he has not been able to participate 
actively in political matters, although, in the fall of 1S72, 
he delivered an a^idress to his neighbors in defence of Libe- 
ral Republican principles. He is a man of rare unobtru- 
siveness, never seeking office, and only accepting the posi- 
tions he has filled when tendered to him. He was married, 
in 1840, to Catharine Frick, of Northumberland. 



-0 'j '^ 

I cCLELLAN, GEORGE, A. M., M. D., Physician 
I and Surgeon, was bom in Woodstock, Windham 
I county, Connecticut, December 22d, 1796. He 
^ was of Gaelic lineage on his father's side, and of 
Anglo-Saxon on the maternal.' Mis primary 
studies were pursued at the academy in his native 
township, under the patronage of his father, and there he 
made such progress as to be fully prepared to enter Yale 
College when but fourteen years of age. After the usual 
curriculum of four years in that institution he graduated 
therefrom, in 1815, with distinguished honor. Soon after 
this event he applied himself to the study of medicine, and 
selected as his preceptor Dr. Thomas Hubbard, of Pomfret, 
Connecticut, one of the most distinguished surgeons of th.at 
State, and subsequently Professor of Surgery in the Medical 
College of New Haven. He remained with him one year, 
and, in 1817, went to Philadelphia, and became the private 
pupil of the late Dr. John Syng Dorsey, the nephew and .as- 
sociate of the celebrated Dr. Physick, and at that time Pro- 
fessor of Materia Medica in the University of Pennsylvania, 
in which school — then the only medical college in Philadel- 
phia — he m.itriculated. After two years of study, and at- 
tendance U]ion the regular courses of lectures delivered in 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/KDIA. 



the Univcrsily, lie giadualod in 1S19, the subject of his 
thesis being " Tying of Arteries," which was especially 
worthy of commendation, and deemed by them deserving 
of publication. He entered at once upon the practice of his 
profession in the city of his adoption, paying particular 
attention to surgical cases, and was soon rewarded by a 
very large and lucrative patronage. He also attained con- 
siderable celebrity as a lecturer and teacher of Anatomy and 
Surgery. He was one of the founders of the Jefferson 
Medical College. The brilliancy of his lectures, his great 
surgical skill, and the remarkable success of his operations 
spread his fame both at home and abroad. He contributed 
to the medical press of the day various original medico- 
chirurgical reports, and was one of the conductors of the 
American Medical Review and Journal. He was a most 
peculiar man ; but his peculiarities were the guilelessness, 
unceremoniousness, and unsuspiciousness of a child of 
genius, perpetually burning with a cliirurgical zeal. As he 
continued to the d.ay of his death in the laborious duties of 
an immense practice, he was also a j^ersevering and enthu- 
siastic student, leaving behind him an unfinished M.S. on 
the Principles and Practice of Surgery, which was after- 
wards published by his son. He was married, in 1821 ; and 
among his children are the eminent surgeon. Dr. John H. 
B. McClellan, his eldest, and George B. McClellan, l.ate 
Major-General, United States Army, and General-in-Chief 
of the army of the Potomac. He died, May St-h, 1S47, 
after a short illness. 



i:=0UCKENBACH, CHARLES AUGUSTUS, Bank 
pJlG President, was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 
5)1 e) Februaiy 23d, 1806, and is a son of the late 
Samuel Luckenbach of that borough. The latter 
was a blacksmith by trade, and amassed consider- 
able jjroperty. He gave his son a good German 
education, in Bethlehem, and subsequently an English 
course of study in Nazareth Hall. After a lime he worked 
with his father, for two years in his shop, which doubtless 
aided to establish his fine physique. As there was no hat 
factory in the town, he established one, and it became a 
success. In 1830, he purchased the Old Moravian Grist 
Mill, and operated it for si.\teen years, when he disposed 
iif it to his kinsman, Jacob Luckenbach, whose sons still 
use it. Remaining unemployed a year, he purchased, in 
1847 — when the Moravian Society disposed of the property 
belonging to the congregation — 1400 acres, paying therefor 
at the rate of S75 per acre. Among these was the tract 
termed the " Plantation annexed to the Crown Inn," on 
the south side of the Lehigh river, now in the occupancy 
of the Lehigh Zinc Company ; the Bethlehem Rolling Mill, 
and the Lehigh Valley Railroad. His ancestor, John 
Luckenbach, was the Moravian Society's tenant in April 
1779; and his son, John Adam, succeeded to it in 1786. 
The latter retained it until 1845, "'hen his son, John David, 



received it, ami held it until his relative .and Charles A. 
Luckenbach purchased it in 1847. He laid his purch.asc 
out into town lots, and the three towns of Augusta, Nelhcrill, 
and Bethlehem .South occupied the ground ; but within a 
few years they have been consolidated, and form the 
borough of South Bethlehem. He was a member of the 
Legislature in 1848 and 1849, and opposed the Banking 
Bill. At the close of his term, in 1850, he became interested 
in iron manufacture, and founded the Hockenduaqua 
Works, which are the property of the Thomas Iron Com- 
pany, iie w.as the President of the corporation from its 
inception until i860; they have proved very successful. 
His position as a Director of the old Easlon Bank, for many 
years, induced him to establish, with the .aid of others, the 
First National Bank of Bethlehem ; and he was chosen 
President, which position he still retains. He took an 
active part in founding the Gas Works ; and was the first 
Burgess when the borough was incorporated. His political 
creed was Democratic, until the W:^ of the Rebellion broke 
out, when he, like so many others, became a firm and con- 
sistent Republican. In religious belief, he is an original 
Mora\ian, and for a long series of years was President of 
the Board of Trustees of the congregation. Commanding 
and robust in person, he enjoys his hereditaiy vigor, and 
promises years of active usefulness. He was married, in 
1830, to Matilda Jacobson, of New York, and ha-s four 
children. His son James .S., is teller in the First N.ational 
Bank. 



- USHONG, JACOB, Banker, was born in Lancas- 
" ter county, Pennsylvania, October 28th, 1S23. 




He is the son of Philip Bushong. He was edu- 
cated in Lancaster county, and, after completing 
his scholastic course, became assistant in a store, 
where he remained for some time. On abandon- 
ing that occupation, he found employment in his father's 
distillery, where he worked at the business till 1841. In 
that year he removed to Reading, where he continued in 
the same business, in partnership with his father. The 
operations of the firm were large and profitable, continuing 
so till the law, regulating the distillation of spirits, went 
into force. Its enactments were so stringent, that he foimd 
himself under the necessity of abandoning the manufacture, 
or of defrauding the government. As an honest man, he 
chose the former alternative and withdrew from the dis- 
tillery. In 1867, he formed a partnership with his brother, 
in the banking business, with the style of Bushong Bros., in 
Reading, sharing to-day, with his partner, in all the esteem 
and confidence which the large transactions, perfect probity, 
and fair dealing of that widely known establishment have 
so justly won from the community in which it is located. 
In politics, he is a Democrat, and, though strongly opposed 
to the war with the South, was a firm and steady supporter 
of the Union cause, to which he contributed liberally by his 



326 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



influence and weallh (luring ils hour of trial, .becoming what 
was termed a War Democrat, His business career has been 
one of general prosperity, obtaining for him a position due 
to his abilities and the uniform uprightness of his character. 
He has been twice married ; the first time, in 1850, to Anna 
Markley, of Franklin county, by whom he has two children 
living, one of them, Hubert, being already engaged in the 
furnace business. His second marriage was with Sarah 
Markley, a sister of his first wife, and by that union he has 
one child. 




cDWARDS, HON. SAMUEL, Lawyer, w.as born 
in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, March 12th, 
1785. He was of English descent, and, with the 
exception of a brief period spent in a boarding 
school, was educated in the ordinar)' schools of 
his native country. Having read law'in Chester, 
ho was admitted to th» bar in 1S06. He enlisted in the 
Mifflin Guards, early in 1814, and served to the close of the 
Mexican war, being stationed at Camp Dupont. He was 
elected to represent Delaware county in the Pennsylvania 
Legislature in the autumn of 1814, and was re-elected the 
following year. He represented his district in Congress 
from i8l8 to 1826. He married Maiy A'., daughter of 
Edward and Mary Engle, July 20th", 1824, and devoted the 
best energies of his life to the legal profession. ''In' politics, 
he was originally a Federalist, but became a DemocfSt'iii 
Jackson's time, and was an intiriiale personal'' friend" and 
colleague of James Buchanan. He was for maiiy years 'a 
Director of the old Delaware County Sank, and. also, of the 
Delaware Mutual Insurance Company. He wa^ President 
of many organizations, and held numerous positions of trust 
and honor. He was a public spirited and active man, and 
was an active promoter of Chester's interests. His death 
left a gap in a large circle of friends. 



USHONG, PHILIP, Distiller, was born in Leba- 
non, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, April I4ih 
1800. He was the sqn o( JacqbNBush^Bg, a 
niiUwright,^wJip did all the WwV for Tjie^jfe- 
mans. He coniWencell~busiftess*by-^penihg^a" 
small country store in Lancaster county, which, 
under his management proved veiy successful, and he made 
a considerable amount of money in that way. In 1S41, he 
settled in Reading, where he started a distillery, in which 
he was again successful ; and Ijy good management and 
strict attention to business, amassed, in a few years, a 
fortune of over $700,000. In politics, he was somewhat 
prominent; but always exhibited an entire independence 
of character in such matters, never allowing the prevailing 
custom of endeavoring to please patrons or employers to 
influence him in casting his vote or expressing his opinions. 



which he always did, solely in accordance with the dictates 
of his own conscience. This conscientiousness and de- 
termination of character also pervaded his business life, 
and he was known as a man generally safe and correct in 
his judgment. He was never without friends, and was 
always liberal, benevolent, and charitable in his private life. 
He was married, firstly, to Miss Gray, and secondly, to Miss 
Meyers, both of Lancaster. Ky his first wife, he was the 
father of Heniy and Jacob Bushong, the well known 
bankers of Reading. 





IBBERD, JOHN, Lawyer, was horn near where 
Media now stands, in Delaware county, Pennsyl- 
vania, May 31st, 1821. He is the only .son of 
Thomas and Margaret Hibberd, whose only 
d.iughter died in Chester, October 19th, 1870. 
His ancestors were members of the Society of 
,.Fjiends, and his mother, born in 1790, was the daughter of 
John and Amelia Powell, who died in 1819. John Powell 
was a man of decision, talent and culture, and, after attain- 
ing'Tiis majority, had obtained, by his own eflforts, what was 
considered in his day a good education ; he carefully trained 
_and instructed his daughter, who was a promising child, 
and she deveteped into a woman of remarkable qualities. 
His paternal gSariiWather, Jacob Hibberd, who died in 1827, 
was a man of gre.atbenevolence .and excellence of character, 
and exercise<l considerable influence in his neighborhood ; 
he had we'^led S.irah Dulton, a descendant of John Dutton, 
who emigrated from Cheshire, Engl.and, in 16S2, and settled 
in Pennsylvania, in order that he might enjoy his religious 
opinions Without restraint. Authentic records indicate that 
the ancestor of John Dutton came over with William the 
Norman, and seated himself in Cheshire at the time of the 
conquest. John Hibberd was mathematically educated, his 
last instructor having been the late Enoch Lewis, a well 
known scholar and scientist, then residing in Chester county, 
Pennsylvania. After leaving school he \v.as engaged for 
some time in teaching, and, in April, 1S45, removed with 
his parents to Belmont county, Ohio, where he devoted 
himself assiduously to the study of the law, and in October, 
1S47, was admitte(V4o practice at the bar of Belmont county. 
His most ihteresjiiVg~Qnd notable case there, was one in 
whiclv.a-bill'in «quit'y had been filed praying for a perpetual 
injunction against process .on a judgment. It was a case 
of long standing, resolutely contested ; the greatest vigilance 
was exercised in the securing of testimony, with strong 
efforts to impeach and sustain witnesses; the ability and 
patience with which the numerous facts were brought out 
excited much comment, and the case afforded an excellent 
opportunity for the exercise of the power of logical argu- 
ment. He formed the acquaintance of literary, scientific, 
and distinguished professional men, and from 184S to the 
Latter part of 1852, took an active .and prominent part in the 
political contests of his adopted .State. As he became a 




■^^^ayJiiA Co FhiUdAlri^' 




lt^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



327 



champion of the free soil and anti-slaveiy movement, when 
the cause was unpopular in tliat part of the State, and there 
were few to defend its principles, much labor devolved upon 
him in those early conflicts. He has been a member of the 
Republican party since its organization, and has ever taken 
a decided interest in the leading political questions of the 
day. He was a (irm supporter of President Lincoln, and in 
a speech in Philadelphia, in October, 1864, pronounced a 
"glowing eulogium " on the character of that eminent man 
and wise ruler. He began to lecture on temperance, in 
1S49, and has since been identified with that cause. Upon 
the decease of his parents he permanently located in his 
native county, and since the early part of 1S57, has been en- 
gaged in desirable legal business at Chester, where he still 
resides. He was elected District Attorney of Delaware 
county, by a large majority, in the fall of 1S60, and during 
his term of three years, exercised the functions of that office 
with marked ability and acceptance. Having declined a 
re-election in 1863, he has since, in addition to his profes- 
sional duties, devoted much time to a fuller investigation 
of equity, constitutional and international law, as well as 
other branches of jurisprudence. He has ever condemned 
the practice of defeating the ends of justice by ve.xatious 
litigation, and has never ceased to cultivate those languages 
contributing to successful legal research, continuing also a 
diligent student of the English classics, history, biography, 
oratory, and political economy. 



; RADFORD, HON. VINCENT LOOCKER- 

MANS, Lawyer and Railroad President, the 
eldest son of Hon. Thomas Bradford, LL. D., 
and Elizabeth Loockermans, his wife, was Ijorn 
in Philadelphia, September 24th, 1808. He 
graduated with the highest honor of his class, as 
B. A., in the University of Pennsylvania, in July, 1825. 
He immediately commenced the study of law, in the office 
of his father, and was admitted to the bar of Philadelphia, 
April 5th, 1829. He received the degree of M. A., in July, 
1828. He married Juliet S. Rey, of the Island of St. 
Martins, West Indies, July 21st, 1831. Attracted by profit- 
able real estate investments, and the allurements of western 
life, in September, 1835, he with his family emigrated to 
the Slate of Michigan, and opened a law office in the town 
of Niles, in South Western Michigan. In the fall of 1837, 
he was elected a member of the Senate of Michigan. His 
district was unusually large and populous, containing sixty 
thousand souls, consisting of all that part of Michigan which 
lies west of the meridian line of the survey made by the 
United States, in the former Territory of Michigan, and 
including " the upper Peninsula of Michigan." He took a 
prominent part in the legislation of Michigan, during his 
service in the Senate; among the legislative measures of 
importance which emanated from him, is the Act entirely 
abolishing Imprisonment for Debt, which soon became the 




model of similar legislation in Pennsylvania and other 
.States of the Union. He was active in a legislative adop- 
tion of the Revised Code of Michigan, in 1838, and in 
organizing the Penitentiary, University, and internal im- 
provement systems of the recently admitted .State of Michi- 
gan, respectively. His professional eng.igenients compelled 
his retirement from the Senate of Michigan, in 1840. 
During his professional career in Michigan, he held the 
offices of Master in Chancery and of Circuit Court Commis- 
sioner. Filial duty summoned him to become the law 
partner of his invalid father, in Philadelphia, in November, 
1843, ^"<1 'lis fi''"" proved very successful. It was dissolved, 
by the death of its senior member, in October, 185 1. 
Previous to that event the junior partner, Hon. Joel Jones, 
and James F. Johnson, had been placed by a convention 
of the Democratic party on their judicial ticket, as candi- 
dates for the Court of Common Pleas of the city and county 
of Philadelphia. The whole Democratic ticket in Philadel- 
phia, however, was defeated at the October election of 1851. 
After the demise of his father he continued to enjoy a large 
practice, until, in 1859, failing health induced him to accept 
the position of President of the Philadelphia and Trenton 
Railroad Company, unanimously tendered to him by the 
board of directors. He continued in that office, by .succes- 
sive annual re-elections, until his tenure of it was determined, 
in January, 1872, by a lease of all the works and property 
of the company to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for 
999 years. Prior to that, in behalf of a number of the 
stockholders of the United Canal & Railroad Companies 
of New Jersey, who were opposed to the proposed lease, 
and in association with the Attorney-General of New Jersey, 
Hon. Abraham Browning, Ex-Attorney-General of New Jer- 
sey, and Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, Ex-Attorney-General of the 
United States, he argued before the Chancellor of the State 
of New Jersey, at Trenton, in September, 1871, a bill pray- 
ing for an injunction against an execution of said lease. As 
opening counsel for the complainants, he occupied two 
days, September 12th and 13th, 1871, in the deliveiy of a 
learned, able, and exhaustive argument, which is reported 
and published in an octavo (pamphlet form) of 180 pages, 
containing a citation of more than four hundred authorities. 
The case involved property estimated in value at sixty 
millions of dollars, besides politico-economical considera- 
tions of vast and most important moment to the city of 
Philadelphia, to the State of New Jersey, and to the people 
of the United States. The Chancellor of New Jereey, in 
his reported opinion in the case, acknowledged his "special 
indebtedness to the full and elaborate brief of Mr. Bradford, 
containing a summary of the law on the subject ; " copies 
of said brief are preserved in the library of the Middle 
Temple, and of the British Museum, in the city of London, 
and in the libraiy of the College of France, in the city of 
Paris, respectively. The extraordinary professional labor, 
in addition to the regular and ordinary requirements of his 
office thus performed, so prostrated his nervous system, as 



32S 



niOGRAPinCAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



to compel him to immediately visit Europe, and to travel 
there for a period of nine months. He returned home, June 
25th, 1S72, with health somewhat recruited, but still 
requiring prolonged rest. Kor several years he was a Vice- 
President of the Agricultural Society of Pennsylvania. He 
is the author of numerous essays, speeches, reports, and 
lectures on literary, moral, philosophical, financial, legal, 
and political subjects, which have at various times appeared 
in newspapers, periodicals, and pamphlets, but have never 
as yet been collected and published in book form. In the 
year 1846, after careful examination and mature delibera- 
tion, he embraced the therapeutic views of Hahnemann, 
and acted as President of the Homoeopathic Hospital of 
Philadelphia, during the years 1850 and 1S51. In early 
manhood, viz., in 1829, from convictions of patriotic duty, 
he relinquished the political views of his family, and 
ardently embraced the constitutional doctrines in respect to 
a strict construction of the limited, express, and delegated 
powers of the Federal Government, and " the reserved 
rights of the States of the Union," enunciated by Thomas 
Jefferson, James Madison, John Taylor, of Caroline, and the 
other fathers of the Democratic Republican party of the 
United .States. He consequently earnestly and vigorously 
sustained the measures of Andrew Jackson, during his 
Presidency, in removing the public deposits from the Bank 
of the United States, and in vetoing the proposed re- charter 
of that institution, by the Federal Government. His 
numerous political speeches and essays evince a conscien- 
tiously close, strict, and unswerving adherence to his early 
embraced and long avowed Democratic principles, inclu- 
ding a stern opposition to political centralization, to an 
irrcdeemabje paper currency, privileged class legislation, 
and tariff protection. He is a Counsellor of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, by admission in February, 1858, 
and continues his professional relations with the bar of 
Pennsylvania, of which he is a member, by admission to the 
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in April, 1831. He is a 
communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and h.is 
been, from early youth, an earnest adlierent to the cause of 
temperance reform by moral suasion. In 1830, he became 
a member of the M.asonic Fraternity, and prior to the year 
1843, ha<l presided over several lodges of the order, in 
Philadelphia and Michigan, respectively. In the same 
year, 1830, he also became a member of the order of Odd 
Fellows, in which he has held dignified offices. 



|ARTOL, HENRY WELCHMAN, Sugar Refiner, 
was born in the city of New York. January 1 5lh, 
1847, and is a son of B. H. Barlol. During his 
infancy, his parents removed to Philadelphia, 
which has since been his home. When but six 
years of age, pulmonary symptons were developed ; 
and in order to prevent their continu.ance, he was sent to 
Cuba, where he remained eighteen months, and with such 




advantage, th.it all tendency to a consumptive termination 
w.as completely eradicated. On his return to the United 
States, he attended school first in I'hiladelphia, next at 
Jamestown, New York, thence he passed to the Academy 
at Eagleswood, New Jersey, closing at the Polytechnic 
College, Philadelphia. When fifteen years old, fully im- 
bued with the spirit of the times, he joined the 2nd Key- 
stone Battery, in response to a call from the Governor for 
troops, but did not advance much beyond Harrisburg, 
seeing no actual service other than guarding prisoners. On 
his return from the army, his f.\ther — having determined 
that he s'-ould ultimately succeed him in his business of 
sugar refining, and with a view of having him thoroughly 
conversant with machinery — placed him in Merrick & Son's 
machine shop, as an apprentice. While there employed, he 
devised an improvement in sugar machinery, which he 
patented. Owing to the sickness of the superintendent of 
his father's refineiy, he left Merrick's sooner than he 
intended, and took temporary charge of the refiner^', which 
he retained until the superintendent recovered. He now 
remained at the refinery learning the business, beginning at 
the foot of the ladder, so that he might, step by step, gain 
an accurate and complete knowledge of the business in all 
its minute details. In the fall of l866, having attained a 
considerable insight into the various processes, he deter- 
mined to carry out a favorite project, in a trip to Europe. 
Having by this time amassed quite a sum of money, accruing 
from the royalties paid on his patent, he started with a 
friend, and after making a hurried triji through the Conti- 
nent, meanwhile examining the i^rocess of making sugar 
from beets, he settled down in Paris ; where he remained 
some four mt>nths, studying the analysis of sugars, and the 
chemistry pertaining to sugar refinei7 under Dubrunfaut 
and Emile Monier, two eminent French chemists. He 
returned to Philadelphia in the summer of 1867, and in the 
autumn of that year took the entire charge of the refinery, 
his father desiring to visit Europe. Having been much 
interested in the manufacture of beat sugar, while abroad, 
he endeavored to create a like interest in that industry in 
this country. He wrote a number of articles on the subject, 
and translated others, which he published; beside volun- 
tarily making a large number of analyses of beets from .all 
parts of the country. On the return of his father, in 1S6S, 
he felt a desire to further perfect himself in the p.irticular 
branch of chemistry which had already engaged his atten- 
tion, and for this purpose again re]iaired to Paris, where he 
remained about six weeks. On his return home, in the 
summer of 1S6S, he again assumed charge of the refinery 
and was given an interest in the business. When he 
returned from his first visit to Europe, he brought with him 
three " polarizers," which, although not the first in the 
country, were the first that were used to any extent. P.y 
their use, he worked a revolution in the manner of fixing 
the value of molasses, by causing the polarization to be ac- 
cepted as its standanl of value, the instrument giving the 




ficOoljCiiJ CoThladillAM 









lilOGRAPIlICAL ENCVCI.OP.r.niA. 



329 



amount of cane or ciyslallizalile su;;ar which the molasses 
under examination may contain. This, however, was not 
effected immediately ; it was only after the lapse of years 
that he succeeded in overthrowing the old system of valua- 
tion. In the spring of 1869, his attention was called to the 
remarkable saccharine properties of North Carolina sweet 
potatoes, and he analysed some specimens and found them 
to contain a l.irge percentage of sugar. He made a quantity 
of sugar f.om sweet potatoes, which he exhiljited to the 
Franklin Institute, in connection with some starch extracted 
from the same source, and read a paper on the subject be- 
fore that body. This being the first sugar extracted from 
sweet potatoes, he received favorable notices for the same 
from several learned societies in this country and Euri^e ; 
and also from various scientific journals. In January,' 187 1, 
he was elected a Manager of the Franklin Institute, ,^rid at 
the expiration of his term, in 1874, was re-elected. In 
January, 1871, his father retired from active business pur- 
suits, and the entire establishment devolved upon him. The 
business is generally known as the " Grocers' Sugaft' Re- 
finery," but it i>, more strictly speaking, " molasses boSing," 
and- the manufacture of sugar from molasses aniSi syrup 
by the centrifugal process. The establi^meht, which was 
originally started, in 1859, by his father, was the first in the 
United States to manufacture sugar by this method, which 
is now universally adopted. It was also the first house to 
make washed or high-grade sugars from molasses, which 
sugar, under the brand of " Extra C. Yellow," has acquired 
a wide reputation in the United States. In January, 1S72, 
he established, at No. loj south Front street, an office for 
the purchase of the raw material and the sale of the pro- 
ducts of the Refinery, which previously had been attended 
to by a commission merchant, and which he still continues 
to maintain at the same locality. He was married, in 1869, 
to Kate Cheney. 



f cCREARV, JOHN B., Coal Merchant, was born 
November 23d, 1S19, in Adams county, Cana 
waga Valley, Pennsylvania, where his family had 
been settled on the same farm for more than a 
century. His parents were John McCreary, of 
Scotch descent, and Jane (Love) McCreary, of 
Scotch-Irish descent. When he was about two years of rtge 
his father died, and some few years afterwards his mother 
removed from Adams county to New Windsor, Carroll 
county, Maryland. He received his education, firstly, at 
tlie common school, and afterwards at a private academy. 
He remained at this establishment until 1837, removing 
with it, in 1836, to Uniontown. On leaving school he en- 
tered the store of William and John Roberts, of Union- 
town, where he stayed three years, at a salary of 850 and 
board for the first year; gioo for the second, and 8150 for 
the third. In 1840, his employers gave him such assistance 
as to enable him to start in business on his own account. 




keeping a general store, in New Oxford, Pennsylvania. 
He continued here three years, and then removed to I'cters- 
burg, near York Springs, Adams county, Pennsylvania, 
where he carried on the same business. While here, he 
married, in 1846, Rachel, daughter of Hon. George Dear- 
dorff. Shortly after his marriage he removed again ; going 
to Tremont, Schuylkill county. Here, in addition to a 
general store, he commenced the coal business by taking a 
lease of a small colliery in the neighborhood, which in about 
twelve months was worked out and al)andoned. The next 
year (1S47) he continued the same business on a more ex- 
tended scale by leasing a tract of coal land on the Swatara, 
called the Swatara Colliery, from the Forest Improvement 
Company. .. The lease was made conditional ; being de- 
pendent on-his causing a railroad to be built to connect 
ihe collieiy.with some established road. He applied to the 
.Minchill & Schuylkill Haven Railroad Company, who built 
the ro-td (about five miles), and in the same year work in 
the colliery was begun. In 1848, a freshet occurred on 
the Schuylkill which temporarily destroyed the Schuylkill 
and Lelrigh Canals, at that time the chief routes from the 
Petlnsylvania collieries, and thus prevented great quantities 
of*'cojfl from reaching-tlle market. In conse-juence of the 
scarcity so produced, the price of coal advanced consider- 
ably, and enabled "those ..who could supply the market to 
realise large profits. Among those who reaped great ad- 
vantages from this circumstance was John B. McCreaiy, 
who was-' cnil)led by it to pay off the expenditures on the 
colliery very quickly. He continued to work this colliery 
until 1857, in which year he sold it. In the previous year 
(1S56) lie h.ad leased a tract of some 1200 acres of land 
in Carbon, Schuylkill, and Luzerne counties, from Lewis 
Audenried, Davies Pearson, and others, and opened three 
collieries in it, the connecting railroad being built by the 
Beaver Meadow Railroad Company, now owned by the 
Lehigh Valley Railroad. In the same year he took into 
partnership Jacob A. Myers and Abram L. Mumper, under 
the style of J. B. McCreary & Co. This undertaking proved 
a most remarkable success, and has developed into one of 
the most extensive coal mining establishments in the world. 
The coal produced fr im this colliery, at that time, was about 
200,000 tons annually, i,s of -the best kind found in the 
country, and has achfevsd .a national reputation under the 
name of Honeybrook Coal. >J)uring the Civil War the 
pnce of coal rose enormously^ reaching its maximum in 
1S64, when it had increased some 300 per cent. In this 
year the firm of J. B. McCreary & Co. united with the 
owners of the land and formed themselves into an incoi-po- 
rited company, J. B. McCreary being President, under the 
style of The Honeybrook Coal Company, with a capital 
of )S3,ooo,ooo, and, in 1 868, purchased an additional tract 
of about 600 acres, working the two properties in conjunc- 
tion. In l87I,the Company, through its President, induced 
the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company to extend one of 
their branch roads to the mines of the Company, and thus 



42 



330 



inOGRAPlIICAI, ENCYCI.OP/KDIA. 



oblained two routes to market, and sj largely augmented 
the business. In the same year they purchased 6226 acres 
of land from the Powell Tract Coal & Iron Company, 
and, in 1873, increased its stock by an additional §500,000, 
and bought the property of the (ierman Pennsylvania Coal 
Company. During this year they leased all the lands, col- 
lieries, and fi.ttures of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Com- 
pany in Carl)on and Schuylkill counties, about 7000 acres, 
and bought all the lands of the same comjiany in the Wyom- 
ing Valley, Luzerne county, of about 7000 acres more, and 
several other adjacent properties of the same kind, and 
fina ly merged with the Wilkesliarre Co.il & Iron Com- 
pany, under the name of the Lehigh & Wilkesbarre Coal 
Company. The Company have now under their control 
about 32,000 acres of coal land, 25,000 of which ij "their 
own property. In 1872, John B. McCreary sold his interest 
in the Company, for the sum of about $800,000, to the New 
Jersey Central Railroad Company, which Company npw 
hold about seven-eighths of the entire stock. He con- 
tinued, however, his connection with the Company as Presi- 
dent until June, 1873, and as Director until February, 1874, 
when he finally resigned. He still retains, an active con- 
nection with the trade whose interests he. has so greatly pro- 
moted, and of which he is a most prominent. representative; 
being a Director of the Nescopec Coal Company, and of 
the Upper Lehigh Coal Company. He is' also on the Board 
of Direction of the Lochiel Rolling Mill Company, the Port 
Oram Iron Company, the Russell Farm Oil Company, the 
Third National Bank, and several other like corporations. 
Among the self-made men of the State he occupies a most 
worthy and honorable place. In politics he is a Republican. 



fORTON. JOHN S., Lawyer, and President of the 
West Philadelphia Passenger Railway Company, 
was born August 6th, 1835, at Springfield town- 
ship (now called Morton), Delaware county, 
Pennsylvania. He is the son of Sketchley Mor- 
ton, and Elizabeth A. (Newlin) Morton. His 
f.ilher is a very prominent citizen of Delaware county, 
where he has been engaged in extensive business operations' 
for many years ; he has also served for five year? as Asso-. 
ciate Judge of Delaware county, and has been a member 
of the State Leg slature. John S. Morton is a great-grand- 
son of John Morton, one of the signers of the Declaration 
of Independence, whose name is conspicuous, even among 
those famous names, as the one who, by giving the casting 
vote of his delegation in the Congress of 1776 in favor of 
the Declaration, secured the absolute and complete unan- 
imity of all the thirteen States in the vote for that im- 
mortal instrument. He was a member of the Stamp Act 
Congress ; Judge from this Colony ; a Delegate to the First 
Congress, in 1774; Speaker of the House of Assembly; and 
was re-elected to the Congress of 177C). His name is dear 




to the whole American people, but especially to Pennsyl- 
vanians, inasmuch as it was his act which " crowned 
Pennsylvania the Keystone of the Arch of Liberty." It 
fell to the lot of Pennsylvania, througli her representatives, 
to give the final vote at that momentous time. And though 
the actual passing of the Declaration was already more 
than secured, a single adverse vote would have destroyed 
the unanimous character, and so we.ikened the force and 
significance of the Declaration, and would almost certainly 
have produced most disastrous consequences. It was then 

j Ihat John Morton gave liis celebrated vote, by which he 
welded, as it were, the voice of the people into one har- 
monigus whole, and "Iniilt himself an everlasting name." 
It is but once or twice in centuries that it is given to one 
man to hold in his hands the fate of a Nation ; but this may 
truthmlly be said to have been the case with this illustrious 
patriiJt.. ' He acted faithfully and wisely, and not without 
self-sacrifice. He died in the following year, 1777. And 
it may well be supposed that the anxiety of that trying time 
hastened his death. John S. Morton w.is educated at the 
common school of West Chester, and afterwards at a private 
acadei&y, finishing his scliool course in 1853. In 1854, he 
commenced- the study of law and conveyancing, in Pliila- 
delplfia, underthe auspices of well-known legal practitioners 
'■ of that city, And continued it until 1857, in which year he 
establisHfici- himself in practice as a conveyancer. He fol- 
lowed his profession steadily, and very successfully, gather- 
ing around him a large clientele, until 1866, when he re- 
signed his more active professional duties and devoted him- 
self altogether to the management of the West Philadel]ihia 
Passenger Railway, more commonly known as the Market 
Street Railway, of which he was elected President, in 1863, 
and which position he still holds (1874), having been un- 
animously re-elected yearly. In this position he has won 
the good opinions not only of those connected with the rail- 
way but of the community generally. Especially has he 
done so in the matter of the recent {1S73) dispute as to 
the railway tracks on Market street, Philadelphia, between 
his own Company and the Union Passenger Railway Com- 
pany, which greatly agitated the merchants and property 
owners of the city, and at one time threatened to develop 

■Hnio a serious controversy. He succeeded, by firmness and 
judicious, 'goricessiou. at the right time, in bringing the 
whole matter to a happy termination, and received the 
fjrmal thanks of the merchants and property owners of 
that part of the city of Philadelphia for his successful 
management of the case. He designed the depot of the 
Company at W^est Philadelphia, which building includes a 
hall, called Morton Hall, wherein has been erected an ap- 
propriate mural tablet in honor of the President's illustrious 
ancestor. Though taking an intelligent interest in all poli- 
tical questions, he has always declined any public office, 
considering that his professional duties claimed his entire 

I time and energy. He has for several years been earnestly 

1 eng.iged in experiments upon a pneumatic vacuum engine 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



33 > 




and a dircct-acling steam ami water propeller, both of which 
he has developed sufficiently far to justify him in antici- 
pating their complete success. 

'EIM, general GEORGE MAY, Lawyer and 
Iron Manufacturer, was born in Reading, Penn- 
sylvania, March 23d, 1805, and was the second 
son of General George de B. Keim. He received 
his academical education at Bentley Hall, in 
Chester county, and completed his studies at 
Princeton College, New Jersey. He subsequently read law 
in the office of the late Charles Chauncey, of Philadelphia, 
and began to practise his profession in June, 1S26. Re- 
turning to Reading, he was chosen cashier of the Farmers' 
Bank, of which his uncle, Benneville Keim, was president. 
In 1829, he became a commissioner, and afterwards a 
manager, of the Mill Creek and Mine Hill Navigation and 
Railroad Company. In 1835, he was a member of the firm 
of Keim, Whitakcr & Co., and aided in the ereciiou of a 
large rolling mill and nail factory, in Reading — the pioneer 
establishment of all those great works which have since 
made that place a noted manufacturing city. He was also 
a partner in the firm of Jones, Keim & Co., proprietors of 
Windsor Furnace. At an early age he was a manager of 
the Reading Library Company, and took much interest in 
its prosperity. He was a jjrominent military man, being, 
in 1830, chosen to succeed his uncle as Captain of the 
"Reading Artillerists;" shortly afterwards he became 
Colonel of the 53d Regiment; and, in 1835, was elected 
Major-General of the Sixth Division, as the successor of his 
father, and commanded the same when summoned to 
Harrisburg at the call of Governor Ritner, during the 
memorable times of the " Buckshot war." He was also 
prominent in the Masonic order, and was Worshipful 
Master of Lodge No. 62; in 1830, he was constituted 
District Deputy Grand Master. In his- political faith, he 
was a Democrat of the Jefferson and Jackson school. In 
1837, he was elected a delegate to the Convention to revise 
tjie Constitution of the State; and ihning the same year, 
was chosen member of Congress to fdl an unexpired term. 
His constituents were so pleased with his able course in the 
national legislature, that he was twice re-elected, and in 
1842, declined a fourth nomination. His friends had pre- 
sented his name — contraiy to his wishes — as candidate for 
the Speakership of the Twenty-Sixth Congress, and he 
j-eceived a complimentary vote. After his retirement, he 
was offered, by President Tyler, the choice of three 
positions ; and he accepted that of Marshal of the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania, to which he was, in 1844, re- 
appointed by President Polk. In 1852, he was elected by 
the City Councils, Mayor of Reading; and in i860, was 
voted for as one of the two Electors-at-Large on the Demo- 
cratic ticket for President. He had previously been urged 
to accept the nomination for Governor, but declined. He 



was a lover of literature, and a fine writer; besides, having 
an extraordinary gift of poetry, he was a true improvisatore. 
It was while he was in Congress, that the late Charles 
Dickens first visited this country, and at the Congressional 
dinner given the latter, in March, 1842, General Keim 
presided ; it was then many of the most distinguished men 
of the day greeted the author of " Pickwick." While in 
Washington, he took an active interest in the organization 
of the National Institution for the promotion of Science ; 
and continued to indulge his taste in art, as well as science. 
While on the Committee on Puljlic Buildings he first 
brought to notice the sculptor Pettrich, a pupil of Thor- 
waldsen, whose decorations on the national buildings still 
attract much notice. He was also at this time one of the 
managers of the Art Union of Philadelphia ; and a member 
of the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the Pennsylvania 
Historical Society. When the rebellion broke out, he 
raised a large and efficient company of volunteers for home 
defence ; and while drilling them, in the armory, was 
stricken by paralysis. He died, June loth, 1861. He was 
married. May 1st, 1827, to Julia C, youngest daughter of 
the late Christopher Mayer, of Lancaster; six children 
survived him, among whom are George de Benneville 
Keim, now Vice President of the Reading Coal and Iron 
Company, and Henry May Keim, a talented and prosperous 
citizen of Reading, who has recently been elected Auditor 
of that city. 

OBERTS, HOWARD, Scidptor, is a son of Edward 
Roberts, a prominent merchant of Philadelphia. 
He was bom in that city, April 9th, 1843. ^^ 
commenced the study of art at the Pennsylvania 
Academy of Fine Arts, and for several years he 
attended the schools of that institution. In 1866, 
he went to Europe for the purpose of perfecting himself 
under the direction of competent professors, and for about 
three years modelled in the " Ecole des Beaux Arts " at Paris, 
and in the ateliers of several prominent French sculptors.. 
On his return to Philadelphia, he established himself in a 
commodious atelier, and shortly after produced an ideal 
bust which he entitled " Eleanore." This attracted con- 
siderable attention, and was purchased by a prominent con- 
noisseur. A head of a little girl, crowned with ivy, several 
portraits, and an ideal bust which the artist entitled Lady 
Clara Vere de Vere, rapidly extended his reputation as an 
artist of superior refinement, grace and poetical feeling. 
Hawthorne's romance of T/u Scarlet Letter furnished the 
suljjcct for the artist's next work. This is a full length, 
about forty inches in height, and represents " Hester 
Piynne " with her infant in her arms, standing in the 
pillory, as she is described in the opening chapter of the 
story. The remarkable beauty of this work elicited the 
most enthusiastic commendations, his artistic brethren 
being especially hearty in their praises of the conception as 
well as of the execution of the statuette. Encouraged by 



i 






BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 




ihe success of the " Hester Prynne," he determined to 
attempt a life-size statue. For this he selected as his subject 
Ilypatia, as she is described in the last chapters of Iving^ey's 
novel, standing at bay before the angry monks who are 
determined upon her destruction. While engaged upon 
this statue, however, he completed an ideal bust, with the 
arms attached. This was a representation of the artist's idea 
of Lucile, the heroine of Owen Meredith's metrical romance. 
The Ilyp.itia was completed in plaster, in the spring of 
1873, and he determined to lake it to Europe to have it cut 
in marble. lie accordingly went to Paris, in the summer 
of 1873, with the intention of remaining in that city for a 
number of years. He is a veiy careful workman, and never 
gives a statue or l)ust to the world until satisfied that he has 
done his best with it. The prominent characteristics of his 
style are refinement, and a certain poetical feeling, which 
on occasion, as in the case of his Hypatia, is capable of 
developing into tragic intensity and force. 



'CKERT, IS.^.^C, Ironmaster, and Bank President, 
was born in the village of Womelsdorf, Berks 
county, Pennsylvania, in Januaiy, iSoo. He was 
a son of Peter Eckert, a farmer and merchant of 
prominence in that neighborhood, and grandson 
of Valentine Eckert, who served in the Revolu- 
tionary War as Captain of a troop of cavalry. The priva- 
tions and hardships he endured during and after the battle 
of Germanlown resulted in an illness which shortly after- 
ward terminated in his death. The maiden name of his 
mother was Brown, a member of a well-known family 
then resident in the vicinity of Erie, Pennsylvania. He re- 
ceived his elementaiy education in the schools of his birth- 
place, and completed his studies in the Grammar School 
of the Univei-sity of Pennsylvania, at that time presided 
over by the venerable Dr. Abercrombie, of Christ Church 
Parish, Philadelphia. Before he had attained his majority 
he, in copartnership with his elder brother, William, suc- 
ceeded to the mercantile business of their father, and, about 
the year 1S2S, the brothers removed to Reading, and con- 
tinued in the same occupation until 1S36, when he retired 
from that connection and became associated with his younger 
brother. Dr. CJeorge N. Eckert — a gentleman of extensive 
scientific acquirements, whose attention \kis early directed 
to the development of the rich mineral resources of Schuyl- 
kill county, and who for a series of years ably represented 
that district in the Congress of the United States — and de- 
voted his lime and means to the manufacture of iron. In 
1842-44, the " Ileniy Clay Furnace " — one of the largest 
anthracite furnaces that, until then, had ever been projected 
in the State — was erected at Reading under their joint 
proprietorship. In 1S55, another furnace of like extent 
was added to this upon an adjoining site. Both are still 
standing, and working with a capacity of 140 to 150 tons 
each. At the decease of Dr. Eckert his brother purchased 



his interest in these iron works, and continued their sole 
proprietor up to the spring of 1873, when he relinquished 
his active interest in them to his two sons, Heniy S. and 
George B., liy w.-.om they are now carried on under the 
firm n.arfie of Eckert & Brother. In 1838, he was elected 
President of the Farmers' Bank of Reading, a State insti- 
tution, since reorganized under the National Banking Laws 
with the title of the Farmers' National Bank, which office 
he held without intermission until his death, covering a 
period of thirty five years. His eldest son, Henr)- S., has 
succeeded him in this position. He was also President of 
the " Country Bank Associ-ition," composed of the National 
banks east of the mountains, for eight years. In 1S52, he 
W.1S chosen President of the Leesport Iron Company, in 
which he w.as one of the principal stockholders, and of 
which he continued to act as the executive officer up 
to the time of his decexse. He was a very considerable 
land-owner in Berks and Schuylkill counties, and his invest- 
ments were uniformly safe and remunerative. He was one 
of the founders of the Berks County Agricultur.al and Hor- 
ticultural Society, and for many years its President; in which 
capacity his early exptrience and subsequent thoroughly 
acquired knowledge of all matters pertaining to agricultural 
science were of inestimable advantage in promoting the 
objects for which that Society was established ; and it is 
mainly to his lively interest and disinterested exertions in 
the direction of its affairs that its present flourishing condi- 
tion, second to that of no similar association in the St.ite, is 
due. It was his special pride to see the best breeds of 
horned cattle and other live stock, and the choicest varie- 
ties of standard fruits, introduced upon the farms of his 
native county, and the benefit of his assiduous efforts to 
these ends were made visible in the superior specimens of 
such stock and products which, during his administration, 
always constituted a chief attraction of the Society's an- 
nual fairs. He was selected by President Grant as one of 
the Commissioners to the Vienna Exposition of 1873 ; and 
was appointed, by Act of the Forty-second Congress, one 
of the two Commissioners from his District for the organiza- 
tion of the Board of Finance under which the Centennial 
Exposition for 1S76 was undertaken. In the spring of 
1867, and also in 1873, in fulfilment of his Commission to 
the Austrian Capital, he made extensive tours through the 
principal countries of Europe, and added materially to the 
fund of practical information upon all subjects worthy of 
the study of an educated American gentleman, which he 
made it one of the aims of his active and useful life to ac- 
quire. He was no politician or oflSce-seeker, in the low 
sense in which these tenns have come to be applied, but 
he alw.iys took a warm interest in the success of the poli- 
tical principles in which he had been reared, and to which 
he adhered through life — firet as an old-line \\Tiig, and 
afterwards as a loyal Republican. His influence and wealth 
were freely used for the benefit of his party, and during the 
War of the Rebellion he contributed liber.illy of his means 




y 



^y'Av/ . ■/■iru/r . (y . ,yL(UJo& 



Ce-'-Ljy 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



333 



toward the success of the Union amis. He was a Delegate 
to the National Convention at Chicago, in i860, when 
Mr. Lincoln was nominated to the Presidency for his first 
term, and wa.s one of the Presidential Electors for this 
State in 1864. Politically he was universally respected, 
and pereonally he was esteemed by men of all parties for 
his many admirable traits of private character. He was a 
member of the Pr. testant Episcopal Church, and one of 
the two Wardens of Christ Church, Reading, which the 
Bishop of the new Diocese of Central Pennsylvania has 
accepted for his Cathedral. He was a liberal contributor 
to the Endowment Fund of this Diocese. He was prominent 
and zealous in all the enterprises of a literary, benevolent 
and charitable character of the city whose best interests 
he always had at heart, and ga\'e generously toward their 
support. Plain and unostentatious in his deportn^gnt, he 
was distinguished for a cheerfulness and suavity of disposi- 
tion and a winning courtesy of manner in his intercourse 
with his fellowmen, which won for him the affectionate 
regard of all who enjoyed his acquaintance. He possessed 
all the inbred qualities of a gentleman of the old schoqj^ 
and was a universal favorite in social and domestic life. 
To the young, particularly, he was invariably kind. and 
sympathetic, and manifested his interest in their welface by 
friendly counsel and valuable assistance. By_.mai>y .who 
were thus made the recipients of his paternal attentij))!, he 
will be long remembered with feelings of lo\'e an<L gratitude. 
H" retained the full possession of his meiUal and, physical' 
faculties, to a remarkable degree, to the-very.'cIosS- of-Jjjis 
well-spent life; and died, almost without a struggle, .^fter, 
an illness of only two days, on the 13th of Decernber;-i873, 
having nearly completed his seventy-third year. He was. 
married, in 1826, to Judith, daughter of Dr. Hahn, of 
Montgomei-y county, ori^jinally of Philadelphia, who sur- 
vives him. His heirs are the two sons already named, and 
a daughter, the wife of P. R. Stetson, of New York. As a 
memorial of a justly loved and revered parent, they have 
donated to Christ Cathedral, in his name, a full chime of ten 
bells, weighing over five tons, which have been placed in 
the beautiful Gothic tower of that edifice. The appropri- 
ateness of this tribute is heightened by the fact that, upon 
various occasions during his latter years, he had expressed 
a desire to see the original design of the architect of the 
Cathedral, in constructing a bell-tower over its fifide, 
canicd out. 

/ ^"^ 

ilESTER, HON. WILLIAM, Legislator and Poli- 
tician, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, 
October loth, 1790. Some six members of his 
family hail occupied seats in Congress, among 
them his uncle, General Daniel Hiester, who sat 
in the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th Congresses from Penn- 
sylvania, and in the 7th and 8th from Maryland, to which 
Sl.Me he had removed, and who died in Wa hington during 




the session of the 8th Congress, in 1S04, William Hiester, 
after due preparation, pursued an irregular course at Dick- 
inson College, and was probably a classmate of Judges 
Grier and Hayes. He removed to Lancaster county, about 
1S22, and having settled at New Holland married Lucy 
E., daughter of Isaac Ellmaker, of that place. He early 
entered into politics, and became one of the first advocates 
of the Anti-Masonic movement ; he was Secretary of the 
great Anti-Masonic meeting at New Holland, in 1828. He 
was the opponent of James Buchanan for Congress the 
same year, but being defeated, was renominated and elected 
in 1830, and, having been twice re:elected, served continu- 
ously until 1837. In 1S36, he was elected a member of the 
Constitutional Reform Convention which assembled in 
Harrisburg, Til May, 1S37, and adjourned February 22d, 
1S38. He Wjs elected State Senator in 1S40, and was 
chosei> Speaker of the Senate in 1S42. During all his pub- 
lic career heiv.as attentive to the interests of his constituents 
and made a^fiure and noble record. He presided at the 
great WhiJConvention held in Lancaster, July 29th, 1843, 
which a^lvocated t^he claims of Henry Clay for the Presi- 
dency ,_qj|^ became a Presidential Elector in 1844. The 
same year he was the unanimous choice of Lancaster county 
for Governot^but he declined to allow his name to be used. 
He was a man of atulity, spoke both English and German 
with, great flueocy, and enjoyed the unlimited confidence 
of the people. Hf? stainlcsS- purity and sterling integrity 
caused him to be highly respected and admired, while his 
affability and kind>ness won. for him a large circle of de- 
voted friends. His death, on October l.^.h, 1853, cast a 
shaofiw over the whole community. 



y 



_j'/p;IESTER, HON. ISAAC ELLMAKER, Lawyer 
'^^X'% and Legislator, son of Hon. William Hiester and 
grand-nephew of Governor Joseph Hiester, was 
born in New Holland, Lancaster county, Penna., 
May 29th, 1S24. He entered the Moravian 
School at Litiz in early youth, and after a period 
at Abbeville Academy entcrcil Bolmar's Institute at West 
Chester, Pennsylvania, where he was prepared for College. 
He matriculated at Yale, in 1838, and having graduated 
with high honors, in 1S42, engaged in the study of law 
with Hon. Thoma.s E. Franklin, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 
Having been admitted to the bar, September 13th, 1845, 
he spee<lily rose to a position of influence in his profession, 
and was, in 1848, during the term of Governor William F. 
Johnson, appointed Deputy Attorney-General. He was 
elected by the Whigs to the 33d Congress, in 1852, and 
gained notoriety from his brilliant and powerful opposition 
to the Kansas Nebraska Bill; he was again nominated, in 
1854, but failed of an election. Having repudiated the 
Know-Nothing movement, he, with a few followers, united 
with the Democrats, who nominated him for Congress in 



33+ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




1856. He was a delegate to the Democratic National 
Convention, in 1S68, and was then appointed a member 
of the Democratic National Executive Committee. He was 
not a bigoted partisan, and was frank in e.\pressing his 
opinions, which frequently failed to harmonize with the 
views of his party. His great legal ability was universally 
conceded, and he was the acknowledged peer of any of his 
fellow practitioners. Having enjoyed the advantages of a 
su])erior education, he was a man of culture and fine attain- 
ments, and was more than once solicited to accept the nomi- 
nation for Justice of the Supreme Court, but he steadily 
declined. He was a member of the banking; firm of Reed, 
Henderson & Co., of Lancaster. He w,is. married, Feb- 
ru.iry iSth, 1863, to Mary T., daughter of Benjamin Eslilc- 
man of Lancaster. He died February 6th, rS7i, honored 
and mourned by all who knew him, esteemed^and admired 
for his dignitv, honor and true manhood. 



i.VKER, GEORGE, Banker and BrokerjWas born 
in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, October 17th, 
1 82 1. He was educated in the coinmon schools 
of his native county,- and w,as engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits until 1S3S, when he removed to 
Chester and became 'an ap]irenticc to Eyr2 & 
Manley, merchants of that city.- He lemained with them 
until he had att.ained his majority, afteV which he was a 
salesman until 1846. His close attention to business and 
his mercantile ability were so marked that when, in the 
latter year, John O. Deshony, a successful merchant of 
Chester, was about to retire he offered him the use of suffi- 
cient capital to engage in business on his own account, and 
became a silent partner with him. He turned this oppor- 
tunity to such good account that at the expiration of five 
years he was able to refund all his borrowed capital, and 
then associated in partnership with William McCall, under 
the firm name of Baker & McCall. This new fifni was ob- 
liged to extend its facilities to accommodate its increasing 
trade, and continued a successful career until 1853, when 
the senior partner having purchased his jiartner's interest 
became the sole proprietor. In time his business .assumed 
such proportions .as to reciuire larger accommodations, and 
lie erected a commodious new store on Market Square, at 
the corner of Third street, and after his removal thither 
admitted Heniy C. Trainer, and took the style of George 
Baker & Co. Subsequently Henry Hinkson became inte- 
rested, and having finally been admitted to full partnership 
the firm became B.aker & Hinkson, and so continued until 
autumn, i866, when he sold his interest to his partner. 
Chester and its vicinity had long felt the need of a private 
bankers' and brokers' establishment, and having associated 
in partnership with William Ward, a prominent lawyer and 
re.al estate operator, on January ist, 1S67, the firm of Ward 
& Baker established the first enterprise of the kind in De- 



laware county. Under their able and energetic manage- 
ment it speedily took high rank among financial insti- 
tutions, and the aggregate of its deposits closely approxi- 
mated to those of the neighboring National banks. Their 
operations steadily increased, and finding their banking- 
house too contracted for crinvenience, George Baker erected 
in 1870, a handsome new banking house, with Delaware 
county granite front, on Market Square, adjoining his store 
property, and the firm removed thither in the spring of 
1S71. After a while, his partner became so much occu- 
pied by his professional duties and outside operations that, 
on January 20th, 1873, he purchased his interest in the 
banlciftg house, and has since conducted it alone. During 
the panic of 1873, when the greatest financial distress pre- 
vailail* and so many private banking-houses succumbed, 
this>insthution was able to promptly and fully meet all the 
deniaiWi upon it, proving that the confidence reposed in 
it liaid not been misplaced. In 1861, he associated with 
DaN^id Trainer, of Linwood, as Trainer & B.aker, and en- 
gaged in the manufacture of fine woollen goods at the La- 
inokin Mills, but as the firm soon after sold their interest 
this enterprise proved of short duration. For some years 
anterior to the chartering of the city he had been Burgess, 
and was for ten years President of the Chester Building 
Associritioh.' -Although' a thorough Republican, he has 
never been" an 'aspirant for political honoi-s, and has uni- 
formly shrunk from public notoriety. During the Gettys- 
burg Campaign, of 1S63, he closed his store, and with all 
his employes joined Captain Erich's company, ser\'ing 
diifihg' that emergency. Few men have been more dili- 
gent and enterprising, and during his long business career 
he has contributed much to the advancement of the interests 
of the city. Every public improvement has found in him 
a quiet but influential advocate, and he has ever shown his 
readi:iess to extend substantial aid to all projects calculated 
to benefit the community. 



i/xII.DRUP, WILLIAM THOMAS, Superintendent 
of the Ilarrisburg Car Works, was l)orn in 
Middletown, Connecticut, February 6th, 1822, 
and is the son of Jesse Hildrup, of Hartford, in 
that .State. He obtained his education in the ex- 
cellent common schools of the district, and was 
ever an apt and advanced scholar. Having learned the 
carpenter's trade, at the age of nineteen years he started for 
himself, possessed of a set of carpenter's tools, $25 in his 
pocket and his industry and energy to carve his way through 
the world. He first proceeded to Cape Vincent, Jefferson 
county. New York, and two years after to Worcester, Massa- 
chusetts, where he entered Bradley's Car Factory as an em- 
ploy^. He soon mastered the business, and was especially 
noted for his industi-)' and regularity. He was ever a close 
student of mechanical theories and business rules and usages, 
making himself thereby veiy valuable to his emjiloyers 





66. X 




BIOCRArillCAI, ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



During ihe ten years that he remained in this establishment 
he became thoroughly proficient in every department. In 
1S52, he removed to Elmira, New York, where he remained 
about a year ; in 1853, he changed his residence to Harris- 
burg, at the invitation of a prominent citizen, and became 
interested in the Harrisburg Car Works, then just orga- 
nized, and of which he was selected as the future Manager. 
The working capital of this concern was but $25,000. 
Under his superintendence its success was onward and up- 
ward. In 1862, it was entirely re-organized, the capital 
increased to $75,000, and it took a new departure, greatly 
augmenting its productions and employing 250 hands. In 
1864, so successfiit had it become that again its capital was 
increased, and four years later the amount invested was 
twelve-fold what it was when he first took charge of the 
concern, fifteen years previously, a small army of 1400 men 
being then employed in this teeming hive of industry. By 
his able management other establishments grew out of the 
enterprise^a saw-mill, a machine-shop and foundry, a 
planing mill and lumber yard, and all tributary to the ori- 
ginal works. William Calder, the President of the Car 
Works, wliose interests, temperament and disposition har- 
monized with his own from the very commencement of his 
residence in Harrisburg, and himself have been the leading 
spirits and controlling laborers in develo[iing these great 
works ; and the several industries above named have each 
and all sprung from the one seed, the original §25,000 in- 
vested in 1853, and have grown and flourished under their 
superior care and management. When he first came to 
Harrisburg there was very little mechanical skill among all 
the artisans of the place. Being possessed of great me- 
chanical genius, he gave an impetus to these arts, being 
skilful and experienced in all details as well as in great 
works. He has a high regard for the artisan. Having 
once been a mechanic himself, he first directed his attention 
to their needs and endeavored to improve their condition. 
He noticed the irregular and unsatisfactory mode in which 
they were paid. He commenced by revising and systema- 
tizing the method ; then organized a system of co-operation 
in the purchases of the neccssiiies of life. By his unselfish, 
persistent and sincere care for their interests he has become 
endeared to them, and they manifest for him the utmost 
respect and kindest regards, especially as he has the heart 
to do them justice — and the mind and skill to lead, control 
and govern them. In this connection, it may be stated, 
that on the occasion of his fifty-nrst birthday (February 6th, 
1S73) he was the recipient of a massive silver tea-service, 
costing S1250, which w.is presented to him "as a testimo- 
nial of afTection and esteem by the employes under his con- 
trol." No worthy man is ever allowed to suffer in his 
employ. He protects and pays the expenses of all in sick- 
ness ; and where any one receives an injury while laboring 
in the works special care is directed to their comfort and 
bodily wants. His njechanical faculty is a natural talent, 
and having always been a diligent student he h.as gone far 



above the best classes, and may be considered one of the 
best, if not the best, mechanic in the Commonwealth. By 
his enterprise and superior capacity, coupled with the amount 
of capital which has been brought to his aid, he has mainly 
succeeded in building up the manufacturing interests of 
Harrisburg. Every enterprise — and he has had a managing 
interest in nearly all the manufacturing concerns in the 
city — has succeeded under his supervision and direction ; 
and not one of these ever proved a loss to those interested, 
or failed to pay its creditors. He is the largest owner in 
the Harrisburg Car Works, the foundry and machine-shop, 
the saw-mill, etc. He is among the hardest working men 
of the many under his control. But not only in these en- 
terprises has he manifested good judgment, shrewd man- 
agement and business qualifications of a high order, but able 
foresight also. During the Civil War, when Harrisburg 
was menaced by invasion, he it was who selected the sites 
for and planned the fortifications for its defence. These 
points so selected were those wliich commanded t'.'.e several 
approaches to the city, and the works thus laid out were 
such as to completely thwart the enemy's purposes. He 
was also associated during the Rcbe'dion with his friend 
William Calder in supplying the Government with horses 
and mules. The latter, by his intimate and life-long asso- 
ciation with stock raisers in Pennsylvania and th« adjoining 
States, was able to command the market, as it were, and 
succeeded in securing the reqaisite number of animals from 
time to time. To the former was confided the necessary 
attention of transportation to the several points of delivery, 
together with the entire duty of having them duly inspected 
by the Government ofiicers, and the securing of the neces- 
sary vouchers for payment. This was a matter involving 
great executive ability, and when it is stated that during the 
four years that the war continued he delivered to the Govern- 
ment 42,000 horses, 67,000 mules, and 5000 head of oxen, 
some idea may be formed of the vast amount of labor he 
performed. It has been elsewhere stated that during his 
leisure houi-s he studied the mechanical aits theoretically, 
while during his houri of l.'.bor he was carrying these out 
practically in the workshop. Knowing the difficulties cf 
the artisan in securing instruction and proficiency in matters 
of this kind, he has largely interested himself in behalf of 
a " Mechanics' High School," whose mission it shall be to 
educate the young and rising generation theoretically and 
practically in the trades, or branches of trades, in which 
they design engaging, so as to make them proficients in their 
specialties, that they may, when exercising the position of 
foremen or overseers of certain industries, be able to thus 
instruct others while becoming better acquainted with their 
own proper work. The Legislature of Pennsylvania passed 
a bill creating such an institution, late in the session of 
1S73; but scarcely was it organized, when the financial 
panic of September of that year swept over the land, thus 
retarding its thorough organization. An able report of 
matters, as far as they have progressed, has been pre-;ented 



336 



inOGRArilKAl. KNCVCI.Or.l'.niA. 




l>y President HiUlnip, ^vho has taken lioM of the malter in 
earnest. He has reduced the whole m iller to .1 thorough 
system of general technical education, l)y proposing the 
teaching of free-hand and mechanical drawing in its ele- 
mentary branches, iji all the common schools of the State, 
and in its higher branches, in the liigh schools ; and by the 
formation of free night schools in all the cities and large 
towns, for instructing artisans in drawing, mathematics, 
theoretical mechanics, and engineering. In further com- 
pletion of this plan he caused to be added to several now 
existing colleges, special mechanical professorships, cover- 
ing the interests of general and specific technical education. 
Juilging from that which he has accomplished, the worU 
must continue and be crowned with success. He has been 
a member of the Episcopal Church for the past thirty years, 
and takes a warm interest in the furtherance of all the 
charities and insli'.ulions controlled by it. He was married, 
in October, 1846, to Harriet E., daughter of Colonel John 
B. Esselstyre, of Cape Vincent, Jefferson county, New- 
York — an old and influential family of that locality. 

; ARVEY, ELLWUOU, M. D., Physician, was born 
at Chadd's Ford, on the l!randywine battle- 
ground, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, 
November 30lh, 1820. His parents, and all his 
ancestors since the beginning of Quakerism, were 
Quakers and farmers. His gieat-great-grand- 
firlher, William Harvey, came from England, in 1711, and 
Imuglit land on the Brandywine, as the original deed from 
\Villi.im I'enn expressed it, " back in the woods of Kennett." 
His mother was a Hollingsworlh, of Delaware State, and 
her ancestors were also among the earliest English Quaker 
settlers on the Brandywine. His school studies ended in a 
country boarding-school, with a teacher whose chief jileasure 
was mathematics, and the proficiency attained by his pupils 
in that branch was at the expense of everything else except 
sound and high-toned moral instruction and example. At 
the age of sixteen he entered a ilrug store in Philadelphia, 
preparatory to engaging in the study of medicine; but his 
relations to the older apprentice proving uncongenial, he 
left for the West, working his way as fireman and deck- 
hand on steamboats from Pittsburg to Davenport, Iowa. 
He there joined a corps of surveyors, and having had 
thorough training in practical surveying at school, was cm- 
ployed as a chain-bearer, and performed the duties of the 
Government Deputy Surveyor. A year in a surveyor's camp, 
on the prairies, before he was eighteen, exactly suited his 
tastes and tcmper.nnent. Having returned to Philadelphia, 
he matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania, whence 
he graduated M. D., in 1843. He then eng.iged in counli-y 
practice at his birth-place, which he continued until 1S52, 
when he accepted a profcssoi-ship in the Female Medical 
College of Pennsylvania, now called The Woman's Medical 
College. He devoted all his time and energies to that in- 



stitution anil to the cause it represented, until 1S57, deliver- 
ing nine full courses of lectures on five dilTerent branches, 
and filling two professional chairs nearly all the time, as the 
exigencies of the college demanded. Female medical 
education being unpopular, those women who had money 
did not, then, study medicine, and those who would have 
studied lacked the means. He resigned, and turned to 
more profitable account the skill he had acquired as a 
lecturer, by travelling and lecturing before the people on 
Anatomy, Physiology, Hygiene, and various other scientific 
subjects. For one year, i860, he was joint proprietor, 
principal, and teacher of a normal school, at West Chester, 
Pennsylvania. In 1S61, he returned to the practice of his 
profession in Chester, Pennsylvania, where his efficiency 
and skill have been recognized by the acquirement of a 
large and lucrative practice, many of his patrons being 
among the best families of the jdace. In politics Ijp has 
always been a Whig or a Republican, but has never held an 
office except in the school board of which he is an active 
and progressive member. Though always supposed to be 
one of the most radical of abolitionists, he never joined any 
of the anti-slavery political parlies, but adhered to those 
orr^anizations that seemed to him more cajjable of accom- 
plishing the end. In 1856 and in i860, he made many 
political speeches in Pennsylvania, New Jei'sey, and New 
York, in the interests of Republicanism. In addition to 
occasional articles for medical and other journals, he has 
been a liberal contributor to agricultural papers. Inheriting 
a strong fondness for agriculture, the various problems in- 
volved in successful stock breeding have claimed his special 
attention. The development of the trotting horse being an 
American specially, offering many interesting, physiological 
questions for practical solution, he has devoted some time 
and study to it. His essay on T/it^ American Trclling 
Horse, published as an appendix to the American edition 
of an English work on hoi-ses, by Stonehenge, and an 
article on " Horses," published in the Seventh Annual Re- 
port of the State Agricultural Society of Pennsylvania, have 
both taken rank among the standard literature upon that 
subject. In 1S45, he married Josephine S. Yimle, of Phila- 
delphia, who still lives to bless him and the two sons who 
have been given them 5 one is a promising young practitioner 
at the Delaware county bar, the other a successful whole- 
sale grocer in Wilmington, Delaware, 

V ^ "^ 

OPPEE, HENRY, President of Lehigh University, 
was Lorn, October 13th, J 82 1, iji the cily of 
Savannah, Georgia. His father was a prominent 
physician of French descent. After receiving a 
careful early education, he entered the militaiy 
academy at West Point, June 1841, where he 
distinguished himself by his quick intellect, and graduated 
high in his class, June 1S45. He was soon promoted to the 
1st Regiment Artillery, United Slates Army. The Mexican 



0J% 

1 




%mi%.c^%>>. 



EIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



337 



war which broke out in 1846, gave him an opportunity to 
see active service in the field, and to display those traits of 
fearless determination and prompt decision which mark his 
character. He was engaged in the seige of Vera Cruz, the 
battle of Cerro Gordo, the skirmishes of La Hoya and 
Ohalaha, the battles of Contreras and Cherubusco, the des- 
perate storming of Chapultepee, and the triumphant capture 
of the city of Mexico. These engagements ofifered him a 
field in which to gain promotion, which he was not slow to 
appreciate. Breveted Captain of Artillery for gallant and 
meritorious conduct in the hard fought battles of Contreras 
and Cherubusco, he was appointed, after the close of the 
war in 1848, Assistant Professor of Ethics and English 
studies in the West Point Military Academy. This-" position 
he retained until the spring of 1855, when his tSilents ob-. 
tained him the offer of the chair of Histoiy and Engfish 
Literature in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia. 
This honorable position he concluded to accept, aiKl 
resigning from the military academy, removed to Philadel- 
phia for that purpose. His instruction and lectures gave' 
great satisfaction to the institution, and his extensive ^<how- 
ledge and accurate discrimination of the beauties of lif^ra- 
ture were repeatedly displayed. When, in 1S66,' the 
Trustees of the Lehigh University, at Bethleheiil, an instif'u- 
tion founded by the liberality of the Hon. -Asa Packer, were, 
considering the selection of a President, they deci<Wd upon 
offering that responsible and honorable distinction to him as 
one in every way competent to fulfil Us duties with- success. 
The offer was accepted, and the brilliant careef siiice^ then 
of the Lehigh University is in no small ^gre^ owing l6 
the tact, the administrative ability, and the vafied accom- 
plishments of its President. In the year of his acceptance, 
1S66, the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him, both 
by the University of Pennsylvania, and by Union College, 
' New York, in recognition of his services to the cause of 
liberal education. The American Philosophical Society, 
and other learned bodies, had previously elected him to 
membership; and in 1868, he was appointed by Congress, 
member and Secretary of the Board of Visitors to the 
United States Military Academy. As an author, he has a 
wide reputation for accuracy in statement and beauty of 
style. Besides a large number of articles contributed to the 
literary periodicals of the day, he edited the United Stales 
Service Magazine, in 1864, '65, and '66,'andHhe foJlfiwing 
works : Gallery of Famous Poets ; Gallery of Famous 
Poetesses ; Soni^s of Praise in the Christian Centuries. In 
1S62, he translated Marmont's Esprit des Institutions 
Ji/ilitaires, and has written Elements of Logic, 1857 ; 
Elements of Rhetoric, 1859; A Manual of Courts Martial, 
1S61 ; and several other valuable works on military tactics, 
published during the War of the Rebellion. He has 
also been an extensive contributor to the daily press, 
winning among journalists a considerable reputation by 
the brilliancy and force of his articles upon a wide range 
of topics. 

43 



■-q^ ANCOAST, WILLIAM H., M. D., Physician and 
Surgeon, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
in 1835, and is a son of Dr. Joseph Pancoast, the 
late distinguished Professor of General Descrip- 
tive and Surgical Anatomy in the Jefferson Medi- 
cal College of that city. He was educated at 
Haverford College, whence he graduated in 1853 ; and on 
leaving the same, matriculated at the Jefferson, where he 
studied for three years, receiving his degree of Doctor of 
Medicine, in 1S56. In order to perfect himself in the 
practice of his profession he sailed for Europe, and visited 
the great hospitals of London, Paris, and Vienna, passing 
three years abroad, mostly occupied during that time in 
continued study at these medical centres. On his return to 
the United States he commenced practice in his native city, 
where he soon found a liberal patronage, devoting himself 
chieily to the surgical branch of the science. In 1S62, he 
was named Demonstrator of Anatomy in his Alma Mater, 
which he filled at intervals for the space of twelve years. 
He has also held other public positions, being Visiting Sur- 
geon to the Philadelphia Hospital, and Consulting Surgeon 
of the Charity Hospital. During the War of the Rebellion, 
he did go3d service as an Army Surgeon; and during the 
absence of Kis' father in Europe, i867-'68, was appointed 
Adjunct Professor of Anatomy in Jefferson College. In 
1 87 1, he was elected President of the Philadelphia County 
Medical Society, which office he filled with credit both to 
himself and the association. He is at present a member 
of all the varifnis Philadelphia medical societies. Early in 
1874, he took ati active part in securing — for the purposes 
of a' scientific examination — the bodies of the celebrated 
Siamese Twins, and in conducting the autopsy. In his 
various contributions to medical and surgical literature, he 
has given some original and highly important discoveries to 
the medical world. In the spring of 1S74, his father having 
resigned the Chair of Anatomy in the Jefferson College, 
the Board of Trustees of that institution selected him to fill 
the vacancy. 



ATTA, JAMES W., Lawyer and Adjutant-Genera! 
J of Pennsylvania, was born in Philadelphia, Penn- 
i^^'sylvania, April 19th, 1839, and is the son of the 
•_f7^^ late John E. Latta, of Philadelphia. His grand- 
■^ father. Rev. John E. Latta, of New Castle, Dela- 
ware, was one of four brothers, who with their 
father were all Presbyterian clergj'men, the latter being a 
Chaplain in the Revolutionary Army. He received his 
education at the public schools of his native city, graduating 
at the Central High School, after a four years' course 
therein, in July, 1856. He was for a short time employed 
as a Clerk in the office of the Western Insurance Company, 
and while there, commenced the study of law with his 
father, who was then associated with Hon. W^illiam L. 
Peirce, now Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was 




338 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP^IlDIA. 



admitted to the bar the day he attained his majority, April 
19th, 1S60. lie inirsue<l the practice of liis profession unlil 
August, 1S62, when lie was commissioned I'irs: Lieutenant 
of the 119th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and 
served with it as such, also as Acting-Adjutant and Captain, 
and at times, as Judge-Advocate First Division, Sixth Army 
Corps. In the spring of 1S64, he was one of two officers 
of the Sixth Army Corps, recommended by Majof-General 
John Sedgwick, to fill vacancies in the Adjutant-General's 
Department; and in May, 1S64, he received a commission 
from President Lincoln, as Captain and Assistant-Adjutant- 
General ; was assigned to duly with the Third Lri^'ade, 
First Division, Sixth Army Corps, and was continually in 
the field, participating in every engagement in the Aimy 
of the Potomac from the first battle of Fredericksburg until 
just prior to the final struggle at Petersburg, when he was 
ordered to report to the military division of the Mississippi, 
Cavalry Corps, Major-General John Wilson, and was 
assigned to duly in the Fourth Division of that command, 
under Major-Geiicral Emory Upton. He participated with 
this coqis in its brilliant and successful raid and march from 
Chickasaw Dluff, Alabama, to Macon, Georgia, 600 miles ; 
during which it fought three pitched battles, routing the 
enemy on every occasion, captured 72 pieces of arlillerj-, 
and 5000 prisoners. lie was brevelted Major, in 1S64, for 
gallantry at the battle of Winchester, Virginia, and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, in 1S65, for gallant and meritorious .services 
in the battle of Ebenezer Church, Alabama, and Columbus, 
Georgia. At the close of the war, he followed General 
Upton to Denver, Colorado, and served in that command as 
Assistant-Adjutant-General. He was honorably discharged 
from the service in January, lS56, and was subsequently 
tendered a I,ieutenancy in the Sixth United States Infantry, 
which he declined, and resumed the practice of his profes- 
sion. For five years he commanded the 1st Regiment, 
Infantry (National Guards of Pennsylvania) ; which body 
has no superior in drill or discipline in the Commonwealth, 
and has attracted much notice wherever it has appeared in 
jiublic ; particularly at its encampment at Cape May, New 
Jersey, in the summer of 1S69, and on the occasion of its 
visit to New York, as guests of the 7th Regiment, on Evacu- 
ation day, 1872. He was appointed, June 2d, 1S73, Adju- 
tant-General of the Commonwealth, and now fills that office. 
He was married, November 12th, 1S68, to Susan E., 
daughter of the late Hanson L. Withers. 

"rOUILLEN, JOHN HUGH, M. D., D. D. S., 
Dentist, w.as born in Philadelphia, February I2tli, 
1S26. His parents were, Captain Hugh McQuil- 
len, who served under Commodore .Stephen 
Decatur, in the United States Navy during the 
war of 1812, and died in 1837; and Martha 
(Scattergood) McQuillen, whose ancestors came to America 
with Willi.im I'enn ; and one of whom, Thomas Scattergood, 




was a celebrated preacher in the communion of Friends. 
His early education was obtained at Frientls' schools in 
Philadelphia, and at sixteen years of age he entered an im- 
porting house in that city as clerk. He continued in this, 
to him, uncongenial employment, until he was twenty-one 
years old. His tastes naturally leaned towards the learned 
professions, and during the whole of his mercantile appren- 
ticeship he remained steadfast to his innate predilections, 
and used all his spare time in obtaining such a preliminary 
education as would prepare him for a course of systematic 
professional study. At length, in l847,he found himself in 
a position to enter upon a regular curriculum, and began to 
study medicine and dentistry simultaneously. He continued 
his studies for two years, and, in 1849, commenced the 
practice of dentistry, still prosecuting his medical studies; 
finally, in 1852, receiving the degree of M. D. from the 
Jefferson Medical College. His degree of D. D. S. was 
given to him, subsequently, in recognition of his services to 
the profession. In 1S57, he took the chair of Operative 
Dentisti-y and Dental Physiology in the Pennsylvania Col- 
lege of Dental Surgery, and continued to discharge the 
duties of his professorship until 1862. In 1 859, he 
orginatcd the idea which developed into the American 
Dental Association, and in an article under the Kom de 
P/uwe of " Jnn'ms," advocated such an organization. His 
idea was soon realized in the establishment of the associa- 
tion as a representative body, composed of delegates from 
the local, county, and Stale dental societies, to generally 
protect and advance the interests of dentistry throughout 
the country. The first meeting of the association look place 
in the same year at Niagara. In this year also (1S59) he 
became an editor of the Dental Cosmos (a monthly journal), 
the recognized organ of the profession, and circulating in 
every part of the world where dentistry is practised. This 
position he retained for thirteen years, giving to the duties 
of it a thorough service inspired in him by his genuine love 
of his profession, and determination to advance its interests 
and general status by eveiy means. He invariably con- 
tributed some original matter to each number of the maga- 
zine, many of which papers attracted much attention. 
Among these may be mentioned as particularly noteworthy, 
a ])aper on 7/ie Ac/ion of Anesthetics on the Blood Corpus- 
cles, which was copied into leading medical and microscopi- 
cal magazines both in this countiy and in Europe, having 
l)een translated into the German and French languages. 
His contrilnitions principally treated on dental education, 
microscojiical subjects, and the principles and practice of 
dentistiy. His editorship of the Cosmos generally was 
noticed in terms of the warmest praise by Professor Oliver 
W. Holmes, in a lecture on the claims of dentistry delivered 
before the gra<luating class of Harvard Dental School. In 
1862, he r.""signed his professorship in the Pennsylvania 
College of Dental Surgery, and in the spring of the follow- 
ing year made an application to the Legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania for a charter for a new dental college, to be called 




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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



339 



the Philadelphia Dental College. The undertaking met 
with the greatest opposition, but the charter was, neverthe- 
less, granted, and in the fall of the same year (1863) the 
college was established, and lectures commenced in the 
present college building to a class of eleven students only. 
He may justly be called the founder of this important edu- 
cational institution, the value of which to the community 
c.innot be estimated too highly. That the necessity for such 
a college existed has been fully proved by its great success, 
and its rapid development in a single decade into not merely 
a national but a cosmopolitan institution ; its list of graduates 
including names from the four quarters of the glober' The 
undertaking, in its inception, involved its founder and those 
associated with him in great sacrifices, not only of time and 
labor but also of money. The Doctor, and four others who 
were engaged with him in the enterprise, paid Jjoo^each, 
or S3500 in the aggregate, in order to deliver the first course 
of lectures in the infant college. At the second term, though 
the number of students had increased, still $50 apiece was 
required from each member of the faculty."' Tie -great 
progress which the college has made, howeve?',Th its' short 
term of existence, and the reputation which- it now holds, 
have amply justified and rewarded the pefseverahce of these 
determined men. The latest term produced ninety-one 
students, with forty-nine graduates; an(I the" possible increase 
is limited only by the capacity of the'coUege. The names 
of those who with him started the college wtre, Dr. J. 
Foster Flagg, Dr. C. A. Kingsbury, Dr. T. Wardle/ and 
Professor Henry Morton. They were also greatly aided by 
Dr. R. Shelton Mackenzie, and Peter F. Rothennel, the 
widely-known historical painter. He is Dean of the 
present Faculty of the College, and occuiiies the Chair of 
Physiology. 

('^^AGARGE, CHARLES, P.iper Manufacturer, was 
born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 
30th, 1804, and is the son of a well-known miller 
and flour merchant of that period. He received 
\^^X^ his education at the Friends' Academy, and when 
^ thirteen years of age left school to enter Hinkle's 
ship chandlery, where he remained a short lime, and then 
changed to the commission house of Grant & Stone. But 
as neither of these positions offered him any inducement 
to remain, as no salary was paid to boys learning the busi- 
ness no matter how useful they might prove to be, he vi- 
bratcil a while between ship chandleiy and a lumber yard, 
until he finally secured a berth in the ship chandlery of 
Isaac W. Norris, with six dollars per week as his compen- 
sation. He remained here for a while, and then through 
family influence obtained a situation at $500 per annum, 
in a paper store kept by Samuel Eckstein, where two of 
his elder brothers had previously been placed. He tho- 
roughly learned the business, and remained in the establish- 
ment until ho w.as nearly thirty years of age. He then, in 



connection with his two brothers, and with a capital of 
51500, opened a rag and paper store on Minor street, the 
firm being C. & W. H. Magarge, his brother Edward having 
died as the enterprise was maturing. The two brothers gave 
their sole and undivided attention to the business, and met 
with steadily increasing success. The senior partner won 
the confidence of the mercantile community, and as he hap- 
pened to reside in Germantown, was elected one of the 
Directors of the Germantown Bank. In 1848, he w.as 
chosen its President, to which position he was re-elected 
year after year until 1866, when he resigned the office, 
though still continuing a member of the Board. During 
the great financial crisis of 1 857 he had the opportunity of 
displaying his eminent qualifications for the post he occu- 
pied by the masterly manner in which he guided the bank 
through the d.xngers of that perilous era. He had pur- 
chased, in 1S47, from the bank an old mill on the Wissa- 
hiccon creek which he converted into a paper manufac- 
tory. In 1858, he erected a Large building adjoining the 
old edifice, and furnished it with a first-class Fourdrinier 
paper machihe — the first in use in Pennsylvania — propelled 
by a steam engine. He also constructed an aqueduct to 
supply the' work's with pure spring w.ater. These imjirove- 
ments cost him upwards of §80,000, besides the original 
payment of $25,060 ten years previously; and the Wissa- 
hiccon Mills coiitinued in successful operation until the 
premises were absorbed into Fainnount Park. The present 
firm of C. Magarge &: Co. continues to occupy the front 
rank among the commercial houses of the day ; and though 
it has met with some losses, has eventually weathered every 
storm that has swept over the monetary world. He was 
married, October 23d, 1S34, to Ann, daughter of Charles 
Hicks, and a descendant of the celebrated founder of the 
Hicksite br.inch of the Society of Friends. Three years 
after her death, he was married, June 5th, 1844, to Lydia 
D., daughter of Matthias Knorr. 




y 



IRKERIDE, THOMAS STORY, M. D., Physi- 
cian, was born near Morrisville, Bucks county, 
Pennsylvania, July 31st, 1809. His ancestors on 
both sides were, as he is himself, members of the 
.Society of Friends, and were among the first settlers 
of Pennsylvania, and the associates and companions 
of William Penn. lie was educated in sundry excellent 
schools, including one at Trenton, New Jersey, under Rev. 
Jared D. Tyler, and he also passed a year with Professor 
John Gummere, at Burlington, studying mathematics. In 
thespringof 1 828, he selected Dr. N. Belleville, of Trenton, 
as his preceptor in medicine, and subsequently attended 
three full courses of lectures in the Univei-sity of Pennsyl- 
vania, whence he obtained his Doctorate in March, 1832. 
The same year he became Resident Physician at the Friends' 
.A'.vUim for the Insane, where he jiassi d I\\ tlv^- ninnlli--, and 



3¥> 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



was elected Resident Physician to the Pennsylvania Hos- 
pital in 1833, remaining there two years. He commenced 
private practice in Philadelphia, in 1835, devoting himself 
more particularly to surgery. During this period of private 
practice he was physician to various public institutions in 
the city, among them : the House of Refuge, the Institution 
for the Blind, the Magdalen Asylum, etc. In the autumn 
of 1840, while he was hoping for his election as Surgeon 
of the Pennsylvania Hospital, he was prevailed upon by its 
Managers to accept the post of Physician-in-Chief and .Su- 
perintendent of their new Hospital for the Insane, then 
nearly completed. To this position he was elected without 
solicitation on his part, and though he reluctantly gave up 
his long-cherished plans, he removed his fajpily to the new 
institution, superintended its completion, an^ there herhas 
ever since resided, occupying the same post, although with 
greatly enlarged duties and responsibilities. This hospital 
was opened January ist, lS4i,and commenced with ninety- 
four patients, received from the old hospital at Eighth and 
Pine streets, which was the first institution in America for 
the care and treatment of the insane — dating back to 1751. 
The present hospital has now accommodations for.fcxs 
patients, and consists of two separate establishments, olie 
for males and one for females,^Osas to ke^ the sexes -en- 
tirely separate, this plan seeding to be suoerior to the one 
formerly pursued. The secoijd/ hospital, which is now apr 
propriated to males, was opened October 27th, 1859. The 
same Board of Managers aiid, Physician^in-Chief have the 
oversight of both. Thq toUil number of, patients received 
up to the close of 1S72 wa^^go. Of these, 2994 wcrt; dis- 
charged cured; 1494 left iiv^x-arious stages of improveinent; 
742 left without material change ; 765 died ; }|avin^ 39J then 
under care. In addition to a%eries of thirtyjfw^i. Aijnual Re- 
ports, Dr. Kirkbride has written a work 0/t theiCpns^tc- 
tion, Organization and General Arrangement of Hoipifals 
for the Insane ; Rules and Regulations for Hospitals for 
the Insane, and has contributed numerous papers to medical 
serials. He was one of the original founders of " The As- 
sociation of Medical Superintendents of American Institu- 
tions for the Insane," of which he was President for nine 
years. He is also a member of other medical and scientific 
associations, including the American Philosophical Sofciety, 
Philadelphia College of Physicians; is an honorary ihember 
of the British Psychological Association, and of various 
other societies in the United States. 



tered the employ of Morris M. Marple, wholesale and re- 
tail notion dealer, at No. 12 north Second street. At the 
expiration of three years he purchased the business, and 
though but twenty years of age entered upon that mercan- 
tile career which has resulted so successfully. In 1850, de- 
siring an increased space for the display of his merchandise, 
he removed to No. 1 1 on the same street, but soon these 
quarters proved inadequate, and, in 1852, he removed to 
(old) No. 69 Market street, where he entered upon the 
wholesale business exclusively. His establishment, though 
'a large one, proved in five years entirely inadequate to con- 
tainhis stock, and, in 1857, he removed once more, to No. 
219 Market street, admitting at this time two of his clerks, 
Henry«J. Davis and Elton B. Gifford, into partnership with 
him, the style being Joel J. Baily & Co. His sales greatly 
increased within the next period of five years, necessitating 
mcrcased accommodations, which, in 1862, he found at 
No. 28 norih Third street. At this lime he admitted an- 
otheCtpartner, Samuel W. Van Culine, into the house. In 
this>Iarge establishment they carried on an immense busi- 
nesar-^'hich was constantly increasing, true to their motto 
of_;_'^tilKiichicving, still progressing," and after a decade 
of-ujteganjpled prosperity, they found themselves so cramped 
^ tdipace thit 'It^" 'I'termined to erect a warehouse better 
^apled to 111 In January, 1873, they commenced 

to build thecicyani, spacious and massive edifice Nos. 719 
and 721 'Market street, tp .which they removed August Ist 
of the samc,ye.ar... Daring the War of the Rebellion Joel 
J, Baily .wa3 un^blp, on accpunt of ill health, to take any 
active- part. iiK the >fiel4; ;but he contributed freely of his 
parsfej;oward< thf charities thfen existing, besides giving an 
eflfestivg.s^pport^o^lje.a.Uthoriiies. He has been, at various 
times, solicited~to occupy positions of trust and honor in 
various banking and other institutions, but has invariably 
declined, deeming his proper sphere to be that of his own 
estalilishment, to which he has ever given his entire atten- 
tion, and which has proved so successful. In his youth he 
was allowed to consult his own tastes and inclinations for 
the business in which he engaged, and his abundant and 
continued prosperity well attests the wisdom of his choice ; 
besides proving that the only proper mode of bringing up a 
yx)ung man is to allow him to choose for himself that em- 
ployment -for which he has, a taste — and not to choose for 
him another for which he has no inclination. 




|AILY, JOEL J., Merchant, was bom in London 
Grove, Chester county, Pennsylvania, October 
29th, 1826, and is a son of Joel I. Baily, a pro- 
minent agriculturist of that county, who for 
several years was the magistrate of the township 
in which he resided. His son received a good 
education in his native county, and when seventeen years 
old left school and repaired to r'hiladel])liia, where he en- 




ISSTON, HENRY, Saw Manufacturer, was born 
at Tewkesbury, England, in 1821, and is a son 
of the late Thomas Disston. The latter after his 
son's birth removed to Derby, where he engaged 
in the manufacture of lace machines, and in- 
structed his son in the business, and also in the 
general principles of mechanics, a knowledge which has 
proved of immense benefit to him. While yet a youth, he 




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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



34« 



emigrated to America with his sister and father, landing at 
PliilaJelphia after a tedious voyage of sixty days. Three 
days after landing his father was stricken with apoplexy 
and died. His son experienced some difficulty in getting 
a position, but eventually found one with Lindley, Johnson 
& Whitcraft, where he learned the art of manufacturing 
saws, and remained with them until he was twenty-two 
years old. Having a misundei-standing with one of the 
partners, he declared he would establish a^ opposition factory 
in the neighborhood. This by energy he effected, even 
building the furnace with his own hands, which when 
finished was supplied with fuel, wheeling the same from 
the wharf at Willow street on a borrowed barrow to his 
shop at Second and Arch streets. His capital was but S350, 
his saving as a journeyman with his former employers. He 
also manufactured the tools wherewith he made his saws. 
For three years he labored on with varying success, though 
at the expiration of this period he found himself no richer 
than when he started. There was an immense prejudice 
against •'\merican-made saws, which was exceedingly diffi- 
cult to overcome ; and he was obliged to spend the half of 
each week in soliciting orders, employing the other half to 
fill them. In 1844, he was induced to occupy part of a 
building furnished with steam power, and with $200 of bor- 
rowed money fitted up his shop, and thus established the 
first steam saw-factory in the country. But the party who 
professed to be the owner of the premises was in reality only 
a lessee, and was endeavouring to steal his tenant's goods 
when the sheriff was called upon to take possession, which 
he did by seizing the new tenant's property for back rent, 
besides which he was held responsible for other deficiencies. 
Other troubles succeeded, including domestic affliction, ter- 
minating in the death of his wife. He now redoubled his 
energies and soon found himself once more in the occupancy 
of a shop, which a new landlord observing immediately 
doubled his rent, causing him to seek a fresh locality. After 
several removals, the last one occasioned by the bursting of 
a boiler and destruction of his shop, he resolved to rent 
no more buildings, but build one and own it. His first 
workshop and his own property covered but twenty square 
yards, but formed the nucleus of his present immense estab- 
lishment. The severe financial crisis of 1857 did not affect 
him in the least ; but he feared at first the result of the Civil 
War which broke out in 1861. He however proposed to 
manufacture military accoutrements, and soon received 
large orders. He also sent twenty-five men to the army, 
paying their wages and keeping their places open during 
their absence. In 1S62, he added a rolling-mill for the 
production of iron plates. In 1864, his works were de- 
stroyed by fire, but he at once improvised on the ground 
workshops, which were all in running order within ten days 
after the calamity ; he also enlarged his premises by the 
purchase of an adjoining lot and was enabled to double his 
manufactures. Saws are no longer the exclusive article 
fabricated by him, but other articles in steel. The goods 




are shipped to all parts of the world, including the British 
dominions; agencies being established in London, San 
Francisco, and Chicago. He is a most considerate em- 
ployer, and has given shares in his business to all the valu- 
able men in his works, in addition to their salaries. He is 
very charitable, and h.as, among other benevolent acts, dis- 
tributed soup to the poor of his neighljorhood during the 
winter season, besides maintaining a private dispensary for 
the relief of their bodily ailments. He is a prominent 
member of the Presbyterian Church, and his gifts have 
largely aided in founding the Oxford Church. He is also 
a member of the Masonic Order, and of the St. George's 
Society. He has been twice married; first, in 1S44, to 
Amanda Bickley, who left him no children. His second 
wife is Mary, daughter of Jonas Stillman, of Egg Harbor, 
New Jersey. Two of his sons by this marriage are asso- 
ciated with him in business. 



RAY, COLONEL WILLIAM C, Collector of 
Internal Revenue for the Seventh Collection 
District of Pennsylvania, was born near Clay- 
mont, Delaware, October 4th, 1831. The com- 
mon schools of his native county were superior 
in their day, and he enjoyed all the educational 
advantages they afforded. In the spring of 1847, he i'^' 
moved to Chester, Pennsylvania, where he became an ap- 
prentice to mercantile pursuits, with J. M. Eyre, and upon 
attaining his majority was admitted to partnership, under 
the firm name of Eyre & Gray. He assumed the sole 
proprietorship in 1857, and continued the business until 
obliged to relinquish it to undertake the duties and respon- 
sibilities of his present office. A company, called the Wayne 
Guards, having been organized in Chester, he became their 
Captain, July l8th, 1S61, and held the command until August 
I4lh, 1862, when he began raising a company of three 
years' men, with which he joined the 119th Regiment 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, on September 1st following. His 
regiment, having been assigned to the Army of the Poto- 
mac immediately after the battle at Antietam, was attached 
to the Sixth Army Corps, then under the command of 
General Franklin. He participated with his command in 
every action in which it w.as engaged ; led the regiment at 
the Wilderness, May loth, 1864, and subsequently until 
June 1st. In recognition of his gallantry, he received the 
commissions of Major and Lieutenant-Colonel, to date from 
May 13th, 1S64, and .^pril 6th, 1S65, a brevet commission 
as Colonel for gallant and meritorious services before Peters- 
burg and at the battle of Little Sailor's Creek. He was 
mustered out with his command at Philadelphia, June 14th, 
1865. He then returned to his business, which had been 
conducted by his wife during his absence, and, in 1866, 
was elected to Councils, in which he served until 1869. 
He was appointed to his present office by President Grant, 



342 



BIOGRArniCAL EXCYCLOr.EDIA. 




October 2lst, 1S69, and has performed the duties devolving 
upim him with rnre ability and acceptance. He has also 
been cngaj^ed in real estate operations and insurance, for 
some three years, and has been for many years fully identi- 
fied with the public interests of the town. He married 
Anne E., daughter of Job Rulon, an old and prominent 
citizen of Chester, March 2lst, 1S54. 



V 
Al.DWIX, MATTHIAS W., Locomotive Engine- 
builder and founder of the Baldwin Locomotive 
Works, of I'hiladelphia, w.as born in Eliz.abeth- 
town, New Jei-sey, December loth, 1795. His 
father, William Baldwin, was a carriage-maker 
by trade, and at his death left his family a com- 
fortable property, which by the mismanagement of the 
executors wa<i nearly all lost. His widow was thus left to 
her own exertions for the maintenance of herself and family. 
To the necessity for economy and self-reliance thus imposed, 
young Baldwin probably owed the ftrst development of his 
inventive genius. From early childhood he exhibited a 
remark.able fondness for mech.anical contrivances. His toys 
were taken apart, and examined, while he would produce 
others far superior in mechanism and finish. When sixteen 
years old, he was apprenticed to Woolworth Brothers, 
jewelry manufacturers, of Frankford, Pennsylvania, and 
while serving his time he commanded the respect and 
esteem of both his associates and employers. Having mas- 
tered all the det.iils of the business, thus becoming a finished 
workman, and having attained his majority, he found em- 
ployment in the establishment of Fletcher & Gardiner, 
I'hiladelphia, who were extensive manufacturers of jewelry. 
He soon became the most useful man in the shop, his work 
being delicate in finish, and his designs char.acterized by 
great originality and beauty. In 1819, he commenced busi- 
ness on his own account ; but in consequence of financial 
difficulties, and the trade becoming depressed, he soon 
abandoned it. His attention was then drawn to the inven- 
tion of machinery; and one of his first efforts in this direc- 
tion was a machine whereby the process of gold-plating 
was greatly simplified. He next turned his attention to the 
manufacture of book-binders' tools, to supersede those which 
had been, up to that time, of foreign production. He 
a.ssociatcd himself for this purpose with David Mason, a 
competent machinist, and the enterprise was a success. 
Indeed, so admir.able were the quality and finish of the 
tools, especially as they were of an improved make, that the 
book-trade was soon rendered indcjiendent of foreign manu- 
facturers. He next invented the cylinder for printing 
of calicoes, which had always been previously done by hand- 
presses; and he revolutionized the entire business. The 
manufacture of these printing rollers increased so greatly, 
that additional accommodations were necessary. Here 
again he effected an imjirovement, first using horsepower 



as a substitute for the hand-machinery and foot-lathes, which 
in its turn gave way to steam-power. The engine purchased 
for this purpose, not meeting his wishes, he built one him- 
self, from original drawings of his own. This little engine 
of six-horse power, and occupying a space of six square feet, 
is slill in use, driving the whole machinery of the boiler 
shop in the Locomotive Works on Broad street, Philadel- 
phia. It is over forty years old. His genius in this respect 
being soon recognized, he received many orders for the 
manufacture of stationary engines, and they became his most 
important article of manufacture. When the first locomo- 
tive engine in .America, imported by the Camden & Amboy 
Railroad Company, in 1830, arriveil, he examined it care- 
fully, and resolved to construct one after his own ideas; and 
after urgent requests from Franklin Pcale, the pro])rietor 
of the Philadelphia Museum, built a miniature engine for 
exhibition. His only guide in this work consisted of a few 
imperfect sketches of the one he had examined, aided by 
descriptions of those in use on the Liverpool & Manchester 
Railway. He successfully accomplished the task, and on 
the 25th of April, 1S31, the mini.ature locomotive was run- 
ning over a track in the Museum rooms, a portion of this 
track being laid on the fioors of the transepts, and the 
balance jjassing over trestle work in the naves of the build- 
ing. Two small cars holding four persons were attached to 
it, and the novelty attracted immense crowds. The experi- 
ment resulting well, he received an order to construct a 
road locomotive for the Germantown Railroad. He had 
great difficulty in procuring the necessary tools and help. 
The inventor and the mechanic worked himself on the 
greater part of the entire engine. It w.is accomplished, 
finally, and on its trial trip, November 23d, 1832, proved a 
success. Some imperfections existed, but these being 
remedied, it was accepted by the company, and was in use 
for twenty years thereafter. The smoke-stack was originally 
constructed of the same diameter from its junction with the 
fire-box to the top where it was 'bent at a right angle, and 
carried back, with its opening to the rear of the train. 
This engine weighed five tons, and was sold for $3500. 
Two years elapsed before he ventured upon building 
another, as he had seemingly insurmountable difliculties to 
encounter; there were so many improvements to be made, 
and the lack of skilled labor, and above all of the necessary 
tools and machinery, was so great, that he almost abandoned 
the work. In 1S34, he constructed an engine for the South 
Carolina Railroad, and also one for the Pennsylvania State 
Line, running from Philadelphia to Columbia. The latter 
weighed 17,000 pounds, and drew at one time nineteen 
loaded cars. This was such an unprecedented performance 
that the State Legislature at once ordered several additional 
ones, and two more were completed and delivered during 
the same year; and he .also constructed one for the Phila- 
delphia & Trenton Railroad. In 1835, he built fourteen; 
in 1836, forty. Then came the terrible financial panic of 
1837, which ruined so many houses throughout the land ; 



r.IOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



343 



he also became embnn'as'iecl, but calling his creditors 
together, he asked and obtained an extension, and subse- 
quently paid every dollar, principal and interest. His 
success was now assured, and his works became the largest 
in the United States, perhaps in the world. Engines were 
shipped to eveiy quarter of the globe, even to England 
where they had been invented — and the name of Baldwin 
grew as familiar as a household word. He was one of the 
founders of the Franklin Institute. He was an exemplary 
Christian, and of a charitable and benevolent disposition. 
He died, September yih, iS66. 



fRVING, JAMES, Manufacturer, w.as born in the 
city of New York, December 7th, 1S17, and is of 
Scotch extraction, his father having emigrated 
from that country in iSlI.and his mother four 
years subsequently. In 1S24, the family removed 
10 Montgomeiy county, Pennsylvania, where the 
son enjoyed such educational advantages as were afforded 
in the ordinary schools of the neighborhood. In his twelfth 
year, he became an apprentice to Gethel Moore, in the 
woollen manufacturing business. He remained in that 
establishment until 1841, becoming fully acquainted with 
the various details of the same ; and after a year spent in 
Chester county, Pennsylvania, associated himself with his 
brother, the firm being J. & D. Irving, who, in 1842, com- 
menced manufacturing at Haddington, and continued until 
the winter of 1845, when they removed to the Irvington 
(formerly known as the Crosbyville) Mills, situated on 
Ridley creek in the borough of North Chester. They 
leased this property, and operated the same as lessees for 
nine years, and then purchased the property in 1854, 
having meanwhile enlarged the works. In 1853, James 
Irving erected the Barndennoch Mills, in Chester; but did 
not operate them until 1859, when he associated himself 
with his brother David, and with Thomas J. Leiper, under 
the firm of Irving & Leiper, and commenced the production 
of yarn. In February, 1862, his brother David died; but 
the business was continued by the surviving partners, and 
in 1873, the mill was very considerably enlarged, and new 
out-buildings were erected ; it is now employing 150 hands, 
running 12,000 spindles, consuming 2500 bales of cotton, 
and producing 1,000,000 pounds of cotton yarn per annum. 
On his brother's death, the firm of J. & D. Irving, operating 
the Irvington Mills, was of course dissolved, and the survivor 
became sole proprietor by the purchase of the deceased 
partner's interest. On January 1st, 1866, he admitted his 
son to partnershi|>, the firm being James Ii-ving & Son ; but 
although the son died in the following September, the firm 
name still continues. The old building was removed in 
1S73, and in its stead there was erected a handsome four- 
story structure, 172 by 50 feel; which together with the 
many out-buildings, dye-houses, and ware-room, presents a 



most imposing appearance. This mill consumes 500,000 
pounds of wool per annum, producing 400,000 pounds of 
yarn; which together with the cotton-warps manufactured 
by Irving & Leiper, furnish the material for the production 
of 1,500,000 yards of cloth, annually turned out by Leiper 
& Son. During the War of the Rebellion, he proved him- 
self an ardent supporter of the Union, assuming the double 
charge of all the mills during the absence of his partner. 
Captain Thomas J. Leiper, in the army. He is noted 
among his townsmen as one of the most public spirited and 
energetic, fully alive to the interests of the people. He has 
been a Director of the First National Bank of Chester, 
since 1S70. 



OMEROY, JOHN M., Merchant and Contractor, 
of Pomeroy, Pennsylvania, was born in Shippens- 
burg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, April 
1st, 1S23. His family are of French descent, the 
patronymic being derived from pomme dii roi, 
signifying, " apple of the king," or " royal apple." 
Hfs ancestors were Huguenots, one of whom, a classical 
teacher in the family of a French nobleman, escaped from 
Paris on the night of the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and 
reaching the coast, was conveyed to Ireland on a fishing 
vessel. One of his descendants emigrating to America 
about 1730, located near Roxbuiy, Franklin county, Penn- 
sylvania, and was one of the first white settlers of the Cum- 
berland valley, where his ancestors still reside. The family 
have intermarried with the Scotch-Irish settlers of that 
region, until all traces of the original blood are nearly ob- 
literated. He lost his father when four years of age, and 
his mother three yeai-s afterwards. Owing to their death he 
was taken into the family of his uncle and guardian, Joseph 
Pomeroy, of Concord, Franklin county. Here he remained 
for many years, attending t.-,e village schools and obtaining 
a good English education at these and the Chambersburg 
Academy. His uncle being engaged in mercantile pursuits, 
the boy before leaving school had acquired some knowledge 
of the business, and was taken into the store as an assistant. 
He employed much of his spare time in land-surveying, 
and had gained a good reputation as a surveyor before he 
was eighteen. At the age of nineteen he went into partner- 
ship with his uncle, and building a large tannery, conducted 
it successfully for five years. In his twentieth year he was 
elected a school director, though, as a minor, he was not 
legally eligible to the position. In 1845, at the age of 
twenty-two, he was chosen to represent Franklin county in 
the State Legislature, the district being nearly equally 
divided between the two political parties, and his competi- 
tor being one of the most popular men in the county. The 
following year he was re-elected by an increased majority. 
.■\s an indication of the difference in the state of politics 
then and now, it is asserted that the total cost of his two 
campaigns for the legislature did not exceed ten dollars. 



344 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



In 1847, he married Rebecca C. Kelley, of Academia, 
Juniata county, and removed to that place, where he re- 
mained for several years engaged in mercantile business. 
In 1853, he went to Philadelphia, where he commenced 
dry-goods jobbing, at Third and Arch streets; but relin- 
quished the business in i860, the panic which prevailed 
about that lime rendering such trade unprofitable. During 
his residence in Philadelphia he represented the Ninth 
Ward for one year in Common Council, and was a delegate 
from the Second Congressional District to the Chicago 
Convention of 1S60, where he supported the nomination 
of Abraham Lincoln. He was mainly instrumental in pro- 
curing from the State Legislature the charter of the Union 
National Bank, and in establishing that institution, of which 
he was the first Vice-President. In 1S61, he was appointed 
l)y rresi<lcnt Lincoln, a Paymaster in the army, but resigned 
the position after two years' service. He disbursed several 
millions of dollars to the troops, and on the final settlement 
of his accounts the Government was found indebted to him 
thirty-two dollars. In 1845, he located at the place whose 
post-office and railroad station were named for him. The 
Pennsylvania & Delaware Railroad, from Delaware city, 
forms a junction at Pomeroy with the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road. He was prominent in projecting and building the 
road which terminates at his place, and is a director of this 
and several other lines. For several years he has devoted 
his attention to railroad construction, as a contractor, having 
been connected with a large number of such enterprises. 
He is one of the men of whom his friends and his section 
are justly proud, for his energy, enterprise, and integrity. 



' "^ORHEK, JAMES. T., Manufacturer and Banker, 
was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, January 
6th, 1808, of an old Moravian family. Nearly a 
centuiy and a quarter ago, in 1750, John Andrew 
Borhek settled in the then frontier part of Bethle- 
hem, and has his name recorded in the " Bethle- 
hem Economy " of 1756, as a" Single Brother." Christian 
F., born to him in July 26th, 1776, carried on the business 
of a hatter for many years, and his son was James T. The 
careful education given the lad at the parochial school 
supplied him a solid basis for future culture; and with this 
he entered into business life, first in his father's hat factory 
in Bethlehem, and then for a while in Philadelphia, where 
he learned the tin and coppersmiths' trade. He resumed, 
however, the former, and having bought out the establish- 
ment of Charles A. Luckenback, in Bethlehem, continued 
it uninterruptedly for sixteen years. In 1S47, ^^ began 
importing musical instruments ; and later, succeeded Henry 
A. Guetter, in Old South Bethlehem, in dealing in coal and 
lumber. Successful in each of these enterprises he accu- 
mulated considerable property, which he employed partly 
in building operations, constructing or becoming interested 




in the construction of nearly fifty houses. In i860, he dis- 
posed of his business to his son Ashton, and held the office 
of Justice of the Peace from 1857 until he declined re-elec- 
tion in 1867, his career as a m.agistrate meeting with general 
approval. In 1864, he was elected to the position he now 
occupies as Cashier of the Bethlehem Dime Savings Bank, 
where his known integrity and financial sagacity are fully 
appreciated by the public. These excellent qualities have 
also been testified to by other appointments entailing heavy 
responsibilities. They led to his appointment as Trustee of 
the great estate of Henry G. Guethe, one of the wealthiest 
citizens of that county, and to his selection as guardian, 
trastee or executor of a number of other estates, positions in 
which he has always acquitted himself with entire satisfac- 
tion to those concerned. For a long period he was Direc- 
tor in three National Banks, was at one period Auditor of 
the county, and in the Moravian Church, of which he has 
always been an exemplary member, he has occupied in turn 
eveiy office which is open to laymen. Such a life cannot 
but bo a satisfactory one to look back upon, and secures to 
him the affectionate regard of the community. In 1830, he 
married Mary A. Brunner of Nazareth, and has four sons, 
two with him in the bank, one an apothecary, and Ashton, 
who, as has been above stated, succeeded to the business of 
his father on the retirement of the latter. 



ALLADE, COLONEL J.VCOB, Financier, was 
born February 26th, 1S17, in Lycoming county, 
Pennsylvania, of W'hich county, until quite re- 
cently, he continued to be a resident. His fra- 
ternal grandfather was one of three brothers who 
in ihe^ear 1713 emigrated from Strasburg to this 
country, and whose descendants, it is believed, comprise all 
of the name in America. His father, born in Dauphin 
county in 178S, received a commission as captain in the 
American army in 1809, and another in 1812, serving with 
distinction throughout the last war between this country and 
Great Britain. When quite young, Jacob Sallade learned 
the trade of millwright, and such 'was his proficiency and 
thoroughness that before he was twenty-one years old he 
directed the building of a grist mill un.assisted, doing all 
the planning and architectural work. In 1S40, he com- 
menced mercantile business, continuing to make and exe- 
cute contracts for building mills, churj:hes, houses, barns, 
bridges, canal locks, etc. The same year he was appointed 
Postmaster at Larry's Creek, Lycoming county, Pennsyl- 
vania. In 185 1, he became foreman of the Pennsylvania 
Canal. His connection with the periodical press began at 
an e.arly day. He was for many years one of the publish- 
ers and pro])rietors of The "Jersey Shore Republican, and 
also of the Union RcpiibHcan, and the West Branch Demo- 
crat, oi WWVam^yioti. In 1859, he published The Confer- 
ence Record, the first daily journal started in Williamsport. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



345 



In 1S56, hewas elected Director, Steward and Treasurer of 
Dickinson Seminary, an educational institution of high stand- 
ing, under control of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 
1S61, his known patriotism and executive ability secured his 
selection as an agent of the General Government to attend 
to important business in connection with the war fur the 
Union then just opening. His services were so satisfactory 
that in 1862 he was appointed Assistant Quartermaster, 
with the rank of Captain in the regular army, which posi- 
tion he declined. He accepted an extensive contract to 
supply the Government with wood, coal, lumber, etc. His 
operations in this connection were on an immense scale', 
and to assist in carrying them out two trains on the railioad 
between ISallimore and Washington, and two steanw^ on 
the Chesapeake Bay were required. He was appointed a 
Paymaster in the army, with the rank of Major, and was 
confirmed September 0th, 1862. He was permitted to 
choose his station either at Washington, Wheeling, Cincinr 
nati, or Louisville, and, electing the former, was employed 
to pay the troops of the Army of the Potomac in and alioij^ ' 
Washington. In July, 1863, he was ordered ^to>^ew 
Or'^ns. Narrowly escaping capture by a relfeV pirale oii 
the way to his post, he arrived at New Orjeans Iw sleamer 
Tuly nth, and remained until AugusC 1064. ite accbm- 
panied General Banks on his Red River expraition, visUed 
officially the Rio Grande and many btjier pofrits in^Texas, 
and paid troops at many prominent places oit the Jilisgis- 



eniployed for a time in paying paroled prisoners'^at An- 
napolis. Hewas then ordered to the Shenandoah Valley 
lo assist in paying the troops under the command of General 
Sheridan. So well did he perform the arduous duties re- 
quired of him in this position that upon his return to Wash- 
ington he was complimented with a brevet ctnnmission as 
Lieutenant-Colonel. An examination of paymasters being 
ordered, he passed through the ordeal with the assurance 
tliat the board regarded him as one of the best qualified of 
any who had come before them. He was then assicnecf~tp 
a difficult position in the Division of Referjed Claims iri 
the Paymaster-General's office. The duties of this-^Osl re- 
quired a thorough knowledge of army regulations and of 
the laws relating to bounties, etc., yet he so well accom- 
plished his work as to receive from the chief of the depart- 
ment the assurance that he had paid more claims than any 
other officer of the division with less expense. He resigned 
in 1866. During the time he had acted as an army pay- 
master he disbureed a large amcnint of money, and on the 
final closing up of his accounts the suspensions of the de- 
partment against him amounted to less than S50. Returning 
to Williamsport, which had just been incorporated as a city, 
he was for three successive terms elected a member of the 
Select Council, and was also appointed Postmaster of the 
city. He was one of the founders of the First National 
Bank of Williamsport, was for a long time one of its direc- 
tors, and is still a stockholder. He was from the first, and 
44 



still remains, an active member of the banking firm of 
Ilolden, Lentz & Sallade, of the same city, which was 
organized in 1868. Early in 1873 he was unanimously 
elected to the Presidency of the Keystone Bank of Phila- 
delphia, succeeding L. Montgomery Bond. He is an active 
and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
with which he became connected in 1837. He has built 
no less than six churches, and has been foremost in works 
of charity and prominent in various public cnteri^rises. 



ILHELM, ARTEMUS, Lurnace Builder and Iron 
Manufacturer, was born in Baltimore county, 
- Maiyland, December 29th, 1822. He is de- 
c/oTg'-^cended on the father's side from a CJennan 
-'™^^i' 'stock, while from the maternal he inherits the 
"^nglish blood. When but a child of six years of 
age He aSrompanied his parents to a farm which they had 
purchas3eV in York county, Pennsylvania, and there he re- 
sided until lie was seventeen years of age, aiding his parents 
in agricultural labSis, iind devoting his evenings and other 
lelsufcObui-s to studjf, lor there was but a poor apology for 
a school in- the'ifei^hbArhood. About 1840 he went to 
Shrews6ui|y toleariith'S^tHiie-mason and bricklayers' trade, 
although when he-had' sitfficiently acquired a knowledge of 




the occupStTon he rettirhed home and gave his assistance to 
sqipi. Returning to Washington in August, iS64',jlie \v,a_s his'fatlierfijr soine-iime longer. In 1844, he went to Bal- 



H{n6re,*'wfiere' he remained a year pursuing his vocation, 
and saved up gioo, of which sum he invested ,$75 in a lot 
in Shrewsbury, which he holds to this day. In 1845, he 
returned home lo assist his father in the erection of Furnace 
No. I, belonging to the Ashland Iron Company, in the town 
of that name. In 1847, his father died, and his proficiency 
and ability as a furnace builder secured him the contract to 
construct No. 2 Furnace for the same concern. This he 
accomplished so satisfactorily, and withal with such prompt- 
ness, that \9l1en Robert W. Coleman, himself a noted iron- 
m^ter, casualty -visiting these works, he was so favorably 
tmpresseS \Wth'"the character of the work here performed, 
that he engaged him to proceed to Cornwall and make a 
contract to erect Furnace No. I on the great Cornwall 
Estate. This was in 1849. He had already made the 
building of furnaces and the manufacture of iron his special 
study, being determined to erect only the structures after 
the most approved designs. From 1845 to 1850 very great 
improvements had been made in the manufacture of anthra- 
cite iron, to which he had already given his earnest atten- 
tion, taking an active part in the matters pertaining thereto, 
both in Ashland and Cornwall. Having concluded his 
eng.agement with R. W. Coleman, he returned to Ashland, 
where he remodelled the furnaces and set up additional 
boilers. At this time, and for some lime afterwards, he was 
constantly occupied in diffi^rent parts of the State in the 
same line of operations, supervising various impiovements 



346 



liKJGkAl'lIlCAl, KNCVCLOl'.EUIA. 



at the several points, and as he had by this time gained 
■consideral)le reputation as a furnace liuildcr, he found it 
necessary to secure and employ a force of competent 
mechanics while engaged in his various contracts. In July, 
1853, he returned to Cornwall, and was engaged by R. W. 
Coleman, at a stated salary, as Suiierintendant and Assis- 
tant. In 1854, he designed and supervised the erection of 
Furnace No. 2, without any assistance. All the brick 
needed in its construction he had made on the estate, and 
all the other articles needed for the structure he himself 
purchased, even to the most minute matters. All the de- 
signs, plans, etc., for this, as well as all other structures 
which he ever constructed for any one, were the work of 
his own hands : he is a self-taught draughtsman. When 
this Furnace No. 2 w.is completed, it devolved upon him 
to " blow in " the same, and he continued as supervisor in 
and out of the office until 1S56, when the manager resigned, 
and the superintendence of the concern devolved upon him ; 
though he did not immedi.itely accept the position, until he 
had given two weeks' consideration to the offer, which he 
finally accepted. From that time forward his duties were 
excessive and arduous. In 1S57, he made the estimate for, 
and advised the purchase of, the " Dudley," now known 
as the " Donaghmore Furnace," at Lebanon, and thus an- 
other great concern was placed under his care and manage- 
ment. In i860, he had still other duties added to the 
responsibilities of his position. At this date R. W. Cole- 
man gave him a general power of attorney to execute and 
sign all papers, and to take charge of all the finances of the 
estate. This was a great burden, which he reluctantly un- 
dertook, .and only after giving the subject a year's consider- 
ation. Aliout this d.ate, also, he w.as elected a Director of 
the Cornwall Railroad, which connected that place with 
Lebanon, and had been built by R. W. Coleman in 1854. 
In 1861, he purchased the Cornw.iU "Turnpike," so- 
miscalled, and became its President. This was a dilapi- 
dated plank road, but under his able management it was 
thoroughly changed, and has become one of the best five- 
mile roads in the country, having been macadamized in the 
best manner. In 1863, he recommended there-modelling 
of the Cornwall Mansions, which was done under the joint 
supervision of himself and John McArthur, Jr., an eminent 
architect of Philadelphia. In 1864, R. W. Coleman died, 
and he succeeded him as President of the Cornwall Rail- 
r lad. In 1864-65, he was prominent in the projection and 
completion of the " Spiral Railroad," running from the base 
to the summit of " Big Ore Hill." This hill is 300 feet in 
heiglit, and the road in its construction makes the entire 
circle of the hill, on an ascending grade of 200 feet to the 
mile, its length being 1^ miles. Locomotives and trains 
daily ascend the hill and transport thence the ores which 
are mined near its summit. In November, 1865, on the 
death of Colonel Freem.an, he was made one of the Admin- 
istrators of the Cornwall Estate, and still acts as such, with 
a general power of attorney from the heirs of R. W. Cole- 




man. In 1S70, he purchased the farm and adjoining pro- 
l)ci"[y at Norlli_ Cornwall, designing and erecting a furnace 
there. In 187J, he was elected President of tlie Lekmon 
Rolling Mill, lie osvns also large interests in difterent iron 
companies, etc., outside of the estate of which he has 
charge. Upon the Cornwall estate there are now six fur- 
naces, which have the capacity of six hundred tons per 
week. He is eminently a "self-made man," and has 
carved out for himself an honorable distinction among his 
contemporaries. He has many and warm fiiends, and he 
enjoys the utmost confidence and respect of evei-y one in the 
community where he resides. 



lEGLER JACOB, Editor and Politician, was 
born September lyth, 181 3, in Gettysburg, 
Pennsylvania. His early education was received 
in the small school which subsequently grew to 
be Gettysburg College. While his parents intended him 
to become a farmer, his own inclinations led him to wish 
some other occupation, and as he could not gain their con- 
sent, he took the alternative of leaving home secretly, and 
seeking his fortune .alone in the world. Greater success 
followed this attempt than is usual. Wandering to Buller, 
Pennsylvania, he reached that town with only twelve cents 
in his pocket, but ihere found employment in the office of a 
small newspaper. The Repository, and sen-ed an apprentice- ' 
ship of two years and six months to the printing business, 
which he thoroughly mastered. In a few years he became 
partner in the paper, and, thus established, married a daugh- 
ter of Captain Abram Brinkcr. The activity of his mind 
and the jiopularity of his manners rendei'cd him a favorite 
with his fellow-citizens, and as early as the age of twenty- 
one he was chosen Clerk to the County Commissioners, and 
two years later was appointed Prothonotary by Governor 
Porter. When, in 1837, this office became elective, he 
.again received it for three years. In 1844, 1^^ was elected 
Assistant Clerk to the State Senate, having previously held 
the position of Transcribing Clerk. Three yeai's subse- 
quently he was sent to the Legislature, and, in 1S49, held a 
Clerkship in the Pension Office in Washington. Though 
successful in his political aspirations, he was strongly at- 
tracted by the gold developments of California, which com- 
menced at this time to excite general attention. He there- 
fore started in 1850 for that promising field, and spent two 
years among the placers, years full of startling and curious 
adventures. On his returji, he was elected several times 
Clerk of the House of Representatives, and, in 1871, Cleik 
of the Senate, and at the request of the Legislature wrote a 
Lcislalive Maiitia!, whicli is still in use. At present, al- 
though his sympathy in the fluctuations of politics is by no 
means abated, he is engaged chiefly in the editorship of a 
paper of which lie is also proprietor, entitled Z/i;^/iv'i 
Democratic Herald, which has a large circulation in the 
section where it is published. 




s*!K7 jai Ci . 




i^^>^^ ^^j^V^6^^^^Z£p- 






/ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 




^.^'^EIM, GENERAL WILLIAM HIGH, Statesman 
and Soldier, was born at Reading, Pennsylvania, 
June I3lh, 1S13, and was the son of Benneville 
" \oC?\ ^'^^ Mary (High) Keim of that city. He was 
*^\~j> educated at the Mount Airy Military School, 
where he graduated in 1839. Before he was 
seventeen years old he became Orderly Sergeant of the 
Washington Greys of Reading, commanded by his cousin. 
Captain Daniel M. Keim, and seven years later succeeded 
the latter. He rose to the grade of Major, then Brigadier- 
General, and in 1S42 was elected Major-General of the 
Fifth Division. While holding this command, and indeed 
every other military position, he proved a model soldier. 
Thrown into contact with General Scott and Colonel Rich- 
ard M. Johnson, who visited him in their official capacity, 
he olitained and put to good use the results of their age 
and experience. For over twenty years he was constantly 
being selected as commander of encampments of State 
troops. In 1844, he was ordered to Philadelphia with a 
portion of his command during the riots of that year, and 
elicited from General Patterson, the senior Major^eneral, 
a most complimentary notice. In 184S, he'was^^ccfed 
Mayor of Reading, and in 1S59, was nomioateil'.aVra elected 
to Congress as Representative of the Berks T)istri'^,rtimigh' 
the majority of the party opposed to him had ahyays reached 
several thousand. .Shortly after this Jie was ■fljo^eri' by the 
people Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania:'; In\866, warned 
by the signs of the approaching storm that^ubse^tiently 
broke over the country, he suggested, among other impor- 
tant matters, a general encampment of tlie State troops. 
The York Encampment, which began September 3d of that 
year, was the result of that suggestion, and he was placed 
in command. When the Rebellion was inaugurated, it is 
a matter of history that the first troops to respond to the call 
of the President were from his command — the Ringgold 
Light Artilleiy of Reading, which arrived in Washington 
April i8th, 1S61. He was at once ordered to Washington, 
where the Government immediately gave him full power 
to prepare for defence. Two divisions of troops assembled 
at Chamberslnirg, Pennsylvania, of which he commanded 
the second ; the first being that of Major-General, P.itterson. 
On June 15th it encamped at Ilagerstown, Maryland, and 
July 2d crossed the Potomac, an'd- subsequently^ forced 
" Stonewall" Jackson, at Falling Waters, to retreat. After 
this campaign on the upper Potomac was ended, he was 
appointed by President Lincoln Brigadier-General of Vol- 
unteers, and joined the Army of the Potomac. At the bat- 
tle of Williamsburg he greatly distinguished h'mself, though 
he was at the time an inmate of the hospital, which he left 
against the advice of the surgeon. He was highly compli- 
mented by General McClellan, and was by him ordered to 
the post of honor, in advance of the army. He led his 
command in the advance, but his pains and weakness 
warned him that he could not endure long. He returned 
home, where in a few days he died, M.ay iSth, 1S62, and 



347 




was buried with military honors. He was married, in 1836, 
to Lucy Jane, daughter of Colonel Beverly Randolph of 
Front Royal, Virginia. 



^^i^^r RAINER, DAVID, Manufacturer, and President of 
the Delaware County National Bank, was born in 
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, July gth, 1814. 
He was brought up on the farm where he was 
born and still resides, and enjoyed such educa- 
tional advantages as the subscription schools of 
that peribd afforded. His father, also named David Trainer, 
had purchased, in lSo5, the property, consisting of the farm 
fand.^afi^itiirig mill, erected before 1753 by John Price, and 
the lad was employed on the farm and about the saw-mill, 
which iiajl been erected by his father in 1812, until 1837, 
wlien^^i^-addition, eighty by forty feet, two and a half 
stories "h^i, was made to the old flouring mill; and the 
wlfoi^ having been fitted with machinery was put into ope- 
ration fofflhe manuf.icture of cotton goods by the son and 
Jdlvn' IIfestingsv*J\»_- The firm became deeply involved by 
the failure -of th^'^cotnuiission merchant, in 1S42, and 
hatii^Tdissolvcd^ the partnership, Da.vid Trainer resolved 
fo.^eetrieve Ijisaformnes ^ngle-handed. Upon the death of 
Iris'fetherjiKirc'h iS't', IS49, ^^ fsH heir to the estate, con- 
sisting ofithfe mills 5nd some 150 acres of land. A disas- 
trStis fire,'nttei'Iy destroying the old mill and leaving no- 
thing bufthe walls of the portion erected in 1837, occurred 
October 8th, 1851. Nothing daunted, he took immediate 
steps for rebuilding, and by August 1st, 1852, the old flour- 
ing mill had been replaced by a new structure, three and a 
half stories high, no by 50 feet, the other mill restored, 
the whole entirely refitted with new and improved ma- 
chinery, and operations resumed. Having triumphed over 
so great adversity, he has continued upon the same spot a 
career of uninterrupted success, having added ninety feet 
to his No. I mill, in 1865, erected No. 2, 60 by 202 feet, 
with additions in iS6g, and put No. 3, 60 by 238 feet, into 
operation in Octolier, 1873. The mills are models in point 
of arrangement and systematic conduct. In addition to 
ahem, he has erected tlmee mansion houses and fifty-five 
d«'felli»gs-for thEac^prainoilation of his operatives, in whose 
comfort and welfare he jnanifests a deep interest. Having 
thoroughly educated his sons, and acquainted them with 
all the practical details of cotton manufacture, he gave to 
each an interest as he attained his majority, and the firm 
of D. Trainer & Sons well sustains the reputation so long 
enjoyed by the father and senior member. He became 
connected with tlie Bank of Delaware County — organized 
in 181 5 — in 1833, and upon its reorganization as the Dela- 
ware County National Bank was chosen a Director, dis- 
charging the functions with great acceptability until early 
in 1874, when he was elected its President. For the last- 
named position his sterling integrity and well known busi- 



348 



BIOGRAl'IIICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 




ncss capacity cminenlly fit liiin. He is public spirited and 
enterprising, courteous to all, and a vigorous and active 
supporter of every public improvement. 



;eim, general george de benneville, 

Iron Manufacturer, was born in Reading, Penn- 
sylvania, December i6th, 1778, and was the 
second son of John and Susanna (de Benneville) 
Keim of that place. He received his education 
in the school held in the Friends' old meeting- 
house. In 1798, he wxs taken into the iron business by 
his father, and continued with him until 1803, when the 
latter retired, leaving the management of the house to his 
sons. He extended his interests largely, until lie became 
either sole or part owner of the Reading Furnace, Schuyl- 
kill Furnace, Charming Forge, Susan Forge, and Little 
Schuylkill Forge. In 1S09, he entered into a copartner- 
ship with William Allibone, of Philadelphia, in the buying 
and selling of breadstuffs, and in exporting largely to Liver- 
pool, England. This firm was dissolved by mutual consent, 
in 1814, owing to the condition of thing; produced by the 
war with England. .He took a lively interest in the de- 
velopment of Schuylkill county, and was among the first 
projectors of the Little Schuylkill Railroad & Navigation 
Company, the Mount Carbon, the Mine Hill and Schuyl- 
kill Haven Railroads, and was one of the incorporators 
and most active supporters of the Reading Railroad. He 
had been previously prominent in the Canal and Turnpike, 
superseded by this great corporation. He was Democratic 
in his political faith, but at the same time earnest in advo- 
cating protection to home manufactures, and was a member 
of the General Convention of the Friends of Domestic In- 
dustry, held in New York, October, 1S31, where he pre- 
sented the report " On the product and manufacture of iron 
and steel." Though an ardent politician, he was no office- 
seeker, filling no position save that of Burgess of the Bo- 
rough, and President of the Town Council for a number 
of years. He was a warm personal and political friend of 
Governor Hiester, who, in 1 82 1, appointed him as aide-de- 
camp on his staff, with the rank of Colonel. In 1830, he 
was elected Major-General of the Sixth Division — his op- 
jionent being Simon Cameron. He was President of the 
Branch Bank of Pennsylvania for over thirty years ; and 
was also one of the founders of the Reading Water Com- 
pany, in 1822. For many years he was a Trustee of the 
Reading Academy, and also aided in the establishment of 
the Reading Female Semin.ary. He was President of the 
Youths' and Apprentices' Libr.iry. In iSif), he was instru- 
mental in organizing the Berks County Bible Society, and 
was also a Manager for many years ; he was also President 
of the Reading Branch of the Pennsylvania Colonization 
Society. He was for a long time Senior Warden and a 
Vestryman of Christ Episcopal Church of Reading, and, with 




others of his family, gave largely of his lime and means to- 
wards the erection of a Parish Church. He was married, 
February 4th, 1799, to Mary, daughter of James May of 
Reading, and had seven children, three sons and four 
daughters, all of whom have died except the youngest 
daiigluer, Mrs. Wirt Robinson, of Richmond, Virginia. 
He died August 20th, 1852. 



URVIANCE, HON. JOHN N., Lawyer, was 
born in Butler, Pennsylvania, September 27th, 
iSio. He is a son of the late Colonel John 
Purviance, one of the earliest settlers of Butler 
county, also an attorney-at-law by profession, 
and, during the War of 1S12, Colonel of the 2d 
Regiment of Infantry ; the latter had married a daughter 
of Rev. Samuel Anderson, of Frederic City, Maiyland. 
He received such education as the common schools and 
academies of the neighborhood afforded, and afterwards 
became a student at law in the office of the late Judge 
Bredin, and was admitted to practice at the bar in 1S32. 
Soon after this date he was appointed Deputy .\ttorney- 
General by the late Chief Justice Lewis, and subsequently 
re-appointed by the late Hon. George M. Dallas. He con- 
tinued in the practice of his profession until 1845, when he 
received the appointment of Auditor-General of the Com- 
monwealth, at the hands of the late Governor Shunk, and 
was re-appointed in 184S. At the close of his official term 
he returned to his home in Butler county, where he resumed 
his legal business until the breaking out of the Rebellion. 
Then, true to his native instincts, he raised a company of 
infantry, was elected Captain, and served as such until the 
fonnation of the 13th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers, into which his command was merged, and in which 
he was elected Lieutenant-Colonel, serving in that capacity 
until mustered out of service by reason of the expiration of 
the term of enlistment. He again resumed the practice of 
the law, and continued until his appointment as Register 
in Bankruptcy, which he held for four years, and then re- 
signed, again returning to the bar, until he was nomi- 
nated and elected as one of the delegates, on the Repub- 
lican ticket, from the Twenty-sixth District, in the Conven- 
tion called to remodel the Constitution of Pennsylvania, 
which met in Harrisburg in the fall of 1872, and subse- 
quently adjourned to Philadelphia, continuing there until 
its close in the summer of 1S73. I" ''''S ^^y he par- 
ticipated in the various debates, taking a prominent part 
in the arduous labors which devolved upon its members. 
He w.as a member of the Committee on the Executive De- 
partment, and also on th.at of .Accounts and Expenditures. 
In early life he was a member of the Democratic party, but 
abandoned the same when it adopted the pro-slaveiT dogmas, 
and gave in his adhesion to Republican principles. He 
was a member of the National Convention that nominated 




J^c A^^"/ ^^Tp-m^i^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOr.EDIA. 



349 




. He ^s edu- 
y the f^»Iy, and 



Abraham Lincoln for President. In religious belief, he is 
a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He is 
eminent as a lawyer, eloquent as a speaker, of incorruptible 
honesty, and regarded by all, whether among his own or 
the opposite party, as one possessing the strictest integrity, 
as a safe counsellor, and able defender of the right. 



ROMLEY, JOHN, Carpet Manufacturer, is a na- 
tive of the village of Hanging Heaton, distant 
about seven miles from Leeds, England; and so 
termed from the circumstance of the houses being 
erected on the hill side, and the buildings thus 
literally overhanging the valley. He was born 
there April 25th, 1800, and is the son of John Bromley, a 
woollen manufacturer, whose family for many generations 
back had been engaged in the same calling. JolTir' Brom- 
ley, the elder, sold the goods he manufactured at th'6 Leeds 
Cloth Hall ; they embraced, among various articles,' Blankets, 
army goods, and particularly the gray top-coats (# the sol- 
diers. He gave his son the ordinary school education of 
the day, and he also availed himself of the instruKioiis of 
his brother who was possessed of attainments of a high 
order, and was a very successful teacher, 
cated to the business so long followed by 
who were all noted for the excellence of their pjfjaiTctions 
Remaining with his father until he had rea.c\)ef^lfis<£vt'enty- 
eighth year, he then commenced busifiAs, on^i< 'ow'h ac- 
count in his native village. He? nacrtne usual Aistariles 
to encounter, but being possessed* of'indomi!anIe"^r^^y, 
overcame them; and although several time's* on thei^vtrge 
of failing, succeeded in escaping tfet fate,' SJitl* ti-iiim^Irerr 
at last. He found a maHcet/ir tiiS'm'anufaSfhreS in tbre 
north of England, and in Seolland."''-'He?h'ad'fo*'sotne^fiiV>e' 
only operated his works by hSRd j' but n^hsw*ractory was' 
established to be propelled by-steam-q-Kiwer, andihe was 
invited to become a partner. After ^;onsuIling'-wlflf^iS 
father, who looked favorably upon the underralcirig, -iie 'em-- 
barked his capital in the establishment. It was a' joint-' 
stock concern, there being twenty-four persons participating 
therein, and traded under the style of Hirst, Mayman & 
Co. The elder John Bromley was one of the Managers, 
there being a committee appointed by the shareholders to 
superintend affairs, which served for three months. The 
wool wa^ carded and pulled by steam-power, and then 
taken home, the remainder of the work being done by 
hand-power, each partner having his share of 'the work to, 
be so performed. The works were situ'a^d' tit'^^tley' 
Carr, near Dewsbury, and about a mile frStp Hanging 
Heaton. In the coiirse of time the business languished, 
and the financial panic of 1837 brought matters to a close. 
After a period of inactivity, John Bromley resolved to try 
his fortunes in the New 'World, and with his wife and 
family embarked from Liverpool in the " Shenandoah," 



one of Cope's line of packet ships, and after being fifty- 
seven days afloat, lauded in Philadelphia, March nth, 1841. 
He had brought a small amount of money with him, with 
which he embarked in the business of spinning carpet 
filling, locating himself at Little Falls, near Patterson, New 
Jersey ; he had associated himself with another, but the 
business did not prove lucrative, and becoming dissatisfied, 
he returned to Philadelphia in 1845. In the old District of 
Kensington he settled down as a carpet-weaver, and by 
diligently laboring, and persevering through many difficul- 
ties, which he surmounted one by one, he found .success 
gradually dawn upon him. He resolved to manufacture 
nothing but a good article of ingrain carpeting, and sold his 
products to the Ornes. He had rented a place where he 
erected his looms and employed as hands to work them his 
own^boys. Gradually enlarging his operations, he manu- 
factur^H^also Venetian carpeting. In 1S59, he jiurchased a 
dye-hoiise'which had succumbed for want of the necessary 
capital tojberate it, and into this he put thirty-eight looms. 
In a- fewyears he found it necessary to enlarge it. His 
son?J"^(i^i4o were now in partnership with him, urged him to 
build .agam. In 1868, this partnership was dissolved, and 
threS oTl'his sons erected a building for themselves. With 
■a-r«main!ng son he continued operations at the old stand, 
arid others have since associated w-ith him. From the 
small'TT^inning and the humble surroundings a quarter of 
la^centuMfago, hiive grown the heavy operations carried on 
at the eStabli^ment at North Front and York streets, where 
260 hanas*rl?ei^toyeil, including many women and boys. 
Sixteen IBoms ike '|')riS>allcd by steam power and ninety-nine 
by hand, \vhTch*tti'l'ir out every working day of the year 
2500 yards^of'' C4i-}iet; jvalued at ^300,000. During the 
panics of i857ari'd'-lS75ytlie works were continued in oper- 
ation. IIe',hTis'"b68dpfclilferriefl twice. His first wife was, 
jSusannah, (?^'ghfen^^J'(5seph Day, to-whom he was mar. 
'uied in iS27,''and%vHo died in New Jersey. His second 
,wifc, to whoi^T he :was» joined in 1843, was Lucinda Jane, 
'daughter of Jafeb'ftBiiirey, of Little Falls, New Jersey. 



OMEROY, JOSEPH, Merchant, Banker, and Poli- 
tician, was born in Lurgan township, Franklin 
county, Pennsylvania, October l8th, 1804. Edu- 
cationally his advantages were only such as the 
common schools of the district afforded. AVhile 
-a mere boy he was placed in a store at Shippens- 
hurg, Pennsylvania, where he acquired a thorough know- 
'lei;>gtf 'of '"cou'ntry business. Shortly after attaining his 
majority, that is^in 1826, he commenced business on his 
own account at Concord, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, 
continuing the same for twenty-five years, and becoming, in 
1S41, associated with William R. and John M. Pomeroy in 
a steam tannery at the same place. In April, 1851, he re- 
moved to Juniata county, where he had previously acquired 




35° 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.F.DIA. 



considerable property, and where he still resides, conduct- 
ing a very large business in merchandizing, tanning, milling 
and farming. In 1867, he was elected President of the 
Juniata Valley Bank, MifHintown, a position which he still 
holds. lie has devoted considerable attention to politics, 
and has been the recipient of several marked tokens of favor 
from his party — the Republican. In l8ji, he was elected 
to the State Legislature as Representative from Franklin 
county; in 1S61, Associate Judge of Juniata county, being 
the only successful nominee on the Republican ticket ; and 
in 1872, the Representative of his Congressional District in 
the National Republican Convention held in Philadelphia 
in June of that year. He has been married four times; on, 
July I Ith, 1 8261 to Eleanor, daughter of Robert Magjaj?, of 
Concord; on May 5th, 1847, to Ann B., daughter (bf Dr. 
Samuel Crawford, of Concord; on January I3tH,;l857, to 
Jane E., daughter of David Maclay, of Frankiin Q(^>ty ; on. 
August 27th, 186S, to Mary S., daughter of Johrijj^.tewart, 
formerly of Frederick county, Maryland. He is a^an of 
exlraordinaiy enterprise and energy, of firm conviction's .and 
great tenacity of puri>ose, combined with strong comnson 
sense, good judgment and excellent address. T3 tjiest; 
qualities his success in life, which has been v^i^hj^^U intjit^ 
ruption, is wholly due, for he comni^ip<^-»with,.l^iiitetl 
means and only such friends as his -tfleiit; and.ch^ip^l^gii 
had won. >. f .; ','. 



OTTER, THOMAS, Manu_fa<^jjr-.a,ntl,-^Bai«r 
President, was born . Aijap>.t lyth; '■ I<Si9,,..in 
County Tyrone, Ireland. .'Hisj iwrents j-^pjoyed 
to this country when he wasr len*"ye^fs of .{ige. 
He had already acquired the rudiments of, an 
education while in Ireland, and continued his 
studies at the public schools of Philadelphia. Having 
commenced to learn the oil cloth trade at the age of eleven, 
however, he was obliged to supply his deficiencies by dili- 
gent study at night, which he did to good pinpoje. In 
his twenty-first year he commenced business on his"o;yn 
account, in partnership with J.'.Carmichael. His success 
was early and constant, and although, owing to the death 
of his father, the support of his famil^lev^fftjd upon him 
at the age of seventeen, he found time not jOftly to give 
earnest attention to business affairs, but also to contiirue, his 
studies. Observing the good old rule to avoid borrowing, 
and under all circumstances to keep an unimpaired credit, 
success constantly crowned his efforts. In 1S48, he pur- 
chased the Bush Hill oil cloth factory, ln'ing the same in 
which he had served his apprenticeship. In 1S70, he.sold 
his old works and bought the extensive establishment at 
Nicetown lane and Second street, where his business, 
greatly enlarged, and the most extensive in the United 
Stales, is still carried on. His marriage took place in 1845, 
to A. Bower, second daughter to General C. Bower, Sr., of 
Philadoljihia. His civic life has been marked by charac- 



teristic energy, and he has held many positions of trust and 
honor in the city of his adoption. A brief list of these will 
exhibit strongly the esteem with which he has been regarded 
by his fellow-citizens. In 1S53, he was elected Commis- 
sioner of the District of Spring Garden; 1856, Member of 
Councils from the Fifteenth Ward, in which year he was 
also Chairman of Committee on Schools, School Director 
and School Controller. Leaving at this time the Buchanan- 
Democratic Jiarty, he was elected, in 1858, to Councils by 
the Fremont-Republicans, and by the People's party in 
1859, 1S60 and 1S61. During these years he was a meni- 
;ber of the Councils' Finance Committee, took an active 
partjnjfliproving the public schools, making several valu- 
able rq^!5^rls on the subject, and in organizing a paid fire 
departmont, which he was one of the first to advocate. He 
originated and carried through, in 1861, the ordinance for 
Jthc appointment of a commission to sui:)port the families of 
volunteers from the city. In 1S67 and 1S6S, he was again 
in Counc]Js, and was prominent in passing the Park bill, 
whicli jSefcured the eastern portion of the Park, where the 
Ncw»\Vater Basin is — at this time he was Chairman of the 
Commitle^on Finance- — also the bill requiring the City 
Treasurer to pay the city warrants according to date and 
number, ^>i«h had the effect of at once bringing them to 
Ijjar, ani!kwaritily.nd,vocated the bill for revising the assess- 
ments ofv^alj^^atei^tf the city. He carried through the 
Conim(jn"'CjGuncii.ibi]|, which, had it not been ultimately 
defeated, -'WQuld-j.^havj; .proved one of the most important 
ordinaijcesievB^ l>a^d in the district of Philadelphia. It 
wassail 'Act^ W .AiS?inbly;authorizing the public squares at 
Broad' rind -Marl^ct streets to be used for the erection of the 
Ac.adtmy of N.aturab Science, the Academy of Fine Arts, 
'and other educational institutes. In consequence of ill 
health, he resigned in 1868, and spent a year in Europe. 
He has long been a member of, and elder in, the Presby- 
terian Church, was Superintendent of the Sunday-schools 
thirteen years, and Superintendent of the Broad and Green 
Streets Organization until 1867. He w;is elected President 
of the City National Bank in April, 1871. In person he is 
.about the medium height, dark of complexion, keen, pierc- 
ing eyes, but mild and genial expression ; in conversation 
exceedingly fluent and entertainuig. 



ONG, HON. HENRY G., Ex-President Judge of 
the Second Judicial District of Pennsylvania, was 
born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, August 23d, 
1804. His father, Jacob Long, was a soldier of 
the Revolutionary War, and after a long and 
successful career as a merchant, died in Decem- 
ber, 1842, in his eighty second year. His grandfather; 
Nicholas Long, a native of Zweibrucken, Bavaria, emigrated 
to America in 1754, and having settled in Lancaster, mar- 
ried, reared a large family, and rose to an influential position 




J 



BIOGRAI'IIICAL KNCVCLUI'-KDIA. 



351 



ill ihe communily. After being educated in the schools of 
Lancaster, he became, in 1 82 1, cleik to Dr. F. A. Muhlen- 
berg, then I'lothonotary of the Supreme Court of the Dis- 
trict, and the experience gained by attendance upon the sit- 
tings of the Court and association willi the most distinguished 
lawyers of the State was of great value to him in his subse- 
quent career. He engaged in the study of law with Hon. 
George B. Porter, in 1824, and was admitted to the bar 
January 19th, 1827. He immediately entered upon prac- 
tice, and passed through the usual struggles incident to the 
career of young professionals. Soon after his admission he 
was ]irevailed upon to become Solicitor for the Commis- 
sioners of the County, and although at subsequent elections 
he withdrew his name as a candidate, he was re-elected for 
twenty consecutive years. He early began to interest him- 
self in political affairs, but steadily resisted the importuni- 
ties of his friends, who desired for him political preferment, 
until the autumn of 1836, when, with his consent, he was 
elected a member of the Reform Convention which s.it in 
Harrisburg from May, 1837, to February 22d, 1838. He 
was one of the youngest members of that body, and is the 
only survivor of the eight representatives of Lancaster 
county. Again, in 1S3S, he yielded to the wishes of his 
friends, and was elected by the Whigs to the Legislature, 
where he served with credit and honor during that unset- 
tled period known as the " Buckshot War." After the ex- 
piration of his term he resolutely declined all further politi- 
cal honor, and engaged with vigor in the practice of his 
profession, which yielded him a rich reward. When the 
Judiciary became elective, in 1851, he was without opposi- 
tion elected President Judge, and again, in 1S61, the 
people, without regard to party ties, returned him for a 
second term of ten years. Having declined to become a 
candidate again, he retired from the bench in December, 
1 87 1, and, in acknowledgment of his dignity and impartial- 
ity as a judge, his kindness and courtesy to all, and his own 
estimable worth, the members of the bar, in convention 
assembled, December 9th, 1871, unanimously adopted the 
following resolutions : 

The Hon. Henry G. Long, late President Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster county, liaving refused 
to he a candidate for re-election, and having retired from 
the bench after an arduous and successful career as Judge 
for twenty years, the members of the Lancaster Bar, desirous 
of reiulering a just tribute to his merits as a conscientious, 
upright and learned magistrate, do resolve: 

1st. That as members of the Lancaster Bar we cannot 
permit the occasion of the retirement of the Hon. Henry G. 
Long from the bench to pass without some expression of 
our sense of the many merits by which his judicial course 
has been distinguished. 

2d. That we recognize and profoundly appreciate the 
purity of purpose, impartiality, industry, extensive legal 
knowledge, and sound sense which have so cons)!icuousIy 
marked his performance of his judicial duties ; and that we 
shall ever bear with us in the future a grateful remembrance 
of the kindness, urbanity and readiness to accommodate, 
which all of us in the conduct of our professional business, 




as well as in our general intercourse with him, have uni- 
formly experienced at his hands. 

3d. That he carries with him our sincere wishes for his 
continued health and w^elfare, and that we trust for many 
coming years to see him yet among us, hap]-,y in the con- 
sciousness of a faithful performance of his duties, and con- 
tributing by his genial presence and society to the happiness 
of his many friends. 

4th. Thai the Court be requested to enter the proceedings 
of this meeting (m their minutes, and that a conimiltee of 
three be appointed to convey these resolutions to the Judge, 
and that the Secretary be instructed to have these proceed- 
ings published in the papers of this city. 



AYE.S, HON. ALEXANDER L., LL.D., Judge, 
was born in Sussex county, Delaware, March 7th, 
1793. Having attended the Friends' Boarding 
School at Smyrna, Delaware, he spent two yeais 
and a half at Newark Academy, whence he 
passed to Dover Academy, where he completed 
his preparation for college. While there he was prevailed 
upon to accept the nomination for Secretary of the Senate, 
and was triumphantly elected. He, in company with the 
late Hon. Robert C. Grier, Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, entered the junior cla.ss half 
advanced at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and 
graduated in 1812 with one of the three highest honors. 
He then engaged in the study of the law with Hon. Henry 
M. Ridgely of Dover, and became a member of the bar 
November 15th, 1815. He continued at the Dover bar 
until he was admitted to practice in the Common Pleas 
District and Supreme Courts of Philadelphia in 1820, when 
he removed thither; but in April, 1821, he engaged in pro- 
fessional duties at Reading, Pennsylvania. His successful 
career continued without further interruption until June 
27th, 1827, when Governor John Andrew Shulze appointed 
him Assistant Judge of the District Court of Lancaster and 
York counties. He held this position until the division of 
the district in 1833, when, in response to the petition of the 
members of the Lancaster County Bar, he was appointed 
President Judge by Governor George W'olf. He exercised 
the functions of his office with dignity and acceptability, 
being successively appointed until 1849, when he resigned 
and resumed the practice of his profession. He was one of 
the originators of the enterprise resulting in the erection of 
the Conestoga Cotton Mills, and was one of the committee 
of five selected to visit New England on a tour of inspec- 
tion in 1845 ; he jirepared the report favoring the immediate 
erection of a mill. He at first declined to become one of 
the five Managers of the Company, but in 1846 was induced 
to succeed John N. Lane. In 1850, he followed Mr. Hager 
as President of the Company, and was elected General 
Agent. Two other mills had been erected, the whole known 
as Conestoga .Steam Mills, and individu.ally designated as 
Nos. I, 2 and 3. They employed about Soo hands, and he 
had full charge of all the operations until 1854, when he 



352 



BIOGRAPHICAL KNCYCLOP.EDIA. 



again yielded to the solicitations of his friends and allowed 
himself to be elected Associate Law Judge of the Courts of 
Lancaster county. He was re-elected in 1S64, and during 
his long judicial career he has proved himself possessed of 
rare ability and an unusual lack of prejudice. Though past 
four-score years his mental and physical powers are so re- 
markably well preserved that he bids fair to fill one or more 
decades of honor and usefulness. He probably holds the 
oldest commission of any living judge, having served forty- 
two years on the bench. He has always manifested a deep 
interest in all benevolent associations and in the cause of 
education. He was for many years President of the Board 
of .School Directoi-s and long a Trustee of the State Normal 
School at Millersville. He is also a Trustee and one of the 
Vice-Presidents of Franklin and Marshall College, from 
which he received, during a temporary absence in :S73,the 
honorary degree of LL.D. He has been the President of 
the Athenaeum and Historical, Agricultural and Mechanics' 
Society of Lancaster since its organization. He was mar- 
ried, July 23d, 1S23, to a daughter of Galbraith Patterson, 
of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. 

|LEASANTON, GEN. AUGUSTUS JAMES, 
late of the United States Army, was born in 
Washington city, District of Columbia, January 
2lst, 1808, and is a son of the late Stephen Pleas- 
anton, whose connection with the United States 
Government extended through no less than fifteen 
different administrations, embracing a period of over fifty- 
four years. His family connections were most honorable 
and noted. He was a grand-nephew of Cesar Rodney, one 
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a 
cousin of Lord George Rodney, the celebrated Admiral of 
the British Navy. His wife, Mary Hopkins, of Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania, was "a niece of the late James Bu- 
chanan, President of the United States, and also a relative 
of George Lewis, a signer of thi Declaration. He had 
held some office of trust and honor in the State, and was 
advised to seek for some similar service where his talents 
would l>enefit the General Government. This was during 
the administration of the eider Adams, ami when the seat 
of Government was located in Philadelphia. The fii'st 
offices of trust and profit had naturally been granted to the 
various members of the Revolutionaiy Government, and 
subordinate appointments were made to those of their rela- 
tives or family connections. In this way General Pleasan- 
lon's father obtained a position, being appointed thereto by 
Timothy Pickering, formerly a Colonel in the Rcvolutionnry 
Army, and subsequently one of President Washington's 
Cabinet. When the se.at of Government was removeil to 
the banks of tlie Potomac, he accom]ianied the administra- 
tion thither, and, as before remarked, remained in some 
official connection with the Government for a period of over 



half a century, which terminated only with his death, in 
March, 1854. During the war of 181 2, when the city of 
Washington was invaded by the British troops, he was at 
his post while so many fled, and by his efforts he saved the 
most valuable of the documents, foreign treaties, and, above 
all, the original draft and engrossed copy of the great De- 
claration of Independence; in fact, all of the archives of the 
Government which were preserved in the Department of 
State. These he conveyed away to a secure locality until 
the enemy retired ; everything else, excepting that which he 
saved, was destroyed. Through all the various administra- 
tions, comprising so many different political creeds, he wxs 
retained in office, his services to the Government being 
deemed invaluable. During President Polk's administra- 
tion a strong pressure was made by the Democratic mem- 
bers of Congress, who were largely in the ascendancy, upon 
the Executive for his removal ; but that gentleman replied 
to them : " Pleasanton is my friend, and his house was my 
only asylum during the reign of terror. I will not remove 
him." His official duties were various, and besides filling 
an important position in the State Department, he also at 
sundry times was attached to the Treasuiy Department, 
being Commissioner of Revenue, .Superintendent of the 
Light-House Department and Fifth Auditor of the Treasury. 
Two of his sons — General Pleasanton of the cavalry service 
United States Army, and A. J. Pleasanton — were educated 
at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Tl e 
latter resigned from the anny, and being a gentleman of 
ample means has devoted his time to sundry experiments, 
novel in their character and highly satisfactoiy in their re- 
sults, which have been laid before the American public both 
through the medium of the daily press and monograjihs 
printed at intervals, and distributed among scientific and 
literary institutions, and also to persons of culture, with tlie 
hope that the subject treated of and illustrated might attract 
the attention of the curious, as well as those interested in 
the improvements of the age. The original work w.xs en- 
titled. On the Injlticuce of the Blue Color of the Sky in 
Developing Animal and Vegetable Life, and detailed in 
extenso the result of his experiments of the great develop- 
ment of animals which were lodged in compartments par- 
tially covered with blue ghiss, so that the rays of the sun 
passing through might absorb the color of the glass. The 
same experiment was tried in a grapery under glass whose 
sashes contained a moderate quantity of blue panes. The 
results in both cases were well defined, and being com- 
pared with animals and vegetables raised in the ordinaiy 
methods, presented a wide difference. These experiments 
covered a period of ten years, the results being given to the 
public at the close, in an address delivered by him before 
the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, in 
May, 1871. During the War of the Rebelliim he was as- 
signed to the command of the Home Guard of Philadelphia, 
which embraced many regiments of volunteers who did not 
march beyond the limits of the State, including the Blue 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



353 




Reserves, Gray Reserves, and the numerous independent 
companies of cavalry, artilleiy, infantry and ritlemen which 
had formerly been attached to regiments aheady in the field. 



" ELL, MARTIN, Iron Operator, was born Januaiy 
1st, iSoS, in Blair county, Pennsylvania. He is 
the son of Edward Bell, born 1770, who married 
Mary Ann Martin in 1799, both of British descent. 
He was educated at home, and as soon as he 
reached the proper age was occupied as mill- 
wright, carpenter and assistant surveyor till 1S2S, when he 
succeeded the assistant engineer in the construction of the 
Pennsylvania Canal between Mifflin and Lewistown. In 
1S33, he aided his father in building the Elizabeth Blast 
Furnace. While so engaged he devised a plan to utilize 
the gas from the furnace head in a steam boiler. The im- 
provement was patented, after much trouble, in 1S40, but 
want of means and the calls of other occupations prevented 
the discovery from being generally introduced at the time. 
Subsequently a renewal was obtained, and it was found that 
the same invention had been claimed and patented in 183S; 
but the alleged inventor had in fact purloined the idea from 
the Elizabeth Furnace, as w-as proved on trial. From 1842 
to 1847, he rented and managed his father's furnace, re- 
building it and carrying out the rule he has always observed 
of preventing all work upon the Sabliath. These altera- 
tions caused an increase of twenty or thirty ions in the 
weekly product. The furnace was idle from 1867 to 1S72, 
through the failure of the ore b.ank, but was then started 
with charcoal fuel. Originally a Democrat, he has been an 
Anti-Mason, a Free-Soiler, an Abolitionist and a Radical 
Republican. Temperance, freedom, public education and 
the strict observance of the Sabbath are cardmal principles 
with him, for which he has always been ready to spend 
time and money. He has been School Director for thirty 
years, a member of the Baptist Church for thirty-three 
years, and was at one time candidate for State Senate on the 
Temperance ticket. Probably no other man in Blair 
county has exercised so much influence for so long a period. 
His improvements in the blast furnace are recognized as of 
great value by metallurgists. In 1836, he married Eliza 
^L McKnight, and has three sons and four daughters. 



* EIM, JOHN, Hardware Merchant, was born at 
Oley, Berks county, Pennsylvania, July 6th, 1749. 
He was the only son of Nicholas Keim. He was 
a soldier of the Revolutionary War, and in the fall 
of 1777, marched with Colonel Lutz's Battalion to 
reinforce the army under General Washington. 
Like his father, he was a man of stern integrity. He 
studied with delight the ethical writers of England, Ger- 
45 





many, and France, and was rigid in his efforts to promote 
virtue by well-doing and a simplicity of life. He took a 
great interest in evei-ything relative to the prosperity of the 
borough and county. He was one of the Burgesses of 
Reading, after its incorporation, and was a Commissioner 
of the county from 1787 to 1790. In his business, he 
amassed a large fortune ; as a creditor he was ever lenient, 
and his numerous tenantry respected him as a kind land- 
lord. He was married, October 15th, 1771, to Susanna, 
daughter of Dr. George de Benneville. He died, February 
loth, 1819, leaving three sons and one daughter. 



IVINGSTON, HON. JOHN B., President Judge 
of the Second Judicial District of Pennsylvania, 
was l)orn in Salisbury township, Lancaster county, 
Pennsylvania, October 14th, 1821. His father, 
John Livingston, together with other ancestors, 
had been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
early showed himself possessed of marked ability, and 
made rapid progress; he attended, among others, the .select 
school of Rev. Dr. Timlow, in his native township. Physi- 
cal disability incapacitated, his father for some branches of 
farm work, and much devolved upon this his eldest son, 
who managed to attend school in the winter and improved 
the leisure moments during his summer's work. Thus he 
progressed until 1842, when, his brothers having grown 
sufficiently to manage the farm labor, he was induced to 
teach, but continued to spend his intervals for several sub- 
sequent years in assisting his father. Having concluded to 
study a profession, in 1845, his inclinations tended towards 
medicine, but after mature consideration he chose the law. 
He accordingly wrote to Hon. Thaddeus Stev^ins, who 
replied in the following characteristic epistle : " Have 
room. Terms, $200. Some pay, some don't." He entered 
the "Great Commoner's" office, January 6th, 1846; and 
having devoted himself earnestly and assiduously to study, 
was admitted, January 26th, 1848. and engaged in practice 
in Lancaster. In 1 851, he removed to the office of N. 
EUmaker, and assisted him in his Orphans' Court and 
general practice until he was elected District Attorney, in 
autumn, 1S62. The energetic and able manner in which 
he performed the duties appertaining to that office Iirought 
him still more favorably into public notice, and he secured 
one of the largest and most lucrative practices in the county. 
Although he considered it no ]5romotion to yield such a 
practice for a position on the bench, he was induced to 
accept the nomination, having received more votes at the 
primary election than all his competitors combined ; was 
elected by a large majority, in autumn, 1871, and entered 
upon his duties, December 4th, following. He was formerly 
Treasurer of the American Mechanics Building and Loan 
Association, of Lancaster, and has been active in the en- 
couragement of laudable enterprise. His courtesy, integrity. 



354 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




and ability rcniler him ail acceptable anJ efficient presiding 
officer of the Courts of t'.ie Second Judicial District of 
Peiinsylvania. 



RINCKMANX, MICHAEL, M. D., Physician, 
was born in the Electorate of Hesse Cassel, 
Germany, February i6lh, 1S27. He is the 
second son and third child of MoseS^'Bririck- 
mann, a merchant in hiniib'c circfiin:^nc*^''-Ptlt; 
of good parentage, and who^ieir&d himself to 
bestow a fair education upon each of his large. family of 
children. The la<l acquired the usual academic branches 
of knowledge, and also turneil his at^itiiSr ;^t quite an early 
age to the study of medical science, the Tormer l)6ing made 
collateral to Ihe latter. * In' Fejjruarj^ 'S4S, having just 
attained his majority, he was appbiiired art' As!)j^afU- 
Surgeon, and attach'td'to the ^I^dfcal Staff of^Dr. JP. 
Montag, Reqimenlal rhysicfan,' Firsrlnfcrf.ry, i^ajled The 
" Wilhelm Kiirfurst," and Servitt lioitorably ourfng ilij? 
German Revolution of'tSja^-^g. In iS'5", !"■ ■^- '■ii]iomted 
an Assistant of the Cdiitt PSysici ^n, I t.Vho 

also attended the various nfjlltary h :n; c.ni^iffV. 

Owing to a recomni^ntraii(5^t^o that i'S5i,*ie w^ 

sent by special order of-tne Prince Elector, rrudcricT: WTt- 
helm, of Hesse Ca'sel^^Iafiefiburg, to the pfincipal institu- 
tion in Germany for'thft'^cfuication'onivilropStliic physicfaite.' 
By assiduous attention fo,hiS duties, and'dose'a^pji'cation trt 
study of the various theofieffand the pfaciice oTliydrypathic 
science, he obtained promotion''the ^A^t*'ye!info> life ap- 



pointment at Alexandersbad, the largest inSihltion' of the 
kind in the kingdom of Bavaria. His zeal as an apostle 
of the true healing art, and for freedom of thought and 
reform in this respect, induced him to transplant the result 
of his experience to the free soil of America. He came to 
this decision late in the summer of 1S54, and a fi:\v Phila- 
delphia patients under his care at Ale.xandersbad, materially 
assisted him in maturing his plans. He landed in New 
York, in January, 1855, and soon started on a tour of 
observation through the northern part of the Unio^; which 
was of benefit to him, as if gave him 'a.n insight' into the 
mode of living, habits, temperament, and medical practices 
of the people. He came to Philadelphia in the fall of that 
year, and opened a hydropathic institution at Willow Grove, 
and subsequently ano'.her .at Chestnut Hill, both in the 
neighborhood of the city. He has had all cl.asses under his 
ministrations, among them eminent physicians, lawyers, and 
United States officers, worn out by hard service during the 
late civil war; and has eminently succeeded in removing 
the ailments under which they labored, restoring to them a 
sound and healthy organization. During 1S56, his attention 
was directed to a singular disease which made its appear- 
ance in Newark, New Jersey, supjiosed by some to be 
yellow-fever, and which baffled the skill of the most eminent 
physicians of that vicinity. On his repairing to the assist- 



ance of the medical fraternity, he diagnosed an inflammatory 
action of the liver, and succeeded in combating the disorder 
by his high system of treatment. Where others failed, he 
succeeded ; and though a recovery was rare under the old 
system, fifty cases having terminated fatally, he had the 
good fortune to restore every one wl)o came under his 
ministrations. During his residence in Philadelphia his 
success has been unbounded, and he has in the cure of 
chronic diseases Ijeen most successful. The case of Judge 
J. G. Kno.x, involving softening of the brain, is noteworthy ; 
.after two months' treatment, he was pronounced cured. 
HI?^scientific attainments are recognized by the leading 
physicians <.f the various schools, one of whom, the late Dr. 
Jnolcfebn, was urgent in inducing him to remain in this 
medicfil centre. Professors Hering and Cleveland, Drs. 
Shitless, Evans, Yardlcy and others, desired him to open 
the institute at Willow Grove, and have sent him cases 
])ronounceil heretofore "incurable." He is justly entitled 
to the credit of being the pioneer of his specialties in the 
State of Peniisyhaiiia. With a desire to bestow his know- 
:ltdge for llie- relief- of human suffering over the greatest 
possible- field, 'he has labored to create a hydropathic pro- 
fessoWiij> iiT the Cniversity of Pennsylvania, similar to that 
ill \^enii5. • "■■ - 



', TIXE,- JOHN LIGHT, M. D., Physician and 
Stirgeon^ eldest son of Colonel William Pitt 
Atlee, a'nd grandson of Hon. W'illiam Augustus 
Atlee, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 
November 2d, 1 799. After receiving Tiis pre- 
liminary education in the schools of Lancaster, 
he attended one year (1S13-14) at Grey and Wiley's 
Academy, in Philadelphia. He engaged in the study of 
medicine with Samuel Humes, M. D., in 1S15, and in .-Xpril, 
1S20, graduated M. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. 
He then engaged in practice in Lancaster, where he is in 
the enjoyment of a large and lucrative patronage. He was 
aQtive in the organization of the Lanca,ster City and County 
ilWical Socifejys of which he was twice elected President. 
JK; \v.-is pne of I'M originators of the Stale Medical Society 
in 1S48, became its President in 1857, and was elected one 
of the Vice-Presidents of the American Medical Association 
in 1S68. At the union of Franklin and Marshall Colleges, 
he became Professor of Anatomy and Physiology, and so 
continued until 1S69. He has always taken a lively interest 
in the cause of education, and having been appointed a 
School Director, in 1822, was for more than forty years an 
active and useful member of the board. He is a Tiustee 
of Fr.inklin & Marshall College, ,as well as of the Bishop 
Bowman Church Home, of Lancaster. He is President 
of the Board of Trustees of the Home for Friendless 
Children of the City and County of Lancaster, and sustains 
the same relation to the State Lunatic Hospital at Harris- 
burg. He has been a contributor to the Ameruan Mcdieal 




i 




■ FiU^ Co JhUatUiplw*. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



355 



yotimnl, and other periodicals. He revived the operation 
of Ovariotomy, in 1843, and was the iiret to successfully 
remove both at one operation. His great medical and 
surgical skill is widely known and appreciated, while his 
dignified courtesy and intrinsic worth endear him to a large 
circle of friends. He was married, March I2lh, 1S22, to 
Sarah II., eldest daughter of the late Hon. Walter Frank- 
lin, President Judge of the Courts of Lancaster and York 
counties ; and two of his sons are eminent young physicians, 
following in his footsteps, while another is among the ablest 
lawyers at the Lancaster county bar. 



, EIM, NICHOLAS, Hardware Merchant, was born 
in Oley, now in Berks county, Pennsylvania, 
April 2d, 1 7 19; and was the son of John Keim, 
who emigrated from the province of Alsace, on 
the Rhine, to America, in 1707, locatiiig.in the 
fair valley of Oley, a French Huguenot jettltment 
" remarkable in the annals of Pennsylvania." Hei;e helook 
up land, lived a quiet and godly life, and died, .beloved by 
the whole settlement, in 1732. His son, Nichol^as, with lijs 
wife Barbara and their only son John, then -in, his sij^Ji 
year, moved to Reading during the November, term of 
court, 1755. Berks county was separated from Phi-Iadelphici 
county in 1752; the town of Reading had been jijreviously 
(1748) laid out by Thomas and Richard Penn., ^( had "ow 
been made the shire town of the new _cqui>ty,,and many 
people of means, in the neighboring.townships,.tooli, up 
their residence there. Nicholas Keim established hiinself 
there in the business of a hardware merchant, or as was 
termed it those days, of an iron-monger, which he carried 
on successfully, and then was succeeded by his son. He 
was a man who practised a rigid morality, and was a con- 
stant .student of everything relative to the temporal and 
spiritual welfare of those around him. He died, August 
23d, 1802. 



liROWNE, HON. N.\THANIEL BORRODAIL, 
Lawyer and Bank President, was born in Phila- 
delphia, July 2ist, iSig, and received hisaca- 
demic education in Reading. Leaving school is. 
his sixteenth year, he joined the Sophomore, clasn 
of the University of Pennsjylvania, and graduated 
in the class of 1839, with distinction, being honored 
with the delivery of an address at the commencement. He 
subsequently entered the office of the late Charles Chauncey, 
for the study of the law ; and after passing one year, with 
the approval of his preceptor, he became connected with a 
large mercantile establishment for the purpose of gaining a 
knowledge of business, which was essential to his thorough 
competency in the practice of mercantile law. He was ad- 
mitted as an attorney-at-law, in 1S41, and continued in 




active practice for some years with success as a com- 
mercial lawyer. In 1S50, he took up his residence in 
West Philadelphia, and, witli othei's, became the owner of 
what is now the largest and finest part of that section of the 
city. He was prominently identified with the development 
of that suburb, and aimed to introduce a better style of 
building. He erected some of its finest edifices, and was 
instrumental in having others built. In 1853, he was 
elected President of the Board of Commissioners of the 
District, and continued as such until the consolidation of the 
city. In that capacity, and as a large owner of real estate, 
lij^secured many early improvements, and a liberal plan of 
5Jif^'^y> giving 'f •''s district its wide streets and avenues. 
IrL,the.prsparation and passage of that Act of Consolidation, 
he took an active and influential part. In 1S54, as the 
Democratic candid.ite for the Fourth Senatorial District, he 
was eledfed to the State Senate, being the only successful 
candidate^ of h^ party in the city (with one other in the 
lowerJ)ranclj),^^he " Native Americans " having swept the 
fiekl. . His distt>ct_.embraced that portion of the city lying 
to tlre-southi of A£ old city proper, and the whole of West 
Philadelphia.- « In the Legislature, he took an active part. 
Ha\'ing been elected partly by the " Temperance Vote," he 
was identified with, the Temperance Act of 1S55, having 
mainly ^rqpiU'^S.d and secured its passage; being in fact the 
'oulj' Democrat;to advocate it. It was as nearly prohibitory 
a. law as any^eifcr before or since enacted. The elections 
of .the folio\vi»g.-year having brought into power a majority 
opppsed-to this statute, and as an attempt was made to repeal 
it, a compromise was effected upon the stringent license act, 
which" he,, "also mainly prepared, and which remained in 
force for twp years thereafter. During that period he pre- 
pared and secured the passage of many of the general laws 
regulating the incorporation of domestic insurance com- 
panies, and the control of the agencies of foreign insurance 
companies ; also of gas, water, and bridge companies, and 
other general laws of a similar character. He also drafted 
and introduced various bills intended to regulate and control 
the Stale finances and the system of State banking; espe- 
cially supporting those Amendments to the Constitution, 
adopted in 1S57, which were the most important since the 
revision of 1838. These comprised the provisions for limit- 
ing the State^debt, and establishing the sinking fund for its 
final, extinguishijient, placing in the latter the proceeds 
arising -/rom Jhe ^ale of the State canals, railroads, etc.; 
and also that reserving to the Legislature the right to alter, 
amend, or annul the charters of corporations thereafter 
granted. At the close of the session of 1856, he was elected 
Speaker of the Senate, nd interim. Declining a re-nomi- 
nation, in 1S57, he resumed the practice of the law, and in 
1859, was appointed by President Buchanan, Postmaster of 
the city of Philadelphia, which olhce he hehl until the close 
of that administration. At the outbreak of the rebellion, he 
in common with many others of the time, as Union Demo- 
crats, found themselves in sympathy willi tlie Kepublicaii 



356 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



party, with which he has since continued. He became an 
active member of the Union League, one of its Directors, 
and served on several of its most prominent committees, 
especially that on publications. He was also a member of 
the Executive Committee for the enlistment of colored 
troops, originating in the League. At the close of the 
war, in 1865, he was appointed Treasurer of the United 
States Mint, and .\ssislant Treasurer of the United States 
at Philadelphia, in which position he continued until he 
resigned to accept the office of President of the Fidelity In- 
surance, Trust and Safe Deposit Company, which he^stjll 
retains. This was the first institution of the kind "ffetalP 
lished in the State, and the second one in the^(»Snfry, the 
one in New York having preceded it but a- few months. 
It has proved most successful in all its depjtments, espe- 
cially in its being in reality a safe " savingMuu^^' hiv'i^g 
withstood the immense run made upon it duriYig the ex- 
traordinary panic of September, 1S73, when it paid all de- 
mands on presentation — waiving in many iAitanges iTie ten 
days' notice — and keeping its do8rs open foe honrs"after the 
usual time of closing. Its ability to withstand .the pressure 
was in fact the turning point in the histoiy of*lh^ panic. 
In 1867, he was appointed oiie of the 'firsti Board of Com- 
missioiaers of Kairmount Park.'having beeti bn^ of-the^arly- 
and zealous promoters of that great, puolic \v^K'.' He was 
active in the early organ izalio«5M3f the CohfiiS*on, and iif 
the acquisition of the Ijfiitl.'antP adoption -of tlifplan ; Invt 
resigned before the en|tof nis.icrmi'in "ron-eq'ftenc'' "f ih<? 
pressure of other /lutiS. ■ ■H^'haslK>n r.\ ii-e nmri I : iii 
1846, to Mai7 J., only daughter of William -K-enilall, a meiv. 
chant of Philadelphia, and wlio"HUed.-in^lS56; -in-lS59,'td 
Emily V. Taliaferro, of Reading, Pennsylv'Jfffia. ' ' 



in the siege of Vera Cruz, and the bombardment of Tobasco 
Alvarado, and accompanied the same officer as an attach^ 
of the flag-ship in the Japan Expedition. He served at 
sea for eleven years, rising by merit through all the grades 
to Chief Engineer, whence, in recognition of his skill and 
efficiency, he was elevated by President James Buchanan to 
the position of Engineer-in-Chief United States N.avy. He 
was Chief Engineer of the steam frigate " Susquehanna " 
that in a four years' cruise made the first circuit of the 
globe. Having associated in partnership with William B. 
Reany & Son, as Reany, Son & Archbold, in November, 
•1S60, he resigned as Engineer-in-Chief United States Navy, 
March 4th, 1S61, to devote himself to the marine engine 
and ship building at the Pennsylvania Iron Works. He 
gave his 'large experience and mechanical skill to that en- 
terprise until they passed into the hands of John Roach, in 
AprllyiSyi. He then organized the McHaffie Direct Steel 
Castings' Company, of which he is still President ; went to 
Europe^to complete "his arrangements, and got the works 
into operation in September of the same year. He became 
•Marine" Consulting Engineer of the Philadelphia & Reading 
Railroad; in ■ May, 1S72, which position he still occupies. 
Drawings and- specifications were prepared by him for the 
two colliers built for the company at Roach's ship yards, as 
\v5tn as for the six of 1500 tons each constructed at Cramp's 
slii'p'yafds-^aiid the works of the company at Port Rich- 
iiiondj all'of the work being done under his direction. He 
was biie of Ih'e'-originators of the Lamokin Improvement 
C6mpnn2,'.as"well*as of the First National Bank of Chester, 
of- which'he was for many years a Director. He mani- 
'-fcsts'a' warm sympathy with all schemes for public improve- 
ment 'and worthy enterprises. 




RCHBOLD, SAMUEL, Engineer, was born in 
Belfast, Ireland, July 15th, 1815. Having come 
to the United States at the age of .six years, -and 
being early left an orphan, he was partially edu- 
cated in the private schools of Baltimore, Mary- 
land, and afterwards pursued a thorough system 
of self-culture. He became an apprentice with W.-ttchmaiv, 
& Brant in Baltimore, at the -a|;e of sixteen, and remained 
with his preceptors until he was twenty-two, when he went 
to Wheeling, West Virginia, to set up the first planing ma- 
chine west of the AUeghenies. He took English drawings, 
made the patterns and fitted up the machine with his own 
hands. He built a low-pressure boat for the Mississippi 
river, and v.arious kinds of machinery, and after superin- 
tending several establishments, the last in Bait more, he 
entered the United States Navy as Third Assistant Engi- 
neer, in 1843. He went at once into active service, and 
was on board the steam frigate "Missouri" when it was burned 
in the harbor of Gibraltar, in October, 1S43. He sen-ed 
with Commodore Perry in the Mexican War, participating 




'OORHEAD, WILLIAM GARRAWAY, Banker 
and Financier, was born on the banks of the Sus- 
quehanna river, at Moorhead's Feny, twenty- 
two miles above Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, July 
nth, l8n. His father, on being appointed Re- 
venue Officer for the Eastern District of Pennsyl- 
vania^ removed to Harrisburg, where he resided until his 
death, when his son was about seven years old. The family 
then returned to the old homestead. William, while still a 
mere boy, became connected with the public works of 
Pennsylvania ; and at seventeen years of age was appointed 
Supervisor of a Division of the Juniata Canal, into which 
he let the first water. He subsequently went to Sandusky, 
Ohio, and engaged in mercantile pursuits, which not being 
congenial, he relinquished after two years and returned to 
Pennsylvania,Avhere he was again engaged on the public 
works, and subsequently upon other internal iinprovements 
in Maryland, Indiana, etc. In 1S40, he was appointed by 
Governor David R. Porter Supervisor of the Allegheny 
Portage Railroad, extending from Hollidaysburg to Johns- 



EIOGRAPIilCAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



357 



town, and in this position his aliilities as an executive 
ofl'iCLM- and Manager of Puljlie Worlds was a.knowledged. 
In 1S46, hewas named *by President Polli United States 
Consul at Valparaiso, and the following yuav llie then Se- 
cretaiy of the Navy, John Y. Mason, gave him the addi- 
tional appointment of Purchasing Agent for the United 
States Squadron of the Pacific Ocean. In the same year 
the United States Legation to the Republic of Chili was 
placed in his hands by the retiring Minister, Dr. William 
Crump of Virginia, who was succeeded by Hon. Seth 
Barton of New Orleans; and the Latter on relinquishing 
his post also left the Legation in the Consul's hands. He 
served in the Consulate not only till the end of President 
Polk's term of office, but was retained in offi.e for nearly 
two years by the Taylor administration. It was during 
this period that gold was discovered in California, and at 
his suggestion the millers of Chili were contracted with for 
all the flonr they could manufacture for one year, and a 
company was formed, combining the firms of Waddington, 
Templeman & Co., James Whitehead & Co. and himself, 
under the name of Moorehead, Whitehead cSt Waddington, 
to supply the Californian market with flour. This project 
developed into one of the largest commercial operations 
ever known on the Pacific coast. The amount of flour re- 
ceived and disposed of during the year exceeded 5CX),ooo 
barrels, the larger portion of which enormous supply was 
disposed of in California. Three hundred vessels were 
chartered at different periods by the Company, and as many 
as thirty were anchored at one time in the harbor of San 
Francisco. Opposition was commenced, but soon abandoned. 
The gold dust received in exchange for the commodity was 
sent to Valparaiso, and thence shipped to New York and 
London. In fifteen months the business was closed and, 
as proceeds of sales, over J5, 000,000 realised. On his re- 
turn to the United States, he re-embarked in the construc- 
tion of public works, and declined the Presidency of several 
Western roads, preferring to operate in his native State, 
yrhe Sunbury & Erie Railroad was about to be commenced, 
with which he became connected, and continued therewith 
for many years, from its initial point at Sunbury to its ter- 
minus at Erie, Pennsylvania. In 1857, he was elected 
President, when but forty miles was in operation and its 
treasury empty. He conceived the idea of purchasing the 
State canals for the company, but many deemed this course 
preposterous. However, Legislative aid was sought, the 
purchase effected and the completion of the road secured. 
Having embarked with his brother-in-law, Jay Cooke, un- 
der the firm of Jay Cooke & Co., in the banking business, 
he resigned the Presidency of the Sunbury & Erie Railroad, 
and was presented by that Corporation with a service of 
plate valued at Sr2,ooo. In his new sphere of labor he was 
a most able adjunct, and the oper.itions of the house of 
Jay Cooke & Co., with its branches in Washington, New 
York and London, from its incipiency until long after the 
close of the war, in the successful placing of the enormous 




loans of the United Stales Government, is a matter of Iiis- 
t(jry. Througli their London house they had the manage- 
ment of the Syndicate for the exchange of bonds at a lower 
rate of interest. He crossed the Atlantic six times dui'ing 
the progress of these negotiations, and during his sojourn 
abroad travelled extensively, visiting not only various coun- 
tries of Euro[)e, but the Holy Land and Egypt. In re- 
ligious belief, he is a Presbvterian. 



ORIE, ADOLPII E., Merchant, and ex-Sccrctary 
of the Navy, was born in Philadelphia, Novem- 
ber 25th, 1S09, and is a son of the late John 
Joseph Corie, a native of France, who was for 
many years a prosperous merchant of Philadel- 
phia, and able to give his son the best educa- 
tional advantages. Before he had completed his sixteenth 
year he graduated from the Collegiate Department of the 
University of Pennsylvania, in the class of 1825 ; was 
then sent to Fr.ancc to continue his studies in one of the 
best schools of Paris, and after remaining abroad a little 
over two years returned to the United States, in 1S28. His 
father had intended him for the pi-ofession of the law, but 
owing to his peculiar organization it was deemed best to 
relinquish a study involving severe mental application, and 
he entered upon commercial life in his father's house. In 
this business, which included that of the Mexican and 
China trade, he remained for many years, and on his father's 
death became the head of the fi-.m, managing its affairs in 
a manner that fully sustained the record of the firm in the 
annals of American commerce. In 184S, he was elected 
President of the Bank of Commerce, in which position he 
remained until i860. On the breaking out of the Civil 
War in the following year, he took at once a leading posi- 
tion among the patriotic citizens of Philadelphia, and was 
particularly active among those who rendered to the Govern- 
ment services at home not less important nor less con- 
ducive to success than those rendered in the field. The 
Union Club was the germ of the Union League, and was 
founded at a time when the political horizon was overcast 
by clouds and darkness. The position of the members of 
the Club enabled them to exert a great and powerful in- 
fluence. " Military torpor and financial paralysis were 
weighing upon the whole Land," and amidst the universal 
stagnation no man had a scheme for resuscitating anythinjj. 
It was sad to be with the army and equally sad at home. 
There was no confidence anywhere. It was apparent that 
something must be done, and the most urgent need that 
men of the highest commercial, professional and social 
standing should combine to turn the current of despondency ; 
and in so doing the few vi'ho instituted the " Union Club " — ■ 
among them Adolph E. Borie — " builded better than they 
knew." In 1S62, the club developed into the "Union 
League," of which he became first Vice-President; the 



35« 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.UDIA. 




services that he reiulered in this capacity svere of marlicd 
character, and were duly appreciated by the (iovernmenl, 
also by its ijeneral officers, whose services in the tield he 
contributed to sustain. In March, 1S69, he was selected 
by President Grant as a member of his Cabinet, with the 
portfolio of the Navy Department, and took the oath of 
office on the 8th of that month. He remained in this high 
position but a few months, as his private affairs claimed his 
attention ; and feeling that he alone could give them due 
care, while the country could be better served in the office he 
held, he tendered his resign.ilion. The President warmly 
remonstrated against his resolution to retire into private 
life, but at length yielded when assured that he must with- 
draw. He resigned June 25th, 1S69, and returned to 
Philadelphia, where he has since resided. 



TAUFFEU, WILI.IA.M D., Soldier and Politi- 
cian, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 
vania, March 20lh, 1S40. His f.iiher, John 
Stauffer, a well-known farmer of that county, 
was of German extraction, his forefathers having 
emigrated from Europe early in the eighteenth 
century, in order to escape religious persecution. Such 
educational advantages as were offered by the common 
schools of his native section, he enjoyed until he attained 
his fifteenth year. At tliat age he was placed in the hard- 
ware store of Russell & Barr, in Lancaster city, for the 
purpose of learning the business. In this establishment 
he remained for si.\ years, and was acting in the capacity 
of Clerk at the commencement of the late Civil War. In 
the first hour of his country's need he responded to the 
call for help. Heedless of private business, he at once 
enlisted as a private, in April, 1S61, in the 1st Regiment 
Pennsylvania Reserves, for three years. Through the dis- 
astrous "seven days' fight," Antielam, South Mountain, 
Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Grant's campaign in front 
of Richmond, and numerous other battles and smaller 
engagements he bore himself right valiantly. He re- 
ceived the rewr.rd of his bravery and faithfulness in his 
promotion, through eveiy grade, to the rank of a com- 
missioned officer. At the expiration of the three years 
of service of his regiment, he re-entered the army as 
First Lieutenant of Company C, 195th Regiment Penn- 
syjvania Volunteers; and in this organization he continued 
to exhibit the same gallantry which had previously dis- 
tinguished him. He served, for some time, as Aide-de- 
camp upon the staff of Brigadier-General W. II. Seward, 
and, on January 31st, 1866, was finally mustered out of the 
service, at Washington, District of Columbia. Returning to 
Lancaster, he accepted a clerical position in the office of the 
Prolhonotary of that city, and here discharged the duties in 
a manner so satisfactory to all with whom he came in con- 
tact, that, in 1S69, he was elected Prolhonotary of Lancaster 




county, and held that post for three years. During two 
years of this time he was a member of the Stale Central 
Republican Committee. He was* married, November 9th, 
1869, to a daughter of Cyrus Strickler, of Columbia, Penn- 
sylvania. In 1873, he was honored by his fellow-citizens 
with the election lo the Mayoralty of Lancaster, a position 
which he now fills. He is the youngest man ever elected to 
this post, as was also the case in his election lo the Pro- 
thonotaryship. But he fully justifies the confidence reposed 
in him ; with the enterprise of youth he unites the careful 
consideration of age. 



EYNOLDS, SAMUEL II., Lawyer, w.is born in 
Columbia county, Pennsylvania, November 20th, 
1831. His father, Thomas Reynolds, was a 
leading merchant of that county, and highly 
esteemed in private and business circles. His 
mother was a daughter of William Roger, a well- 
known agriculturist of Northampton county, and a man of 
high culture. On the paternal side, he is of English and 
Irish extraction, and on the maternal, of German descent. 
He was educated at Dickinson College, from which he 
graduated with honors with the class -of 1850, when but 
eighteen years of age. He subsequently resided with his 
brother, William F. Reynolds, in Centre county; here he 
pursued a course of legal studies under the direction of the 
Hon. James T. Hale, and, upon its completion, was ad- 
mitted to the bar in ihe aulunin of 1S54. He then spent 
one year in travelling through the West, purposing lo 
establish himself in one of the thriving Western towns or 
cities; but finding no location sufficiently desirable and 
promising, he returned to Pennsylvania. Later, he moved 
to Lancaster, and opening an office there, commenced the 
practice of his ])rofession, and rapidly acquired a very large 
and lucrative clientage. Soon after establishing himself in 
this town, he entered the political arena; and, being an 
ardent Democrat, he " took the stump " for James Buchanan 
in the campaign of 1856 ; possessing much oratorical power, 
and a fluent and forcible deliver)', he soon became extremely 
popular with his party, who saw in him an able and energetic 
partisan. In Fcliruary, 1857, when in his twenty-fourlh 
year, he was elected City Solicitor, and held that position 
until his ])rivatc practice became so large that he was com- 
pelled to <lccllne a re-election. He was appointed Notaiy 
Public by Governor Packard, and acted in this capacity for 
three years. He was a member of the School Board for 
nine years, .and at the expiration of that time declined a re- 
election. He has been a Delegate to several State Demo- 
cratic Conventions, and was a Deleg.ate to the Convention 
held in Ilarrisburg immediately prior to the outbreak of the 
Rebellion, this organization being known as the " Peace 
Convention." In 1S68, he was the Democratic nominee 
for Congress against the late Thaddeus Stevens, over whom 
he received, in Lancaster city, a m.ijority of 444 votes, run- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



iiiiiij far ahead of Iiis ticket in the whole district ; indeed, 
but for the Republican tendencies of the rural portion of the 
p ipulation, he would have been elected. On one occasion, 
his name, unknown to him, was prasented by his friends to 
the Convention as candidate for the position of Judf;e of the 
Supreme Court ; he received a very flattering complimentary 
vote, but, lieing influenced by no judicial aspirations, refused 
thereafter to have his name used in that connection. In 
October, 1S72, he was chosen by the Democratic Conven- 
tion as Delegate at Large to the Constitutional Convention, 
and was placed by the ■President, William M. Meredith, 
upon one of the most important committees — that on Legis- 
lation — continuing to labor zealously in that capacity until 
the report of the committee was made to the Convention, 
and by it adopted, when he returned to Lancaster to attend 
to his prof^'ssional duties. Until the decease of Mr. 
McEvoy, he was a member of the well-known firm of 
Evans, McEvoy & Co. For many years, he has been a 
vestryman in the St. James Episcopal Church, and is warmly 
and (lenerously interested in all charitable and benevolent 
movements. As a politician, he is upright and fearless, and 
a prominent leader of the Democratic party; while as a 
l.iwyer, he possesses superior ability, and is con.;idcred one 
of the most influential members of the Lancaster bar. He 
W.1S married, December 13th, 135S, to a daughter of Wil- 
liam B. Fordney, formerly a distinguished lawyer of Lan- 
caster county; she was also a granddaughter of William 
Jenkins, who, in his time, was one of the most eminent 
attorneys in the State. 

i ~^^ 

IBSON, JOHN BANNISTER, LL.D., late Chief- 
Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 
was born in Shearman's Valley, Pennsylvania, 
November 8th, 1780. He was the son of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel George Gibson, an oflicer of the 
Revolutionary Army, who fell in St. Clair's expe- 
dition against the Indians on the Miami, in 1791. He re- 
ceived his preparatory education in the grammar school 
attached to Dickinson College, and subsequently studied in 
llie Collegiate Department, from which in due time he grad" 
uatcd. He entered the office of Thomas Duncan, who was 
afterward an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of Penn- 
sylvania, and passed through a severe course of reading for 
the legal profession, and was admitted as an Attorney at 
Law at the bar of Cumberland county in 1803. He first 
opened his ofiice at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and after a iew 
years removed to the town of Beaver, in the same State. 
From this latter locality he changed to Hagerstown, Mary- 
land, and shortly afterward returned to Carlisle. In 1810, 
he was elected by the (then-) Republican jiarty as a Repre- 
sentative in the lower branch of the Legislature, and was 
re-elected the following year, during each session filling 
profi\inent stations on committees, etc. In July, 1S13, he 
was appointed President Judge of the Eleventh Judicial 





District of Pennsylvania, and three years after was coinmis- 
sioned an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court, which at 
that lime was considered equivalent to a life tenure, the 
appointment being " during good behavior." At the death 
of Chief Justice Tilghman.in 1827, he was appointed by the 
Governor to succeed him. In 1838, at the date of the adop- 
tion of the then New Constitution of the State, he resigned 
his office, but was immediately re-appointed by the Gov- 
ernor. By a change in the Constitution, making the Judi- 
ciary elective, his seat became vacant in 185 1. During the 
same year he was elected an Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court, being the only one of the former incumbents who 
was nominated by the Democratic party. He discharged 
the functions of his office until attacked by his last illness. 
He died in Philadelphia, May 3d, 1 853. 



IjAILLY, JOSEPH ALEXIS, Sculptor, was born in 
Paris, Fiance, Januaiy 21st, 1825, and is the son 
of Joseph Philidor Bailly, a manufacturer of 
cabinet furniture, and a man of great mechanical 
genius, which has descended to his son. As he 
grew up liis taste for carving wood began to be 
developed, and he manifest'_'d aspirations towards marble. 
His father permitted him to spend some time under the in- 
struction of Baron Bozio of the French Institute, where he 
acciuired, at a very early age, his first ideas of sculpture. 
Shortly after he was taken into his father's factory, where 
he was employed in turning wood and carving it into orna- 
mental articles of domestic utility. At the end of a year he 
left his father's and found employment elsewhere as a wood- 
turner, and subsequently worked in M. Rammer's establish- 
ment as a wood carver. After remaining here some time 
he resolved to travel around the country, and in the course 
of his wanderings reached the Gothic castle of the Marquis 
de Lussac, in Tourraine, and here he satisfactorily carved 
all the grotesque heads of the " gargogles " or corbels which 
supported the cornice. He worked in stone during the 
summer and in wood during the winter, but gradually 
dropped the latter. His first statuette was thnt of a shep- 
herd, for which he received forty francs ; it was but the work 
of a few hours, but it was pronounced of merit. The mo- 
tive which prompted its production was to obtain the neces- 
sary funds to celebrate the " Mardi-Gras.',' He afterwards 
celebrated another festival of not uncommon occurrence in 
the French capital. He was a conscript of the Garde 
Mobile, but in the revolution of 1848 he found himself en- 
listed in the Republican cause, and having shot at his 
captain, whose hat he wounded, and being in danger of a 
court-martial, hewithsomedifficulty escaped from France and 
reached New Orleans in safety. He landed with less than 
a half cent in his pocket ; before he had been in the city two 
hours he found employment, which he commenced the ne.vt 
day, and at the end of three d.ays received $.\o, which he 



^6o 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



had fairly carncil. He rcmaiiicJ in that city, living fiugally 
and coining nionty, until the yellow fever season set in, 
when he turned his face northward, and after a short sojourn 
in New York, proceeded thence to I'liiladelphia, where, in 
1850, he began the business of wood carving at the corner 
of Dock and Walnut streets. Soon after this he sailed with 
his wife to Buenos Ayres, where he remained a year, and 
on his return resumed business on his own account, but 
afterwards became a member of the well-known firm of 
Voilnier & Co., manufacturers of cabinet furniture. This 
relation, however, was soon dissolved, and he opened a 
sculptor's studio first at Eaile's picture gallery, where.Jiiy 
was burned out in the great fire of 1854, when the Chinese 
Museum and 
removed to Sti 

until 1870. Subsequently he established his'.'o^'ii marble 
works and studio near ChestiuiL street hriclge. ^While-cn 
gaged in wood carving he had producetl several liusls and 



nU 111 lliC gieaL lUC UI lUJ^, win.,, i.ti\. \^mii^r.\, 

1 adjoining buildings were destroyt^ii^- He then 
Struther's Marble Works, wheij^KL."^'"^'"^'^ 



until he reached the first toll-gate on the Gcrmantown turn- 
pike, and while loitering here chanced to meet with one 
Robert Scarlet, landlord of the Spring House Tavern, eigh- 
teen miles distant on the Bethlehem turnpike, who engaged 
him for hostler, his compensation being his board, six dol- 
lars a month, and as much money as he could obtain from 
the guests. He passed six months at this place, and during 
that time had saved Si S3. He was next hired by George 
Thorpe, imikecper at Skippackville, Montgomery crunty, 
who was to pay him S40 per month, but he was obliged to 
refund his employer all the gratuities lavished upon him by 
the strangers stopping at the house. He continued here 
until he had saved S550, and then growing tiied of this life, 
he became a journeyman in a brick yard. Between these 
two occiijpations he alternated for several seasons, but in the 
second. y»ar of his brickmaking the cvners i f the yard had 
a (Wflerence with the " boss," whiih resulted in his dis- 
charge an<l;th(; ofier of the post to him ; he accepted it, and 



statues in marble. The advaiVfages of^'effed'to^'art studenls "fcSr fcfm; ■months of several successive years earned gi 5 a 
by the Pennsylvania Academy.of the- Fine Ar^vere of such ,day, so that when the-financial crisis of 1837 dawned upon 
a character that they could notjie oveilookeilbv <ine.-\vho thc.cciuntvjj and his labors came to an end, he had on de- 
felt liis calling was that of a^jsculplor. li id the I jKisit :in liauk.ahe sum of gi6,ooo. This he loaned on 
va!ue of discipline and ]i:ilient ])r:iLiiLL v,-,r<Tin.»ft5age,ito one- Isaac Shoemaker, the security being a 
was an earnest student al ilic .\ca;lcniy. m ;.-bbt4he^own?r of tliis farm being a scoundrel, con- 
an Academician in 1856. H_j,s lirst.lafg<- etTjudgmeptji^is.son to the full value of the property, 
Franklin, modelled for the biiildingi nou i.th was seizell^J^-the sherifi", s< 

tulQVed ,tO the 

Ledger Office. The statue of^\ asfiiijjjion.in^Mnt .of Ijule- 

ndence Hall is also from /his cliisel. ■ffjita.'ofJiis'Srelt 



, sold, bought in by the son, 



Mercantile Library, but suliscauently tt^j^ved .to llic_j j.iid-lhe morigagee swindled out of his entire sum. Years 



pe 

works are in Laurel Hill Cemetej-y I^oiie", a' 

in bronze of a well-known bank' i 

statue of Grief. Hut his master-pitu,.. . :_ . 



'fii^e 



i".li'i,i .UlO 



the two groups of " .\dam and Eve afteiMhe Fall," and 
"The First Prayer." lie was married, in 1850, to Louisa, 
youngest daughter of Louis David, a native of Brie, France. 




'PIELMAX, JACOB, Merchant, was born in the 
town of Dieffenbrcnn, G.and Duchy of Eaden, 
about the year 1 81 2. Left an orphan at an early 
age and without means, he was apprenticed to a 
shoemaker in his native village. Not being s.atis- 
fied with his trade or its surroundings, when he 
had reached the age of thirteen years he concluded to run 



aged to make his way across France, and reaching Havre, 
enlisted on board a French man-of-war under orders for 
Calcutta, via Cape Horn. The vessel being totally disabled 
in a storm on the Atlantic, put into New York for repairs. 
In <Uie time he obtained the captain's leave to go .ashore, 
but once again on land he neglected 10 return, and fearing 
to remain in the city, managed to obtain a small amount of 
funds by disposing of his watch,' and set out for Philadel- 
phia, which he safely reached. He then wandered about 



tfujinvajifLs hCTwas stnt for at midnight by .Shoemaker, who 
on liis death bed was troubled with the recollection of his 
'rasSilily; butTlig "iiHier, unable to comply with his request, 
: ii I III! .1 : I 111 which he freely forgave him the wrong 
I vUk: di-bi. .He was now forced to begin the world 



a;.^in, and found employment in a seed store in Philadel- 
phia, wages $6 per week, which was soon increased to J? 10, 
and at the end of the year he received a present of $100 
and a further offer equivalent to a stated salary of S900 jier 
annum. Y/ith his usual thrift he accumulated $1600, 
which he embarked in a partnership in a country store, 
where he lost all his savings in the course of a few months. 
Returning to Philadelphia, he resum.ed work for his former 
employer, with whom he remained until he was disabled by 
an accident, which it was feared would render him a crip- 
pie 4°r life' I^y medical and surgical aid this W'as, in a 
.great measure, averted, and his employer, pitying his help- 
less condition, offered to loan him S300, provided he could 
away. With funds amounting to but thirty cenlsTie'~itian»--fmd an opportunity of buying with that sum a small busi- 



ness. This he soon found in the northwestern part of the 
city in the shape of a small grocery store, whose proprietor 
had become discouraged and was willing to sell out for 
Sioo. His friend Grover the seedsman advanced this sum 
and also enough to purchase a small stock of goods, and he 
look jiossession. By dint of industry and a desire to ac- 
commodate, he met with the greatest success, one specula- 
tion in pork netting him the sum of 52500. During the 
prevalence of the oil fever he became interested with a 






V* 





k, 



■i\ 



1i 



^1 



EinCRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



361 



number of his friends — himself the largest stock-hoUler — in 
certain operations ; and but for his carefulness, sagacity, and 
personal inspection of the lands purchased, would have suf- 
fered greatly. As it was, after the speculators had en- 
deavored to conciliate and afterwards bribe him, he had 
them aiTcsted, tried and convicted of obtaining money under 
false pretences, and the lands purchased as " oil tracts," 
though wholly destitute of the illuminating fluid, were left 
in his hands, and have since become highly valuable as 
farming lands. He still continues at the corner of Vine 
and Twenty-first streets, the business to wliich he owes his 
prosperity. He is a member of the Lutlieran Chui-ch, and 
a most industrious, honorable, and valuable citizen. lie 
was married, in 1841, to Christiana, daughter of Frederick 
Herger, then of Philadelphia. 



>IRKHAM, WILLIAM, Merchant, w-is born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Februaiy 2d, 1794, 
and is the only son of the late Charles Kirkham, 
a native of Bath, England, who had married, in 
America, Deliorah Miller, an inmate of the family 
of Sir William Bingham. Wliile yet a youth, he 
was taken into the counting-house of his father, a prosperous 
dry-goods merchant, of whose business he gained a complete 
knowledge long before he attained his manhood. His 
father died before he was twenty-one years old, and the 
concern was therefore carried on in his mother's name ; 
but his active brain and perseverance caused it to increase, 
and after the War of 1812 had closed, and the country began 
to recover from the perilous times through which it had 
passed, its prosperity was greatly enhanced. His motlier died 
in 1814; but he continued on in the business, and by his 
prudent management — never having any partner — retired 
from active mercantile life in 1830, with an ample compe- 
tence; and from that period his life, .aside from the cares 
of his household, has been devoted to works of benevolence. 
In religious belief, he is a Churchman, as was likewise his 
father. The latter h.ad been connected with St. Paul's 
Church, and the congregation had acknowledged the gift, 
with many thanks, of communion linen and prayer books. 
His son had become a member of St. Stephen's Church 
when Rev. Dr. Montgomery was the rector. At his p.islor's 
solicitation, he intimately connected and interested himself 
in the " Society for the Advancement of Christianity in 
Pennsylvania," l)eing one of its managers for a long series 
of years, and a co-laborer with Rev. Drs. Morton and Davies. 
He was also one of the Trustees of the Endowment for the 
support of the Bishop of the Diocese. After the death of 
Rev. Dr. Montgomery, the Rev. Dr. Ducachat succeeded 
him, and for a time the church was prosperous. In 1839, 
and for several years thereafter, it retrograclpd, and it was 
with difficulty that its temporal affairs could be satisfactorily 
arranged. At this time, he was a large contributor towards 
46 



making up the deficit in the reduced income of the church, 
and he succeeded in keeping the corporation alive. It was 
during the latter period of Rev. Dr. Ducachat's ministra- 
trations that large sums were bequeathed to the church by 
the will of Edward 8. Burd, and subsequently by his widow, 
and the administration of these moneys fell upon him as 
the accounting warden of St. Stephen's. That noble 
charity, the Burd Orphan Asylum, was erected, which will 
forever remain the monument of its munificent donors, and 
perpetuate the memory of its founders and those having the 
management of its inauguration and direction. For many 
years, he has been a Director of the Pennsylvania Company 
for Insurance of Lives and Granting Annuities, of which 
Charles Dutilh is President. He was married, in August, 
1S16, to Elizabeth, daughter of George Harding, of Phila- 
delphia. 




/ 



URNESS, REV. WILLIAM HENRY, D. D., 
Clergyman, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, 
April 20th, 1802, and is the second son of Wil- 
liam Furness. He is of New England lineage ; 
his mother was a descendant of Captain Clapp, 
who emigrated to America as early as 1629, and 
became a man of note among the Puritan Fathers. He 
was educated at Harvard University, wlience he graduated 
in 1S20. On leaving that institution, he entered the Theo- 
logical School at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated 
from that seminary in 1823. He was now prepared to 
enter the ministry, and having received a call from the 
First Unitarian Society of Philadelphia, to become its 
Pastor, he accepted the same, and settled in that city in 
January, 1825. He still fulfils the duties of the pastoral 
office in that congregation, and is the Dean of the Clerical 
Corps of Philadeljihia. During this long connection of 
nearly a half century, he has become peculiarly endeared 
to all the members of his flock, which in fact resembles one 
great family, so cordial are the relations which subsist 
between themselves, and so filial the regard they entertain 
toward him. The church under his guidance and faithful- 
ness, is an active instrument of good, but all in a quiet, 
unobtrusive way. Ihe humanitarian views, or more 
properly speaking, the wants of humanity in general, are 
veiy zealously advocated by pastor and people. He has 
held and preached ideas far in advance of the age. For 
thirty years previous to the late civil war, he was an ardent, 
fe.irless, and persi.stent promoter of the principles of freedom 
to the slave, and publicly testified to his opinion in many 
sermons delivered by him on the subject. He is quite a 
voluminous author ; and has produced many works of 
sterling merit, mainly designed to illustrate the character 
and life of Christ, and embodying much thought and labor 
in demonstrating the hfstorical truth of His life, .is related 
in the Gospels. Though his essays have lieen chiefly of a 
theological character, he has not confined himself exclu- 



362 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



sively to such subjects ; he has published a charming trans- 
lation of Schiller's Song of the Bell, which is generally 
admitted by critics to be the most perfect an<l hannonious 
rendering of the conception and words of the poet ever 
given in the English language. Among his other literary 
works may be mentioned : Hemarts on the Four Gospels, 
1836; Jesus and His Biographers, 1 838; History of Jesus, 
1853 ; Notes on the Life and Character of Jcsiis of Naza- 
reth, 1859; The Veil Partly Lifted, i?>(n; The Unconscious 
Truth of the Four Gospels, 1868; Jesus, 1 871; The Charac- 
ter of Jesus Portrayed, translated from the German of 
Schenkel, 2 volumes, 1866. In 1847, he was honored by 
his Alma Mater, receiving therefrom the degree of D. D. 
He was married in August, 1825, to Annis P. Jenks, whose 
grandfather is understood to have participated in the memor- 
able destruction of the tea in Boston Harbor, December, 
•773- By this union he has had three children, two sons 
and a daughter. His eldest son, William Henry Furness, 
who died, March 4th, 1867, was one of the most gifted 
portrait painters of his day ; while his second son, Horace 
Howard Furness, has acquired the reputation of being one 
of the finest Shakesperian scholars of this century. His 
daughter, Mrs. Annis Lee Wister, is widely known as an 
elegant translator from the German, of the literature of 
which language he himself is a profound student. 



D ^?*'^CHOFIELD, .SEVILL, Manufacturer, was born in 
"^^•t- Lees, near Oldham, England, August 13th, 1832. 
His father, Joseph Schofield, brought his family 
to the United .St.ates in 1845, and upon their 
arrival in New York city, at once proceeded to 
Manayunk, Pennsylvania. There his father en- 
gaged in manufacturing, and his son, as also his four 
brothers and two sis'.ers, assisted him by working in the 
mill without wages. By dint of economy, he succeeded in 
accumulating seventy-five dollars, and devoted this sum to 
the acquirement of such education as was to be obtained at 
Tremont Seminary, Norristown, Pennsylvania. On his 
return from school he assumed full charge of the business, 
and managed it so well as to attract the attention of neigh- 
boring manufacturers. In the fall of 1856, William Mc- 
Fadden, of Manayunk, proposed to sell him his mill for 
$10,000; one-fifth to be paid in one year, and the remainder 
in ten years. On considering the matter, he deemed it ex- 
pedient to accept the offer, and having purchased in the 
name of his father, their operations were transferred to the 
new location. They occupied but a small portion of the 
building, and the rent of the balance defrayed the expenses 
of the whole. His father died in 1857, and his will provided 
that the property should not be divided during the lifeline 
of the widow. lie accordingly conducted it until 1859, 
increasing her wealth twenty fold, without receiving any 
stipulated compensation. Having then married, he gave 




his mother the interest upon her capital cf ^16,000, and 
associated himself with his brother Charles, as S. & C. Scho- 
field, having the machinery left by their father, and employ- 
ing six han<ls. Both brothers worked in the mill, and, by 
industry and energy, achieved a marked success, and were 
enabled at the end of a year to refit with new machinery, 
and in January, 1861, they occupied the whole buildin;'. 
In 1862, they commenced to make blankets for the United 
States Government, and continued to double their capacity 
each consecutive year. In 1S63, the building was enlarged 
and filled with new machinery. At this time his brother 
Charles disposed of his interest in the establishment for 
§40,000, and retired, thus leaving Sevill sole proprietor. 
The business was doubled both in 1864 and 1 865, and the 
amount of taxes paid the Government in the former year 
nearly reached 590,000. In 1865, he purchased adjoining 
properties, and commenced improvements which were 
finished in 1S66. He fitted the new mills with the finest 
machinery, and was ready to resume operations, when all 
the buildings and contents, valued at §225,000, were des- 
troyed by fire, March 26th, 1867. Nearly all his insurance 
policies had been cancelled, the companies having increased 
the premium on the pretext that he was using his engme- 
room for drying purposes, during the erection of a new dry- 
house. Undaunted by this catastrophe, he commenced a 
new structure, and einbarked without delay for England to 
procure a supply of new machiner)-. A fire-proof edifice 
was erected, filled with the finest machinery to be procured, 
and put into operation in 1868. "He has since added oilur 
structures, from time to time, until now he is probably the 
largest individual manufacturer of textile fabrics in the 
State. He employs 600 hands, and the excellent quality 
of his blankets and cloths has achieved for them an enviable 
reputation. During the invasion of Pennsylvania, in 1S62 
and 1S63, by {he insurgent forces, and in the hour of the 
nation's extreme peril, he organized a company of volunteers 
from among his own operatives, and sent them to the front 
under the command of his brother. During their absence, 
their wages were continued, and their families provided for. 
Such is the record of a practical, self-made man, who with- 
out the advantages of early education, has surmounted eveiy 
obstacle, supplied the want of capital by the powers of in- 
dustry and energy, triumphed over reverses that would have 
crushed many, and shown a recuperative force making him 
the peer of any of his associates. 



ALES, SAMUEL BRADFORD, Merch.int, was 
born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1808. He is a 
son of the late Samuel Fales, a successful and 
highly respected merchant in that city, who died 
in 1848. On his father's side, he is the seventh 
"" in ikscent from William Bradford, the first Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, and he is also descended fr(^m the 
Fales family who arrived in Boston about 1636. On his 





C/-J f^^Lix- • (^^Ti^ti^/: 






BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



363 



mother's side, he traces his descent from Dr. Otis, of 
Scitiiate, cousin of James Otis, of Revolutionaiy fame, and 
also from the Haliburtons of Nova Scotia, Thomas Hali- 
burton — author of Sam Slick — being his first cousin. He 
was educated at the Boston Latin School, and subsequently 
entered Harvard University, whence he graduated in 1825. 
He afterwards studied medicine for two years with Dr. 
John Gorham, of Boston ; but having no taste for the pro- 
fession, discontinued his readings, and, in 1832, went to 
Philadeljihia, where he entered into the importing and 
commission business at I02 Chestnut street, being associated 
uitli Eliphalet Williams, under the firm of Fales and Wil- 
li.ims. The partnership expired by limitation, in 1834, and 
was not renewed ; indeed, the senior partner at this time 
retired altogether from mercantile pursuits. ■ He next turned 
his attention to the fine arts, and studied for a number of ' 
years, but finding his health impaired, desisted ; neverthe- 
less, desirous of occupying his mind with some favorite 
object, he commenced by making a collection of choice 
engravings, paintings in oil and water colors, bronzes, 
medals, antiques, and articles of vertu : and this collection 
has for many years been a source of pleasure and gratifica- 
tion, not only to its possessor, but also to I4U friends andthe 
public who have visited and still continue, io, visit ;it. by 
thousands. His devotion to these high-toned studies was 
recognized by his being elected a Director ofrtjie "Pennsyl- 
vania Academy of the Fine Arts, which hg-JipH^^Jurinj^ihe 
presidency of the late Hon. Henry D. Gilpin. He resigned 
the position in the spring of 1S60. On the breaking; out'o(- 
the rebellion, he ranged himself on the side of the Govern- 
ment, and by his unselfish devotion to the interests of the 
soldiers, won for himself a proud and enviable record. For 
five years, his entire time, day and night, was devoted to the 
welfare and success of the Union Volunteer Refreshment 
Saloon, and its adjuncts. He was the Treasurer of its 
funds, which were raised by the voluntaiy contributions of 
the citizens, neither city. State, nor United Slates Government 
patronage being given to it. By his own personal exertions 
the greater part of its funds were collected ; and when ajl is 
taken into consideration, the enormaius operations xif this 
saloon, with its three hospitals as adjiKvet.s, its bathing 
facilities and other accommodations afforded to the sick and 
weary soldier, the funds necessary to carry on the operations 
could not have been meagre. As many as seven thousand 
men have been fed on its premises within twenty-four 
hours, and scarcely a day elapsed during the long period 
of the four years of the war, and the year subsequent, when 
the troops were mustered out and returning from the fieUl, 
that the beneficent aid of this noble monument of the 
patriotism and philanthropy of Philadelphia was not called 
into play. Sick or well, white or black, Union soldier or 
Confederate prisoner, all were relieved; and of the sufferers 
w ho closed their eyes in death, within the hospitals, their 
remains were carefully and sorrowfully Jaid away to rest in 
the lot provided by the managers for the purpose. Through 




all these years, Samuel B. Fales worked unweariedly as Cor- 
responding Secretary and General Financial Agent. The 
organization has now $2000 invested in city bonds, the 
interest each year being added, the whole being designed 
to create the, Monument Fund, which monument is to be 
erected to the memoi-y of the sixty-three soldiers buried by 
the committee. In October, 1865, his associates of the 
Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon passed a series of 
resolutions, which were beautifully engrossed, and presented 
to him, testifying to the prominent part he took in the great 
work. He has likewise been the recipient of many compli- 
mentary letters, especially from his college class-mates, who 
bear witness to the fact that in all his unselfish devotion to 
the soldiers' comfort he has reflected the teachings, and 
honored the escutcheon of his Alma Mater. He is one of 
the vet^ few civilians who have been honored with a mem- 
bership in the " Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the 
United' Sf^^s," and is a member of the council of that 
comnsaBdei-y. 



O.STER, ISRAEL, Manufacturer, was born in 
■liancashire;- England, December 27th, 1808, and 
carhe'«'ith'-l>iS father to the United States in 1821, 
^ry^^y(a.v'mg I'^ceived 'his education in his native 
aftUBtfy. ,-Jlie'ffi^t went into the woollen mill of 
■; j^@p>ptgfiii> ,T.owei:^ near Manayunk, where he re- 
;na^^d^'QtiI;V.the;family removed to Blockley township, 
.^vhereJie. worked in Kershaw's Mill. He afterwards wove 
hroad-clpth in Irvin & .Shaw's Mills at Manayunk, becom- 
ing manager of their carding and spinning department, and 
continuing with them nearly twenty years. In 1842, he 
associated himself with John Augustus Newmann,and began 
manufacturing cloths and fancy goods at the Falls of 
Schuylkill. When the firm was dissolved by the death of 
his partner, he purchased the latter's interest in the business 
from the heirs, and operated alone until his removal to 
Cressonville, in 1853, remaining there until the autumn of 
1S57, when having leased thd Xremont Mills, in Frankford, 
he converged then"^ iiHo woolleo^ mills, and transferred his 
operations ,tc -that -point. •• I^re he continued until 1863, 
when he disposed of his lease and machinery to R. Garsed 
& Brother, with the design of retiring from the manufactur- 
ing business. These mills occupied both sides of the creek, 
and comprised not only the original Tremont Mills, but also 
the Bridge Mill, erected about 1845, by Pilling & Bolton. 
He ]nirchased the entire properly, March 3ISI, 1865, and 
retaining possession of the same exactly one year, sold one 
half his interest in the same, in March, 1866, to James 
Whilaker, and then leased the mills on the west side of the 
creek, on April 1st, 1866, to the Garsed Brothers. Having 
associated himself with others, he resumed manufacturing 
in 1866, and the firm of Israel Foster & Co. continued until 
1873, when he assumed the management alone. The mills 
occupied by (iarsed Brothers were entirely destroyed by 



364 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



fire, June 14th, 1S66, but in less than a week the debris was 
in course of removal, and a stately structure replaced the 
original edifice. This property wxs sold to Richard Gar- 
sed, February 1st, 1867, reserving certain water rights for 
Tremont Mills. The latter were entirely remodelled and 
enlarged by their proprietor, in 1865, and the Bridge Mill 
w.is also gre.itly increased in capacity, in 1871 and 1872, 
and other buildings in its vicinity erected, including store- 
houses, dye-houses, bleaching and woollen factories. There 
are also commodious offices and all necessary out-buildings. 
Machinery of the highest grade and best description- fill the 
v.arious mills, and the establishment is complete within itself, 
taking the wool in a raw state, making all its own yarn, 
dyeing its own goods, and sending them out ready for 
market. The amount manufactured daily is looo pounds 
of yarns, 1000 yards of ingrain, imperial, extra, super, da- 
mask, Venetian and P.ilaline carpets, and thirty five pairs 
of blankets of various sizes, grades, and standards. About 
3000 pounds of wool are consumed each day, employing 
from 400 to 503 hands. Few men are more thoroughly 
conversant with the early history, progress and practical 
details of the manufactures of Pennsylvania than the pro- 
prietor of these mills. 



(lEWIS, JOHN, Paper Manufacturer, was born in 
Springfield township, Delaware county, Pennsyl- 
vania, July 22d, 1776, and was one of seventeen 
children comprising the family of John and Jane 
(Farr) Lewis. His paternal ancestors were ori- 
ginally from the parish of Ulan, Glamorganshire, 
Wales, emigrated to Pennsylvania about 16S8, and settled 
at Haverford. He was educated at the Friends' Meeting 
House School in Springfield, and being of apt and studious 
habits, gifted with a retentive memory and a bright intellect, 
he acquired all that he was able to learn at that academy 
by the time he was but fourteen years old. He was ever 
a great reader, and in a measure self-cultured. While yet 
a lad he entered the paper mill of Thomas Lewis, on Darby 
creek, and learned the business, iie afterwards erected a 
mill on Crum creek, which he operated for many years ; 
in fact, he continued there nearly all his days, excepting 
duririg a short interval at Troy. For a considerable period 
he managed the entire business himself, but at a later date 
he associated with him his brother George, who became the 
business manager, while he continued as the chief practical 
operative of the mill. The article produced was writing- 
paper, which was entirely hand-made. In later years, he 
removed his residence to Castle Rock, where he engaged 
also in farming. His political faith was Democratic, as ex- 
pounded by Jeflferson, and, during i82i-'22, he served as a 
member of the Legislature, being elected on that ticket. 
At a later d.ite, when General Jackson gave a new reading 
to the ancient principles of Democracy, he left that party, 
and took no further interest in political matters until 





General Harrison was nominated for the Presidency; he 
then became a consistent Whig, and afterwards a Republi- 
can. In religious belief, he was an Orthodox Friend, and 
was moreover a model Christian man. Me was married, 
.March 31st, 1815, to Elizabeth Crozer, who brought him 
six children, all of whom are now {1S74) living. He died 
June l6th, 1856. 



PERIXG, NATII.\X, Merchant, was born at 
Pottsgrove, now Pottstown, Pennsylvania, May 
7th, 1820, and is a son of Charles Spering of the 
same placed While a lad he removed to Phila- 
delphia, where he attended the district schools, 
and at the usual age was apprenticed to the 
trade of trunk-maker. When he had served his time he 
went into the business on his own account, and continued 
in it for fifteen years. Having been tendered by Mayor 
Conrad the office of Lieutenant of Police — in the old Dis- 
trict of the Northern Liberties — he accepted the same, and 
relinquished his former calling. It was the dawning of a 
new era in Philadelphia, for the numerous districts, bonnighs 
and townships, together with the old city, had been consoli- 
dated into one municipality, with but one executive officer 
to govern the same. For many years the district where he 
w.ns stationed had been disturbed by rioting, carried on by 
adherents of various fire companies who were rivals for the 
honor of being the most energetic members of the depart- 
ment, but who were in reality the originators of the despe- 
rate conflicts between those opposed in politics, religious 
belief, etc. An alarm of fire was certain to be followed by 
a riot, or pitched battle, and the neighborhood of the con- 
flict was an unsafe locality for any casual wayfarer, or for 
persons whose business lay in that direction. But by the 
prompt and energetic efforts which Lieutenant Spering made, 
he broke up the disorderly gangs, and restored quiet and 
good order in the district, and also in the Fire Department 
there located. The Philadelphia and New York press, in 
their leading editorials, complimented him upon his per- 
sonal braveiy and the skilful management of his corps in 
many of the contests which took place. In 1864, he was 
elected Commissioner of Highways by City Councils, and 
three times thereafter re-elected to the same position. After 
his last term of office had expired, he bade farewell to poli- 
tics for a time, and with his son, Charles, entered upon a 
career as a dry-goods merchant, under the firm name of 
Nathan Spering & .Son, by whom has been transacted one of 
the largest retail businesses in the city, the sales averaging 
half a million dollars annually. Early in 1874, he was im- 
portuned by the voters of the Seventh Ward to allow him- 
self to become a candidate for Common Council, and after 
much persuasion at Last consented. This occasioned one 
of the fiercest and best fought battles that ever took place 
in municipal politics. He was opposed unitedly by all the 
" Rings " — as he was running as an Independent Repub- 



I 




x^u^dLt^. 



BIOGRAPHICAI, ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



36s 




lican ; but such was the high estimate of the man in the 
ward, and such also was the ability and energy with which 
the (i;;ht was championed by his son and others, that his 
majority was 150 over both the opposing candidates, being 
300 above the vote given to Mayor Stokely, his total being 
2450 votes in a poll of 4600. During the War of the Re- 
bellion he served in William B. Mann's company in the 
Valley, at the battle of CJettysburg, etc., as a Lieutenant, 
and bore himself faithfully in all the duties devolving upon 
him in that well known corps. lie has been a zealous 
member of the Baptist Church for many years ; and in 
his benefactions is most liberal and charitable. As a citizen 
he is exemplaiy, and as a business man most honorable in 
his dealings. His wife's maiden name was Charlotte 
Bickel, of Philadelphia, who brought him six children, of 
whom four are living, his eldest son, Charles, bcin^ now 
associated with him in business. 

;ARPER, GEORGE K., Journalist, *as*te)rn in 
Oxford township, Philadelphia county,* rei?n.iyl- 
vania, in 1778, and removed to CH'ftfiibefSIiurg, 
in 1794. At the age of sixteen lie.'entered the 
printing office of his brother, I'&feVft Harjwr, 
editor and publisher of the Ftanfdiit'^Refo'iitdiy, 
the only newspaper then in Frankliii -county. He'*on- 
tinued to assist his brother until the year 'iScfe^ whenf-he 
succeeded him as exclusive editor. The extenStve'-irifhr- 
cnce, and the high intellectual and moral tone which this 
paper has maintained for more than three-quarters of .a 
century, are largely due to the character impressed upon it 
by him. His editorial charge of the Repository began 
during the excitement that characterized the contest be- 
tween Adams and Jefferson for the Presidency. Although 
an avowed Federalist, he was never intolerant, personally 
hostile, or abusive to those who differed with him politi- 
cally. As early as 1801, when the Democratic party came 
in, he said : " The Repository shall never pursue a course 
of indiscriminate abuse of the men now in power, and their 
measures; nor, on the other hand, shall it sink intp,apathy 
and servility, but, keeping aloof from licentioflsnJss "arfd 
indecorum, admit free and fair discussion of public men 
and measures." The enunciation of such principles in a 
political journal in those days was rare; adherence to them 
was more rare. But in the Repository they were strictly 
and scrupulously maintained. The result was a rajiid in- 
crease in its influence and circulation. Though he was 
opposed to the declaration of war with England, in i8l2, 
yet, when it was declared, he warmly espoused the cause 
of his country, and took up arms in her defence. He 
became a Lieutenant in a volunteer company, organized in 
Chambersburg, under the command of Captain Jeremiah 
Snider, which hastily equipped itself and marched to meet 
the enemy on the Canadian frontier, then a vast wilderness. 



swarming with hostile Indians, the allies of the British. 
After an arduous campaign, in a country remote from set- 
tlements and supplies, he returned to Chambersburg and 
resumed editorial charge of the Repository. Although ex- 
empt by law from further military service, yet, on the news 
of the approach of the British towards Baltimore, he again 
shouldered his knapsack. He remained in service until 
the enemy w'as repulsed and Baltimore saved. He then 
returned home and gave to the Repository his undivided 
attention until 1840, when he was appointed Postmaster 
of Chambersburg by President Harrison. On the succes- 
sion of President Tyler, he was removed from office; his 
views on certain questions of policy not agreeing with those 
of the administration. During the forty years that the Re- 
pository was under his editorial charge, it was a model 
family newspaper, free from anything that could offend the 
most fastidious; the uniform advocate of religion and sound 
morals, ,an^ the champion of peace, law, and order. Pie was 
a kin^l Sndr-wise father, an attentive husband, and an exem- 
plary^clii^n and neighbor. Upright in his dealings, he was 
without litigation. -The esteem and confidence wiih which 
he was rdggj[d,ed by his neighbore may be seen in the fact 
thatihe wdMn constant demand as referee or arbitrator in 
their disputes and controversies. He died in 1858. 

ETIIERILL.^AMUEL, Manufacturer, was born 
in lUjrlingtoh, New Jersey, in April, 1736. He 
■wasof English descent, the founder of the Ameri- 
- cam branch of the family having emigrated to 
this country in 1682, and settled near Burlington, 
establishing there a community professing the 
religious faith of the Society of Friends. It is recorded, 
in the annals of the " Meeting," that Christopher Wetherill 
donated the lot on which the Burlington Meeting House 
was erected, at a very early date. Samuel left Burlington 
when quite young, and during the residue of his life made 
Philadelphia his residence. Some time prior to the Revo- 
lutionary War he eng.iged in manufacturing, and sold large 
quantities of his fabrics to the Government for the use of 
the army.. He was the first individual in the Province of 
Pennsylvania to manufacture jeans, fustians, co.itings, etc. 
He was also occupied in dyeing and fulling cloths, and 
after a time added the manufacture of various chemicals to 
his products. His business card, or " trade-mark," as it 
would be termed at the present day, represented a Quaker 
dame sitting beside her spinning wheel, below which ap- 
peared the following announcement : " Philadelphia manu- 
factures, suitable for every season of the year, viz., jeans, 
fustians, everlastings, coatings, etc., to be sold by the sub- 
scriber at his dwelling-house and manufactory, which is 
now standing in South alley, between ALarket and Arch 
streets and between Fifth and Sixth streets, on Hudson's 
alley : Samuel Wetherill." In 1789, the establishment was 
removed to (old) No. 65 north Front street, below Arch, 




366 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP^DIA. 



where it remained for over seventy years thereafter, and was 
familiarly known, during all that time, as Wetherill's drug 
store. His house was the first in America to manufacture 
white lead, which still continues its specialty. During 
the War of 1812, the firm determined to undersell the 
foreign article, which had been heavily imported, to ruin 
their business. They, however, succeeded in making a 
cheaper and better article than the British lead, and secured 
the trade. While they were in the height of their prosperity, 
during the year 1813, their white lead works were destroyed 
by fire; an act of incendiarism, as was then believed, 
prompted by British jealousy and malevolence. During 
the period of the Revolutionary War, a number of Friends 
joined the patriot cause ; and when the appeal to arms was 
made, laid aside their principles of non-resisWnce, and 
joined heart and hand with the Whigs. This was the 
origin of the society of the " Free Quakers," termed by. 
some the " Fighting Quakers." Samuel WetheriU was 'one 
of the founders and earnest advocates of this new sect. He 
had previously been a preacher of. rare promise among his 
co-religionists, and also an author of considei^able note, 
writing and publishing religious, sectariaiiy iijd polemic 
works. At this period, he put forth hh'Ajfioia^y for 'the 
Religitus Society of the Free 0/<i'*frj-,-ana--travef1ed exten- 
sively through the other States, with't'ie certificate of that- 
society addressed " to the brethren in affliction an4 of one 
family." He took a great interest ^n tfie success, welfare, 
and prosperity of this society ; and through his i^eans, a 
large sum of money was raised to buvUt the m^ting-house' 
at the southwest corner of Arch and Fifth- stress, ^now in 
the occupancy of the Apprentices' Library); aJid the quaint 
inscrijition on the tablet, cites its erection " in the year of 
the Empire VIII." Among the contributors to the building 
fund are the time-honored names of Benjamin Franklin, 
Robert Morris, John Cadwalader, and other members of 
different creeds. His public services were few but impor- 
tant. He was a member, and Vice President, of the " Com- 
mittee of 1793; " a member of Councils, and Chairman of 
the Watering Committee, 1802-3; 'he Secretary of the 
"Society of Constitutional Republicans," in 1805; and a 
Director of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, in 1815. 
He died, September 24th, 1816. 



f5~§2 



/ 



•1 






'/fr UNKEL, JOHN C, Lawyer, was born at llnrris- 
X\ burg, Pennsylvania, September l8th, 1816. He 
received a liberal, sciemtrfic, and classical educa- 
tion in the schools of Gettysburg, an(^ graduated 
subsequently at Jefferson College,. Canonsburg, 
Pennsylvania. He soon after commenced the 
study of law in the office of General Samuel Alexander, at 
Carlisle, and whilst there liecame a regular attendant at the 
Law School in that town, then under the management of 
Judge Read, .\fter his admission to the bar, he returned 



to his native place, and commenced the practice of his pro- 
fession, in connection with the late James McCormick, and 
rapidly rose to the front rank of attorneys and counsellors- 
at-law. He was especially esteemed as a brilliant orator 
and powerfid declaimer. From his early youth, he had 
been a close student of the Bible ; and from its precepts, 
which sank deep into his heart, and guided his conduct 
through life, he drew that inspiration w-hich won for him 
the reputation of being a most accomplished gentleman, a 
forcible debater, an eloquent spe.aker, and above all, a pure- 
minded Christian man. He was active in politics; and in 
the celebrated campaign of 1844, took an active part in 
advocating the claims of Henry Clay for the Presidential 
chair, and was conspicuous for his many brilliant arguments 
and effective addresses, delivered in various parts of the 
Commonwealth. In the same year, he was a successful 
candidate on the Whig ticket for Assembly, was re-elected 
fn 1845, and again in 1S50. In 1S51, he was elected to 
the Slate Senate, and w.os chosen Speaker of that body at 
the.ciose of the first session of his term. As a legislator, he 
was cqpspicuous for the wisdom of his counsel, as well as 
for the ponder pf his eloquence; and he discharged his 
dutii^with fidelity to his constituents, with honor to him- 
self, and witji^ credit to the State. In 1854, and again in 
_ 1 85 6, he was.,elected to Congress. His first appearance in 
ihe'NationaJ House of RepresentatiTcs -w-as in the memor- 
able struggle for the election gf Speaker, which resulted in 
tl)e choice of N. .P. Banks. In the progress of that contest, 
he took an active part, and on one occasion addressed the 
unprgjnized and excited body. His manner and style, the 
pertinencejDf his arguments, the compactness of his logic, 
and the grace of his delivery commanded attention ; and the 
most perfect silence reigned until he closed, when he 
received the congratulations of many. During his four 
years of service at Washington, he was regarded throughout 
the countiy as one of the ablest statesmen at the capital. 
In 1858, he retired from public life, and gave his attention 
exclusively to the practice of his profession, stepping out 
of his course occasionally to help a friend in the political 
canvass, and to a limited extent, indulging in scientific 
agriculture. In the spring of 1868, he was stricken with 
paralysis, and never fully regained his health, though the best 
medical .skill was obtained. He was married, October 20th, 
1857, to Elizabeth C. Rutherford; and died, October 14th, 
1870, leaving his widow, two children, and his aged mother. 

(^^jj^'ASSEY, WILLIAM, Brewer, was born in Liver- 
pool, England, November i6th, 1808. When he 
was a-year old, his father removed to Hawley 
Potteries, in Staffordshire, where he received his 
education. After leaving school, he entered his 
father's establishment, where he learned the busi- 
ness of Brewing. In 182S, he emigrated to the United 
.Slates, the voyage occujiying five months, as the vessel — 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



367 



through stress of weather — was obliged to put into Fayal to 
repair and refit. On his arrival in Philadelphia, he found 
employment in Gray's Brewery, on Sixth street, where he 
remained two years, and then proceeded to New Orleans, 
becoming engaged in that city in the bottling business. He 
dwelt there for twenty-four years, and during the entire 
period, enjoyed the best of health, never experiencing any 
of the miasmatic diseases so common to that locality. 
Always actively engaged in attending to the manifold details 
of his business, he prospered greatly from year to year. In 
1849, and five years prior to leaving New Orleans, he 
became a member of the firm of PouUney, Collins & Massey, 
who had purchased the interests of M. L. Dawson, in the 
extensive brewery located at the northwest corner of Tenth 
and Filbert streets, Philadelphia. In 1854, he returned to 
the North, where he has ever since resided, giving his 
whole attention to the business, as head of the firm of Wil- 
liam Massey & Co., his associates in that house consisting 
of John Gardiner, James M. Hall, and William Massey 
Robinson. The brewery and malt house is the largest in 
the State, and perhaps the most extensive in the Union, 
there having been brewed during the season of 1S72-3, the 
enormous quantity of 1 13,000 barrels of ale and porter, each 
vessel having a capacity of 30 gallons. To produce this 
result, 250,000 bushels of barley, and 125 tons of hops were 
used. Personally, he is a genial, modest, unassuming man 
of kindly disposition and winning manners. He i,; one of 
the most generous and charitable of citizens, and his bounties 
are large and well bestowed. He is a member of the Albion 
and Hibernian Societies, and has been for a long while 
Vice-President of the Society of the Sons of .St. George. 
In political faith, he is a Democrat, and since the establish- 
ment of the Reform Club, has been elected one of its 
Governors. He is prominent in eveiy enterprise intended 
for the development and improvement of the city, an<l in- 
crease of its commerce. He was married, in 1830, to Fanny, 
daughter of Samuel Miller, of Bridgeton, New Jersey. 

'lESTER, WILLIAM MUHLENBERG, Lawyer, 
was born at Reading, Berks county, Pennsylvania, 
May 15th, 1818. He is a son of the late Dr. 
Isaac Hiester, for many years a distinguished 
physician of Reading, and grandson, on the 
maternal side, of General Peter Muhlenberg, of 
revolutionary renown. His mother, Hetty Muhlenberg, 
was the last surviving child of that eminent soldier and 
statesman, and died at Reading, in the autumn of 1872, in 
the eighty-eighth year of her age. He received his early 
education at West Nottingham Academy, Cecil county, 
Maryland, a somewhat noted institution in its day, under 
the charge of the Rev. James M.agr.iw, D. D., a leading old- 
school divine of the Presbyterian Church. He subsequently 
entered Bristol College, Pennsylvania, which was founded 




under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church, with 
the Rev. Chauncey Colton, D. D., as President; and gradu- 
ated in the class of 1837, the second and last class of gradu- 
ates from that college, which became financially involved in 
the crisis of 1837, and was compelled to wind up its affairs. 
He read law with the Hon. John Banks, President Judge 
of the Courts of Berks county, and completed his legal 
studies during the winter of 1838-9, at the law school of 
Harvard University, under the direction of those celebrated 
jurists. Justice Joseph Story and Professor Simon Greenleaf. 
He was admitted to the bar, January 7th, 1840, at Reading. 
In the year 1843, the honorary degree of A. M. was confer- 
red upon him by the faculty of Harvard. He practised his 
profession for four years at Erie, Pennsylvania, and returned 
to Reading in 1845, where he associated himself with his 
relative, the late Hon. Henry A. Muhlenberg, and in that 
connection succeeded to an active practice at the bar of 
Berks county. Among his contemporaries were a number 
of able attorneys, who have since risen to distinction in 
public life. In October, 1852, he was elected to the Senate 
of Pennsylvania, as the successor of his colleague at the bar, 
Mr. Muhlenberg, who at the same election was chosen to 
represent the district of Berks county in the Congress of the 
United States. His senatorial term embraced the sessions 
of l853,-'54 and '55, during which he ranked among the 
foremost men on the Democratic side. He served as a 
member of the Committee on Ihe Judiciary for the first year, 
and at the next was advanced to the Chairmanship of the 
same important committee, which he filled with the excep- 
tional ability for which his characteristic clear judgment and 
thorough education in the principles and practice of the law, 
so well qualified him. At the opening of the session of 
1855, after twenty-six ineffectual ballotings for Speaker of 
the Senate, (that body being then composed of sixteen 
Democrats, fifteen Americans, and one Old- Line Whig, 
Mr. Darsie, of Allegheny county — with one vacancy in a 
Philadelphia district,) he was elected to that honorable posi- 
tion, on the twenty-seventh ballot, by the votes of his fifteen 
Democratic colleagues and the vote of Mr. Darsie, who, 
being of foreign birth, was excluded from political associa- 
tion with the American party of that day. His course as 
Speaker was distinguished for dignity, firmness, and im- 
partiality. Upon the accession of Governor William F. 
Packer to the Executive chair, in January, 1858, he was 
tendered the appointment of Secretai7 of the Common- 
wealth, which he accepted with some reluctance. He con- 
tinued in that office as one of the Governor's most trusted 
confidential advisers, during the three trying years of his 
administration, which immediately preceded the war. He 
supported Stephen A. Douglas for the Presidency in the 
canvass of i860, and when, by the disruption of the National 
Democratic parly and the election of Lincoln, the rebellion 
of the Southern States was precipitated, he gave his hearty 
adhesion to the Administration in all its measures for the 
prosecution of the war for the maintenance of the Union. 



368 



BIOGRAI'IIICAL ENCYCLOr/EDIA. 



In the summer of 1S63, when the soil of Pennsylvania was 
invaded by the Confederate army under General Lee, he 
was appointed by Governor Curtin one of the mustering 
officers, with the rank of Major, to muster in the troops that 
volunteered for ninety days' service in response to the Gov- 
ernor's proclamation of June 26th, 1863, calling for sixty 
thousand men for the defence of the State. He was 
assigned to duly at the temporary rendezvous on the Agri- 
cultural Kair Grounds at Reading, which was designated, 
in compliment to him, " Camp Hiester; " and in the execu- 
tion of his military commission, mustered into' the State 
service eight full regiments of volunteers, cjmprising an 
aggregate force of eight thousand men. lie has.'fince acted 
with the Repulilican party, and at the electiSfe ofr October, 
1864, was the Republican candidate for Congress in .the 
Berks county district. Since then, he has in a gr^jt measure 
withdrawn from active participation in public affairs, 
although he continues to take a lively interest i^ all enter- 
prises of a benevolent, religious, and business nat,iue.^'hich 
have in view the moral and material advanceme1it*pf his 
native city. lie is a Director in the. ReajMng -Xibcary 
Company, the Charles Evans Cemetery Coj^tey. and the 
Reading Gas Company, and a libcra^-'kijippi^r of the 
public and private charities of the B!3Ci. " ,>. ' 



G^;^UVLER, TlIEODG«|:EJ?3LL.:iP.S L»ay-yer,"|p''b&rn' 
at Poughkeepsie,' New '\fi}rk, in 'Uie'iyeaii, 1-821, 
and is a son of the late Rev. Cornel jus T^^fty^e^ 
I). D., a distinguished divine.of the ,,rr^sbytiiri;jn 
Church. On his father's side, he is'of Hoiland 
descent, his paternal ancestors having emigrated 
from Leyden, as early as 1650, and settled in the province 
of Nieuw Amsterdam, afterwards New York. His paternal 
grandmother was a sister of Chief Justice Robert Yates. 
He was principally educated in Philadelphia, and graduated 
at the University of Pennsylvania, with honors, in the class 
of 183S. On leaving college, he entered the law office 
of the late Charles Chauncey, where he pursued his studies, 
and was admitted to practice at the bar of Philadelphia, in 
1842; and having opened an office, soon commanded a 
respectable and lucrative practice in the civil courts of the 
county, State, and United States. He has, in the course 
of his long practice of over thirty years, been professionally 
engaged in every leading cause argue<l.in Perinsyl\ania; 
and has often partici]5ated in others in New York, New 
Jersey, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. He was 
on the defence in the Christiana Treason Tri.ils, and m.ade 
the opening speech in that case; and he has been retained 
in many of the great patent cases before the Federal Courts, 
including the celebrated Woodworth Planing Machine. 
He has also been engaged in numer'-us celel)rated railroad 
cases, including that of Mott vs. Pennsylvania Railroad, 
1857 ; and has argued against the constitutionality of the 




tonnage tax as applicable to that corporation. He has been, 
since 1856, the general counsel of the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road Company, and, through all its great developments and 
extensions, has conducted its vast litigations with such 
eminent ability and success that his reputation as a leading 
American lawyer has risen, and grown, and spread like the 
mammoth corporation-client he so successfully represents. 
One of his finest forensic efforts was made — in the interest 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as lessees of the 
upiled railroads of New Jersey — before the Vice-Chancellor 
o%J???w, Jersey on a motion for an injunction against the 
pr6pos^_ N.itional Railway Company. In political opinion, 
he is of. the ancient Democratic faith, and durinj; the Civil 
War w^ an adherent of that branch known as War De- 
n\pcrats. J He has long been identified with the progressive 
movements of his adopted city. He has been a Director 
and for nine years a Controller of its Public Schools. For 
eia|u years he was a member of, and for four years Presi- 
dent of. Select Council. He has been frequently nomi- 
nated J^or the Legislature, and on three several occasions 
a-s rr.^'4|isgresentative in Congress, Imt has always declined. 
In^tlte.'felJ of 1S72, he was elected a member of the Con- 
reiltjonio revise the Constitution of Petmsylvania, and ably 
served the pgwle in that important body. He was a mem- 
b^^^f the --Committees on the Judiciary and Printing. In 
religious;belief, he^ a member of the Presbyterian Church. 
"He wascreated Di|jlor of Laws in 1S65. 



•e;^ 



EVIS, RICHARD J., M. D., Physician .and Sur- 
geon, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 
1827, and is the son of the late Dr. M. M. Levis, a 
well-known practitioner of medicine, who died in 
1S72 ; and grandson of Richard Levis, an officer 
of the Revolutionary army. The family was 
originally French, and the name was formerly written de 
I-evis ; but having settled in England the ]irefixed particle 
was drojjjied, and the name became what it now is. The 
American founder of the family was an associate of William 
Pemi, and of the same religious persuasion, who landed in 
Pennsylvania, in 1680, and settled within a few miles of 
Philadelphia. The practice of medicine has been the pro- 
fession followed by the heads of the family for two centuries. 
Richard J. -J^evis was educated in the public schools of his 
native, city, closing with the High School, where he gra- 
duated with honor and received his degree of M. A. He 
pursued his medical studies in Jefferson College, being also 
a private student of the late Professor Miilter, devoting his 
attention more particularly to surgery. Having obtained 
his Doctorate, in 1S48, he commenced the practice of me- 
dicine and surgery, and soon enjoyed a lucrative |iatronage. 
He was appointed, in 1859, Surgeon to the Philadelphia 
Hospital, one of the largest eleemosynary institutions in 
the country. During the late Civil War he was placed in 








V" 






1 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



369 




charge of two militaiy liosp'.tals in riiiladelphia, instituted 
particularly for tin; treatment of deformities from gunshot 
wounds, and while in this position 1800 cases of amputation 
came under hii care. His services to the country in this 
sphere have been highly commend.-d, and have contriljuted 
materially to win fjrhim a national reputation as one of the 
first operative surgeons of America. He was subsequently 
appointed Surgeon to the Wills' Hospital for Diseases of 
the Eye; and, in 1S67, Clinical Lecturer on Oplith.ilmic 
and Aural Surgery in Jefferson Medical College. In 1871, 
he was elected Surgeon to the Pennsylvania Hosp.tal. He 
is deservedly popular with students as a clinical teacher. 
As a lecturer his remarks are clear, terse, and to the point ; 
and as an operator he is prompt, rapid, and skilful. His 
clinics are made interesting and instructive by the number 
and variety of the cases presented and operated upon. He 
has also been a large contributor to surgical literature. 
He married, in 1855, Henrietta, daughter of Charier, Ro- 
berts, a prominent citizen of Philadelphia. 

\ REW.STER, FREDERICK CARROLL, LL.D., 
Lawyer, was born M.iy 15th, 1823, and is a son 
of the late Francis E. Brewster, a distinguished 
member of the Philadelphia bar. He was edu- 
cated in the best of private academies, and gra- 
duated with honor, in the class of 1S41, at the 
University of Pennsylvania, and made a public address at 
the commencement. He subsequently entered his father's 
office, where he enjoyed rare and unequalled advantages 
while reading for his profession. He was admitted to practice 
in 1844, and speedily commanded an extensive and lucra- 
tive patronage. His success was principally achieved in 
the civil courts, but the first cases in which he distinguished 
himself were the celebrated trials of Cunningham — a police- 
man — who killed a prisoner; Lennair, who, while gunning, 
shot a farmer in self-defence; and Kirkpatrick, accused of 
poisoning his brother by means of arsenic, bountifully 
sprinkled over a pie sent as a Christmas present. In each 
of these cases he was successful, the last, indeed, established 
his reputation as a leader of the Philadelphia bar. In 
1856, he undertook an important political case. The elec- 
tion for the District Attorneyship was contested between 
William B. Mann and Lewis C. Cassiday, and he gained 
the case for the former. His conduct of the cause was most 
able. This question was scarcely settled when the Bank of 
Pennsylvania suspended payment. Its President, Thomas 
Allibone, was bitterly condemned by the press and by the 
people ; and was indicted by the Grand Jury for conspiracy to 
defraud the bank. The case was tried before Judge Thomp- 
son. The defence was placed in his hands, and associated 
with him were the late William M. Meredith, Judge Thayer, 
and ex-Chief Justice Lewis, the result being the acquittal 
of the defendant. The great legal issues of the war, how- 
ever, brought yet more fully into view his professional ability. 
47 



The SclioUenberger-Brintiin case, relating to the legality of 
paying in the new United .States currency a ground lent, 
payment of which, by express stipulation, was to be made 
in silver, was gained in favor of the currency by him, and 
established the constitutionality of the Legal Tender Act 
of Congress of 1862. The argument in this case was suL- 
stanlially, that Congress — the lawmaking pow;r — had 
authority to mtke laws ; and that these laws when made 
could change contracts previously entered into. This posi- 
tion was thrice sustained by judicial decisions. The Legal 
Tender case \^as succeeded by those of the Chestnut Street 
Bridge, the Girard Trust, and the Bovnity Loans. The 
conduct of these devolved upon him, by virtue of his official 
position as City Solicitor, to which he lud been chosen, in 
1S62, by a movement independent of party, and brought 
about by such men as Caleb Cope, E. W. Clark, George 
H. Stuart and others — men who fully appreciated the mag- 
nitude of the interests to be involved in issues certain to 
arise, and who paid, in the mere fact of choosing him, a 
high tribute to the integrity and ability of their candidate; 
and they not only elected him, but three years later he was 
re-elected to the same office. He did not, however, finish 
his second term, in consequence of being chosen, in Octo- 
ber, 1866, a Judge of the Court of Con nion Pleas of the 
City and County of Philadelphia. His term of office was 
ten years-^ but, on October 23d, 1869, he was tendered by 
Governor Geary, and accepted the position of Attorney- 
General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, retaining 
it until the close of the Governor's incumbency. He 
then returned to the practice of his profession, in which he 
is assisted by his two sons, Frederick C. and Francis E. 
Brewster, both of whom are of marked ability, and promise 
to bear honorably the obligations imposed upon them by 
the distinguished position their father has attained. His 
Alma Mater has conferred upon him the honorary degree 
of Doctor of Laws, and he has been twice elected Presi- 
dent of the Society of the Alumni. He has also found 
lime, amid his numerous engagements, to collate and to 
write several legal works. He was married, in 1S50, to 
Emma, daughter of the late W. P. C. Barton, M. D., at 
one time Senior Surgeon United Slates Navy ; and has six 
children surviving, two daughters and four sons. 



■yULME, JOHN, Manufacturer, w.as born in Lan- 
cashire, England, in the year 1808, and came to 
America, in 181 7, with his father, Thomns Ilulmc, 
with whom he resided in Philadelphia for many 
years. In 1833, he was selected by the stock- 
holders of the Louisville and Portland Canal to 
take charge of that work, which had been until that date a 
profitless enterprise. Under his able management it became 
a success, and in the course of the ensuing nineteen years, 
during all of which period he directed its operations, the 
Federal Government was enabled, out of the dividends ac- 




37° 



KIOCRAI'IIICAI. r.NCVCLOr.-EDIA. 



cruing upon the stock belonging lu the United Slates, to 
purchase the shares owned by private individuals, thu . 
rendering it almost a free canal — no more tolls being 
charged at the present time than are necessary to defray the 
ordinary expenses of maintaining the work. Sliorlly after 
his removal to Louisville, he purchased the Surasson Mills, 
at the Falls of the Ohio, and embarked largely in the manu- 
facture of flour, and of cement, or water-lime, from a rock 
which he found in that vicinity. He introduced the use of 
this cement in the construction of cisterns throughout the 
valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, and the health of those 
sections of the country were materially improved by its use. 
Having accumulated a large fortune, he returned to Phila- 
delpliia, in 1852, to reside, and retired from active business 
pursuits, devoting his time to tlie management of his jirivate 
fortune, and to the estates of others committed to his care. 
In his private relations he was kind and generous, and was 
ready to aid by his advice, by his labor, and by his means, 
those who appealed to him and deserved his assistance. 
Ladies or .aged men who required some one to take charge 
of their estates, orphans who were in any respect depen- 
dent upon him, and persons in the humbler classes who 
looked to him for succor, were the recipients of his kind- 
ness. Few citizens have administered so many and diverse 
estates as he had charge of, or so faithfully and beneficially at- 
tended to the interests of those who entrusted their all to him. 
He was elected a Director of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 
1S5S, and was for' several years Chairman of one of its 
most important committees, but during the later years of his 
life was an earnest opponent of its management, especially 
in regard to the fast freight lines run over its road by an out- 
side corporation. He was also a large Stockholder in the 
Northern Central Railway, and strongly opposed the pro- 
posed lease of that road to the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- 
pany. He always took more or less interest in public 
affairs. While a resident of Louisville, he was a member 
of their City Council, and though he held no pubic posi- 
tion in Philadelphia, his influence was exerted in behalf of 
what he believed to be for the public good. He was no- 
minated as an independent candid.ate for Congress in the 
.Second District, shortly after the termination of the war, but 
was defeated. Towards the close of his life he was a pro- 
minent member of the Reform Club. As a citizen, he was 
broad and comprehensive in his views; honest, upright, and 
br.ive. He died Apiil 22d, 1S74. 

I OKER, GEORGE H., Poet, was born in Phila- 
delphia, in 1S24. His education was commenced 
in his native city, and completed .at the College 
of New Jersey, Princeton, of which he is a 
graduate. Soon after leaving college, he paid a 
visit to France and England. Returning, he took 
up liis residence in Philadelphia. lie first appeared as an 
author early in 184S, with a volume of his poems, entitled, 




7/ie Lesson of Life. This was followed by the tragedy of 
Calaynos, which under the direction of Edmund Phelps, 
the English tragedian, met with successful representation 
in England. In February, 1S50, he produced the tragedy 
of Anne Boleyn, and after it came two plays : The Betro- 
thal and All the World a Mask ; both of which have been 
produced in Philadeljihia with success, as also has been 
Calaynos. His next volume. The Fodesta's Daughter and 
other Poems, was published at the close of 1S51 ; a num- 
ber of these have been translated into German, and reprinted 
in an American Aniholo^'. Later he wrote the tragedies 
of Leonor de Guzman, and Francesca da Rimini — the latter 
an extension of the celebrated episode in Dante's Inferno — 
and both were produced on the stage with fair success. 
The commencement of the Civil War changed the direction 
of the poet's activity, and as a devoted, loyal Union man, 
he gave all his energies towards keeping alive, organizing 
and consolidating the patriotic sentiment of the countiy. 
His lyrics — and in addition to his larger efforts he has all 
through his career contributed to the literary magazines 
lyrics and ballads of sterling merit — went over the land, 
stirring and encouraging the people ; and he was one of the 
very first to seize upon the plan of utilizing the power of 
the loyal popul.T.ion, by the creation of Leagues, as a civil 
reserve which should morally strengthen the soldiers in the 
field. He was one of the founders, and as Secretary the 
most active odficer of the Union League of Philadelphia, 
which sent ten regiments into the field, and accomplished a 
greater amount of important work than any other similar 
organization in the country. His Poems of the War were 
collected and published as a volume, in 1S64, and several 
editions were issued during that year. In the following 
year, he delivered a poem, entitled, Our Heroic Themes, 
before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard University, 
which was enthusiastically received, and subsequently re- 
peated in Philadelphia at the re-union of the officers of the 
Army of the Potomac. His last volume, published in 1S69, 
is Konigsmarke, the Legend of the Hounds, and other Poems. 
In 1C72, he was offered the Mission to the Turkish Em- 
pire by President Grant, and for the past two years he has 
resided at Constantinople. 



-(Wl^lANDELL, GEORGE, Ship Builder, was born in 
Philadelphia, September loth, 1787. He started 
in life with but few advantages ; nevertheless, by 
industry and ability, he worked his way to honor 
fa V and fortune. In his youth he w.as apprenticed to 
William Preston, an old and esteemed boat 
builder, and, at the age of twenty-one, was established in 
business as the partner of Isaac Eyre, ship builder. He 
soon made himself worthy of the jiatronage of the most 
subslanti.il of Philadelphia shipping merchants, Stephen 
Girard being among his fii-st customers. During the War 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



371 



anil, among others, the privateer " Snapper " for the late 
Admiral Stewart. He also served as Quartermaster-Sergeant 
to the Northern Liberty Artillery, thus doing double service 
for his country, in contributing to the naval force besides 
shouldering his musket for her defence. In 1S2S, he 
changed his business, and established the lumber-yard now 
located on Beach street, above Laurel. He was among 
the originators of the old Kensington Bank, and the Ken- 
sington Gas Company. He is one of the most deservedly 
popular men in the State, a philanthropist, a finished gentle- 
man, kind-hearted and generous, having numerous friends 
who bear unqualified testimony to his affability, integrity 
and probity in his business relations, and to steadfastness in 
his friendships. He has had the satisfaction of seeing his 
sons all established in business in his and their native 
city, and where his footsteps have been printed from 
youth to old age. W. J. Landell, late of Eyre & Landell ; 
Isaac F. Landell, managing partner in his father's business; 
and G. A. & E. A. Landell, prosperous and highly esteemed 
oil manufacturers — are all exemplary sons of a "worthy sire. 
He was married, in May, iSit, and the 60th anniversary 
of his nuptials was celebrated M.ay 2d, 1S71, in the presence 
of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren — 
numbering in all thirty-eight. 

Hancock, WINFIELD SCOTT, Major-Ceneral 
United States Army, was born in Montgomery 
county, Pennsylvania, February 14th, 1S24, and 
is the son of Benjamin Franklin and Elizabeth 
Hancock, who removed to Norristown in 1S28. 
He attended the academy in that town for some 
years, and, on July 1st, 1840, when sixteen years of age, 
proceeded to West Point, whence he graduated, June 30th, 
1844, standing No. 18 in his class. He was while a cadet 
an associate of President Grant, Generals Pleasanton, Rey- 
nolds, Ord and Augur. He was appointed, July 1st, 1S44, 
Brevet Second Lieutenant Sixth Infantrj-, and served upon 
the western frontier. He was commissioned Second Lieu- 
tenant June 1 8th, 1846, and thereafter was conspicuous 
during the War with Mexico for gallantry displayed in the 
several contests at San Antonio, Cherubusco, Molino del 
Rey, and at the City of Mexico; in recognition of which he 
was, August, 184S, brevetted First Lieutenant, to take rank 
from the dale of Cherubusco; he became Adjutant of his 
regiment in 1849. He was appointed Captain and As- 
sistant Quartermaster, in November, 1855, and at the out- 
break of the late Civil War exercised a powerful influence 
in Los Angelos, California, to calm the storm of passion 
and fanaticism which threatened to separate that section 
from its allegiance to the Union. Relieved at his own re- 
quest, he hastened to Washington, reported for service, and 
was assigned to duty as Chief Quartermaster on the staff of 
General Robert Anderson ; but before entering upon his 




duties was — at the suggestion of General McClellan — ap- 
pointed by President Lincoln a Brigadier-General of Volun- 
teers, September 23d, 1861, and placed in command of a 
brigade of four regiments attached to the division of General 
W. E. Smith. On October gth, 1S61, his command occu- 
pied Lewinsville, in the advance, and was the leading 
column in the advance on Yorktown ; by his brilliant charge 
on the enemy, April 4th, 1S62, he won the brevet rank of 
Major United States Army. His conduct during the Cam- 
paign on the Peninsula led the General-in-Chief to urge his 
promotion to Major-General United States Volunteers — 
and subsequently to three brevet commissions in the Re- 
gular Army. He was made a Division Commander on the 
field of Antietam. He was subsequently conspicuous for 
bravery at Fredericksburg, and though badly wounded re- 
fused to quit the field. A second time he was recommended 
for promotion as Major-Geiieral United States Volunteers, 
and this lime obtained it. For gallantry at Chancellors- 
ville, May, 1863, he was assigned by President Lincoln to 
the command of the Second Corps, with which he gal- 
lantly opposed the advance of Lee at Gettysburg; and 
during the absence of General Meade he commanded the 
army until July 2d. Not a plan of his was changed, and 
the result of that desperate struggle attests his military 
genius. He fell severely wounded and was borne from the 
field. Though still suffering from his wounds, he was or- 
dered to Washington, December 15th, 1863, and was pro- 
minently named in official circles as the future Commander 
of the Army of the Potomac, but he disclaimed all desire 
for the position. Being physically disqualified for field 
duty, he was assigned to recruit his depleted corps. All 
through the North an ovation from patriotic citizens was 
given him, and swords of honor presented. He rejoined 
his command, March l8th, 1S64, and at the battle of the 
Wilderness, May 5th, was again wounded, though he would 
not (|U' the field.' Here he won his Brigadier-Generalship, 
Regular Arniy. He was actively engaged in the Campaign 
of 1S64, until June I7lh, when he was compelled to turn 
over the command of his corps on account of the wound 
received at Gettysburg, which had never healed. He shortly 
after resumed duty, and for five months was in every con- 
test and victory. He returned to Washington, November, 
1S64, where he recruited the Veteran Corps of 50,000 men. 
In Februaiy, 1065, he was appointed to Command the 
Middle Department, headquarters at Winchester, Virginia, 
where he remained watching the enemy until Lee's sur- 
render. On March 13th, 1S65, he was breveted Major- 
General United Slates Army for gallant and meritorious 
services at Spottsylvania, and, July 26lh, 1S66, was promoted 
to a Major-Generalship in the army. Since the war he has 
Commanded the Departments of the Missouri and of the 
Gulf, and now the Division of the Atlantic. He has been 
prominently before the public as a candidate for nomina- 
tion by the Democratic party for President, both in 1868 
and 1872; and at the Pennsylvania State Convention, i86g, 



372 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 




was named for the Governorbhip uf his native State, but 
respectfully declined the honor. He was married, January 
24th, 1S50, to Almira, daughter of Samuel Russell, a 
prominent merchant of St. Louis, Missouri. 

^AMPBELL, JAMES HEPBURN, Lawyer, was 
l)om at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, February 
8th, 1820, and is a son of Francis C. Campbell, 
for many years a leading member of the bar in 
that town ; and a grandson of Rev. John Camp- 
bell, who was Rector of St. John's Episcopal 
Church, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for more than thirty years. 
His mother was a daughter of Judge Hepburn, formerly 
of Northumberland, Pennsylvania. Like his father, he was 
destined for the profession of the law, and was admitted to 
practice ill 1841, having graduated at the Law Department 
of Dickinson College, Carlisle. He rapidly rose to eminence, 
and having located at Pottsville, secured a large and lucra- 
tive patronage, and for iwenly-three years of professional 
life always ranked among the most prominent men at the 
bar. In 1844, he represented his District in the Whig 
National Convention at Baltimore, when Henry Clay re- 
ceived the nomination for the Presidency, and was one of 
his ablest supporters in the campaign which followed. In 
October, 1854, although residing in a district largely De- 
mocratic, he was elected as a Whig member cf the Thirty- 
fourth Congress, and supported N. P. Banks for Speaker, 
taking an active part in the prolonged contest which en- 
sued. Though a new member, and one of the youngest 
men in the House, he was placed upon the Committee of 
Ways ana Means. In 1858, he was again triumphantly 
elected to the House, and took a leading part in opposition 
to all the measures of President Buchanan's administration, 
which had in view the extension of slavery to Kansas and 
the Territories. In i860, his speech in opposition to the 
Crittenden Compromise placed him among the leaders of 
that body. In the same year, he represented his State on 
the Committee of Thirty-three, of which Hon. Thomas 
Corvvin of Ohio was Chairman. He also, in 1S60, carried 
his tlistrict for the third time in an even contest, and after 
a severe struggle by a handsome majority. In the stormy 
limes .which followed he voted for and advocated every 
measure calculated to strengthen the Government and sup- 
press the Rebellion. An uncompromising friend of the 
Union, he left home, April 17th, 1S61, to aid in the de- 
fence of the National Capital, and ]>assin'j through the ruffian 
bands of Baltimore, on the 19th, arrived in Washington the 
same day and immediately enlisted as a private in Major 
Cassius M. Clay's battalion, and was engaged in active 
duty with that command until its disbandment. On May 
1st, 1 861, he was elected Major of the 25th Regiment, Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers, Colonel Henry L. Cake, of the three 
months' service. He accepted the position, and was en- 



gaged in active duties, until its term expired. Resuming 
his seat in the House, he, as Chairman of the Select Com- 
mittee on the Pacific Railroad, reported in favor of the 
middle route (the Southern being deemed impracticable on 
account of the attitude of the Southern Slates), and reported 
a bill complete in all its details ; and by his tact, ability, and 
personal popularity, carried that great measure to a success- 
ful conclusion. In 1S63, during the Invasion of Pennsyl- 
vania by General Lee, in connection with the late lamented 
General James Nagle, he raised a regiment of uoo men, 
and proceedeil to the seal of conflict. General Nagle, then 
Colonel of the 39th Pennsylvania Volunteers, was appointed 
a Brigadier-General, and James 11. Campbell was left in 
command of the 39th, as its Lieutenant-Colonel. After it 
was mustered out of service, he. was tendered the appoint- 
ment, by Secretary Seward, of Judge, under the Treaty with 
C jreat Britain, of the Court for the .Suppression of the African 
Slave Trade, to reside at Capetown, Africa, but he declined. 
In 1864, he was named by President Lincoln, United .States 
Minister to Sweden and Norway, which he accepted, took 
up his residence in Stockholm, and continued there three 
years. He acquired the language, and made himself 
familiar with their laws, customs, traditions, and commerce. 
He travelled in 1S65, far up the coast of Norway, within 
the Arctic Circle, and witnessed that grand spectacle — the 
midnight sun. In March, 1 867, he was tendered, by 
President Johnson, the Mission to the United States of 
Colombia, South America ; but he declined, giving as his 
reason that his " views of public and political questions were 
not in harmony with those of the Executive." He returned 
to the United States in the autumn of 1867, and has since 
resided in Philadelphia, pursuing the practice of his profes- 
sion. He was married, in 1S43, to Juliet H. L., a daughter 
of Chief Justice Ellis Lewis, a lady of rare intellectual 
culture. 

RMSTRONG, WILIJAM H., Lawyer, was born 
at Williamsport, Lycoming county, Pennsylvani.n, 
September 7th, 1S24, and is a son of Hon. James 
Armstrong, an eminent jurist who was ajipointed 
by Governor Pollock a Judge of the Supreme 
Court of Pennsylvania, and remained on the 
bench until the office became elective, when he declined 
being a candidate. William was educated at the College 
of New Jersey, at Princeton, and graduated therefrom at 
the centennial commencement in 1S47. He was a classmate 
of Secretary Robeson, and while a member of the senior 
class. Secretary Belknap was a junior. A warm pei-sonal 
friendship was entertained by him for these two prominent 
gentlemen, and it has been maintained to the present time. 
He studied law under the preceptorship of his father, and 
was admitted to the bar of Lycoming county, in 1850. 
Having married a Philadelphia lady, he removed to that 
city in 1854, opened a l.iw-ofiice, and rapidly acquired a 




( 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



373 



lucrative practice; but, in 1S56, he was stricken down with 
sicltness, from which he did not entirely recover for years. 
Convalescing in 1857, he passed a year abroad, travelling 
through many countries in Europe, beside paying a visit to 
Ecypt, and returned to America via Cuba. He now located 
at Williamsport, for the benefit of the country air, and 
gr.adually resumed the practice of his profession. He served 
in the Legislature, during the memorable sessions of 
1861-62, the first year of the rebellion ; and in 1S62, was 
the Republican candidate for Speaker. He was Chairman 
of the Committee of Ways and Means, and had the honor 
of having his report passed through three readings in one 
day, and adopted without amendment. In 1S63, he was 
tendered the nomination as President Judge of the Twenty- 
sixth Judicial District, but he declined the same. In 1868, 
he was elected to the Forty-first Congiess, and serv.ed in 
that body for two years with pronounced distinction. While 
a member, he introduced the measure which has resulted in 
N.ational Civil-Service Legislation ; and also, another which 
settled the long vexed question between the Senate and tlie 
House as to the right of the President, with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, to conclude Treaties with the Indians; 
The long subsequent debates which ensued on this meas^e 
have become matters of history, and now show that whteli 
was gracefully conceded by his contemporaries^'namely, 
that the measures were of the utmost natureil ynd national 
importance. In 1870, he was nomip'at^dfor re-election; 
but owing to local troubles was defeated, j,^^ only- ^vyentyv 
seven votes. He was urged to conte;St 'tjje^seat, Jjnfeni- 
phatically refused, nor would he consent- to jjl^e agajji' a; 
candidate. In 1872, he was nominated withgreatrunan^jiity 
as a candidate for the Constitutional Convention 'of the" 
Commonwealth, to which he was elected. When that bodyajv 
sembled, he was prominently named for President, and would 
have been the choice of the members, had they not remem- 
bered that William M. Meredith was the oldest survivor 
of the Convention of lS37-'38, and accordingly unanimously 
chosen that distinguished statesman. In this body, he was 
an able and zealous member, and served upon the Commit- 
tee on the Executive Department, also as Chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee. He has been prominently named for 
a seat in the Cabinet of President Grant, and has-been fre- 
quently urged for other positions in the State and National 
Governments. ,» - - 



fiNNEY, ASAHEL CLARK, Banker and Lumber 
Merchant, was bom at Shrewsbury, Rutland 
county, Vermont, in 1824, and when twenty-three 
years of age removed to Le Roy, Genessee county. 
New York. Subsequently, he settled at Mead- 
ville, Pennsylvania; was elected Cashier of the 
Crawford County Bank, and continued to fill the position 
while a resident there. In 1859, he went to Clearfield, 
where he established a private banking-house, which he 





successfully operated until 1865, when in connection with 
others he founded the First National Bank of Clearfield, 
and subsequently engaged in the lumber business, which he 
still continues. In the fall of 1872, he was elected a dele- 
gate to the Convention to form a New Constitution for 
Pennsylvania, and in that body became Chairman of the 
Committee on Legislation. Not being a member of the 
legal fraternity, or gifted with that ready flow of language 
so essential to the forum, he contented himself with serving 
his constituents by being a hard worker in committee, and 
a punctual and steadfast attendant on the public sessions 
of the body, in which he won many friends by his liberal 
views, good judgment, and toleration. His brother, 
iDarwin Fiijney, was for a long time a prominent member 
of Congress.—, 



%iTH, ROBERT BURNS, Surveyor-General of 
the^Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was born in 
Philadelphia, January 26th, 1839, of Scotch 
, -parentage and ancestry. His education was 
^ '^^ obtained in the public schools until he was fifteen 
years old, when he was apprenticed to learn the 
trade of— machine blacksmith, at Merrick's Southwark 
Foundfyj tn"l354, and worked there until the breaking out 
(of tjjp reljejiipn-j • i^ eijli^jited as a private, April 20th, 1861, 
iji the 23d ;_R^iineijis Pennsylvania Volunteers, for three 
ft:^@nths' seryiq?.- On^b<^ exj)iration of his term, he again 
lojiljsted as ,aV[3ri^ate, September 5th, 1861, in the 88th 
tRegMBent, r4;nnsy^^nia Vojuntpers, for three years' service ; 
nvas%»|)jpointed Tl\it"d Serg^a^itj ^nd subsequently Second, 
;an4.J5irst Secgepnt. . At Jhe second battle of Bull Run, he 
wa* slightly Wpunded in the foot. He was commissioned 
Second-' Lieutenant, September iSth, 1862, and served 
through many bloody engagements with his command. On 
August 26th, 1863, after appearing before Casey's Board, 
for the examination of oflicers for colored troops, he was 
commissioned Captain of 6th Regiment, United States 
Colored Troops ; and with his company and regiment par- 
ticipated in all the engagements in the army of the James, 
under General Butler, and in the siege of Petersburg was 
dsiily liTrder fire. >pn September 2Sth, 1864, the regiment, 
depleted in^ aumb4r|_ by many deaths, reported for duty to 
•General-Birney pC 'theSTenth_ Corps, and he assigned to it 
the post of honor — to lead the charge on tlie rebel works at 
New Market, Virginia. The battle took place the next day, 
and the regiment came out of that desperate charge with 
hardly a third of its numbers unwounded or alive. He was 
severely wounded, and two days afterward, his right leg was 
amputated, in the hospital ; he was subsequently attacked 
by gangrene, and his life, for a long time, was despaired of. 
In January, 1865, he was enabled to return home, and was 
assigned to duty at Camp William Penn, where he remained 
unlil able to wear an artificial leg. He returned to the 
regiment. in August, 1865, and was then assigned to the 



374 



BIOGRAI'IIICAL liNCVCLOP.EDIA. 



charge of the counties of Brunswick and Hanover, North 
Carolina, as Assistant Commissioner, Freedman's Bureau. 
He was mustered out of the service, as Captain, September 
20th, 1865, receiving lis commission as Lieutenant-Colonel 
when the regiment was finally paid off in Philadelphia. 
Being unable to resume his former avocation, by reason of 
his physical condition, he studied book-keeping, and received 
an appointment in the office of Recorder of Deeds, and 
afterwards in the Philadelphia Post-office, as Sub-Postmaster 
at Station D. In July, 1867, he resigned from this position 
to accept a situation as book-keeper in a large colliery in 
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. On the formation of the 
Anthracite Board of Trade, he was elected its Secretary ; 
and so served until his removal to Harrisburg, to enter upon 
the duties of Surveyor-General of the Commonwealth, having 
been elected thereto, October, 1 87 1, by a majority of 20,- 
310 over the Democratic candidate. He is the youngest 
man ever elected on a State ticket in Pennsylvania, not 
having then attained his thirty-third year. He has served 
four years as Assistant- Adjutant-General, Department of 
Pennsylvania, Grand Anny of the Republic, and one term 
as Commander. 



\TTERSON, JOHN DEAN, Mayor of Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania, was born at Williamsburg, Blair 
county, Pennsylvania, November 1st, 1842; is a 
son of Thomas S., and Margaret Pattei-^on, and 
of Scotch and Irish extraction. He received a 
common school education, and when eighteen, 
commenced the life of a teacher in his native county, so 
continuing for three years; in the last year, having proved 
himself thoroughly competent for the position, he was 
engaged by Professor Geddes, of the Williamsburg Academy, 
as his assistant. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a private 
soldier in a regiment, which became an integral part of the 
Army of the Potomac, and was stationed on the Virginia 
Peninsula. He participated in all the hard fought battles 
which took place during the several campaigns, including 
Antietam and Chancellorsville, and after closing an honor- 
able military record in defence of the union was mustered 
out of the service at the expiration of his term of enlistment. 
On returning to civil life, he entered the " Iron City Com- 
mercial School," in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and thoroughly 
mastered the course of studies in that college. His abilities 
and aptitude for imparting the information he had acquired 
to others less informed was speedily recognized by his 
instructors, who retained him to fill the position of assistant 
in the school, which he held for a considerable period. He 
was subsequently tendered and accepted a position in the 
service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at Altoona, 
Pennsylvania, being afterwards transferred — still in the 
service of the same corporation — to the city of Harrisburg. 
He still remains with the company, always fulfilling the 
duties entrusted to him, so as to meet the requirenients and 




command the highest respect and approval of the officials 
of the company. In 1871, he was elected to the Common 
Council of the city, of which body he proved a valuable 
member, and of which he was chosen Chairman in the fall 
of 1872. He was not only the youngest member of Coun- 
cils, but the youngest man that had ever been elected to a 
position in that body. At the re-organization of councils in 
the fall of 1S73, having given such general satisfaction as 
its presiding officer in the official year just closed, he was 
solicited to again become Chairman for a second term, but 
declined the honor. In January, 1874, he was nominated 
by the Republican party as their candidate for the Mayoralty, 
and after the most stoutly contested political campaign the 
city ever witnessed, was elected by a very handsome 
majority. He is a man of modest and unassuming bearing, 
of an affable and courteous disposition, and one who cannot 
fail to win and maintain the regard and respect of his 
associates. 



m 



histoi-y. 



^; '/^LEMING, JAMES, M. D., D. D. S., Physician and 
QXA 1 Dental Surgeon, was born in Washington county, 
Pennsylvania, and when very young removed to 
Harrisburg. On his father's side, he is of Scotch- 
Irish extraction, and his mother is descended from 
the Beckets, a family well known in Welsh 
His education was commenced when he was but a 
child, and carefully attended to; a laudable ambition to 
excel in his studies being constantly encouraged. The 
influence of his mother, in this direction, was of great benefit 
to him, and its good effect has continued through his life. 
Being thrown upon his own resources, at the age of eighteen, 
he resolved to educate himself by alternately acting as 
teacher and pupil. For seven years he pursued this course, 
and acquired a considerable reputation as a teacher and 
scholar. He discovered that while he was instructing 
others, he was constantly improving himself; and he gradu- 
ally advanced in the several branches of an Academical 
course, taking up some as specialties, and teaching in 
private classes. Much of this time he passed in the West, 
including portions of Ohio and Kentucky. He was subse- 
quently engaged at the St. James Academy, in Maryland, 
where the higher branches of mathematics and ancient 
languages occupied the most of his attention ; at a later date 
he studied French. When about twenty-five years old, he 
commenced the study of medicine, pursued it with ardor, 
and graduated with special honor at the Jefferson Medical 
College, Philadelphia, in the spring of 1838. This was the 
period, in the history of that school, when the experiment 
of written examinations was tried — but it was so severe a 
test, that it was soon abandoned. For about four years 
thereafter, he practised his profession, but found it too 
laborious for a slender constitution. About this time the 
specialty of dental surgery was in its infancy; a few bright 
lights in the larger cities being all the profession contained. 




^<^ /^^s^^^ 



1 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



375 



Observing Ihe necessity for good operators in this field, he 
repaired to Philadelphia, and expended much means and 
time in acquiring a thorough knowledge of all that could be 
then learned. On his return to Harrisburg, he commenced 
the practice of this new profession, and with all the success 
that his most sanguine expectations ever anticipated. He 
has been, for a long time, a contributor to both medical and 
dent.il journals. He was a member of the Pennsylvania 
Association of Dental Surgeons, and one of the original 
advocates of the establishment of a dental college in Phila- 
delphia, in which he was subsequently tendered, but declined, 
a professorship. He has been a member of the American 
Society of Dental Surgeon.;, and has been twice the recipient 
of the honorary degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. He 
has never been ambitious for distinction or notoriety; but 
has accepted only such quiet positions as he considered 
honorable. He is a Director in the Harrisburg National 
Bank; and is President of the Board of School Directors 
of the city. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, 
and an elder of the same. He was married, in 1852, to 
Jeannette Street, of Cheshire, Connecticut, a lineal descen- 
dant of Rev. John Davenport, the founder of New Haven, 
and also of Oliver Walcolt, a signer of the Declaration of 
Indepenilence. His family consists of Jwo chilcU'en;»aj 
daughter and a son. ' •■ 




AILEY, GEORGE, M. D., Iron Wamtfatcu|er,; is| 
a native of Chester county, Pennsylv^jinia, wheigi 
he was born in the year 1827, Heis a son of* 
Joseph Bailey, who at that date was engaged in' 
fanning, but, in 1S38, removed to Coatesville,' 
where he became interested in the production 
of boiler iron at the old " Lukens Mill," where the manu- 
facture of that description of iron was first carried on, to any 
extent, in this country. In 1844, Joseph Bailey removed to 
Berks county, near Pottstown, where lie erected iron works, 
and where he is still engaged (April, 1874) in its manufac- 
ture. His son, George, meanwhile, was receiving his edu- 
cation at an academy under the care of the (Orthodox) 
Friends, and afterwards taught Latin and Greek, for two 
years, in the same institution. He commenced the study. 
of medicine, in 1S48, at the University of Pennsylvania, and 
graduated therefrom, in 185 1, but never practised the pro- 
fession. It was at his father's works, in Berks county, that 
he obtained his first insight into the rnanufacture of iron ; 
and his preference lying in that direction, he abandoned 
medicine, and with his brother embarked in the enterprise, 
erecting their mill in Harrisburg, in 1852-53. Here, in a 
small way, they entered upon the manufacture of boiler iron, 
gradually enlarging the works as time rolled on. In 1858, 
they added a nail factory to their works, and since that 
period have been largely engaged in the manufacture of 
plate and nails. From the date of the commencement 
of the works in ILirrisburg, until 1866, he resided in that 



city, but in the last named year he removed his family to 
Philadelphia, still pas.^ing at least two-thirds of his time in 
Harrisburg, where his interests are located. During and 
since his residence in Harrisburg, he has been a trustee 
of several charitable institutions, and also a member of its 
councils ; and has always taken a great interest in anything 
that, in his opinion, would advance the prosperity of the 
city, where he so long resided, and which he considers as 
destined to become a great manufacturing centre. In this 
connection it may be remarked that both himself and 
brother, in inaugurating their enterprise, gave the first 
impetus towards the establishment of industrial works in 
that cily ; and have probably done more than any others to 
advance its manufacturing interests, as they recognized, at 
an early day, its advantages for the distribution of manufac- 
tured goods. •ijHe was married, in 1 851, to a daughter of 
Benjamin ■!?■. Valentine, of Philadelphia, and has a family 
of three dauglfters. 




V- 



LY>tER, HIESTER, of Reading, Pennsylv,ania, 
Jtll'l i^ a descendant of Richard Clynier, a shipping 
merchant and ship builder, of Philadelphia, who 
came /rom Bristol, England, in 1705. Richard 
Glymer-had- two sons, William and Christopher. 
V' The, latter, w.ts the father of George Clymer, a 
.signer of the Declaratieh of Independence. William, who 
Avas^a ni^iner, .and a captain in the British Navy during 
tneu^ign of Georgcir.,.married Anna Roberdeau, a sister 
ofrQe^^fsl" Daniel Roberdeau, of the Revolution, by whom 
-heltad But .one child, Daniel Cunyngham Clymer, who was 
'liorn in Philadelphia, in the year 1 747, and educated to the 
law. After practising for some time at the Philadelphia 
bar, he came to Reading, several years before the Revolu- 
tion, and was, up to the year 1810, one of the leading 
lawyers of Berks and the adjoining counties. He was 
Secretary of the meeting of " The officei-s and privates of 
the fifty-three b.attalions of the Associators of the Colony 
of Pennsylvania," at which George Ross presided, held at 
Lancaster on the nTemor.able 4th of July, 1776, "to chose 
two Brigadier-Generals" to command the battalions and 
forces in said coloay," and at which his uncle, General 
Roberdeau, was elected First Brigadier-General. He was 
a Coloiiel and Deputy' Commissary General of Prisoners 
during the Revolutionary War. His first commission, as a 
Lieutenant-Colonel, was issued by the Assembly of Penn- 
sylvania, April 8th, 1776, and was signed by John Morton, 
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He 
left one daughter, and two sons, William and Edward 
Tilghman Clymer. The latter married Maria Catharine, a 
daughter of William Hiester, of Bern township, Berks 
county, who was a cousin of Joseph Hiester, Governor of 
Pennsylvania from 1817 to 1820, and resided on his farm 
adjoining the village of Morgantown, in Caernarvon town- 
shij), Berks county, at the time of his death, in 1S31. 



3/5 



BIOGRAI'HICAL ENCVCI.OP/EDIA. 



Hicster Clymer, one of the sons of EiUvard T. Clymer, was 
liorn in Caernarvon townshi]), Berks county, Novenil)er y], 
1827. He received his preliminary education at Reading, 
and graduated in 1847, at the College of New Jersey, 
(Nassau Hall) Princeton, at which institution his father and 
jTiandfather were also educated. He then commenced the 
study of the law, and was admitted to practice at the bar 
of Berks county, April 6lh, 1849. I" iSsi.he went to 
Pottsville, Schuylkill county, where he remained five years 
in successful practice. In 1856, be returned to Reading. 
In i860, he served as a member of the Board of Revenue 
Commissioners, and was a Delegate to the Natioiial Demo- 
cratic Convention held at Charleston, in the spring of thai 
year. In October, 1S60, he was elected to the State Senate, 
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Benjamin Nune- 
macher. In October, 1 861 , he was elected tor the full term ; 
and in October, 1864, re-elected .for a third term. His 
course as Senator was distinguished for dignit;^.aiHl courti:;;),- 
of demeanor, readiness, force and eloquence in debate, and 
steadfast devotion to the best interests of the Commonwealth. 
His discussion with Senator'A.''K. M.eClure,-m I'ebruai^, 
1861, on the repeal of the tonnage -tax on tbL-Traffic of-tlie 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, bVonght him prominently 
before the people, and established fot him an enduring 
reputation as a parliamentary- debater and a statesman' 
thoroughly informed in the grave qttestions of inter- State! 
trade and domestic finance which that disGussicn involved. 
In March, 1866, he was nominated as the. Democratic, 
candidate for Governor of Pennsylvnnia/'and immediatfely' 
resigned his seat in the Senate. He made #-vigOriJ)is and 
remarkably energetic canvass of the State, sjieaking to large- 
meetings of his fellow-citizens in nearly every county, and' 
everywhere making a deep impression upon them by the 
nervous eloquence of his speech and his frank and forcilile 
presentation of the various issues upon which their decision 
was invoked. Although he received a larger vote than had 
ever been previously given to any Democratic candidate for 
the same office, his competitor, the late Governor Geary, 
was declared elected. In 186S, he was a Delejjnte to the 
National Democratic Convention, which met July 4th, in 
Tammany Hall, New York, and nominated Horatio Sey- 
mour for President. In the- spring of 1870, on the organi- 
zation of the Board of Public Charities, with supervisory 
powers over the treatment of the insane poor confined in 
the hospitals of the Slate, he was appointed by Governor 
Geary one of the Commissioners under the Act of Assembly 
creating that board — a graceful compliment from his former 
antagonist on the stump — in which position of trust he still 
continues. In the autumn of the same year, he visited 
Europe, and after a tour through England and the Continent, 
returned in the fall of 1871. In October, 1S72, he w.as 
elected to represent the district of Berks county in the 
Forty-third Congress of the United States, and took his seat, 
December ist, 1S73. lie is a member of the Committee on 
the Revision of the Laws ; the Committee on Public Lands, 




and the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. He 
was married, in 1856, to Elizabeth Mary, daughter of 
Matthew Brooke, of Birdsboro', Berks county, and had two 
children — a son and daughter — both of whom are deceased. 
Mrs. Clymer died in October, 1870. 



ANCOAST, JOSEPH, M. D., Physician and Sur- 
geon, was born in Burlington county, New Jersey, 
in 1805. Adopting the profession of medicine 
and surgery, he studied the same at the University 
of Pennsylvania, and graduated therefrom in 
1828, with the degree of M. D. He at once 
commenced prattice, and made surgery his specialty. He 
began teaching Practical Anatomy and Surgery, in 1S31 ; 
and during the same year edited a Treatise on the Structure, 
Functions, and Diseases of the Human Sympathetic Nerve, 
by J. Frederick Lobstein. In 1834, he was elected one of 
the Physicians of the Philadelphia Hospital, Blockley; 
shortly afterwards, Physician-in Chief to the Children's 
Hospital, in the same institution: and from 183810 1845, 
ht'was one of the Visiting Surgeons to the same hospital. 
'In'i838, he vVas'elected Professor of Surgery in the Jefferson 
Medical College. In 1S44, ^^ published his Treatise on 
Operative Surgery, which he revised and enlarged in 1852, 
when it had passed to a third edition. During the first nine 
yeai^s'of its existence, upwards of four thousand copies were 
sold. He alsOj in 1844, remodelled the able work — origin- 
ally \vritt«n by Dr. Casper Wistar, to which the late Profes- 
sor William E. Horner had made valuable additions — 
entitled, A System 0/ Anatomy for the use of StuJcnts. On 
March 27th, 1854, he was elected one of the Surgeons of 
the Pennsylvania Hospital, and resigned that position on 
February 29lh, 1864; in 1S61, Professor of Anatomy in Jeffer- 
son Medical College, from which he resigned, in 1874, and 
was succeeded by his son. Dr. William H. Pancoast. He 
thus filled for a period of thirty-six years, successively, two 
of the most important chairs in that celebrated school. He - 
has also edited at sundry times, J\/anec on the Great Sym- 
pathetic Nerve, and the Cerebro- Spinal System in Man, by 
the same author; and subsequently, Quain's Anatomical 
Plates. He lias been a voluminous contributor to the 
American fournal of the Medical Sciences ; the American 
Medical Intelligencer, and the Medical Examiner; beside 
publishing various monographs, both pathological and sur- 
gical, and, at the time; the then novel departmen^f plastic 
surgery. He has also published sundry essays and intro- 
ductory lectures to his class ; the one of 1856, is entitled. 
Professional Glimpses AI>road. He is a member of the 
American Philosophical Society, of the College of Pharmacy, 
and other scientific institutions. He is one of the mosl 
eminent of American surgeons: is bold, rapid, and skilful 
with the use of the knife, and in diagnosis almost invariably 
correct. 



J 





j 



BIOGRAniK-AL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




<^rfZ*'YRE, HON. JOSHUA PUSEV, Merchant, w.is 
born in Chester, Pennsylvania, July 14th, 1S03. 
Calel) Pusey, a maternal ancestor, came from 
England as the representative of William Penn, 
with the first expedition sent out by the latter. 
His paternal ancestor was also one of the same 
company ; and the family having settled in the vicinity of 
Chester, became the proprietors of a large landed estate, a 
considerable portion of which is still in possession of the 
family. His father, Jonas Eyre, was born, April :8th, 1767, 
and died, March 21st, 1836; the mother, Susanna (Pusey) 
Eyre, was born, October 17th, 1776, and died, OctobeV 
27th, 1S41. He received all his education in the common 
schools, which at that date afforded limited advantages. 
He served an apprenticeship to the dry goods business with 
Townsend Shai'pless, of Philadelphia ; and after the expira- 
tion of his term, returned to Chester, where he engaged in 
general merchandizing on his own account. He subse- 
quently bec.ime associated with his brother, William Eyre, 
Jr., in the lumber and coal business, which they continued 
until March 25th, 1847. He was elected to the Slate 
Legislature, in 1S41 ; but after the expiration of his term 
declined a re-election, and ever thereafter eschewed i3oUtical_ 
office. He was a prime mover in the organization of ^he 
Farmer's Market, in Philadelphia; and was'the first Presi- 
dent of the association, continuing in that office for several 
years. He was also an originator of the Chester "Rural 
Cemetery Company, of which he was PrGstd^nt ; a'Directbr. 
of the Delaware Mutual Insurance Company; aiTd for many 
years previous to his death, on April 1st, 1S72, had been a 
LJircctor of the Delaware County National Bank. lie was 
a man universally esteemed for his integrity ami \^■ortll. 



cj^JJ^ OUGLASS, JOSHUA, Lawyer, was born in 
Rochester, New York, August 1st, 1826. His 
parents were of the thrifty stock of New England, 
his mother, Martha (Crocker), being a native of 
Vermont, and his father coming originally from 
East Haddam, Connecticut. Whet1-he was about 
six years of age the family removed tp Meadville, and in 
the schools of this place he acquired his'pr^lfminai'y educa- 
tion, completing his studies by aii extended course of several 
years at the academy. In his twentieth year he engaged. 
in connection with his father, in farming, continuing so em- 
ployed for four years. In 1850, shortly after the breaking 
out of the " gold fever," he emigrated to California, thinking 
to force from the earth a larger and more speedy fortune 
than could be obtained by the slow means of farming. An 
experience of about eighteen months sent him home to 
Pennsylvania, where for two wintere he was engaged in 
teaching school. He had already determined upon becom- 
ing a lawyer, and during his leisure time from school duties 
he was industriously employed in completing the necessary 
48 





course of legal reading and study. He passed his examina- 
tion and was adtnittcd to the bar in April, 1854. For 
twelve years he was associated in a law partnership with 
Darwin Finney, of Meadville, who was a State Senator dur- 
ing this connection, and subsequently a member of Congress. 
This partnership was dissolved in 1866, and for the following 
three years he conducted his business alone, but in 1869 he 
associated with him Colonel D. C. McCoy (late Colonel of 
the 83d Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers), which 
business connection still continues. For nine ye.irs he held 
an influential position in the School Board of Meadville. 
In 1870, he was a candidate, on the Repuljlican ticket, for 
Presideiit Judge of his district. He has been counsel for 
several 01 the railroad corporations of his section, and has 
for soiiie time occupied that official post in the Titusville and 
Petroleum Centre Companies. He was married, in October, 
1853, to L.ivantia Densmore, of that section of Pennsylvania. 



ACKEY, ROBERT W., State Treasurer and Vice- 
President of the Allegheny National B.^nk of 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a native of that city, 
where he was born, December 22d, 1837, and is 
the fourth son of Robert, and Rebecca (Howard) 
Mackey ; his father being of Irish, and his mother 
of English descent. He was educated in both the public 
scKools and private academies of the city, and he finished 
hfs studies in the Western University. After leaving college, 
■he iSfet-^l^ed a clerkship in the banking house of William A. 
Hill, where he remained for a long time, and then took a 
similar position in the Allegheny Bank of Pittsburgh. After 
being found capable and industrious, he was elected Teller, 
and soon after Assistant-Cashier. In 1865, he became 
Cashier; which position he retained until 1S71, when he 
was elected Vice-President, and still fills that oflice. From 
youth, he took an interest in political matters, and was an 
active worker at the polls before he was entitled to a vote. 
When he reached his majority, he was valued as a young 
niaii whose infljience was worthy of notice. He was at one 
time nominated by the Republicans of the Third Ward, as 
their'^cnndidate ^r Gity Councils. The ward was strongly 
DembcratiCj with a majtu^ty of 600 to overcome ; and yet 
he carried the day by a majority of 300. In 1869, he was 
elected Slate Treasurer, by the Legislature ; but was defeated 
in 18^0, liy a combination being efiecled between the dis- 
s.atisfied Republicans and Democrats, afier having received 
the nomination of the Repulilican party, in caucus, by a vote 
of fifty-two to ten. In the following month of January, 
1871, he was again a candidate, and was successful, and 
was re-elected in January, 1872. A change in the constitu- 
tion making the office an elective one by the people, instead 
of the Legislature — which had been the course up to that 
period — rendered an election in January, 1873, unnecessary; 
and an act was passed by the Legislature extending his- 



378 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCI.OI'/EDIA. 




term until May, 1874, or until a successor was elected and 
qualified. He was nominated by the .Republican State 
Convention, held at Harrisburg in August, 1S73, and was 
elected at the ensuing October election, to serve two years 
from May, 1874. He has discharged the important trust 
committed lo him in a most acceptable and efficient manner ; 
and during the first three years of his incumbency, has paid 
off" over five millions of the public debt of the State. 
During this his fourth year of service, he has liquidated the 
indeljtedness of the Commonwealth at the rate of SzoOjQDO 
per month. He is of a delicate physique, the result qf years 
of physical suffering; yet with all his ailments, he is strong 
enough to endure labor which would appal men .of better 
health and larger frame, and is rarely, if ever, ^-evented 
from attending to his official duties. He is of the nervous, 
sanguine temperament ; and from his immense nerve 
strength is able to sustain much excitement, and influence 
others. He is unmar.ied. -^ , 



!»YRE, WILLIAM, Jr., Merchant, a brother o|Ht^. 
Joshua I'lisey Lyre, was born in Chester, 'Aprjl 
25th, 1807. After some preliminary, education, 
he ^yas sent to Samuel Gummere's boSrding 
.school, at liurlington. New Jersey. After leaving 
school, he associated with his brother,-Joshua I^,- 
as J. P. & W. Eyre, in the lumber and coal trj-tde. Tliel 
brothers were enterprising and progressive ; .ihey ran a 
packet between Chester and Philadelphia, and continued a 
highly successful career until the dissolution of the partner- 
ship in 1S47. William was no politician, but was a public 
spirited man and a generous supporter of all beneficent en- 
terprises. He died, March 6th, 1833, mourned by a large 
circle of friends, who valued him for his consistent adherence 
to the right. He had been for many years a Director of the 
old Delaware County Bank. For a long time previous to 
its removal to Philadelphia, he had been President of the 
Delaware Mutual Insurance Company, beingjhe first to 
hold that office ; but he then resigned, and for the remainder 
of his life continued in the board of directcS"^. • He was 
twice married, his first wife having been Anni, Louisa, 
daughter of Dr. Job Terrell, of Chester, March 4th, J835 ; 
she died after a brief period of wedded life, and he was 
again married, November 26th, 1844, to Rebecca P., 
daughter of Caleb Churchman, of Darby. 


1:^LEMING, DAVin, Lawyer, was born in Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania, July I7lh, 1812; is 
one of a family of eleven children, anil the son 
of Samuel and Sarah (Beckett) Fleming. His 
father was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and was a 
farmer by occupation. A few weeks after his 
birth, the family removed to Dauphin county, where his 
father had purchased a lar^e farm, about twelve miles east 






f§ 






of Harrisburg, on which he managed to rear his children 
respectably, giving them all a good common school educa- 
tion. David was thus brought up, laboring on the farm 
during the summer, and attending school during the winter 
months ; he was also taught Latin by a good classical scholar 
who resided in the neigliborhood. When seventeen years 
of age, he commenced teaching school ; and so continued 
for several years, alternating with attending school himself 
at the " Harrisburg Academy" and elsewhere, until he had 
acquired a fair academical education. He subsequently 
taught a select school in Baltimore county, Maryland, 
embracing Latin, Greek, and the higher branches of mathe- 
matics, being himself the hardest student in the academy. 
His health becoming somewhat impaired, he accepted a 
position as clerk for Dr. D. N. L. Reutter, who had a con- 
tract for furnishing ties for the Baltimore & Port Deposit 
Railroad, then being constructed ; and when this was com- 
pleted, remained with his employer, and became interested 
in a contract for furnishing yellow pine timber to the Wash- 
ington Navy Yard ; having charge of the shipment of it from 
^_ortU. Carolina,- Jwhich he did by vessels he chartered in 
New York, goipg-hiajsqlf as supercargo in several. He 
Ijassed oyerm year jn. .this operation, and got a good insight 
iiito.business niatt-W's^ He made quite a number of voyages, 
and pi> more ,ljra;i one occasion was exposed to the perils 
of the .s^a.-'. yO 1 the conclusion of the underLiking he 
retuijied^ lo, Haji i ibucgi in 1S38, and the Legislature being 
in. special session under the then new constitution, he com- 
menced reporting the proceedings for the public press, and 
corresponded daily for four Philadelphia journals, including 
the UniUd Slates Gazette ; so he continued for several years, 
besides assisting to edit a local paper. During this period, 
he devoted his leisure hours to general study; and, in 1839^ 
entered the law office of Willi.am McClure, as a student ; 
was admitted to the bar at Harrisburg, in November, 1 841, 
and has ever since practised his profession in that city. He 
closed his connection as newspaper correspondent in 1847, 
when he was elected Chief Clerk of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and served during that session. He was re- 
nominatijd by the Whigs, in 1848; but owing to a tie in 
th.it bocjy, and by the accidental absence of one of his 
friends, the Democratic candidate succeeded by a majority 
of one. In 1 854, he was elected District Attorney, and 
served for the term of three years, declining a re-election. 
In 1863, he was elected to the Slate Senate, and served for 
three years in that body, being Chairman of the Committee 
on the Judiciary during his second year; he was chosen 
Speaker in the closing session of his term. During his 
residence in Harrisburg, he has been concerned in many 
of the business enterprises of the city. He was one of the 
first small number who organized and erected the Harris- 
burg Car Works ; and he subsequently obtair.e 1 its charter, 
and has ever since been a stockholder and member of the 
board, as also of the foundry and machine company which 
originated from the same enterprise. He was Secretary 




'"»%-Ai Ct, J'fcmuieifJj.' 




II 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



of t!ie Boarrl when the nirrislnirg Gas \Vorl<5 were buiU, 
and fur several years after. He was also a member of the 
Board and the Counsel for the Lochiel Iron Company, and 
assisted in the organiz.ition of its successor the Lochiel 
Rolling Mills. He has been for many years the Counsel, 
and also a Director of the Harrisburg National Bank, and 
was one of the Corporators in organizing the First National 
Bank of Harrisburg. He assisted to organize the Keystone 
Life Insurance Company, and the Cash Mutual Fire In- 
surance Company of Harrisburg, serving for several years 
as a Director and Counsel for the same. He was a Di- 
rector of the Inland Telegraph Company, and afterwards of 
the United Stales Telegraph Company, until its consolida- 
tion with the Western Union lines; and has been Counsel 
for the latter, as well as for the Atlantic and Ohio and the 
Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Companies, the Columbia 
Oil Company, and many other large corporations in several 
important suits involving the taxation of these corporations 
by the State. He has been Secretary and Treasurer of the 
Harrisburg City Passenger Railway Company since its or- 
ganization. He is a Trustee of the " Home for the Friend- 
less" of Harrisburg, and President of the Board of Trus- 
tees of the First Presbyterian Church. His legal practice 
is not strictly confined to Dauphin county, but he has been 
often employed in other parts of the State, including both 
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. He has also regularly prac- 
tised in the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth since 
1843, ^"'' ^^^ reported decisions of that tribunal will show 
that he has been concerned in a large proportion of the 
cases removed from the courts of his county — many of them 
involving principles of great importance — and also in cases 
removed from other counties. Of late years he has at- 
tended to bankruptcy practice in the two Federal Courts. 
He has been urged by his friends to become a candidate 
for President Judge of his District, and also as Representa- 
tive in Congress — to either position he could have been 
elected — but has invariably declined, preferring the labors 
and independence of professional life to the honors and res- 
ponsibilities of the bench or legislative duties at Washington. 
From all these statements, it is apparent that he is a laborious, 
useful and enterprising citizen ; and when it is taken into 
consideration that from the age of seventeen, when he left 
home, until his father's death, in 1851 (at the great age 
of ninety years), he never called upon him for any pecu- 
niary assistance, he may emphatically be termed a self-made 
man. While a newspaper correspondent, he earned as high 
as 554 P^r week, and from the date of his admission to 
the bar he has enjoyed a lucrative and increasing patron- 
age. Of late years, his practice has brought him $10,000 
per annum. Recently, he h.as associated with him S. J. 
M. McCarrell, who was a student in his office and has 
remained with him ever since his admission to the bar. 
He was married, January 1st, 1852, to Susan, youngest 
daughter of Charles Mowry, one of the first Canal Commis- 
sioners of Pennsylvania. 




379 



-^LEMING, JAMES PATTERSON, Lawyer and 
Real Estate Operator, was born at Mount Plea- 
sant, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, May 
24th, 1824. His ancestors came originally from 
the Netherlands, in the beginning of the six- 
teenth century, and settled in Worcester, Eng- 
land, whence several members of the family subsequently 
removed to Ireland, where they took an active part in the 
Irish Rebellion ; his grandfather was a distinguished officer 
under Emmet, and was ultimately obliged to flee from Ire- 
land and seek shelter in Glasgow, .Scotland. His father, 
John E. Fleming, a native of England, was a graduate 
of the college at Glasgow, and won fame as a mathe- 
matician and astronomer; he came to the United States 
in 1S19, and settled in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, 
where he was noted for his scientific research. James P. 
Fleming was educated at Duquesne College, now known 
as the Western University of Pennsylvania, and graduated 
in 1843; he then studied law with Hon. A. W. Lewis, and 
later, with Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, of New Lisbon, Ohio. 
He was admitted to the bar at Xenia, Ohio, in May, l866, 
and afterward removed to Pha'nixville, Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, where he engaged in practice. He moved to 
Wirt county, Virginia, in 1S48, but at the expiration of six 
months proceeded to Pittsburgh, where he pursued his pro- 
fession for a brief period. He then engaged in the drug 
business in Allegheny City, having become familiar with its 
details in the store of his brother, before his entry at Du- 
quesne College. He continued this occupation till 1863, 
when he sold out and devoted his attention to real estate, 
his operations in which h.ive been signally successful. He 
has labored to secure improved designs and architecture, 
and has probably contributed more than any other man in 
his county to the improvement of cottage homes, many of 
which he has erected in a style noticeable for taste anet 
comfort. He has never held an office of profit, and has re- 
peatedly and firmly declined political preferment and emolu- 
ment. He is Secretary of the Board of Managers of the 
Allegheny County Work-House; and has for many years 
been a Manager of the Pittsburgh Alms House, the Deaf 
and Dumb Asylum, and v.arious other public charities. 
He is President of an organization for building a railway 
on the south side of the Ohio river, from Pittsburgh to 
Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, and his indomitable energy 
will doubtless make the projected enterprise a success. 



ARDING, J. BARCLAY, Journalist, was born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 1st, 1830. 
He was the son of Jesper Harding, belonged to 
a family that for more than forty years has been 
prominent in the newspaper, printing and pub- 
lishing business in Philadelphia, and was himself 
a journ.ilist by birth, education and taste. He exhibited in 
early life much talent, though of a somewhat versatile cha- 




3So 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



racier ; but this defect was counter.icted by the practical train- 
ing he received on his father's paper — '.he Inquirer — an<l he 
soon developed a special aptitude for his future profession. 
In 1S56, he became the editor of the DaHy Morning Times, 
and strongly advocated the cause of Fremont in the presi- 
dential camjiaign. Tlie Times was an outspoken Republi- 
can journal and did not live long, as the advocacy of such 
principles was not so profitable then as now. On the de- 
mise of that paper, he w.ts for a time Clerk of S'elect Coun- 
cil ; but subsequently returned to his position on the In- 
quirer. In the latter part of 1863, the only afternoon news- 
]iaper jmblished in Philadelphia was the Evening Bulletin, 
it being the only one to survive out of several evening 
papers that had been started. Under these circumstances, 
he thought there was room for another evening journal, and 
prevailed on his brother-in-law, Cnarles E. Warburton, to 
join him in the enterprise. This was the origin of the 
Evening Telegraph, the first number of which was issued 
January 4th, 18S4, from its present office. No'. loS south 
Third street. It w.as then a folio sheet, 24 by 36 inches, 
containing seven columns to a page, and was sold at two 
cents a copy, or six dollars a year. In its salutatory ad- 
dress it disclaimed all intention of basing its hopes of .suc- 
cess on any previous want experienced by the community ; 
but rather founded its expectations on the rapid growth of 
the city and its environs, and upon the fact that there was 
but one afternoon paper, which, in spite of its ability, could 
not satisfy the diversified opinions of all. It declared itself 
entirely independent in politics, but a firm supporter of the 
Government in its endeavour to crush the Rebellion. It 
recognized the President, his Cabinet, and the sworn officers 
under them to be '-the Government," unless they should 
knowingly .and willingly fail to perform their duty. The 
latitude thus claimed allowed the Telegraph to firmly up- 
iiold the Government of Lincoln, to strongly denounce that 
of Johnson, and again cordially to endorse the Grant ad- 
ministration. Its tenor, on the whole, has been decidedly 
Republican, though it h.as never hesitated to denounce men 
of that party whom it considered unfit for office. The new 
paper met with considerable encouragement from the be- 
ginning, and introduced some features which were novel- 
ties in Philadelphia journalism. Amongst them were occa- 
sional illustrations, which, regarding the difficulties of print- 
ing on ordinary paper and ,at a rapid rate, were often re- 
markably fine, and a series of biogr.aphical notices of pro- 
minent military men, accompanied by their portraits, which 
were read with much interest by the public. In April, 
1864, he and his partner began the issue of double sheets 
on Saturdays, and continued that addition till towards the 
close of the year, when the present quarto form was per- 
manently adopted. The journal has always been noted for 
its carefully compiled articles in explanation of ini])ortant 
new items, its elaborate and accurate biogra])liical sketches 
published ]irom]itly on every occasion, and for its general 
dash and enterprise, the latest manifestation of which was 



the publication of a special translation of Victor Hugo's 
great story of " 93," immediately upon the production of 
the original in Europe. This new departure in Anglo-Saxon 
journalism it is proposed to follow \\\i by the presentation 
of other great works from time to time. The originator of 
the paper lived to see it well established and rapidly gain- 
ing in public favor; though at his death it had by no means 
attained to the importance, either as regards circulation or 
influence, which it at present possesses ; enough, however, 
had been accomplished to indicate the future results. He 
had always enjoyed excellent health till within a few weeks 
of his death, and being naturally of a robust constitution and 
accustomed to active pursuits in life, he disregarded those 
symptoms which were the forerunners of his fatal illness. 
After a brief sojourn in the country, he was attacked with 
chills and fever, but nevertheless attended to his usual busi- 
ness till the malady assumed a congestive form and carried 
him off suddenly, on October 2gth, 1865, when still in the 
prime of life. He was married at an early age, and left -a 
widow and two children. The journal is now conducted 
by his surviving partner, a shrewd business man, animated 
by the true journalistic spirit. 

'vij'jI^ARRISON, JO.SEPII, Jr., Locomotive Engine 
Builder, was born at the northwest comer of 
Front and Noble streets, Philadelphia, Septem- 
ber 20th, iSio, and was the son of Joseph and 
^ gT M^ry (Crawford) Harrison, formerly of Gloucester 
county. New Jei-sey. He attended school until 
after he passed the age of fourteen years, and by his .apt, 
quick habits, and his love of reading, had laid at that time 
the groundwork of a fair English education. Subsequently, 
during his apprentice life, he enjoyed a short period of night 
schooling, and during this period he mastered Bonnycastle's 
Mensuration of Superficies and Solids. When fifteen years 
old he went on trial into the machine shop of Frederick D. 
Sanno, and, after a satisfactory probation, was indentured to 
him as an apprentice to learn steam-engineering. In less 
than two years thereafter his employer failed in business, 
and his indentures were cancelled. He soon found .another 
place, being indentured to James Flint for a term of four 
years and three months; and having acquired considerable 
information with his previous employer, was enabled to 
make better teims with his second master. Learning his 
trade at a better advantage, he very rapidly acquired pro- 
ficiency and soon had the best work entrusted to him. Be- 
fore he was twenty he was made foreman, having the over- 
sight of thirty men and boys. He was occupied in the 
making of cotton machinei'y and all descriptions of sta- 
tionary steam-engines. He was with Thomas Flint, of the 
firm of Hyde & Flint, for nearly a year after his apprentice- 
ship had ceased, and then found employment in Philip 
Garrett's machine shop, near Walnut and Fourth streets. 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CYCLOPyEDIA. 



3S1 



where he engaged in much finer work than he had done 
before, such as small lathes, presses for Iiank-note engravers, 
etc. He remained in this shop until the summer of 1S33, 
when he went to Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, to put up 
some machineiy for Arundius Tiers, with whom his father 
had been for many years engaged as accountant. In 1834, 
the building of locomotive engines was attracting consider- 
able attention, but he had no experience whatever in this 
description of work. Out of curiosity, he one day in the 
early part of that year visited the .shop of Long & Norris, 
and to his surprise was greeted by his first master, F. D. 
Sanno, whom he had not seen for some years, and who was 
now foreman in the shop. He was tendered work in the 
concern, and accepted it. He found the establishment to be 
of no very high grade ; bad tools, bad workmen, had foreman- 
ship — resulting in locomotives of poor design and mainly 
unsuccessful in practice, though several had been produced. 
Colonel Long was never there, and although the other part- 
ner daily passed some hours in the shop, the latter knew 
nothing practically of the business. He immediately set to 
remedy the defects in some work that had been almost 
ruined by the hands; and his manner of proceeding excited 
much interest among the employes, besides attracting the 
attention of the junior partner. In a fortnight he was ap- 
pointed foreman, at increased wages. He remained here 
about a ye.ar and a half, and being ambitious to learn, was 
glad to be of assistance in making drawings and in directing 
the work. In the summer of 1835, he left the shop, and 
engaged with Garrett & Eastwick as foreman. This firm 
was showing some skill in the building of locomotives. He 
here designed and built the engine " Samuel D. Ingham" 
for the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company. This locomo- 
tive had many novel points, among which the most original 
were certain modes of reversement worked out entirely by 
the junior partner of the firm. The same device was used 
on the engines that were subsequently made in Russia by 
Harrison, WInans & Eastwick. This locomotive proved a 
success, and led to the building of others for the same com- 
]iany. In 1837, he was admitted as a member of the firm 
of Garrett, Eastwick & Co., his only capita! being his skill ; 
soon after it became Eastwick & Harrison. In the hands 
of the former the 8-wheel engine, with four driving and 
four truck wheels, was first brought into practicable shape. 
It is now almost exclusively used in this country for passen- 
ger trains, and has obtained a very satisfactory reputation 
in Europe. The present modes of equalizing the weight 
on the driving wheels, indispensable to this engine, were 
patented by Joseph Harrison, in 1 838, as an improvement 
on A. M. Eastwick's patent of 1836. They are now applied 
by all manufacturers of locomotives in this country. In 
1851, an engine called the "Gowan and Marx," weighing 
but little over eleven tons, with four connecting driving 
wheels, was designed and built by this firm for the Phila- 
delphia & Reading Railroad. The perforaiance of this en- 
gine in drawing loi loaded coal cars over that road at- 



tracted great attention at tlie time, as being without a 
parallel in the history of railroad transportation. Locomo- 
tives designed and built by Eastwick & Harrison for the 
Beaver Meadow and other companies burned anthracite 
coal successfully as early as 1835 and 1836, and in regular 
business over the roads surmounted higher grades th.an had 
ever before been performed in either America or luirope. 
The reputation already acquired by the firm of East- 
wick & Harrison attracted the attention of two eminent 
Russian engineers, who were sent to the United States by 
their Government to examine and report upon the Ameri- 
can railway system. On the return of these gentlemen to 
Russia, it was proposed that Joseph Harrison should be sent 
fjr, to undertake the construction of the locomotives and 
other rolling stock for the .St. Petersburg & Moscow Rail- 
way, a line about 400 miles in length, then about to be con- 
structed. In December, 1843, the firm, together with 
Thomas Winans of Baltimore, concluded a contract with 
the Russian Government, the amount being three million 
dollars, the work to be completed in five years. One of 
the conditions was, that this work was to be done at St. 
Petersburg, by Russian workmen, or such as could be found 
on the spot. AVith employes entirely imacquainted with 
the work to be performed, without knowing the language, 
or the peculiar manner of doing business in a foreign land, 
the firm of Harrison, Winans & Eastwick set about the diffi- 
cult and apparently almost impossible task of complying 
with the terms of their contract. But they commenced their 
business in a straightforward manner, and only asked not 
to be hindered ; so well were their plans arranged and 
carried out, that all the work contracted for was completed 
to the entire satisfaction of the Russian Government, and 
paid for more than a year before the term expired. During 
its progress orders reaching nearly two million dollars were 
added to the original amount, including the completion of 
the great cast-iron bridge over the Neva — the largest and 
most expensive in the world. To finish this structure an- 
other year was added to the original term of the first con- 
tract ; and prior to the close of the first term a second agree- 
ment was entered into for the further period of twelve 
years, for establishing in running order the rolling stock of 
the St. Petersburg & Moscow Railway — the parties to this 
contract being Joseph Harrison, Jr., Thomas and William 
S. Winans. This second contract was carried on and 
finished to the satisfaction of both parties, in 1S52. On 
the opening of the great bridge over the Neva, in 1S50, 
the Emperor Nicholas, as a mark of esteem, bestowed upon 
Joseph Harrison, Jr., the ribbon of the order of .St. Ann, 
with a massive gold medal attached, bearing on its face a 
portrait of the sovereign, and on the reverse the motto, in 
the Russian language, " For zeal." Returning to Philadel- 
phia, in 1S52, he set about employing his wealth in the 
adornment of his native city. He erected numerous and 
costly buildings, some with original features, not heretofore 
seen in this country, and established one of the finest and 



382 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



mnst extensive art galleries in Philadelphia. He next turned 
his attention to the means of improving steam genera- 
tion, more particularly with a view of preventing explo- 
sions. The result of his efforts is now before the public 
in the " Harrison steam boiler," for which his first patent 
bears date October 4th, 1859, though it has since been con- 
siderably improved ; it may be said to be absolutely safe 
against destructive explosions. He manufactured them in 
Philadelphia, where a number are in operation, but they 
are far more extensively employed in New England. This 
boiler w.as thoroughly tested and approvecf by a Commission 
appointed by the Franklin Institute. It received the Lon- 
don World's Fair first-class medal, in 1862; a medal from 
the American Institute, New York, in 1S69, and, about 
1872, was awarded the " Rumford Medal " from the Ameri- 
can Academy of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, 
Boston, as a mechanical invention of gi-eat benefit to man- 
kind. He was a master of the whole subject of steam 
boilers, and of the locomotive engine; and his " Essay" on 
the former and his " Lecture " on the latter — and particu- 
larly of Philadelphia's share in the invention and produc- 
tion of the modern locomotive — are two of the most valu- 
able contributions to the literature of the steam engine. 
Not only was his leaning towards the science of mechanics, 
but he had broad likings for literature and the fine arts. 
In the latter he was a connoisseur of considerable accom- 
plishments, and was a liberal patron of our home artists. 
He likewise took great interest in the beautifying and adorn- 
ment of Fairmount Park, and ofTered to place some fine 
works of art in the public gallery erected within its limits. 
He was married, December 15th, 1S36, to Sarah Poulterer, 
and leaves six children, three of whom were born abroad. 
He died March 27th, 1874. 



' EXRY, S.^MUEL, Financier and Soldier, was 
born in Blair county, Pennsylvania, January 29th, 
1843, and there received such education as the 
common schools of the district afforded. He 
resided there until he attained his eighteenth 
year, when he was appointed Assistant Agent of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad at Johnstown, to which town he 
removed ; this position he filled for two years, with credit 
to himself and the company- In 1862, and at the age of 
nineteen, he enlisted in the 21st Regiment Pennsylvania 
Volunteers — a cavalry regiment — as a private soldier, and 
served all through the War until the contest was over. 
Soon after entering the service he rose from the ranks and 
became Second Lieutenant, and subsequently was promoted 
to First Lieutenant. Not long after he had reached this 
grade he was appointed Adjutant of the regiment, the ar- 
duous duties of which office he fulfilled with great credit 
to himself .and to the satisfaction of his superior officers. 
His regiment was actively engaged in some of the hardest 




fought battles of the war, and in the operations in front of 
Petersburg, and throughout, he conducted himself with such 
honor and gallantry as to merit a further promotion to the 
rank of Captain. After the close of the Rebellion he re- 
turned to his home in Dlair county, with the proud satisfac- 
tion of ha\ing fulfilled his duly to his counlr)', and, above 
all, of having risen from the ranks and won his commissions 
by merit only, not by favor. At this time he was tendered 
a position in the banking house of W. M. Lloyd, of Al- 
toona, Pennsylvania, which he accepted and filled for one 
year, manifesting such financial ability, combined with the 
strictest integrity, that he was offered the Cashiership 01" 
the El>ensburg Bank — owned by Levy & Co.— the respon- 
sible duties of which he assumed, and retains to the present 
time. In political faith he is an unswerving Republican, 
and such was the confidence reposed in his honesty, straight- 
forward, outspoken sentiments, that his fellow-citizens no- 
minated and elected him, in 1871, a member of the Legis- 
lature; and recognizing the ability that he displayed in this 
new sphere of action have re-elected him for three succes- 
sive terms as their Representative. The sound judgment 
he displayed in all matters of finance, and in connection 
with his extensive business experience, was the means of 
bringing his name prominently before the public as a can- 
didate for the office of State Treasurer. His social nature 
has won for him a wide popularity, and his legislative ability 
is freely acknowledged by his fellow-members. 



ARLINGTON, RICHARD, Teacher, was born in 
West Marlborough township, Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, August 13th, 1834. He was a 
descendant of Abraham Darlington, who emi- 
grated from England to Chester county, in 1703. 
His mother, Edith, was the daughter of Thomas 
Smedley, a minister of the Society of Friends. H.aving 
had a preliminary education in his native county, he gra- 
duated at Harvard University and commenced teaching, 
at the early age of eighteen, in Highland township, Chester 
county, Pennsylvania. Subsequently he filled more im- 
portant positions in the Friends' High School at Westfield, 
New Jei-sey, and in the Central Friends' High School in 
Philadelphia. In 1859, he purchased Ercildown Seminar)', 
Chester county, where he had received a part of his early 
education, ami assumed the management of this old and 
worthy institution of learning, which position he has filled 
for more than forty years. During this time more than one 
thousand young ladies have been received as pupils under 
his care, and many of these now fill positions of trust and 
responsibility for which they were trained by him. Mis 
fitness for the calling which he has chosen is widely 
acknowledged, and has gained for the institution over 
which he presides an enviable reputation. The interest he 
takes in the general subject of education has been shown 





'''■^tvini- '■•■ nhf^sK'**" 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOr.EDIA. 



383 




in the debates of many educational assemblages; and on 
frequent occasions he has delivered public addresses on this 
and cognate subjects which have commended the science 
of education to his auditors. In 1861, he married Lizzie 
K. Alexander, a former teacher in Ercildown Seminary. 



';"aORDON, GEORGE FLEMING, Artist and Con- 
tractor, was born in Philadelphia, in 1818; is 
the son of George Gordon, and of Scotch extrac- 
tion. His parents had designed him for the 
ministry of the Presl>yterian Church, and his edu- 
cation was commenced with that view; circum- 
stances, however, changed the current of his life, and while 
pursuing his studies, he laarned the trade of a marble-worker 
and sculptor with his father, in New York and Philadelphia. 
After the completion of his apprenticeship, he entered into 
business with his father. In 1838, he went to the Wesferii 
country, and visited Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis. 
He established a branch of the business at Cincinnati, where' 
he resided for three years. He then returned to Philadel-' 
phia, and subsequently went to Iowa, and to'lhe Galerfa 
lead region, prospecting for marble and *5'inmeral."'"i''i9 
1842, he proceeded to New Orleans, antMenfameSMn that 
city for four years, engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 
1S46, on the outbreak of the Mexican 'WaVy-'he-ent^^d 
the 2d Regiment of Louisiana Volunteers, and w'a§ elected 
an officer of Company F. He passed his'Hhree irtOnths' 
term of service on the line of the Rio Grand del Norte; 
Returning thence, he once more reached Phil.adelphia, aiid 
in 1847 purchased a monthly magazine called. The Christian, 
of which he assumed the editorial management. He enlarged 
the serial and it became The Christian Pearl, a dollar 
magazine, thoroughly unsectarian in its views. He had, at 
an early age, become a member of the Associate Reformed 
Presbyterian Church, to which his parents belonged, and 
in it he continued for some time an active, zealous meir.ber; 
but becoming dissatisfied with the narrowness of its dogmas, 
he left its communion and joined the religious society then 
under the pastorate of the Rev. Thomas H. Stockton, 
known as the Methodist Protestant sect, and was licensed as 
a local preacher. He was active, in-.the orgSnjzatiofl-oT'' the 
Brotherly Love Society, and^wKen" ReV. T. "H. StoCRtHn 
went to Cincinnati, he was unanimously elected its Presi- 
dent — its object was religious, missionary, and benevolent. 
In connection with it, he established a Sunday school of over 
500 members, which he personally superintended for about 
four years. He afterwards organized another Sunday school 
in connection with the Church of the New Testament, now 
under the care of his former pastor. Rev. T. H. Stockton, 
and continued its Superintendent for many years. He then 
became the head of the Union Sunday School ; and is now 
a member of the Inimanuel Presbyterian Church. After his 



became identified with the National Protestant Peforler, 
and afterwards 'J he Young Christian — an<l in connection 
with his m.agazines, carried on the printing business for 
some years. In 1850, he became Missionary Agent of the 
American Society for ameliorating the condition of the Jews, 
and organized a Jerusalem Union in Philadelphia — its object 
being to aid a pioneer settlement in Palestine. In 1856, he 
was elected a member of Councils from the Fifteenth Ward, 
and thus began his active political career. As Chairman 
of the Committee on the Poor, he inaugurated many reforms 
in the Alms House, including the bettering of the condition 
of the ihsanfjn that institution. He was Chairman of the 
Committee which introduced the first .steam fire-engine into 
the city, aniitwas subsequently an eloquent advocate of the 
est.ablishmehtof a Paid Fire Department. He took a great 
interest in the piiiilic schools, urged large appropriations for 
their benefit ; besides advocating loans for the erection of 
prOpet buil3iaj|sjand was the author of the first Loan Bill 
•passed Ijy G(jii.ttgils. ? He also w.is the leader in the matter 
of appropriations for street drinking fountains, and designed 
,s"«V(jral,;two-Df which are in Fairmount Park. During this 
-period of serviccitjn Councils, he became a student of law, 
■*indef*t*e preccpU)rship*>f.the late James Goodman. Among 
'^trthef thing<, IrelKU-ofcatcd'the issue of City Warrants, wdiich 
xouW sbe.-used" in- payment of\taxes; apian for a City In- 
■i»uraSfee*DtjSRrri«CTjt,'lhe-pi-ofits..of this business to pay the 
e'x^VtWes- of the' city govcmment; the establishment of 
•tiljRniesTifi ^oIic»>6tatiftris,'r1ind, in his own ward, com- 
meiicsdiitiy donating'>a' b'CTok-case containing one hundred 
v»ium^fc,. .He has-been a School Director of the Fifteenth 
Wnrd-ftr over' fifteen years, and through his instrumentality 
many new features of discipline, etc., have been introduced. 
Among these may be named : regular examinations of pupils 
through all the grades; the introduction of music, drawing, 
and physical exercises ; the organization of a Teachers' Asso- 
ciation, and of school principals into a Board of Teachers. 
He also took a prominent share in the erection of the first 
public statue — th.at of W.ashington, which now stands .at the 
entrance of Independence Hall — and delivered the oration 
when the same was unveiled. He has been endeavoring 
for several years to establish a course of winter lectures in 
aU.the grammar schSbIs of the city, .as well as to have 
publii libr«rife^tached,t6 each individual school. 



ICKERSHAM, JAMES PYLE, LL. D., State 
Supeiintendent of Common Schools, was born in 
Newlin township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, 
March 5lh, 1825, and is the son of Caleb Wicker- 
sham, the fourth in descent from Thomas Wicker- 
sham, who came to Pennsylvania about 1700, 
settled in the then wilderness of Chester county, and built 
the first house west of the Brandywine, which is still 
editorial connection with The Christian Pearl ceased, he | standing. His mother was a daughter of James Pyle, also 




/ 



3S4 



i3io(;RArnicAL 



descended from Quaker slock. He was brought up on his 
father's farm, laboring and studying alternately until he 
went to the Unionville Academy, where he was at the age 
of sixteen an assistant teacher; he after^vards taught in 
one of the common schools of the district. While an in- 
structor of youth he was himself a student, and the greater 
part of his education was thus acquired. His success as a 
teacher was marked from the beginning. In 1S45, he be- 
came Principal of the Marietta (Pennsylvania) Academy, 
where he remained ten years, the institution prospering 
greatly. He relinquished it to accept the position of Su- 
perintendent of Schools in Lancaster Counly.'and shortly 
after assuming its duties he founded the >fofmal Institute 
at Millersville, out of which was eventually, cieveloped the 
First State Normal School, and, in fact, thes-whole Normal 
School system. In 1856, he became the Principal of tbis' 
school, which he made one of the most flouri^ing institu- 
tions in the country. He remained tliere^fen years, w-hen 
he accepted the position he at present holdS^'that of State 
Superintendent of Common Schools, tenderSd-ftim by Gover- 
nor Curtin, and twice thereafter by Governor Geary, his 
nomination being unanimously, confirmed by the Senate. 
Under his administration the school a'ffairs of the Con'mon- 
wealth have made great progress, and •■Pennsylvania is'the' 
peer, in this respect, of any' of her sister States, lie has 
been repeatedly offered — since his occupancy of this .office — 
similar positions in other Sl^tijiand af)road ; also a portfolio' 
as Cabinet Minister by yresjdentr.Sarnjiento'of the Argen-- 
line Republic. He hasrassist^d in establishing ^^je Lan- 
caster County Teacheisi Association, and. also. ti 




tX 



State and National AftSpciation.* of^whiclnhe-hfi'Tj/cen 
various times the President.'; 'HeVwa-sValso,' in i8S9,.e}gcted 
President of the National .SupetintemfeutS' Association, jllts 
address before the National Teachers' A,ssociation, in 1865, 
on EJiicalion as an Elcinent in the Reconstruction of the 
Union^ was j^ublished by some liberal and patriotic Bos- 
tonians and broadly circul.ated throughout the country. 
His inaugural before the same body, 1866, on An American 
Education for the American People, besides being widely 
circulated at home, was translated into several foreign lan- 
guages, and scattered broadcast in Europe and South 
America. Professor Laboulaye, of the University of Paris, 
characterizes it as " the best ex]>osiiion of the American 
idea of popular education that h.as ever been written." 
Me is also the author of School Economy and Methods of 
Instruction, which are well known in the United States 
and in Europe; the first-named work has been translated 
into Spanish by order of t]ie Argentine' EqJtibUe. 'i^ the 
request of Governor Curtin, he prepareH' nie original bill 
providing for the destitute soldiers' and saili^rs' orphans, 
and, in 1871, the Legislature entrusted to him the entire 
management of the Soldiers' Orphans' Schools. Since 
1S70, he has edited the Pennsylvania School foitrnal, the 
most important and widely circulated educational periodical 
in the Union. 




ENCVCLOr.EDLV. 

''~^' GNEW, D. HAYES, M. D., Physician and Sur- 
geon, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1818, and is the son of Dr. Agnew, an 
eminent physician of that section. His classical 
education was commenced at the Moscow Aca- 
demy, a flourishing institution then under the 
supervision of the Rev. Francis Latta, and lo j.Ttcd in Chester 
county. He next studied at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, 
Pennsylvania, and linally completed his education at Newark 
Colle.e, Delaware, where one of his relatives — the Rev. 
John Holmes Agnew — was Professor of Languages. His 
medical training was obtained at the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, and he entered upon the practice of his profession in 
the rural districts. After some years he removed to Phila- 
delphia, where he continued his practice, and commenced 
todeliver a course of Lectures in the Philadelphia School 
of Anatomy, in College avenue. At the date of the break- 
ing out of the Rebellion, his class in this time-honored in- 
sffffition numbered two hundred and sixty-five students, 
jepresenling every State in the Union. He also established 
at the same place the Philadelphia School of Ojieralive 
Surgei-y. He was elected, in 1854, one of the .Surgeons of 
the Philadelphia Hospital, and in that institution he founded 
the present Pathological Museum; and for some time acted 
as its Curator. ^ In 1S63, he was appointed Demonstrator 
of Anatomy, and Assistant Lecturer on Clinical Surgery 
in. the .Medical ,EJgpartment of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania; about the san)g.time he was elected one of the Sur- 
geon:5jX)f Wills' ^Ophthalmic Hospital. In 1865, he was 
elected to a simiiflr position in the Pennsylvania Hospital, 
and'4lkewise in the Orthopoedic Hospital. In 1S70, he was 
chosen tofdl the Chair of Operative Surgery in the Univer- 
sity. of^Pennsylv.inia, and in the ye.ar that followed he be- 
^came Professor of the Principles and Practice of .Surgery 
in the same institution. He is a most skilful, rapid and 
efficient operator in every department of general surgery, 
which is his speciality; and his reputation is world-wide in 
this respect. He is at present, and h.is been for some time 
past, engaged in preparing for publication a large and ex- 
haustive work on Operative Surgery, the first volume of 
which is now (May, 1874) in press, and wdl be soon in the 
hands of the profession. He married a member of the 
Irving family of Chester county, a name well known in that 
section as being largely interested in the manufacture of iron. 



UCHANANf JAMES, Lawyer, Statesman, and 
Fifteenth President of the United States, was 
born near Mercersburg, Franklin county, Penn- 
sylv.inia, April 23d, 1791. His father, James 
Buchanan, was a native of the county of Donegal, 
■ Ireland, and one of the earliest settlers of Fr.anklin 
having emigrated thither in 1783. His mother, 
th Speer, was the daughter of a respectable farmer 




county, 
Elizabe 




AiyuZy ^^ ^cy^^ 



'yi^^.ccr-. 




"■^^to^ftj ^-[.j^^al^^lfhA 




. oC^t 



^^<?:^^/ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



3S5 



of Adams county, a. woman of remarkable native intellect, 
and distinguished for her masculine sense and rare literary 
taste. In 1798, James Buchanan, the elder, removed to 
Mercersburg, where his son received his academical educa- 
tion, and made such rapid progress in his studies that 
his father determined to give him the benefit of a collegiate 
course. He entered Dickinson College at the age of four- 
teen, and during his entire term of four years outstripped 
all his classmates in the acquirement of knowledge. He 
graduated in 1809. In December of the same year, he com- 
menced the study of law with James Hopkins of Lancaster, 
the leading attorney at that bar. He w.as admitted to prac- 
tice, November 17th, 18 12, and at once took the front rank 
in the profession. When but a lawyer of four years stand- 
ing, he was selected to conduct, unaided by senior counsel, 
the defence of a distinguished judge, who was impeached 
before the Senate of Pennsylvania. His defence on' this 
occasion was a masterly display of legal acumen and forensic 
ability, that at once gave him a wide reputation ; and from 
th.at period business poured in upon him. Sj successful 
was he, that when but forty years of age he had acquired 
means that enabled him to retire from the profession. He 
early displayed his patriotism by enlisting as a private in 
the company commanded by Captain Henry Shippen,\vhich 
marched from Lancaster to the defence of Baltimore durincr 
the War with England, in l8l2-'i4, and w'ith which "he 
served till honorably discharged. In October, 1814, he was 
elected a member of the lower House of the State Legis- 
lature, and re-elected in 1S15. His ne.\t step upward was 
his election, in 1820, as Representative to Congress? His 
first elaborate speech was made January nth, iS22,.and 
was deemed so important as to be published verbatim ; it 
at once enrolled him as one of the ablest men in the nation, 
and gave him a national reputation. He was constantly 
re-elected to Congress, and although originally a Federalist, 
he changed to the Democratic faith and supported General 
Jackson for President, in 1828, being himself re-elected to 
Congress during the campaign, and made Chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee. On March 3d, 1831, he voluntarily 
retired from Congress, and was soon afterwards appointed 
United States Minister to Russia by President Jackson ; 
in this position he concluded the first commercial treaty 
between the United States and Russia, securing to, our sea- 
men important privileges in the Baltic and Black Seas. In 
1833, on his return to the United Slates, he was elected 
United States Senator, taking his seat December 15th, 1834. 
He advocated Texan independence, and its recognition by 
the United States, and afterwards the admission of Texas 
as one of the States of the Union. On the opening of the 
24th Congress he was made Chairman of the Committee on 
Foreign Relations. During Van Buren's administration he 
advocated the " Sub-treasury Act," and aided the passage 
of the bill; and while Ty!er was President he opposed the 
Fiscal Bank bill, and advocated the Independent Treasuiy. 
For four years, from March 4th, 1S45, "'' during the Polk 
49 




administration, he was the able head of the State Depart- 
ment, and then retired to private life. When Pierce suc- 
ceeded Fillmore, March 4lh, 1S53, he was recalled from his 
retirement and created United States Minister to England. 
On his return to tlie United States he was nominated and 
elected to the Presidency, and inaugurated March 4th, 1857. 
His administration was begun under adverse circumstances, 
the country laboring in the throes of that great conflict 
which broke out shortly after his term expired, and whicfi 
has passed into history under the name of the Great Rebel- 
lion. After March 4th, 1861, he retired to his residence at 
Wheatland, where he died, June 1st, iS68^ 

i ~*^ 

UAY, MATTHEW STANLEY, Lawyer, and 
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
was born in Dillsburg, York county, Pennsylvania, 
September 30th, 1S33, and was named after Gene- 
ral Matthew Stanley of Brandywine Manor, 
Chester county. He is descended on both sides 
from one of the oldest Scotch-Irish families in the State, 
his ancestors mqjdiig their appearance in this country during 
,the eajly.part of-Jhe eighteenth century, having settled in 
■•ehester cguirty in 1715; A sturdy and loyal attachment to 
their rights and religion has ever been a distinctive attribute 
of this race; and the record of his family in the early In- 
dian and Provincial Wars, the Revolution, and the War 
of iSi2,^.shows hovv true its members were to their tradi- 
tional instincts. In the year 1S40, his father, who was a 
clergymlm in the Presbyterian Church, and whose ministry 
was widely and favorably known throughout that denomi- 
nation, removed to western Pennsylvania, taking up his 
abode finally in Beaver ; and the son, after several years 
preliminary instruction, was sent to Jefferson College, Can- 
onsburg, where he graduated with distinction at the age of 
seventeen years. Proceeding at once to Pittsburg, he com- 
menced the study of law in" the office of Penney & Sterrett, 
the latter an eminent judge at the present time in Allegheny 
county. However, before he had completed his studies, he 
became desirous of travelling, and w.as also in quest of a 
suitable place to locate. He accompanied a college friend 
to his home irCAMississippi. After a sojourn of two years 
in that: .State, Louisiana, and Texas, duiing which time he 
taught school, lectured, and acquired much valuable infor- 
mation, he returned to his home in Beaver, where the im- 
press of his strong and well-balanced mind was soon to be 
made, not only upon the politics of his county, but on that 
of the whole State. Immediately after his return he re- 
sumed his legal studies with R. P. Roberts, in 1854, and 
was admitted to the bar; and, in 1S55, was appointed Pro- 
thonotary of Beaver County. In 1S56, he was elected to 
the same office, and re-elected in 1S59. In 1861, moved 
by the same patriotic s])irit that possessed so many of our 
youth, he resigned his office to accept a Lieutenancy in the 



386 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCI.OP/EDIA. 



Tennsylvania Reserves, then organizing for service. Wliile 
his regiment was awaiting at Camp Wright the call to the 
front, he was summoned to Harrisburg and made Assistant 
Commissary-General of the State, with the rank of Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel. It was here that his capacity for organization, 
his energy, and his rigid and exact attention to details 
soon attracted the attention of the authorities, and upon the 
transfer of the Commissary Department to Washington, 
Governor Curtin invited him to become his private Secre- 
tary. The military staff of the Governor having been dis- 
pensed with about this time, the duties of these officers, 
together with the then enormous correspondence of the 
Executive office, devolved upon the private Secretary, all 
of which were diligently and methodically performed. In 
August, 1862, he was selected to command the 134th Regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, nine months' service, and 
continued to fill that position until chosen by Governor 
Curtin to attend to the delicate and responsible duties of 
State Agent at Washington. His resignation having been 
accepted, it arrived immediately upon the eve of the battle 
of Fredericksburg, into which fight he accompanied his 
regiment, eliciting by his conduct a complimentary mention 
in general orders. He fulfilled with great credit all that 
was required of him as State Agent ; and the Legislature, in 
1S63, in order to meet the urgent needs of the service, 
created the office of Military Secretary, and Governor Cur- 
tin, remembering the invaluable services of his former pri- 
vate Secretary, immediately recalled him and assigned him 
to the newly created post. Upon the death of Colonel W. 
W. Sees, Superintendent of Transportation and Telegraph, 
the duties of that office were transferred to him. Holding 
these important and confidential relations to the Governor 
until 1865, he resigned them to take his seat in the Legis- 
lature, to which he was elected, in 1864, to represent the 
District of Washington and Beaver counties. In this body 
he was made Chairman of the Committee of Ways and 
Means, and among the many important measures reported 
and passed during the winter of 1S67 wliich bore his 
stamp was the act relieving real estate from taxation. ♦In 
1866, the election of James R. Kelley as Speaker was mahily 
due to the individual and untiring efforts of the member 
from Beaver, and in the following year the latter himself 
became a candidate for Presiding officer. It was a bitter 
contest, for the Republican party was divided into two fac- 
tions on the question of the United States Senatorship, one 
supporting ex-Governor Curtin and the other Simon Came- 
ron. The latter, desirous of success, determined to defeat 
Colonel Quay, which was effected finally by the defection 
of those upon whom he relied. In 1S68, the war of the 
factions was renewed, and the following winter saw the 
anti-Cameron candidate elected State Treasurer. In 1869, 
the breach was healed, and Hon. John Scolt elected United 
States Senator, and Robert \V. Mackey State Treasurer. In 
this year also Colonel Quay was Secretary of the Repub- 
lican State Central Committee, and his faculty for organiza- 




tion was observable in eveiy stage of its progress. About 
this period he established the Beaver Radical, and issued 
the first number without a subscriber. This paper was con- 
ducted with rare ability, and soon fought its way to a lead- 
ing position among the journals of the State ; and its opinions, 
which were qunted extensively, contributed largely tow-ards 
shaping public sentiment. In the canvass which resulted 
in the election of General Hartranft as Governor he was 
his devoted and unswerving advocate, and exerted a power- 
ful and controlling influence. When the new Executive 
was inaugurated, the latter invited him to his councils as 
Secretary of the Commonwealth. In this position his ex- 
perience in legislation, his vast acquaintance, his knowledge 
of the character of our public men, and his cpiick observation 
and good judgment have been of incalculable advantage to 
the administration. 



OOPER, THOMAS V., Journ.ilist, and State 
Senator, was born at Cadiz, Ohio, Jaiuiaiy l6tli, 
1835, and is a son of Dr. J. W. and Henriella 
(Fields) Cooper. When but an infant his father 
removed to Chester county, Pennsylvania, where 
he received a common school education. At the 
age of sixteen he commenced as an apprentice to learn the 
printing business in the office of the Delaware Kepiiblican, 
at Wilmington, Delaware, and in his twentieth year re- 
moved to Media, Pennsylvania, where, in connection with 
Dr. D. .-\. Vernon, he started the Delaware County Ameri- 
can, and seiTcd as one of its Editors until the breaking Out 
of the Civil War. He aided in organizing the Fourth 
Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, in which he was tendered 
a First Lieutenantship, and served as such for a period. 
Directly after the battle of Fair Oaks, he enlisted and served 
in Company C, 26th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and con- 
tinued in the same until the close of the war, being con- 
nected with the Third Army Corps, Second Division, 'com- 
manded liy General Hooker. Just prior to Grant's Wilder- 
ness Campaign, he was detailed in charge of Government 
printing (by order of the War Department) at Camp Dis- 
tribution, Virginia, and while in charge of the office was 
Editor of the Soldiers' yoiirnal, a pa]ier which in eight 
months cleared $2800 for the benefit of the United .States 
Sanitary Commission. After the close of the War, he was 
offered the Editorship of a periodical published in Phikidel- 
phia, but declined it, and resumed his connection with the 
Delaware County American. He was elected a member 
of the lower branch of the State Legislature in 1870, and 
was re nominated in 1871, but defeated at the polls, owing 
to his sui>porling " Local Option " and other measures. In 
1872, he was again a nominee, and gained 800 votes over 
the previous year. He served during the session of the 
Hinise on many prominent committees, and was Chaii-man 
of the Conference Committee which framed the bill for the 
conduct of the Constitutional Convention. It was during 




I 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



387 



this session that he did General Ilartianft signal service. 
The leading characters in what has come to he known as 
the " Evans' swindle" sought to induce him to introduce 
resohitions impeacliing Auditor-General Harlranft and State 
Treasurer Mackey. Instead of complying with their re- 
quest, he reported the whole details of tlie interview to the 
Mouse, and this exposure contributed largely to the success- 
ful vindication of General Hartranft. In the ensuing cam- 
paign he took an active part, confining himself, notwith- 
standing calls from every portion of the State, to a canvass 
of Lancaster, Chester and Delaware counties, speaking 
every day for seven consecutive weeks, and acquiring a 
State reputation as an off-hand stump speaker. After the 
election of Governor Hartranft, he was prominently named 
as the Secretary of the Commonwealth, but refused to be 
considered a candidate. In 1S73, he was one of.dje candL-- 
dates for the Republican nomination of .State Senator for 
Chester and Delaware counties against H. Jones Brooke, a 
gentleman who had the advantage of thirty years' legislative 
experience. There were three candidates in the field on 
election day, and an exciting contest resulted in his being 
returned by a majority of 700. In the Senate he was ap- 
pointed Chairman of the Committee on Vice "and 'Immo- 
rality, taking cognizance of the question of Local Option; 
Secretary of the Committee on Co.rporatyiinSj and a member 
of the Committee on Constitutional {tSform anjJ Prinlhig.; 



V - , 

LLEN, HARRISON, Lawyer, Brevet Brigadier-' 
General United States Volunteers, and Auditor- 
General of Pennsylvania, was born in the town 
of Russellburg, Warren county, Pennsylvania, 
December 4th, 1S35, and is a son of Samuel P. 
and Maiy (Thompson) Allen. His father was 
of Scotch-Irish descent ; his grandfather a nephew of General 
Anthony Wayne. On his m ither's side he is partly of Ger- 
man extraction. He was reared on a farm until he reached 
the age of twenty yeai-s, and during the winter months ;it- 
tended the district school; he w.os unusually industrious as 
a student, improving his-.lei^re jiours (ind-^aini^ig all thp' 
information to be acquired' in the-sch»ols which thetieigli- 
borhood afforded. He possessed A retentive meteoryi and . 
was quick to comprehend an idea and to act upon it, it 
being his aim to know his duty .and to do it. In the school 
he was an excellent declaimer, and exhibited ability and 
taste for such exercises. In the autumn of 1S55, he at- 
tended the academy at Jamestown, New York, and during 
that and the following winter taught school at Farmington, 
in his native county, meeting with excellent success. 
During 1856 and 1S57, he was a student in the academy 
at Randolph, New York, where he stood high in his classes, 
and received the highest honors of the school and the lite- 
rary society of the school. In the spring of 1S56, he left 
school to engage in business, of which "lumbering" was 




an important part, in order to earn the money to sustain 
himself and to prosecute his studies ; and, in 1857 and 1858, 
attended the P'redonia Academy. Here he again won dis- 
tinction, securing the highest honors, one of which was his 
election successively to the Presidency of the literary socie- 
ties with which he was connected. In 1S59, he entered 
the law office of Judges Johnson and Brown of Warren, 
Pennsylvania, where he remained until the spring of 1S61. 
Having a taste for military affairs he devoted considerable 
attention thereto, and served as aide-de-camp (with the rank 
of Captain) on General Brown's staff, 20th Division, Penn- 
sylvania Militia, and was promoted by election as Lieuten- 
■ant-Cptonel of the regiment in his own county. At the out- 
break q^ the Rebellion he volunteered, April 20th, l86r, 
for the three months' service as a private, and was elected 
i>y tjie men Captain of the Company ; after two months he 
re-enlisted his company for three years. He was ordered 
to Pittsburgh, and thence up the Allegheny river twelve 
miles to Camp Wright. He drove the first tent-peg on the 
gipund ■ and had command of the camp until relieved by 
Colonel McLean of Erie. At that time the loth Regiment 
of Pennsylvania Reserves was organized, including h\< com- 
jatiy, at Xrimp Wilkins, and he was elected by the men 
•Major of the regimeftt, and commissioned by the Governor. 
-He was tendered' the Colonelcy of the nth Regiment of 
Reserves, bpt declined it, preferring to serve under Colonel 
John S. McCainioht and uemain with his men. He joined 
the Army of the Potomac with his regiment, and, in 1862, 
organized the i5Lst Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and 
was elected Colonel, serving during the term of his enlist- 
ment. He was brevetted Brigadier-General United States 
Volunteers, and was especially complimented for gallantry 
and efficiency by Generals Doubleday, Meade, Reynolds 
and Ord for services in the engagements at Drainsville, Port 
Conway, the 2d Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettys- 
burg, and Williamsport. Here, as a mark of confidence, 
he was assigned by Geheral Doubleday to command the 
advance line of the division, and successfully routed the 
rebels, took possession of their line and held it — the enemy 
retreating under cover of the night. On the expiration of 
his terra of ser^-ice heT'-etu^ned and resumed his studies, 
and, 'was ' aidmit^ed to practice as .-in attorney-at-law. In 
iS^Sjstewasoiareilia'etl'On Jlje-iiepiiblican ticket as Repre- 
sentative in the Legislature from the Warren and Venango 
District, and was elected. The following year he was re- 
nominated by acclamation, and elected by a m.ajority of 1 182 
in his own county, running largely ahead of his ticket. He 
served with great credit and to the entire satisfaction of his 
constituents, guarding their p.articular interests, and also 
faithfully conserving the interests of the whole State. 
During his term he took part in all of the important dis- 
cussions, especially signalizing his service by an eloquent 
speech upon the Constitution.al Amendment. His influence 
as a legislator was marked. In 1868, he w.is a Delegate- 
at-large to the Soldiers' National Convention at Chicago, 



388 



BIUGRAPHICAL 



and also District Delegate to the Republican National Con- 
vention, by each of which General Grant was nominated 
for the Presidency. lie took a vei-y active part in the cam- 
paign which followed, in speaking and organizing. In 
1S69, he was a candidate for the State Senate in the Mercer, 
Warren and Venango District against a very prominent 
member of his own party, and after an animated contest 
carried seventy-nine out of ninety-nine delegates in his own 
county. The contestant withdrawing, he was nominated 
by acclamation, endorsed by the District Conference, and 
after a hard-fought contest was elected by over one thousand 
majority. During his term in the Senate, as in the House, 
he was always upon the side of right, and ranked as one 
of the strongest and most faithful members of that body, 
taking a leading part in all important discussions with marked 
ability. He was earnest in support of all measures pointing to 
economy and reform. During the discussion upon the con- 
tested election cases in the Senate, he did himself great credit 
in a speech upon the Right of Petition. In 1872, he was 
elected Auditor-General of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- 
vania, by the unprecedented majority of 36,780, and entered 
upon the duties of his office December 2d of that year. In 
this position he is still serving, his present term expiring in 
May, 1875. He has ever been the " Poor Man's Friend," 
a title which was given to him at a meeting of Democrats 
of his own locality, held during the heated contest of 
1872, when a series of resolutions were adopted containing 
the following language: 

" He has been almost the first in every charitable enter- 
prise, and has thereliy blessed the homes and lightened the 
hearts of the needy, without reference to creed or condition. 
He has not only proven himself a good citizen, a true and 
brave soldier, but when fortune had favored him with means 
he opened his hand in charity, and scattered his gifts libe- 
rally to the deserving poor, and many have blessed him for 
his acts of kindness. He has provi'ded homes for the home- 
less, cheered the fallen, and strengthened and encouraged 
the weak when temptation was dragging them down to ruin 
and to death." 

As a public man, he has always been true to his politi- 
cal professions, always courteous but firm, leading the way 
to consistent action, striving to do justly by all, planting 
himself on the doctrine of the Declaration of American In- 
dependence, that " all men are created equal," and scouting 
all political distinctions based upon the accidents of color 
or birth. His success is the result of earnest purpose, de- 
termination which never flagged, exactness and promptness 
in the transaction of business, a deep sympathy with others' 
wants, a sacred regard for his word, and a faithful discharge 
of all oblig.itions, with a settled purpose of right which 
knows no such word as fail. He was married, in 1865, to 
Mrs. Anne E., widow of the late Colonel George A. 
Cobham. 



liNCVCLOP.HDIA. 
i 

ODD, HON. JAMES, Lawyer and Judge, was 
born in York county, Pennsylvania, December 
25th, 1786. His parents, who were of Scotch ex- 
traction, were born, educated and married in the 
north of Ireland, whence they came to the United 
States shortly after their marri.age and settled in 
York county, Pennsylvania, where his father engaged in 
teaching school. In the early part of 1787, his p.irents re- 
moved to ^Vestmoreland county, where his mother died 
during the same summer. His father only survived her a 
few months, but previous to his death entrusted his infant 
child to the care of Daniel McLean, a Scotchman and an 
elder in the Presbyterian Church. In this family he was 
raised, laboring on the farm until nineteen years of age. 
Previous to this time his education had been of the most 
limited character, such only as could be afforded by a year 
and a halPs attendance at the common schools in a neigh- 
borhood recently settled. Being vei-y desirous, however, of 
improving his education he availed himself of every oppor- 
tunity that presented itself, reading such books as were to 
be found in a new settlement and studying late at night after 
the completion of the day's labors. After two years of 
such study he began to teach school, devoting himself more 
assiduously than ever to improving his education ; and 
having joined a debating society, was so successful in their 
contests, and developed such ready powers in debate, that 
his attention was directed to the study of the law and to local 
politics. In the fall of 1815, he was elected one of the 
Commissioners of Fayette county, and was re-elected in 
18 1 6. While Commissioner, he, in company with the late 
Judge Bouvier, began the study of law under the direction 
of the Hon. Andrew Stewart. Upon the expiration of his 
term as Commissioner, he was elected to the State Legisla- 
ture, and re-elected for five successive terms, taking an active 
and leading part in its proceedings. Having been admitted 
to the bar of Fayette county, in 1824, he met with imme- 
diate success, which continued during his whole professional 
life. In December of 1835, he was appointed Attorney 
General by the late Governor Ritner, and thereupon re- 
moved to Philadelphia ; which position he held until he re- 
ceived the appointment by the same Governor of the Presi- 
dent Judgeship of the Court of General Sessions for the City 
and County of Philadelphia, in which position he remained 
until the court was abolished by Act of the Legislature. 
He then resumed the practice of law in Philadelphia, and 
at once took a front rank among the leaders of that bar, 
and continued therein until 1852, when being compelled 
by ill health he retired from the active duties of his pro- 
fession and removed to Westmoreland county, in this St.ate. 
In early youth he united himself with the Presbyterian 
Church, in which he became a Ruling Elder, and continued 
all through his life an active and consistent Christian, de- 
voting much of his time to the labors of the Sabliath-school 
and kindred duties. Such a combination of firmness, in- 
tegrity and true benevolence as w.as m.anifested in his life 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



3S9 




is mrely witnessed. He died .it Greenshurg, Pennsylvania, 
September 3d, 1863, and no Ijetter summary of his life and 
character can be given than that embodied in the resohition 
offered by the Hon. Edgar Cowan at the meeting of the 
Greensburg bar commemorative of his death. It was as 
follows : 

" Resolved, That while we lament the death and do honor 
to the memory of Judge Todd, the example of his life, so 
eminent for ability, integrity and patriotism, ought not to 
be lost to the young, but held up for encouragement and 
imitation. He was the architect of his own fortune, and, 
subsisting by his labor, without the aid of schools or masters, 
he won his way to the Legislature, to the Bar, to the Cabi- 
net, and to the Bench, acquitting himself in all with tlis- 
tinclion. He was also an ardent lover of his country, a^ 
temperate and just man and a sincere Christian. His years 
were as full as his honors, and extended almost to fourscoi'S." 



.YATT, COLONEL THEODORE, President oT 
the Pennsylvania Military Academy, Ideated at 
Chester, Pennsylvania, was born in West Chester 
county. New York, April 28th, 1827. He Ts the 
son of Elijah Lee Hyatt and Sarah Miiithorn, 
Hyatt, formerly of New York city, and hi^ijces-; 
tors are among the oldest fainilies in the State. •"^Rjs'fiiother 
having died in his early youth he missed her-'^3%tering and 
protecting care amid the dangers and'ti-ials ^f^yjouih,- ' He- 
was prepared for college principally uncler'tlie direction of 
private tutors, but much of his preparatory e'dVJtStisn was 
obtained by his own self-culture durin^.tbj; intevv.ils of 
teaching. He entered the Sophomore ClSssatf-VniOTT Col- 
lege, in September, 1846, and, in April, 1847, rembvSS^'to 
Princeton College. Having completed his course, he was 
allowed to engage in teaching, in April, 1849, and gra- 
duated in June following. He first established the Wilm- 
ington Classical Institute, and, in 1857, obtained a charter 
for the Delaware Military Academy, also located at Wilm- 
ington. The outbreak of the War found his school in a 
prosperous condition, and over one hundred of his cadets 
entered the Union army, mostly in official capacities. >he 
arms in his possession, consisting Q^jtwo new brass cannon 
and about one hundred "Slaiid of Hifrper's FeTi% rifles, were- 
demanded by the State authorities, buTperemptoillyrSfusfedj 
although subsequently he was advised by the United States 
District Attorney to avoid a collision by giving them up; 
within a month of their delivery they were collected by the 
general Government. The Pennsylvania Militaiy Academy 
having been chartered in April, 1862, he removed to the 
building previously occupied by Bolmar's school at West- 
chester, Pennsylvania, where he opened September 4th fol- 
lowing. This school continued a successful career until 
J.inuary 1st, 1866, when it was found advisable to reinove 
to the building erected for a normal school, at Chester, 
Pennsylvaiiia, by the late John P. Crozer, which he con- 
tinued to occupy until the completion of his present estab- 



lishment, which was built expressly for his accommodation, 
and to which he removed July 1st, 186S. It stands upon 
an eminence, and the grounds include some twenty-five 
acres. The imposing structure has a frontage of 225 feet, 
with a depth of about 60 feet, and is four stories in height 
above the basement. It contains every convenience, being 
lighted by gas, heated by steam, supplied by pure water 
from a spring throwing 20,CXX) gallons per day utilized by 
means of a steam force-pump, and having a most approved 
and thorough system of ventilation. It affords ample ac- 
commodation for one hundred and fifty cadets, with quarters 
for officers and apartments for the private family of the 
President. There is also a drill hall and gymnasium, 100 
fty flQjJEet, and a fine parade ground of some ten acres ex- 
tent.S^Diuing the invasion of the State by General Lee, 
Colonel\Hyatt took his battery of six guns manned by ca- 
dets to''"Harrisburg and tendered their services to Governor 
Curtin,»w'ho, though refusing to allow them to go into ac- 
tion, suBsequenlly accepted them for two months' service 
,on the frontier of the Stale. The public appreciation, as 
expressed by liberal patronage, is the best testimonial to the 
ability and energy of this oldest teacher of a military school 
jn the country. He married, December 23d, 1850, Matilda 
E., daughter of James Rice of Wilmington, Delaware. 



■ ,,.-.; i4 



:m^. 




ifc-:. 



AY JS;^LJSHAW., Lawyer, and Brevet Brigadier- 
General:' Uiiited' States Volunteers, was born in 
Butler county, 'Pennsylvania, September 8th, 
iS^^'^^'i^''^ ^^ received a common school edu- 
cation • at fourteen he removed to Venango 
county. He cominenced life as a laborer at the 
Rockland Blast Furnace, being employed at the works for 
nine months of the year, and teaching school during the 
winter ; while so teaching he was equally a student him- 
self. From being merely a workman, he rose to the posi- 
tion of clerk, and having proved his fidelity to the interests 
of Jiis employers, and'-his ijiarked ability for the oversight 
of tHf establishjnent, he was promoted to be Superintendent, 
and finally becGimS proprietor of the furnace. He also 
■Eom'menced the study of law, and, in 1857, was admitted 



td^ractice atvlhe^bartif Venango county. In 1859, he was 
elected a member of the lower branch of the Legislature, 
secured a re-election in 1S60, and was Speaker of that body 
during its session of 1861. In the spring of 1862, in con- 
nection with Colonel Chapman Biddle, he raised a regiinent, 
entering the service as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 121st 
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was in command 
of the same at the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, where 
it suffered severely, being exposed to a terrific fire. In this 
engagement his horse was shot under him, and for his gal- 
lantry and bravely upon the battle-field he was openly com- 
mended by Major-General Meade; he won here his brevet 
rank of Brigadier-General. He was compelled to resign 



39° 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



from the service, in 1863, owing to severe sickness, and re- 
moved to Philadelphia, in 1S64. In the fall of the follow- 
ing year, he was re-elected to the House of Representatives, 
and re-elected five consecutive times. For a second time, 
during the session of 186S, he was chosen Speaker. Such 
unqualified confidence did his constituents repose in him, 
that, in 1 871, he was elected to the Senate, and is now 
(May, 1874) serving his third year in that body. He is a 
member of the Finance Committee, and Chairman uf the 
Committee on Railroads. He is one of the most punctual 
members of the Legislature, and never misses a session of 
that house of which he is a most honored member. He is 
a ready debater, and in political questions a bold, feartes 
and determined leader. His creed w.is first that of»aiiold 
line Whig until that party ceased to exist; and he has ever 
been affiliated with Republicanism from its earliest incep- 
tion. In the Legislature he has always been the champion 
advocate of charitable and educational in.stitutions, -and 
during the ten years of his career at Harrisburg he has never 
opposed or voted against any appropri.ation for such objects. 
He was married in 1S49; ^^'^ of '"s family of six children' 
four are now living. 



ARTRANFT, JOHN FREDERICK, Lawyer, 
Brevet Major-General United .States Volunteers, 
and Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- 
vania, was born in New Hanover township, Mont- 
gomery county, Pennsylvania, "December l6th, 
1830, is the son of Samuel E. and Lydia (jBucher) 
Hartranft, grandson of Leonard and EIizabetn(Engle) 
Hartranft, and on both paternal and maternal sides is of 
German extraction. His education was commenced in the 
private schools of his native township, and \^'hen his father 
removed to Boyerstown, in 1S40, he received instruction 
from a private tutor employed by a few gentlemen of that 
place for the training of their sons. In 1844, on his father's 
removal to Norristovvn, he entered the school of Rev. Samuel 
Aaron, where he remained four years. In 1847, he went to 
Mercersburg, and attended the preparatoiy department of Mar- 
shall College for two years, after which he matriculated at 
Union College, Schcnect.ady, New York, and graduated there- 
from in 1853. After leaving college, he adopted the profession 
of a civil engineer, and was. engaged on-lhe Mauch-Chunk 
& White Haven Railroad and other w.orks. In 1S54, he 
was appointed a Deputy Sheriff by Michael C. Boyer, and 
was re-appointed in 1856 by Samuel D. Rudy. After the 
expiration of Sheriff Rudy's term of office, he engaged in the 
study of the law, first under the preceptorship of James 
Boyd, and subsequently with A. B. Longeaker, and was 
admitted to the Ixir October 24th, i860. In December, 
185S, he was elected Captain of a company of uniformed 
militia, called the Norris City Rifles, and afterwards be- 
came the Colonel of a regiment, which position he held at 
ihe outbreak of the Rebellion. When the call came for 




volunteers, his regiment repaired immediately to Harrisburg 
and enlisted for three months. Their term of service ex- 
pired on the eve of the first battle of Bull Run, and he 
transferred command of the same to his Lieutenant-Colonel, 
he himself remaining and participating in the eng.agement 
as an aide to General Franklin. Stimulated by the dangers 
threatening his country he returned to Norristown, and re- 
organized the old 4th into the 51st Regiment Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, and entered the service for three years. His 
command was assigned to General A. E. Burnside, and par- 
ticipated in his successful campaign upon the Atlantic coast, 
after which their corps joined the army of General John 
Pope at Fredericksburg, sharing its fatigues and dangers. 
On the last night of the (second) battle of Bull Run, after 
the Union line had been broken, and the army was in full 
flight towards Alexandria, his regiment — which was among 
the last to leave the field — was surrounded by a large force 
of the enemy, and a surrender was demanded. He imme- 
diately responded, " No, never," adding, " F./llow me, my 
men," and himself leading the way, his command broke 
through the line and escaped. At South Mountain and 
Anlietam lie led his regiment with the same intrepid courage. 
At Fredericksburg he was in command of the advance sent 
over in- boats, and was the very first man to step on the 
shore of that town. Following the fortunes of the gallant 
Ninth Gctfps, he we1it West, participated in the sieges of 
\'icksburg iifld Jackson, and afterwards with his command 
endured the severe trials of the Tennessee Campaign, and 
the sieBe..of Knoxville, where he commanded a Division. 
His regiment re-enlisted, January 2d, 1864, for three years, 
and after a short sojourn at home rejoined the Army of the 
Potomac under General Grant, and hastening forward en- 
gaged in the battle of the Wilderness. He here received 
a slight wound in the wrist, but remained at his post, and 
for the gallantry he displayed in this engagement w.as com- 
missioned a Brigadier-General, May 12th, 1864. He served 
with distinction at Cold Harbor, and all the subsequent 
battles before Richmond and Petersburg. When one of 
the forts of the Rebel line, before the latter city, was blown 
up, July 30th, 1864, he, who was ever foremost in battle, 
led a charging party that took possession of the demolished 
works. When aid failed to reach them and their position 
became untenable, he, with his usual disregard for personal 
danger, returned to the Union line under the hottest fne 
rather than be made a prisoner. When Fort Steadman 
fell into the hands of the Confederates, on the morning of 
March 25th, 1865, he advanced his gallant Division of 
Pennsylvania troops at double-quick to the rescue and re- 
took the fort. For this service he was made a brevet M.ajor- 
Gener.al, his services being recognizftl not only by M.ajor- 
General Parke, commanding the Ninth Corps, but by Lieu- 
tenant-General Grant and President Lincoln. He continued 
to hold this commission until he was mustered out of the 
service in the fall of 1865. He w.os ever at the he.id of 
his command and in the most dangerous part of the battle. 




•^AK-A* •Cb.J'^uwj^^fl^-" 



//f'^^^X^^'^^^^^^'^^^:.-..^'^*^^^^^^^^ 




^^^<^^<}/^!$^^^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.^£DIA. 



39^ 



anil lin<l many marvellous escapes; two hoi-ses were shot 
under him, and many balls passed through his hat and 
other parts of his clothing, while on one occasion a star was 
torn from his shoulder by a bullet. Every soldier who was 
ever under his command is proud in being able to say that 
he followed a commander who shrank from no danger 
while the interests of his country were at stake. After his 
return home at the close of the war, he was appointed by 
the President Colonel of the 34th Regiment Infantry, United 
States Army, but declined to accept the commission. In 
August, 1865, he was nominated by the Republican State 
Convention as their candidate for Auditor-General, and 
was elected in October of that year by nearly 23,000 ma- 
jority. Before the expiration of his term, he was re-nonrt* 
nated and re-elected for the term ending May 1st, .1872:, 
but his successor. Dr. Stanton, dying before he ■i^as'in-' 
ducted into office, his term was extended by an Act orthe 
Legislature to December 1st, 1872. He received the no- 
mination of the Republican party for Governor at the State 
Convention, held April 9th, 1872, and was elected in the 
following month of October by nearly 36,000 majority. 
He was inaugurated, January 21st, 1S73, heing escorted Ky 
the Fire Company and the Norris City Rifles, of which- If^ 
is an honoraiy member, while a large number of his feIJ4^-- 
citizens followed him to the Capitol. To the falnfe -ll^^ac"- 
quired as a soldier, he has added a noble record" if? ihe- 
civil service of his Slate. Before his official lifeeo^V^iendid, 
he was ever at the head of every enterprise f^' f^ublib iin- 
provem^nt, and for several years was an active' -Bij^Selar 
of the public schools. He is one of thosa -popular men 
whom the people delight to honor for their sferHng''merits 
strict integrity, noble ahd unselfish patriotism. He was' 
married, January 26th, 1854, to Sallie, daughter of the Hon. 
William L. Sebring of Easton, Pennsylvania. 



RAHAM, JAMES L., Bank President, was born in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1S18, and is a son of 
William and Frances Graham, who having left 
Ireland ten years previously, located in Pittsburgh. 
Plis father began his mercantile life in that city, 
in 181 1, and was always regardad asunnnlelligenV- 
honorable and successful business man; his mothej- was dis- 
tinguished for her devoted, pimis. Christian character, and 
was a member of the first Methodist class meeting ever 
organized in Pittsburgh. When he was about six years 
old his parents removed to what is now the city of Allegheny, 
where he has ever since resided. Although the facilities 
for acquiring a thorough education were not so numerous 
or convenient forty years ago as at present, yet by diligently 
availing himself of those within his reach he acquired in 
his youth a good practical English education, the principal 
part of which he obtained at what was familiarly called 
" The Old Academy," in Allegheny city, then conducted 



by John Kelly. While still a youth, he felt that filial duty 
required him to assist his father in business; and this obli- 
gation he discharged faithfully and cheerfully. By diligence 
in business, honesty in his dealings, and courteous treatment 
towards all with whom he came in contact, he soon gained 
the confidence and good will of the public, thus securing a 
very lucrative trade, which in a few years rendered him 
comparatively independent. Notwithstanding his business 
engagements he did not relinquish his studies, but employed 
his leisure hours in storing his mind with useful knowledge. 
While thus " diligent in business," he was not unmindful 
dP fhe'cTther precept of being " fervent in spirit; " hence in 
his yowSi«tie attached himself to, and became an active mem- 
ber of, th* Srahodist Episcopal Church ; and when but 
twenty years old Was licensed as a local minister of the same. 
li'h'o'rrtf'afrtPhe aRained his majority, he was called into pub- 
lic life by his neighbors and fellow-citizens, and_ has held 
various positions of honor and trust ever since. For twenty 
; consecutive y'ears he served as a School Director in the 
city ofAlIeglieny. For nine years he was one of the Direc- 
tors of the Poor, and during a portion of the time, when 
the A'sia'fi^ cholera prevailed as an epidemic, he, with his 
aS?SWtos"'in'the Board, tendered his services to the City 
; (?CTuticils-fc^t1^piIrposfejof caring for those who were stricken 
•d'dwii with the dpease^nd Vi'ho were unprovided — for want 
[rif mcaSi.s — with iTOper treatment and attention. Pie served 
:for'one lei-m as a lilJPmber obCify Councils. In 1858, with- 
'■oiit^-'ai1y^]^ial effort' Mi_ Ifis p'art, he was nominated and 
'elect#^*fegW-^iL-riff rSf the CAuiityof Allegheny. In the 
i^Hr rifcl Ivj^was chd?;en .a Senator of Pennsylvania, and 
toii' iith%t branch' of the Stale Legislature, Januaiy 

I3tli, louj, as the colleague of the late John P. Penney de- 
ceased, and his ever since remained a member of that body ; 
having been unanimously re-nominated four several times 
by the Union Republican parly of the County of Allegheny, 
and on each occasion elected by an overwhelming majority. 
He is now serving (May, 1874) his twelfth year in the 
Senate, and has always occupied a prominent position in 
that body. At the close of the session of 1867, he was 
elected Speaker during the recess ; so that in case a vacancy 
had occurred in the office olT'Governor during that time he 



'Woiijd have become the ExecmK'e by provision of the Con- 
'stittttion.-*^fi-ei?"tlte^en'rit&.'i'A<i organized, in 1S68, he 
wa,s again elected .Speaker, and served as such during that 
ses5iott!*im87cr,%e^vas-:Tppr)ifite(l Chairman of the Finance 
Committee, and — except during the session of 1871, when 
the Democrats. had a majority of one in that body — he has 
remained its Chairman. In 1872, he was appointed Chair- 
man of the celebrated " George O. Evans Investigating 
Committee;" and has at sundiy times been named to nu- 
merous other responsible positions in the Senate, a fact tes- 
tifying to his ability, integrity, fidelity, and the confidence 
reposed in him by those intimately' acquainted with him. 
In 1S73, ^^ ^^^^ selected and appointed by the Governor 
as one of the three Commissioners from Pennsylvania to 



392 



BIOGRAl'l 1 ICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



represent that State at the Vienna Exposition. lie has been 
fretjucntly chosen by the people of his native county and 
district to represent them in both State and National Con- 
ventions. He presided over the Republican State Conven- 
tion, held in Philadelphia in 1S69, when General Geary was 
re-nominated for Governor; he was also a Delegate to the 
National Convention which placed General Grant before 
the people for President. He has been twice recommended 
by the Republicans of that part of Allegheny couiuy em- 
braced in the 23d Congressional District as their choice for 
Representative in the popular branch of the National Legis- 
lature, the first time unanimously, and the second time.^.. 
three-fourths of all the votes cast. From the datc'of the 
organization of the Republican party until the present, he 
has been a firm and consistent believer in its principles, 
and in the policy which has marked its administration, of 
the Government. A devoted friend of the Union-, he has, 
when it was imperilled, labored unceasingly to sustain the 
Government at Washington in their efibrts to savx the life 
of the nation. His time and means were freely given to 
raise and support troops for its defence ; and when Pennsyl- 
vania was invaded he volunteered and marched to the*front 
as a solilier to assist in repelling the insurgents from its soil. 
He has been President of the Allegbsny.Savinj'S Piank for 
the past fifteen years ; and under his niahagemeut that insti-, 
lution has had a successful business career, bein" reaard<Kl 

as one of the most reliable banks of its character in the 

-* • . .< - <% 

country. He is emphatically a self-made.man ; commencing 

in comparative poverty, he has'-gained weaJth aiiwionor by 
pursuing a straightforward, true, hojjest, an^'jBEr^Ht course. 
He has been eminently successful in all he ha!fnlMprtaken. 
Whatever station he has filled — at his business stand, in 
his b,ink-parlor, on the rostrum, in the Senate Chamber, or 
in the pulpit — he has manifested capacity, zeal, and faith- 
fulness. As a Senator, his views have been broad and 
liberal, and he has carefully guarded the public treasury. 
In financial matters, he has always advocated a true economy. 
His life and actions have been before the jjublic for nearly 
forty years without a breath of suspicion resting upon his 
character. 



:ES, HO^. ir-UiMAN, La«7ervw.is bom in 
Warminster townshi]TVBucks county, Pennsyl- 
vania,.October 8th, 1843^^ Iie.is a son of ■S(^3heij 
and Aji3i^(]\Jontaii^e)~ Yerkes, his„paternal»an- 
cestors having been .Swedes or north Germans, 
and his mother's family of French descent. The 
Verkes family were prominent members of the .Society of 
Friends and among the earUest residents of that locality, 
having settled in Pennsylvania over two hundred years ago. 
Being reared upon a farm, Harman Verkes spent a period 
in the common schools, after which he entered Tennent 
.School at IlartsviUe, in his native county, whence he passed, 
after some years, to the well known V/illiston Seminary at 




East Hami)ton, Massachusetts, where he completed his 
academic education, in l85i. Having subsequently be- 
come a student at law with lions. Thoma-s and Henry O. 
Ross of Doylestown, he was admitted to practice at the 
Bucks county bar, November 2d, 1S65. He immediately 
engaged in practice there, and quickly won a recognition of 
his legal talent. Having early entered the political arena, 
he soon became an influential member and recognized 
leader in the Democratic party of his county. He was 
elected District Attorney for the Courts of Bucks county 
for three years, in the fall of 1868, and while he exercised 
the_functions of that office acquitted himself with marked 
ability and general acceptance. He was a Delegate to the 
Baltim(jre Convention, in 1S72, and was one of the twenty- 
one staunch advocates of the claims of Hon. Jeremiah S. 
Black fqrthe Presid;:ntial nomination given to Hon. Horace 
Greeley. ^In 1873, he received the Democratic nomination 
for .State ^enator from the Seventh District, comprising the 
counties of Bucks and Northampton, and having been elected 
for tjwee years entered upon his duties in January, 1874. 
He has ever stood in the very front in every political con- 
test since he attained his majority, and has repeatedly de- 
monstrated his power to conduct a successful campaign. 
He,was for.a number of years a member of the Democratic 
Slat^^GenJral Con\initlec. Few men have, so early in life, 
had-^onorsso thrust upoii them, or made a purer or a better 
record. 



MITJI,^ THOMAS J., Receiver of Taxes for the 
City and County of Philadelphia, was born in tli.-.t 
city, May 17th, 1837. He was left an orphan at 
the age of seven years, and had his own way to 
make in the world. His education was received 
in the public schools of Phil.adelphia, which he 
left at the age of fifteen ; for eighteen monihs thereafter 
he was in the employ of William W. Moore, wholesale 
shoe manufacturer. At the expiration of this period he be- 
came an apprentice to Smith & Brown, Second street, north 
of Race, with whom he learned the pattern-making busi- 
ness. He remained w;th them, after his term of ajiprentice- 
ship expired, working as a journeyman for some yeai's; and, 
in 1863, eiigaged in the same calling on his own account, 
at Front and Race streets, where he continued for about 
three years. Iij IS^^, he relinquished this pursuit and em- 
barkeJ-in- the flnur ah,d grain business, on Poplar street, 
east of Fourth street, in which he continued until he assumed 
the duties of the office which he holds at present. He be- 
came interested in political matters soon after he attained 
his majority, and filled several offices of honor and trust in 
his native city. He held a prominent position in the School 
Board of his district for two years, and was earnest and 
zealous in the performance of his duties. He has been a 
delegate to several of the State Conventions of the Rejiub- 
lican party, and, in 1869 and 1870, Secretary of the Repub- 




EIOGRAnilCAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



393 



lican City Executive Commitlee. In llie fall of 1S69, he 
was noininateJ and elected a member of Select Council, 
and took his seat January 1st, 1S70, continuing therein until 
his resignation, in December, 1S72. He had previously 
been nominated for the office of Receiver of Taxes by the 
Republican County Convention, and was elected thereto, 
in October, 1S72. The canvass was an exciting one, but 
such was his popularity that, although he had a formidable 
opponent, he not only was elected by a handsome majority, 
but polled the largest vote of any candidate upon his ticket. 
His term was for two years, to expire with the close of 
1874. But by the provisions of the new State Constitution 
the freemen of the city were called upon, in February, 1S74, 
to elect his successor. His able administration of the office 
had given such universal satisfaction, that he was unani- 
mously nominated by his party for re-election, and again 
he had a strong competitor on the other side. As at his 
first election, so he once more ran ahead of his ticket and 
was successful, his term now being for three years, or ex- 
piring on December 31st, 1877. During neither of these 
political conleits, which were carried on — and particularly 
the last — with more than usual acerbity and rancor, was a 
single charge, imputation or insinuation brought against his 
ability or character. Calumny had no opportunity, for his 
record in Select Coimcil was most notably a pure one, while 
his conscientiousness and carefulness in the discharge of 
his official duties as Receiver of Taxes was apparent to all. 
The people felt their interests were secure in the hands of 
so faithful a public servant, and in the second contest marked 
their appreciation of his services by returning him to the 
office by an increased and overwhelming vote. During the 
War of the Rebellion he volunteered among the emergency 
men of 1862, and held the position of .Second Lieutenant. 
Again, in 1863, when Lee inv.aded the Sl.ale, and prior to 
the battle of Gettysburg, he was found marching to the front 
to assist in repelling invasion, and was First Lieutenant in 
that campaign. He is a member of Post No. 2 Grand Army 
of the Republic. 



OHNSTON, THOM.VS S., A.M., D. D., Clergy- 
man, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
August 4th, l8i8, and is the son of the late Cap- 
tain Thomas and Mary Johnston, both of whom 
were of Scotch descent, and also natives of Scot- 
land. He received his early education in a pri- 
vate school in his native city, and when eleven years old 
had the misfortune to lose his father, and was thus thrown 
upon the world, being completely destitute of means, and 
experiencing withal the extremes of poverty and adversity. 
At the age of fourteen he was indentured to a hatter, and 
during his apprenticeship acquired the greater part of his 
education, and was in the habit of studying at night, using 
the workshop for this pursuit, aided by the light of the fires 
which were built around the kettles and boilers of the eslab- 




lishment. His master having observed his studious habits, 
kindly gave him every advantage and opportunity to im- 
prove, and of these he eagerly availed himself. Tims he 
not only acquired a good English education, but delved 
into the classics and supplemented these with theology. In 
the neighborhood where he lived there were quite a num- 
ber of highly educated students, who cheerfully tendered 
him their assistance and advice whenever he desired it, 
and through their kindness he was enabled to gain access 
to the shelves of a well-selected library. He remained as 
an apprentice until he had attained his majority, although 
he had been licensed, at the age of twenty, to preach the 
Gospel. As soon as he left the workshop he selected the 
ministry as his profession, in which he has ever since con- 
tinued. For fifteen consecutive years he was settled in the 
pastorate in Philadelphia, and thence removed to the country, 
having been settled at Bristol, Pottsville, and some other 
places, and finally at Leb.inon, Pennsylvania, where he has 
resided for the past ten years as Pastor of the German Re- 
formed Church in that town. Like all self-educated men, 
his style of preaching is sui generis^ strikingly original, and 
not in accordance with the method or character of the 
schools. He has published a considerable number of Dis- 
courses, Addresses, and Lectures upon various subjects, 
which have acquired much popularity, and have been most 
favorably noticed and commented upon by the public press. 
He has also contributed largely to newspapers, periodicals, 
etc., as well on theological as on literary subjects ; and he has 
frequently been solicited to deliver orations and addresses 
before societies, colleges, and other institutions of learning. 
He h.is been a member of .all the higher ecclesiastical bodies, 
and has preached also before Synods and General Judica- 
tory Assemblies of the Church. He received the honorary 
degree of Artium Magister from Delaware College, Dela- 
ware, and that of Doctor of Divinity from Marysville 
College, Tennessee; besides other distinguished compli- 
ments from various institutions throughout the country. 
He has ever been a hard student, and he attributes his suc- 
cess as a p.astor and as a scholar to his own individual 
exertion and energy. When it is remembered that he left 
school at the age of eleven, never again to have the advan- 
tages of an instructor, the fact that he is a self-made, self- 
educated man is most apparent. He is a most valuable 
citizen in the community where he resides, and all classes 
bear witness to his urbanity, liberality and generosity. Of 
his family of six children, all of whom are highly educated, 
two sons are physicians in good practice, and one of his 
daughters is a member of the Faculty of the Female College 
at Allentown, Pennsylvania. In the ranks of the self edu- 
cated occupants of the American pulpit he stands one of 
the most distinguished. He is rarely equalled by those 
who have had greater facilities, proving most conclusively 
that even adverse circumstances will conduce to develop 
human excellence, and that untiring energy and laborious 
perseverance will be crowned with success. 



50 




BIOGRAPHICAL E^•CVCLOP/EDIA. 



ENSZEY, A. WILSON, President of the Common 
Council of Philadelpliia, was born in that city, Qj, 
October Sth, 1836, and is a son of Samuel C. 
Henszey, a member of the Society of Friends, 
who was for many years connected with the Bank 
of Norlli America, and also with the old Western 
Savings Fund, besides liokling various otlier important 
positions of trust and responsibility. Me went to school 
both in Philadelphia and in New Jersey, where he resided 
for m.rny years. He was connected willi his father until 
he was nineteen years oltl, assisting him on the farm. From 
boyhood he was imbue<l with Republican, or, more. strictly, 
speaking, Anti-Slavery principles, and was inli;re.*ted*in- 
every effort to improve the condition of the African race. 
So very conscientious was he in his opinions, that at one 
time he declined using any article manufactured- or.'fabri- 
cated by slave labor ; and the firet money, S300 in amount, 
that he possessed was devoted to the purch.ise of. a slave, 
in order that his freedom might be secured. At tire age of 
nineteen he was thrown upon his own resources, and^ was 
occupied in various employments until the outbreak of the 
Civil War, when he entered the army, and serveil tlSSiein 
in divers capacities with credit and honoftohiiiiself.- "Being 
an open, avowed Republican, he becaiije Iglown -to Iiis'fel,- 
low citizens as a life-long believer, ia-ils principles, and soon 
after being mustered out of the milrtaiy service -he .was, ..in 
1867, selected by the citizens of-lhe .Teiith .Ward'as^their 
Rei)resentative for two years in Com'mrin- Council, .wherein 
he served with distinguished credit to himst'lf-and"ft^J."antage 
to his ward until the expiration of his term. In^69, he 
was nominated by the Republican party and elected to the 
Senate of Pennsylvania, in which body he sat for the three 
years, at the close of which (in 1872) he was again nomi- 
nated and elected to C(>uncils. After a period of six months 
he was chosen by that body as their Presiding officer, and 
has been re-elected for the term ending in 1S75. ^^ Ii^* 
the credit of being one of the best parliamentarians in Coun- 
cils; his decisions are ever impartial and according to the 
rules of parliamentaiy law, although they may be adverse 
to the private views of himself or of his'*^arty. He is a 
member of the Public Buildings Commission ; o( the Park 
Commission ; and<)f the. Gjfari; Trust, besiiles hoWhig other 
important positions in lh,e city Governmei^t. 'llavijig_de-' 
voted himself exclusively ta political matters, he natuVally 
takes a great interest in the-cbrRajjued success and welfare; 
of the Republican party ; and during the several political 
camp.-iigns he has traversed the length and breadth of the 
Commonwealth, taking an active jiart in the contests, and 
delivering addresses favorable to the cause which he has so 
much at heart. He has the reputation of being one of the 
best orators in his party. Personally, he is a most esti- 
mable citizen, and has a large circle of acquaintance ; among 
these he is recognized by many as a true, tried friend ; and 
being once a friend, he always remains sucli, never forgetting 
old ties. 




UMPHREVS, MILES S., Labor-Reformer, and 
Senator of Pennsylvania, was born in Richmond, 
Virginia, where his parents were temporarily re- 
siding, August 25th, 1837. He is the first and 
only son of Jonathan and Hannah (Miles) Hum- 
phreys. When he was but nine months old his 
mother returned with him to Pittsburgh, which had been 
his parents' residence, while his father continued his studies 
at the Baptist Theological .Semin.ary in Richmond, and 
after a four-yea)*s' course in that institution also returned 
home, where he subse(|uently died, in the year 1840. The 
son received his education in the public schools of Pittsburgh, 
•ali(la.t the age of fourteen left them to enter a rolling mill, 
vi'hefeflie learned his trade thoroughly, becoming complete 
oitistet^f its details. lie always took an interest in the 
^atise of the laborer, and has become intimately identified 
with ^IVp, " Labor movement," and was for many years a 
memljjfr of, and finally President of, the Workingman's As- 
sociation of Pittsburgh ; and also President of the Local 
A_^ociation of the same city. He is a strong advocate of 
Trades Unions, believing them to be superior schools of 
jjitelUgence. During the years 1867 and 1868, he was the 
pirect6r_ ofSSif newspaper company in Pittsburgh, whose 
.^rlis^i}jl^^ir ivas-^fo- advocate the interests of the laboring 
t;lasse9r5(^ge l^s ev'.ftr Labored to reconcile labor and capital, 
1]£'.ieviiigj3iat_(bc latter must learn ultimately to regard the 
45oWier -aiiclrSppriciate at its true worth the former; that the 
lab&'rer. should be treated as an equal, not as an inferior 
Iicing.; and that the laborer must acknowledge that the 
capitalist also has rights which must be respected ; that both 
sides must be educated to think properly, and then they 
can act harmoniously. This he believes is the great and 
important matter to endeavor to effect, and the mission of 
the labor unions and trade associations. He admits, how- 
ever, that sometimes these become — like all other organiza- 
tions — mere means for political ends, and thus their original 
mission is lost siglit of, and they are thus liable to abuse. 
In political faith, he is a radical Repul)lican, and, in the 
fall of 1S68, was elected a member of the lower branch of 
the L(i5islature, and having honored the trust confided to 
him was twicS there.-lfter>e;elected. At the October, 1873, 
eh;cti»>n ^e,%vas chosen "} niepiber of the Senate, where he 
jjas jusf cfiivtpleted (May, 1S74) his first term. During the 
ppriod when the iron-masters of Pittsburgh by their action 
.r«tnced/he wagefTof the boiler-makers from $9 to $7 per 
ton,- and there was a consequent suspension of work, gene- 
rally-termed a "lock-out" — it was in the dead of winter 
when this attack was made upon the laboring man, and they 
suffered imdcr it for many months thereafter — he was made 
the Chairman of the Conference Committee which was ap- 
pointed to i>rotect the interests of the laboring classes, and 
was the author of the Address to the iron manufacturers of 
Pittsburgh and vicinity. The propositions submitted, ho\\'- 
ever, failed, as the latter intended they should do, as they 
were secretly engaged in making a special purchased ini- 




^^^ 



/ 




I 




'^oiUfRiCaThkukli')^' 



^'^Tt^^^-^t^^.^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL 

portalion of foreign labor, which ultimately completely failed, 
and the manufacturers finally compromised by offering the 
very terms which the " Boilers' Union " had demanded a 
half year previous. He was married, at the age of twenty, 
February 6th, 1858, to Mary A. Jones. 




ROOKE, HUGH JONES, Legislator, was born 
in Radnor township, Delaware county, Penn- 
sylvania, December 27th, 1S05, and is a son of 
the late Nathan Brooke, of Montgomery county. 
His mother's maiden name was Jones, her 
family belonging to Delaware county. He "at- 
tended the common schools of the district until he rerfched 
the age of fourteen years. Not only his early years, 'but 
also those of manhood were passed upon a farm, and to 
the life of an agriculturist he has devoted the greater part 
of his lime. In 1843, he was elected, on the Whig ticket;' 
a member of the lower branch of the State Legislature, 
and was subsequently re-elected. In 1 849, he was elected 
a member of the Senate, in which body he s^fved'^for 
three years. He was again elected to this ibodylti i868> 
his term closing with the session of iSyi.*" -He iKisf -iif" 
all cases, served as a member oT the Finatice Comniittee, 
and was its Chairman during one term.' 'He was a,Wb* for' 
several years. Chairman of the Committee oiiClainrisi'also 
on that of Corporations. In early life he had been 
created County Auditor. At the breaking out of the la[e> 
civil war, he was appointed Commissary of Purchase's', in 
Pennsvlvania, and held this position partly under Cameron's 
.and partly under Staunton's terms. When the town of 
Media, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, was projected, and 
which afterwards became the shire town of the county, he 
repaired thither, and was prominent and active in its future 
growth and prosperity ; and has ever been closely and 
largely identified with all its public improvements. He 
has been a Director of the Bank from the date of its or- 
ganization, and is a Vice-President of the Pennsylvania 
Training School for Feeble-minded Children. ' For the 
past thirty years he has been a Directou^oC^ the Delaware 
Mutual .Safety Insurance Company. He was the organizer 
of the Farmers' Market Company, of Philadelphia, and 
its first President; and afterwards was instrumental in the 
organization and establishment of the Twelfth Street Mar- 
ket in the same city, and has occupied the position of 
President of the corporation from its inception to the 
present time. For many years past he h.as been an in- 
timate friend and strong supporter of Senator Cameron, 
who claims him as one of his oldest friends and admirers. 
In his various positions he has, through life, proved him- 
self an estimable and valueable citizen. His private worth 
is commensurate with his public usefulness. He was mar- 
ried, in 1828, to J. Longmire, a native of England. 




ENCYCLOP.iiDIA. 395 

(_;YtY|ITTLE, R. R., Lawyer, was born in Delaware 
county. New York, March 13th, 1820, and in 
early childhood went to Bethany, Wayne county, 
Pennsylvania, where he attended school and ob- 
tained all the education that could be acquired in 
the village academies. When fourteen years old, 
he removed to Susquehanna Spring, and subsequently en- 
tered the office of Lusk & Little, attorneys at law in Mont- 
rose, Pennsylvania, where he devoted himself to the study 
of that profession which he had selected for his future 
career. He was admitted to practice at the bar of the courts 
of Susquehanna county, in 1842, and thence proceeded to 
the new county of Wyoming, which had just been created, 
and attended' the first session of the court thereof. He forth- 
with engaged-in the practice of his profession, opening his 
office at<* Tunkhannock, which had been made the shire 
town of the new county. In 1847, he was elected a mem- 
ber of the Legislature to represent his district in the lower 
House,'and was re-elected in the following year, thus serving 
his cdnstituefits through the sessions of 1848 and 1849. 
After the lapse of precisely a quarter of a century he was 
again el'ected, in the fall of 1873, to the same body. During 
the ye.at*^ 1857, he was appointed by President Buchanan 
Judge AdvQCate of the Naval Court of Inquiry, constituted 
imder-aspecial Act lif Congress; and he filled that position 
until the*business before, that body was completed and the 
colrrt dissolved. 'V^ith the exception of these positions he 
;has' been constantly occupied with the pursuit of his pro- 
■fessibn. He has been a inember of the Board of Directors 
iotthe-Pfi-st National Bank of Wyoming and Tunkhannock 
-ever since its organization, in 1865, and is also connected 
in the management of various other corporations. 




cCORMICK, HENRY H., Lawyer, was born in 
Stewartsville, Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- 
vania, November 24th, 1840, and is a son of John 
and Esther (Sonash) McCormick, his father being 
of Irish descent and his mother of French extrac- 
tion. His preliminary education was obtained in 
flie public schools of thq^miighborhood, and he subsequently 
"attended the Irwi'ii Academy, completing his studies at the 
New Deri-y Normal School. He then commenced prepar- 
ing himself for admission to the bar, and after the usual 
course of reading was added to the roll and became a mem- 
ber of the bar of Allegheny county, at Pittsburgh, in the 
year 1863. During the War of the Rebellion he served in 
the ninety days' service Pennsylvania 'Volunteers, and also 
as First Lieutenant in the 6th Regiment Artillery of the 
Pennsylvania Line. At the close of the war he went to 
West Virginia, with the intention of embarking in the 
petroleum oil business; but soon ascertaining that its pros- 
pects in that locality were far from encouraging, he returned 
to Pittsburgh, where he shortly afterwards opened an office 



396 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/KDIA. 



and settled himself down to the practice of his profession, 
and having applied himself with diligence to the cases en- 
trusted to his c^e, succeeded so well that he soon became 
a popular and well-appreciated solicitor. His practice in- 
creased, and he rapidly rose and Ijecame one of the leading 
members of the profession. Having originally commenced 
in the criminal courts, he soon added civil suits lo his 
docket, and by so doing his practice has grown most lucra- 
tive. He is the Solicitor of the Board of Health of Alle- 
gheny County. He has ever been a most earnest Republican, 
and was among the first to advocate and urge the giving 
of equal political rights and the ballot lo all classes, with- 
out regard to race, condition or color. He was honored 
by his fellow citizens, in 1S72, by being nominated and 
elected to represent them in the Legislature, and gn taking 
his seat, in the month of January, 1S73, he was imj»ersally 
admitted to be the one best calculated to fill the ^peaker'5, 
chair ; and when the hour arrived for the choice pf^ a [ire- 
sidlng officer he was elected to that position withqut.oppo- 
sition. How well he served the Commonwealth. in that 



most arduous position can best be determined froni. tjio-facl. (during the Rebellion was an adherent of the " War- Demo 



that, notwithstanding the many difficulties that would p^ces-* 
sarily arise from working under the new Co;)stituLipn;a^d 



the novelty of his position, very rarely was .-yv appeal talwjK pii^ptilyjof- 485 over his Republican competitor, notwith 



at Mercer. In the fall of i860, he went to Johnson county, 
Kentucky, prospecting for oil, but not proving successful, 
he passed the winter there in teaching a select " silent " 
school, and returned to Mercer in the spring of 1861. En- 
tering the office of Griffith & Trunkey he commenced the 
study of law, and shortly aftSr took editorial charge for 
several months of the IVestern Press, a semi-weekly paper, 
then published in Mercer. In June, 1863, he became a 
member of a company which was raised in response to 
President Lincoln's call for six-months' troops, and was 
commissioned First Lieutenant. He was detailed as Post 
Adjutant at the City of Cumberland, Maryland, where 
he remained until discharged, in Februar)', 1864. On re- 
turning from the army he resumed his law studies, and was 
admitted to the bar during the ensuing month of April, con- 
tinuing in the office of his instructors until July, 1869 — the 
Jast three years of the time as a partner. He then opened 
an office on his own account and soon acquired a large and 
lucrative practice. He has always taken an active part in 
•golitics, being an admirer of Democratic principles, and 



tqrat^.^' In the fall of 1873, he w.as elected to the Assembly 
uf Jjgjxnylvania from Mercer county, as a Democrat, by a 



from his decision ; and that, moreov^,:.in. {verytii^s^ancc 
when an appeal was taken, his decision >yqs invarfaijy sus 
tained ; herein is ample testimony to itjife sgUndnesSjOj'liis 
judgment and the precision of his rulings.- He-r^ti.urn^d.i^t' 
the close of the session to his home, having sqrv^ywitji' 
honor to himself, his constituents and rhe CommoOfg'eaTih.- 
His friends, who are a host in themselves, desired *hftt l^e 
would accept the nomination for Congressional Representa- 
tive, but he declined the same, as also the position of United 
States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 
preferring the simple private practice at the bar to the toils 
of public life. In the political field, however, he is a most 
energetic, active laborer, and has thrown the full weight of 
his strength into the contests of the past ten years. 



?TRANAIIAN, JAMES ALEXANDER, Lawyer, 
w.os born in Philadelphia, "PennsylvHfSa, March 
7th, 1839. His parents were natives of County 
Down, Ireland, and had emigrated to America 
several ye.irs prior to his birth. His father was a 
merchant in Philadelphia for a nmnber of years, 
but moved with his family, in the spring of 1851, to Mercer 
county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in farming. Prior 
to leaving Philadelphia, his son had attended school, and 
had a good knowledge of the common branches. In the 
new location he continued to study during the winter 
months, varying in the other seasons with farming and 
mining in an ore bank which had been discovered on the 
farm. From 1857 to i860, he attended Westminster Col- 
lege, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, and the Union School 




Uindmg^.the"''fact that the county gave a majority of over 
Soo for4hejRepublican party at the same time. On taking 
his se*, iivjanuyiy, 1874, he was appointed a member of 
the most irj^portant committees in the body, and buth in 
'committ(ie' meetings and on the floor of the House has taken 
"an active apd prominent part in preparing and shaping legis- 
lation under the new Constitution. He is in favor of all 
.the reforms of the day, has ever been an earnest and pro- 
minent temperance man, and has proved himself a ready 
supporter of all those measures which aim to secure gnd 
protect public and private weal. He was married. May 
14th, 1867, to Mary E., daughter of Rev. W. M. Robinson 
of Mercer; she died March 17th, 1868. He was sub- 
sequently united, p'ebruary 25th, 1874, to Lizzie, daughter 
of Benoni Ewing, of Hartslown, Crawford county, Penn- 
sylvania. 



AMP-aiELL, HON. ANDREW L., Legislator, is a 
son of Robert Campbell, and is of Scotch descent, 
his ancestors having come to the United States 
several generations ago. He was born on March 
9th, 1827, upon the spot where he at present re- 
sides, in Butler county, Pennsylvania, now known 
as Argyle. He was reared upon a farm, and enjoyed such 
educational advantages as the common schools of his na- 
tive county aflbrded at that early day. He began to teach 
in his eighteenth year, and continued for seven years so em- 
ployed during the winter terms, devoting himself assiduously 
to reading and study, and spending his summer montlis upon 
his father's farm. He became a volunteer musician in the 






^-^^^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



397 



Marshall Band at the age of fourteen, and continued with 
them for nine years. He has tal<en great interest in the 
elevation of the standard of common school education, and 
has probably done as much as any man in his locality in 
that direction, having been an active and efficient member 
of the School Board for many years. At the outbreak of 
the War, in 1861, he and his brother were both desirous 
of entering the service, but as only one could be spared 
from home the matter was submitted to his father, who de- 
cideil that his brother, having the smaller family and fewer 
business ties, should go. He then devoted himself earnestly 
and patriotically to the work of raising volunteers, and con- 
tinued his efforts throughout the straggle. His brother's 
term of service having expired, he seized upon the oppor- 
tunity and joined company L of the I4lh Pennsylvania 
Cavalry, September 19th, 1S64, and served in various de- 
]iartments to the close of the war. He became interested 
in the development of the oil region, in 1870. Having 
visited the base of operations for close observation of local 
indications, and having carefully studied up the matter from 
the writings of the most skilled operators, he became con- 
vinced that oil was to be found in his own locality. He 
accordingly effected a lease, on April 24th, 187 1, and hav- 
ing formed a company commenced operations, which re- 
sulted successfully, on November 20th following, when they 
obtained a flow of oil from the famous " Wild-cat Well." 
He thus became the first man to engage in the development 
of the oil production of Butler county, and has since managed 
large tracts of oil territoiy, pushing forward the work with 
marvellous energy and success. His career in life had been 
so noted for honor and integrity and he had so won the 
confidence and esteem of his community that when, in June, 
1S73, ^''' n^iie was brought before the Republican party 
of his district for nomination to the State Legislature he 
received a nearly unanimous vote, ami was triumphantly 
elected in October following. He took his seat, January 
1st, 1874, and was an active worker, not only for the good 
of his own constituency, but for the promotion of the best in- 
terests of the whole Commonwealth. He was re-nominated 
June 7th, 1874, by a large majority over all the candidates, 
six in number. He has never aspired to political honor, 
but was too patriotic to decline the marked expression of 
the desire of the people of his district. He is widely es- 
teemed for his intrinsic worth and his social qualities. 



■'' -^ ROCKWAY, CHARLES B., Lawyer, was bom 
in Berwick, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, 
April 1st, 1840, of New England p;irentage. 
While yet a lad it became evident to him that 
he had to make his own \v.iy through the world, 
and for several years he alternated between 

driving on the canals and working in the harvest fields. 

Then he became a resident of Senator Buckalew's family, 




.and for the first time enjoyed some educational advantages. 
He was subsequently employed as Weigh-master on the 
canal at Beach Haven until Senator Buckalew returned 
from his South American mission, in 1855, when he again 
became an inmate of his family, and then entered the em- 
ploy of — Beach, at Beach Haven, as clerk. In January, 
1858, he was appointed Chief Clerk in the Attorney Gene- 
ral's office at Harrisburg, which position he held until the 
close of the Legislative session. Soon after, his patron. 
Senator Buckalew, was appointed Minister Resident at 
Quito, Ecuador, and he accompanied him as private Secre- 
tary. In August, 1859, he returned home, and during the 
following winter taught school in Luzerne county. In April, 
1S60, he returned to Bloomsburg, read law with E. H. 
Little, then District Attorney, and duiing the following 
winter taught school in that town. In i86i,at the outbreak 
of the Rebellion, he was the first man to enlist in the ranks 
from Bloomsburg, and was soon after appointed Sergeant in 
the " Iron Guards " (Company A, 6lh Regiment Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers). Preferring the artillery, he enlisted for 
three years as a private in Battery F, 1st Pennsylvania Light 
Artillei'y, and was soon made Sergeant. The battery was 
at first attached to the Reserve Corps at Tennallytown, but 
was soon afterwards detached and ordered to Banks' com- 
mand at Darnestown, Maiyland, where a section of Parrott 
guns was added to it, and, being short of officers, he was 
unanimously elected First Lieutenant, and at once took 
command of the section, then the only light artillei'y on the 
Potomac between Harper's Ferry and Cumberland. The 
duties were incessant, much frontier having to be guarded, 
and the enemy evincing a determination to cross the river. 
Until February, 1862, he was in command, when a question 
arising as to a vacancy having existed in the battery at the 
time of his election, he resigned his commission and re- 
turned to the ranks ; but soon thereafter was unanimously 
elected .Second Lieutenant, and was sidisequently promoted 
as vacancies arose. He saw an immense amount of service, 
and his was the first Union battery to enter Winchester, 
Virginia. In April, 1862, it joined McDowell's Corps, 
when importa"t engagements took place, and its service was 
pronounced by Colonel Bryan to be as fine practice as any 
in the regular service. It afterwards served in the Shenan- 
doah V.aney, and covered the retreat at the second battle of 
Bull Run, where he was captured by the rebels as one of 
Pope's felons and conveyed to Libby Prison, where he re- 
mained until exchanged. He w.as thus a prisoner while 
Antietam was fought, the only engagement of the war in 
which his battery participated that he missed. He was in the 
battle of ChanccUorsville, where he rendered important 
service ; and also in the famous battle of Gettysburg, re- 
pelling the grand charge of Eariy's Division, headed by the 
famous Louisiana Tigers. From this time forward it was 
attached to the Second Corps, and was on the Rapidan, 
formed the rear-guard during Meade's retrograde movement 
on Bull Run, fought the battle of Bristoe's Station, and 



398 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



was llie only artillery in the battles of the Wilderness, 1864. 
It participated in all the suhseiiuent battles of the campaign, 
closing with Petersburg. He w.as appointed Assistant Chief 
of Artillery to General Hazzard, but being attacked with 
typhoid fever was sent to the hospital. Having somewhat 
recuperated his health, he was ordered on light duty with 
Sheridan in the Valley of Virginia, and afterwards served 
at Rock Island, Illinois. His health continuing feeble, he 
resigned the service, having been breveted Captain for gal- 
lant and meritorious conduct at Bull Run. He was sub- 
sequently commissioned Captain of his old battery by Gover- 
nor Curtin, but declined, having learned that his acceptance 
would interfere with the promotion of other officers. He 
returned home, resumed his studies, and was shortly there- 
after admitted to the bar. In 1867, he took charge of 
The Columbian, which he conducted until nominated for 
Congress, in 1S70. He is a prominent Mason, having re- 
ceived the 32d degree of the Scottish rite, is a Past Grand of 
the Independent Order Odd Fellows, and holds a high office 
in the Knights of Pythias. 



LLEN, GEORGE W., Lawyer, was born in the 
town of Russellburg, Warren county, Pennsyl- 
vania, in the year 1844, and is a son of Samuel 
P. and Mary (Thompson) Allen. His father 
was of Scotch-Irish descent, his grandfather a 
nephew of the celebrated General Anthony 
and his mother is partly of German extraction. 
He passed his youth on a farm, and attended the district 
school during the winter months until he attained his fifteenth 
year, when he entered the Edinborough Normal School, in 
Crawford county, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 
1S62 — occupying himself during the winter months in teach 
ing school. At the latter date, he entered the military 
service as private Secretary to his brother, then Colonel 
of the 151st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, afterwards 
General Harrison Allen. Rnturning home, in 1863, he 
finished his studies, and, in 186S, entered his brother's office 
— who w.as then a prominent legal practitioner of Warren, 
Pennsylvania — and commenced reading law. In iS7l,he 
was admitted to the bar, and opened an office in Tidioute, 
Warren county, where he soon established a lucrative prac- 
tice, being regarded as one of the most promising young 
men at the bar. In 1873, he was nomin.ited by the Repub- 
lican party and elected a member of the lower branch of 
the Stale Legislature, where he has made a most honorable 
record, having delivered some veiy strong and creditable 
speeches on different subjects, and taken a leading part in 
the various debates of the session. His course h.is met with 
the approbation of both parties of the district, and at the 
close of the session on his return home he was received with 
a perfect ovation by the whole people, and was complimented 
by his fellow-citizens with an address of congratulation, 
endorsing his legislative career. 





^^'-'^-UTLER, GEORGE H., Lawyer, and Senator of 
Pennsylvania, was born in the town of Guilford, 
Vermont, October 2gth, 1 809, and is a member 
of one of the oldest New England families. He 
attended school in his native county, and also in 
Cayuga county. New York, where he obtained a 
first-class academical education. When nineteen years of 
age, he left school and engaged in the study of law at 
Homer, Cortland county. New York, in the ofSce of Ross 
& Aiken, and was admitted to the bar, in November, 1840, 
at Erie, Pennsylvania, having completed his studies with 
Judge Galbrailh of that city. He at once engaged in the 
practice of his profession, and has ever since made his re- 
sidence there. He was a Democrat in political faith until 
1861, when he left its ranks with many others, and w.is 
eminently active and patriotic in support of the Government 
and the maintenance of the Union arms. He was never an 
aspirant for political honors, and always declined nomina- 
tions tendered him by his admirers, until 1S72, when he 
was prevailed upon to become the Republican nominee for 
Senator to represent Erie and Warren counties, and was 
elected in October of that year. He took his seat, in 
January, 1873, and was placed on the Committees of Con- 
stitutional Reform, Judiciary (local). Estates and Escheats, 
and Retrenchment and Reform. His course as a legislator, 
a professional man, and a citizen, has been such as to 
command respect and confidence. 



<«9 '<^J 

(^(#AMISON, J. MILES, Merch.ant, was born in Rich- 

c^ '11 I'oro', Buck6 county, Pennsylvania, November 1st, 
1844, and was educated in the common school 
of the district. While yet a youth, he went to 
Philadelphia, where he engaged in the notion 
business, and subsequently learned the art of pho- 
tography in (liitekunst's establishment. In iS6.^, he removed 
to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he opened a photographic 
gallery, and continued in that line for four years, when he 
returned to Richboro' and succeeded his father in the mer- 
cantile business. In political faith, he is a Democrat of the 
old Jeffereonian school ; but although greatly interested in 
the political movements of the day, is no politician, or, as 
the term is generally defined, an office-seeker. On the con- 
traiy, the office or position sought him from among the 
ranks of the people, and he was nominated, in the fall of 
1S73, to represent the citizens of his district in the lower 
branch of the State Legislature. He took his seat in that 
body, on January 1st, 1874, and was attentive and zealous 
in the discharge of his duties. He served acceptably on the 
Committee on Appropriations, and also on that of Counties 
and Townships. Honest, capable, and genial in his man- 
nere, he has secured the friendship of all whom he has en- 
countered, both in the walks of mercantile life and in the 
Legislative chamber ; and it is but fair to presume that one 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



399 



wlio lias thus early entered upon a career of usefulness will 
be honored in Ihe future with a mure exalted station in the 
service of the Commonwealth, 




Senator of the Tenlh District, and was elected in the fall 
of that year. During the session of 1S74, he served on the 
Constitutional Reform, and other important Committees. 



;, LLEN, ORRIN C, Lawyer, and Mcrch.int, was 
horn in the town of Russellburg, Warren county, 
Pennsylvania, in the year 1S40, and is a son of 
Samuel P. and Maiy (Thompson) Allen. His 
father was of Scotch-Irish descent, and his grand- 
father was a nephew of the celebrated Revolu- 
tionary General, Anthony Wayne ; on his mother's side-he 
is partly of German extraction. His younger years were 
passed on a farm, attending the district school -^i^ap; the 
winter months. In 1S59 and i860, he was a student^^ the 
academy at Jamestown, New York, in comi)aiw«^^th his 
brother, Samuel T. Allen, and during the winter ifTonths he 
taught school with aptitude and excellent success. In^862, 
he entered the ofhce of Judge Schofield & Brown, with whom 
he engaged in the study of law, and was admitted to liMac- 
tice at the bar, in 1865. Shortly thereafter he waS-'jomi- 
n.ated by the Republican party and elected to lU'eoSjce of 
District Attorney, which position he held. -foe ■th^lfeyo^V. 
In 1 868, an ocular aflfection compelled him-Vo'^'elinrtJ^k the 
legal profession. He shortly afterwards eipbrfrked;. in thft; 
lumber and petroleum business, and has be^ verj^^ajccessful. . 




JECHTEL, OLIVER PERRY, Lawyer, and .Seiia- 
tor from the Tenth Senatorial District of Penn- 
sylvania, was born in Northuinberland county, 
Pennsylvania, January 31st, 1S42, and when six 
years of age removed with his parents to Schuyl- 
kill county, where he has ever since resided, 
lie received his preliminary education in the common 
schools of the district, and completed it in Muhlenberg Col- 
lege, AUentown, Pennsylvania. At the age of seventeen 
years he commenced teaching, and was so occupied for "a 
considerable period in various localities, imofig othe 
the Arcadian Institute in Orwigsburg, Schuyhkill c'oun 
in 1861 ; he was subsequently the Principal 'oF vaiioir; 
academies. He afterwards selected Hon. Francis W. 
Hughes of Pollsville as his preceptor, and studied law in 
his office until his admission to the bar. May loth, 1866. 
He began the practice of his profession in Pottsville, and 
soon won success, his able and earnest efforts in behalf of 
his clients being rewarded by a constantly increasing and 
remunerative patronage. He was tendered by his fellow- 
citizens the nomination for the office of District Attorney, 
but declined the same, preferring to preserve his indepen- 
dence as a private counsellor at law to the emoluments 
arising from this public position. In 1873, however, he 
yielded to the pressure, became the Democratic nominee for 




/ 



ULLEN, WILLIAM JAMES, Philanthropist, and 
Prison Agent of the State of Pennsylvania, was 
born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, May 20lh, 1S05, 
and is the only child of Charles and Mary Mul- 
len. When William was nine years old his father 
- became disabled — having been wounded in the 
■WarQtiSi2 — and could no longer support his family. 
Thereuppn, the mother took her son to Philadelphia, where 
a situati® was procured for him as errand boy. While 
^ngaged^in this vocation, a permanent impression was pro- 
duced upon his character by a false accusation, the conse- 
quent cruel treatment, and the difficulty in establishing his 
innocOTce, in which, however, he succeeded at last, and 
^lost" tpiimiphantly. A providential circumstance revealed 
the ir«e ctjjprit — and but for this, he might have been im- 
l>f4Soned. -^nhis incident he attributes much of his sym- 
pathy- for prfsoners^^wrongfuUy incarcerated, and also for 



the^iWrican -siavcs,-f&rwhose freedom he so industriously 
lafatoed while slavevyypxisted. At the age of sixteen, he 
'was-afmrei}ticed:-fo''ajjeweler named Bruno, in whose em- 
'jitoy she-, soon distinguished himself by his superior work- 
isaiiship.;. ..N^ien he attained his majority, he commenced 
IiusitY'^?<oh hisj own account as a manufacturer of jewelry. 
At an early period of his business career he invented a new 
method of manufacturing gold watch dials, which proved 
eminently successful, and brought him a handsome income. 
In 1827, he began his public career by taking an important 
part in the measures which subsequently led to the reform 
of the State Constitution by the abolition of life offices. 
He was elected the President of the first County Conven- 
tion — '.his was held in Philadelphia; and was chosen Secre- 
tary of the fust State Convention, which assembled at 
Harrisburg, in 1832. He was also the prime mover in a 
scheme for t}ie erection of a monument to Washington, the 
ne\.stone fxf whiclj, was laid February 22d, 1833, in 
^lon 'Square; the money then collected has been 
•sinCe'iVivfest'ed for-that'purpose. In 1834, he removed to 
New ^'ork, and established his business on a large scale in 
that city. While residing there he was a member and 
director of the American Institute, and also of the Mecha- 
nics' Institute; and both these organizations awarded him 
a gold medal for his superior mechanical skill and inven- 
tions. His business standing was excellent, his affairs pros- 
perous, and his charities many in number. In 1837, he 
took quite a leading part in the liberation of the Canadian 
patriot, McKenzie. This was his first effort to "secure free- 
dom for a prisoner unjustly incarcerated, .and it was success- 
ful ; he h.id McKenzie released from the " Tombs." His 
business in New York was broken up in the great financial 



lerSjTatV coj^ne\i 
:'ounty, Washin 



400 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



crisis of lS37-"3S, aint, in 1840, lie returned to Philadelphia, 
where he resumed the manufacture of gold dials for watches. 
His exertions on behalf of the suffering were zealously con- 
tinued, and in a few years began to take a definite shape, 
a lasting form, and an extended usefulness. The old Dis- 
trict of Moyainensing — now a part of the consolidated city 
of Philadelphia — w.as the scene of his labors. He began by 
relieving the immediate wants of the poor by donations at 
his own expense, and also by the establishment of a Dis- 
pensary, which has since given relief to over 100,000 per- 
sons. He obtained the use of a deserted church, which 
he converted into a lodging-house by night and woi-kshop 
by d.ny ; thus experimenting upon the ability of the indigent, 
if properly aided, to support themselves wholly or in part. 
The enterprise was a success, and at the end of three months, 
during which time hundreds of persons had beeA ^ssiste<^ 
the ex])enses exceeded the earnings only about ;tS30. This 
s.itisfactory result led, through his continued exeitions, to 
the founding of the Philadelphia Society for the Employ- 
ment and Instruction of the Poor, of which he se'rved as 
President for a period of more than seven years.. .The 
House of Industry, erected by this society, ijT ■ 1.848, -wtvs 
used the same year as a cholera hosjiital ; antr,MnMS6B;'for 
the sick and wounded soldiers of 'theiAr^yof?tlTe;rI'Stam^; 
This institution has afforded relief fiyhioie iMi 150^0 
])Oor persons. In lliis building ware«ft)(Jltd ,the oiSces of 
the Moyamensing Dispensary and Sotip' Society, -of w^i" 
he was for several years the President. =About tliis time, 
he added to his own business the profftsnoii'-of Dantistry, 
attending a course of medical lecture.iat the PennsyWaifiia'. 
College of Medicine. The importaijce of this fact^in-thc 
record of his life lies in its results. His professional at- 
tainments led him to become the founder of the Female 
Medical College of Philadelphia, the first of its kind ever 
established. The Dean of the Faculty, Dr. McCloskey, 
in his address at the opening of the institution, in 1S50, 
publicly acknowledged " his strenuous exertions, indomit- 
able perseverance, and liberal donations." He was the first 
President of the College, and held that position for three 
years. He also founded the first Lying in Hospital ; this 
was in connectimi with the college, and \v,as located at 239 
Arch street. He had the honor of conferring the degree 
of Doctor of Medicine upon the first class of ladies who 
ever graduated in a regularly constituted Woman's Medical 
College; the institution having been chartered by the Legis- 
l.ature of Pennsylvania in 1850. He next turned his at- 
tention to the great work of his life, the visiting of the 
]irisoner in his cell, thus becoming an active member of the 
Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Pub- 
lic Prisons. His eminent usefulness attr.acted much atten- 
tion, and the Judges of the Criminal Court were consulted 
as to the expediency of creating for him the office of Prison 
Agent. In 1854, he retired from business to accept this 
post, and in the space of the twenty years he h.as held it, 
his official interference has resulted in the liberation of over 



35,000 persons who had been wrongfully or unnecessarily 
incarcerated. This was done at a saving to the tax-payers 
of the city of Philadeljihia of the sum of $352,009, which 
would have been expended for their u.aintenance in prison, 
prior to the ignoring of their cases, had they been de- 
tained in ward to be regularly disposed of by the courts. 
In a letter — dated March 14th, 1S74, emanating from the 
Court of Quarter Sessions, written by Judge Peirce to the 
Chairman of the Finance Committee of City Councils and 
endorsed by Judges Allison, Ludlow, Finletter and Paxson 
—Judge Peirce states that he has "known William J. 
Mullen more than thirty years; and no gentleman is en- 
titled to greater confidence for hum.inily, nitegrity, industry 
and capacity for the work in which he is engaged as Prison 
Agent tfaan.he ; " and the judges unite in saying that " in 
his parWcslar work he is without a peer — his sympathies 
for ihe'ijjjior and unfortunate, his earnest Christian char- 
acter, and his untiring devotion to the distressed prisoners 
entitle him to the sympathy and approbation of every right- 
mindtid- man." He still acts as Prison Agent; and each 
Governor, in succession for twenty years past, has renewed 
his a^jjjjintment to visit the various prisons of the State. 
•Preni'us-iiT his being commissioned by the Executive au- 
^u^tyi-1»e>had been also appointed thereto, by both the 
Pi:}sijif^(^jyj[;ty and 'the Inspectors of the County Prison, 
►f hei¥ i^'tfijothei ^ass of works of benevolence in which 
ej4^.fig9gedi..^'hicti, however, are less likely to attract the 
notice of! .the j_niUlic ; and these are the charities of private 
lifeC^. The,lig)pirig of the ruined merch.int, the befriending 
of-the unfortunate widow, the education of a poor boy for 
lixe mini.stry, the housing of a homeless outcast, who after- 
wards worked hard, studied, w.as admitted to the bar, rose 
to eminence, and was elected to Congress. During his 
mercantile life he had a clerk who left hiiii to open a rival 
establishment; he failed, and went down at a frightful pace 
through intemperance. But he was rescued by William J. 
Mullen, who was appointed his guardian by the Court. 
For imny years he has been an earnest advocate of the 
temperance cause. In 1829, he organized the first County 
Total Abstinence Society in the State. He also organized, 
among other enterprizes, a Temperance School, into which 
he gathered the young lads of the District of Moyamensing, 
and had them taught, carefully prepared lessons upon the 
subject, principally Bible selections; thus making war, at 
its very source, upon the great evil which has produced 
most of the misery that he has striven to alleviate. To spe- 
cify the amount of good he has accomplished, or all the 
noble charities in which he has been engaged during his 
long and eventful career, would far exceed the limits here 
assigned. It may be stated, however, that he has been, 
and still is, a member of forty-four organizations of a useful 
or benevolent character, chief officer of sixteen, and founder 
of seven. He is a good public speaker, and it is said that 
he has spoken upwards of five hundred times in a single year 
in addressing public assemblies upon the subject of temper- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.^DIA. 



401 



ancc and works of benevolence. The chief strength of his 
speeches consists in their terseness, simplicity, and truth- 
fulness, which seldom fail to convince; it is this, in con- 
nection with the purity of his character and purpose, that 
constitutes his true greatness. He has been a communicant 
member of the Protestant Episcopal Church since 1S36, and 
is a prominent vestryman in the Church of the Evangelists, 
in the immediate neighborhood of the House of Industry, 
above referred to. During the War of the Rebellion he 
served as Chaplain in Company " E," 3d Regiment Reserve 
Brigade. He was married, in 1826,10 Sarah Ann, daughter 
of Jeffrey and Agnes Chew of Philadelphia. She brought 
liim twelve children, eight sons and four daughters ; seven 
of these yet survive. His eldest son, Charles, entered the 
army, and after serving for two years and nine months as a 
member of Company "A," Sist Regiment Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, fell at the battle of the Wilderness, May 12th, 
1S64. He left a wife and two children. His younger bro- 
ther, Albert, also entered the army, and was a Lieutentant 
in the igid Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers; he ren- 
dered good service at Chambersburg and other places, and 
remained with his regiment until the close of the war. The 
life-size statue of William J. Mullen, as recently exhibited in 
Philadelphia, was made in Rome by the eminent sculptor, 
A. E. Harnish, and is carved from a solid block of pure 
white marble. The editor of the Evening Bulletin, in an 
article alluding to this statue, states that " he has never seen 
a better portrait statue than this. Though the marble may 
give way to the ravages of time, to which insatiate power all 
things on earth must yield, yet the name and character, and 
the many good deeds of the original of the copy, will endure 
in imperishable record. It will be said of him, in the lan- 
guage of .Siiakespeare : 

' His life was gentle, and the elements 
So mixed in him, that natnre might stand up 
And say to all the world — this was a man.' " 

Y — — 

'VERIIART, JAME,S BOWEX, Lawyer, and 
Author, was born in West Whileland township, 
near Westchester, Chester county, Pennsylvania, 
and is a son of William E. and Hannah (Mat- 
lack), and grandson of James Everhart, who at 
the age of eighteen years enlisted in the Ameri- 
can Army during the Revolutionary War. He is of Ger- 
man descent on his father's side, and his mother's people 
were originally from England. His early education was 
acquired in A. Bolmar's celebrated academy in Westchester; 
he subsequently entered Princeton College, New Jersey, 
whence he graduated, in 1842. After leaving college, he 
entered the office of J. J. Lewis, of Westchester, with whom 
he studied law about one year, and then repaired to Har- 
vard University, remaining at this institution nine months; 
afterwards he placed himself under the preceptorship of the 
late William M. Meredith of J'hiladelphia, with whom he 
5' 




completed his legal course, and ^yas admitted to the bar. 
He commenced the practice of his profession in Westchester, 
and so continued until 1S49, when he went abroad, and 
remained in Europe about three years, during which time 
he travelled extensively through the three divisions of Great 
Britain, and all over the Continent, besides making the tour 
of Egypt, going up the Nile; journeying through the Holy 
Land as far as Jerusalem, visiting Constantinople, etc. He 
also resided in Berlin for three months, and during this 
period entered the university there as a student. On his re- 
turn home he re-commenced the practice of the law, and so 
continued until 1S60. His cases were principally confined 
to the Chester and Delaware county courts, and also to the 
.Supreme Court of the State. During these years he was 
engaged on the defence in several cases of homicide, which 
he managed with great ability and success ; one case in par- 
ticular may be mentioned, where he succeeded in securing 
a new trial for a person convicted of murder in the first de- 
gree in a poisoning case, and a verdict of murder in the 
second degree. During the War of the Rebellion, just prior 
to the battle of Antietam, and during the first invasion of 
Pennsylvania, he raised a company for the emergency, of 
which he was Captain, and remained in the field until the 
enemy left the State. Again, in 1863, during the period of 
the second invasion, he raised another company, and pro- 
ceeded to Harrisburg, where a regiment of " Emergency 
Men " was organized under the command of Colonel Haw- 
ley, and of it he was elected Major. For a time they were 
stationed at Altoona, and thence were ordered to the 
neighborhood of Bedford Springs. After guarding the line 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad for a consider.able period, they 
were ordered to encamp at Loudon, and at the expiration 
of about three months' service the regiment was disbanded. 
His political faith is Republican, and he has made a large 
number of political speeches, contributing materially to the 
success of the party, Ixit he has never held any office. He 
is an able speaker, his language being highly rhetorical and 
elegant, and withal logical and to the point. He has de- 
livered many lectures before various literary societies ; and 
has also been of late solicited to address agricultural and 
historical assemblies, but has been compelled to decline on 
the score of ill-health. He is an author of note, having, 
in 1862, published a book of Miscellanies, being sketches 
of men and travels, 300 pp. l2mo., which was most favor- 
ably received, eliciting enomiums not only from the public 
press, but from such able scholars and classic writers as the 
late Edward Everett and Nathaniel P. Willis. This was 
followed, six years later, by Poems, a volume of 150 pp. 
l2mo., which, by those capable of judging, are characterized 
as "real gems," as bearing the "stamp of poetic fenius," 
and as having a "vein of charming melody" running 
through every piece. In the present year (1874), he has 
given to the public The Fox Chase, the scene of which is 
laid on the battle-ground of Brandywine, up that stream, 
along its hills and valleys. It is an animated description 



402 



niOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOP.^DIA. 




of a sport celebrated in England and well domesticated and 
repealed in a region peopled by descendants of British 
families. Personally, he is an amiable and sociable gentle- 
man, gifted with rare conversational powers, and much 
quiet humor. He is unmarried. 



UILFORD, SIMEON, Civil Engineer, and Iron 
Master, was born near Northampton, in Hamp- 
shire county, Massachusetts, in the year iSoi. 
He was the youngest son of Simeon Guillord, 
Senior, who had served in the Revolutionary 
army for six years, and after its close had been en- 
gaged in the vocation of a teacher. Simeon, the younger, 
when he reached the age of fourteen, realized the neces!^ity 
of assisting his parents; he soon had the ability, and availed 
himself thereof to make their declining years happy. His 
mother had numbered eighly-three years at her death, and 
his father reached the patriarchal age of ninety-three. Pre- 
vious to 1823, he was engaged as Enginect on the Erie 
Canal, then in process of construction, but at this date he 
went to Pennsylvania and became principal assistant to 
Canvas White, the Chief Engineer of the Union Canal. 
By a happy accident he discovered a superior route to that 
already selected, which greatly diminished the cost of the 
work by affording a better water supply, and hy diminishing 
the waste of water or leakage occasioned by the inteistitial 
character of the limestone region. He was also able to pro- 
vide a superior hydraulic cement, manufactured from an 
•argillaceous limestone which he had discovered on the line 
of the work, and which was used on the same, saving to the 
company many thousands of dollars. In consequence of 
this important service rendered the company, he was pre- 
sented by them with a copy of Rees' Cyclopadia, 46 vols. 
410, and a complimentai-y resolution. In 1S27, he accepted 
the appointment of principal Engineer in the service of the 
.Slate, tendered him by the Board of Canal Commissioners. 
His first work, in this connection, was to survey the route 
for a canal from Clark's Ferry, on the Susquehanna, to 
Northumberland. In the short space embraced between 
May 31st and June 26th, 1827, he surveyed both sides of 
the river, locating, plotting, estimating and reporting seventy- 
nine miles of canal, besides side-levels, alterations, etc., 
amounting to fifteen miles more, and also determining the 
locality of a d.Tm of 2200 feet across the river near Sunlniry, 
a bridge of the same dimensions at Duncan's Island, and a 
dam and inlet lock at the moulh of Penn's Creek at .Selins- 
grove. Before leaving the line he was tendered by the 
citizens and contractors a public dinner, at which he was 
presented with a pair of silver pitchers with an appropriate 
inscription. On various occasions he was called upon to 
make surveys, locate, and render estimates of proposed im- 
]-)rovements; among these the Conestoga river, the Cudoves 
creek, locks and dams; a similar work on the Rancocas 



creek. New Jersey, and the Sandy and Beaver canal and 
reservoirs, Ohio. Between 1825 and 1832, he discovered 
the celebrated Chestnut Hill iron ore on the Greider farm, 
ne.ar Columbia, Pennsylvania, which he owned for some 
years; also three other fine deposits of hematite ore in 
Lebanon county, now being worked, and also others of less 
importance. In l830-'3i, in partnership with the late Dr. 
George N. Eckert, he erected, in the Swatara Valley, in 
Schuylkill county, the " .Swatara Furnace," for the manu- 
facture of iron by charcoal ; and here pig-iron, besides 
castings — such as stoves, water pipes, etc. — were produced 
in considerable quantities, and this establishment remained 
in operation for twenty-two years. In 1853, for sundry 
good reasons, the partnership was terminated and the works 
abandoned. In 1855, in connection with others, he started 
a blast furnace at Lebanon, using anthracite coal as a fuel, 
and the " Cornwall ore." This was known as the " Dud- 
ley Furnace," and is now operated by the heirs of Robert 
W. Coleman, and termed the " Donoghmore Furnace." 
Since he retired from the iron business he has given 
his attention to his Illinois properties. In 1843, he received 
the nomination of the Whig party as Canal Commissioner, 
but failed to be elected. He was married. May, 1830, to 
Catherine E. Doll, a niece of Judge Andrew Graff of Lan- 
caster, and has three children living: Dr. W. M. Guilford, 
of Lebanon, Pennsylvania; Dr. S. H. Guilford, dentist, of 
Philadelphia; and Robert E. Guilford, merchant, Shelby- 
viUe, Illinois. His wife died October Slh, 1858. 



AUFMAN, WILLIAM M., Iron Manufacturer, 
was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, July 
24lh, 1834, and is the son of John G. Kaufman, 
of Leesport, who is also extensively engaged in 
the same business. He was educated in various 
schools, including Buckman's Academy at Cler- 
mont, continuing a pupil after it was removed to White 
Hall, near Bristol, and he completed his studies at the 
Seminary in Norristown, Pennsylvania, presided over by 
the Rev. .S.vmuel Aaron. At the age of fifteen he left 
school, and went into the dry-goods business with Darrah 
& Jones at Leesport, Berks county, with whom he remained 
three years, and then obtained a position as clerk at Mose- 
lem and Leesport Furnaces, where he continued for four 
years. When he was twenty-two years old he engaged in 
the iron business, on his own account, at the Mount Penn 
Furnace, in Berks county, which he conducted for six 
years. He next removed to .Sheridan, Lebanon county, 
and began the manufacture of pig-inm at the furnace, in 
February, 1S63, this establishinent having commenced 
operations in September, 1862; there he continues to re- 
side. For seven years he was a Director of the Farmers' 
B.ank of Reading ; and w.as one of the corporators of the 
Jamestown Bank in Lebanjn county when it organized, in 




BIOGRArmCAI. 

Oclolier, 1873, and is a member of the Board of Directors 
of the same. Although no polilician whatever, he was 
nominated, in 1872, and elected in the fall of that year a 
member of the Legislature, and re-elected in 1873. He 
served during both sessions of 1873 and 1874 as a member 
of the Committee on Ways and Means, and also on other 
important committees, and was Chairman of that on Coal 
and Iron. During the latter session he did good service 
to the .State as a member of the Committee on Constitu- 
tional Reform, always supporting in the most earnest man- 
ner all propositions calculated to secure to the people the 
full benefits of all that was good in the New Constitution. 
He was also selected as Senatorial Delegate to the State 
Convention of 1872, which nominated General Hartranft as 
Governor. As may be inferred, he is of the Republican 
school in political faith, and the compliment paid him by his 
constituents in his re-election, both nominations being en- 
tirely unsolicited on his part, is a sure criterion of his being 
the right man in the right place, and of his fidelity to their 
interests. 



ILSON, CHARLES H., Manufacturer, was born 
at Easlport, Maine, May 2d, 1814, his parents 
being Thomas J. and Jeannette (Fairbairn) Wil- 
son. His father was at this time a surgeon in a 
Dritish regiment, the 64lh Highlanders, then 
stationed at Halifax, but shortly afterwards he re- 
signed his commission in the English service, and removed 
to the United States, settling in Philadelphia, in which city 
Charles H. Wilson passed his early youth and received his 
education. When about eighteen years of age, he was ap- 
prenticed to the hat-making trade, remaining at that occupa- 
tion about three years. On attaining his majority he went 
to Z.tnesville, Ohio, and worked at his trade there for some 
little time, but soon returned to Philadelphia and entered 
(in 1835) the employment of John Large, who carried on 
an extensive dyeing business. He continued thus until 
1 85 1, in which year Mr. Large retired from the business and 
Charles H. Wilson succeeded him, and has conducted the 
establishment successfully up to the present time (1874). 
In i85l,the productions nf the house were about 6000 yards 
of finished goods (principally chintzes) per day, and the 
number of hands employed was about thirty. The trade 
has grown continuously; the house now turns out daily about 
36,000 yards of goods, empIoy.s about 120 hands, and, under 
the enterprising management of its proprietor and his son, 
is still largely increasing its production. Charles H. Wil- 
son was married, in 1840, to Margaret T. English, of Frank- 
ford, whose ancestors came to America with William Penn, 
and settled in Burlington county, New Jersey. In politics, 
he is a Republican. He is President of the Young Men's 
Christian Association of Frankford, in the establishment of 
which institution he w^as intimately concerned. He is also 
widelv known fir his active benevolence. 



ENCYCLOP.liDIA 



403 




0AMEY, ANDREW, Bridge and House Bu 



ildcr 



and Contractor, was born in the nortliern part of 
Indiana county, Pennsylvania, September 30th, 
1834, and is the third son of Conrad and Sarah 
(Noble) Ramey ; his father was a farmer of 
humble means, but of good record, who died 
when Andrew was eight years old, leaving him mostly de- 
pendent upon his future exertions. His education was only 
that of the common school of the district, which he attended 
both as pupil and teacher during the winter months, devot- 
ing all other time to labor on the farm, where he remained 
until he attained his majority. He taught school for nine 
years, and was very successful. In i860, having previously 
acquired a complete knowledge of the business, he com- 
menced, on his own account, as a builder of houses and 
bridges, employing at first five hands, and has continued in 
that occupation ever since; the present condition of the 
same is exceedingly prosperous. Had he followed the bent 
of his inclinations, he would have selected the profession 
of the law as his calling. This, however, would have ne- 
cessitated his attendance on a collegiate course, involving 
expense which.he could ill afford, as he considered his first 
duty was to assist in providing for his mother's welfare 
and h.ippiness. He has, however, a natural talent for that 
profession, and is often supposed to be an attorney by those 
ignorant of his true vocation. He was ever a strong advo- 
cate of Republican principles and those of the old " Liberty 
party." During the War.of the Rebellion he was recruited 
and mustered into the .service as a private, but was speedily 
elected and promoted to First Lieutenant, and served with 
honor to himself and the country, gaining the respect and 
confidence of his fellow-citizens in the county. He has 
ever been a prominent man in his district, was elected a 
member of the lower branch of the State -Legislature, in 
1872, and re-elected in 1873, serving with great acceptabi- 
lity to his constituents, besides obtaining complimentaiy no- 
tices from those opposed to his political creed. These tri- 
butes were accorded to his unswerving devotion to the fixed 
principles of right, his greatest object being to accomplish 
the largest amount of good without stopping to inquire if 
it will " pay fin,ancially." He is fully acquainted with the 
wants and necessities of the masses ; he has grown up among 
the people, and understands fully what is needed to render 
them happy and contented. Not only the farmer and me- 
chanic, but the professional man has his rights, and these 
he seeks to assure. He is fully alive to the Labor Question, 
which is the great question of the day. He thinks that 
labor and capital must understand each other, and that the 
former, including the cause of the oper.ative, must be res- 
pected. He is also an earnest advocate of the temperance 
cause, and is outspoken, at all times, on the debp^ing effects 
of inebriation and the liquor tr.affic. He is a mo:-t success- 
ful man, and is emphatically a self-made one. He attri- 
butes his success in life to being as true to all a.s it is pos- 
sible to be ; never making a promise that he cannot per- 



404 



BIOGRArillCAL EN'CYCLOP.liDIA. 




form, and always kecpinj^ his word if once given. So 
faithfully has he attended to the interests of his constituents 
during the sessions of 1S73 and 1874 in the Legislature, 
that he has been proposed with great unanimity as candidate 
for the Senate in 1875 and thereafter. He was married, in 
1859, to Eliza Jane Cressman, and has a family of three 
young and promising sons. 



BY, JACOB RUPLEY, Merchant, was born near 
Columbia, Lancaster county, Pennsyhtima, No- 
vember i8th, 1816, and is the second son of 
Ephraim C. and Susanna Eby, his partnts being 
memljers of the Mennonist faith. Up to the a.ap 
of fifteen years he occasionally attended 'sfhool, 
and ac()uired all the education possible to "be obtained in 
the ordinary common schools of the day and location- 
About the commencement of 1832, he was placerl in Stinck- 
kl-'s store, at Columbia, where he remained eightceil tiionths; 
but being constantly impressed with the usefulness of i 
trade — to be relied on in case of emergency'ih^after lift — 
he became an apprentice to the carpenter bifsinlss, sferving 
three years, working at the ratfe of'^SSa'per annum;' Tie 
now determined to see something of the world, and accord-" 
ingly started for the .South, working his way down the val- 
leys of the Ohio and Mississippi, reacliiiig Vicksburg in the 
fall of 1836. He remained there eight months, laboring at 
his trade and saving some S225. With this sum he'returned 
home, and on being tendered a clerkship in a store ac- 
cepted it and abandoned his trade. While thus engaged 
he was offered the clerkship of a board, consisting of Messrs. 
Cameron Lauman & Clark, occupied in the construction of 
a dam at Columbia, a part of the improvement known as 
the Tide-water Canal, and he concluded to accept it. This 
position afforded him an insight into the building of public 
works, and added to his practical knowledge of public men and 
things. When this great work was about being completed, 
his evident industry, integrity and capacity attracted the 
favorable notice of a prominent lumber merchant in Middle- 
town, who gave him an interest in his business 15y reason 
of his superior qualifications, and without reqiiiring the in- 
vestment of capital. He retained this v.iluable position for 
six years, when he disposed of it to great advantage ; and 
with his brother, E. C. Eby, purchased the stock and good- 
will of the grocery and shipping business of John H. Brant, 
on one of the best sites in Harrisburg. This last change laid 
the foundation of his present large and still accumulating 
fortune, extended influence and usefulness. A vigorous, 
energetic application to business, coupled with fair dealing, 
frug.ality, strong self-reliance, and an approximate practical 
rendering of the greatest of all Scriptur.al injunctions— 
" Love thy neighbor as thyself "—soon led, by gradual 
stages, from a flourishing business to an eminently pros- 
perous .and overshadowing one. A fixed, indestructible pur- 



pose, a determination to excel, were the living, active ele- 
ments and agencies which led to this prosperous life. He 
is eminently the architect of his own fortunes, a self-made 
man ; and he enjoys the reward of ihat diligence in business 
which he has ever bestowed upon it. His establishment is 
the largest wholesale and retail grocery and pork-packing 
warehouse in Harrisburg, and has been in active operation, 
under his direction, since 1845. H'^ original capital at 
that date was S4500 ; and from that time to the present, 
over a quarter of a century, the business has ever increased. 
In 1859, he erected at the corner of Market and Fifth 
streets, Harrisburg, a spacious and substantial building, 52 
fe'et by 150 feet, with extensive floors above, and basement 
below the main salesroom for the storage and sale of heavier 
gooils. In this large establishment are transacted the va- 
rious specialties of a first-class business, including not only 
the' usual items of a groceiy store, but also pork-packing, 
curing, and smoking. Each department is arranged syste- 
matically, and everywhere can be seen the neatness and 
perfect order so essential to every well-regulated business. 
-Qne part of the room is devoted exclusively to the manu- 
facture of tobacco and cigars, domestic and imported. The 
firm-are-alsoext_ensive dealers in leaf tobacco, and yearly 
pSck at Hstist 60b cases of Pennsylvania leaf, buying con- 
Stantly'from the farmers of our State. The senior partner 
is. largely intereslefl in many of the industrial establislmients 
of tlie ctty, being a stockholder and Director of the 
Harrisburg Car and Machine works; the Lochiel Iron 
Worjcs ;' the Harrisburg Stove Works; and the Manu- 
facturers' Railroad. He is President of the First Na- 
tional Bank of Harrisburg, and likewise of the State 
.\gricultural Society. He h.as been warmly devoted to 
the interests of the young, and has been connected with 
the Sunday-school for over thirty years, either as teacher 
or Superintendent; and during all these years his walk 
in life has been eminently consistent, and no man has 
ever heard him utter a profane word. He has been a great 
traveller; has visited every section of the United States; 
and abroad, has sojourned in the three divisions of Great 
Britain, besides journeying through the various countries on 
the Continent of Europe. He was married, in 1843, to 
li^lizabeth Gross, and has one daughter and two sons; both 
the latter being in business with him, the name of the firm 
being constituted, in 1S69, as Eby & Sons. 



DUNG, ANDREW B., Member of the Pennsyl- 
vania Legislature, was born in the city of Pitts- 
burgh in that State, June 5th, 1839; is one of 
two sons of Joseph and Mary L. (Cracraft) Young, 
and a descendant of one of the earliest settlers in 
that part of the Commonwealth, his grandfather, 
Alexander Young, having originally entered the land on 
which the family homestead is erected. His father died 




i- 




*'fegr?iij(iJ7»:<«l<l7** ■ 




'/ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



405 



when he was but two yenrs of age, and his mother by her 
personal efforts siip|)orted the little family, renting the 
homestead to obtain the necessary means whereby the 
education of her two sons was secured. His brother, J. C. 
Young, is now engaged in the practice of the law in 
Chicago, and has been most successful in that profession. 
Andrew has proved himself a mo>t devoted son, being 
gifted with uncommon energy, industry, and perseverance. 
Having received a fair education, he commenced, at the 
age of eighteen years, to teach school, and continued in 
this vocation for two yeai-s. Most of his preliminary edu- 
cation, however, was self-acquired, and he has been known 
to study during the spare moments, while engaged at the 
plough, or in the fields. He enjoyed the benefit of a partial 
course (two years) in a college, and was noted for his fond- 
ness for the sciences. He has been elected and re-elected 
a member of the School Board, and is now serving his 
eleventh year in that body, having been chosen six times 
the President of the Board. For seven years he served as 
Bookkeeper to the firm of Samuel Kier & Co. ; was also 
with Samuel Har & Son for two years, and while so occu- 
pied acquired a complete knowledge of the Plumbing and 
Gas Fitting business. He subsequently became a member 
of the firm of Young & Murphy ; and has had many offers 
from business men to become interested in other mercan- 
tile operations. He deeply sympathizes with the Labor 
Reformers, and advocates all measures which have a ten- 
dency to elevate the character and well-being of the oper- 
ative. He was elected a member of the lower branch of 
the Legislature in 1S72, and re-elected in 1S73, serving 
through the terms of 1873 '^"'^ 'S74 with perfect satisfac- 
tion and honor both to his constituents and to the Com- 
monwealth. His election in his own district was on both 
occasions nearly unanimous, receiving, in 1S72, 1S3 out 
of 1S6 votes polled; while at the next election he had but 
a solitary vote cast against him. lie has been connected 
with the church for many years, and is an active and zeal- 
ous laborer in the Sunday school. He married Agnes M., 
a daughter of Thomas P. McFadden, and has a family 
of si.t happy children. 




■ ARRISON, GEORGIA LEIB, Merchant, and Presi- 
dent of the Board of Public Charities, was born in 
Pliiladelphia, Pennsylvania, October 2oth, iSn, 
and is a son of John and Lydia (Leib) Harrison. 
His grandfather, Thomas Harrison, was an Eng- 
lish Friend, who left Carlisle, England, about the 
middle of the last century, and settled in Pennsylvania, 
where he married Sarah Richards, of Delaware county. 
The latter was a distinguished member of the Society of 
Friends, and an eloquent preacher. The meeting to which 
she belonged published the story of her eminently pious, 
helpful life. In 1792, she was sent to Europe on a seven 
years' mission, and, while sojourning in England, a special 



audience was granted to her by the rovereign, George III. 
Her husband was an ardent friend of the negro slaves, and 
with singular earnestness, ever labored for their freedom 
and elevation, and he was an honored member of the Penn- 
sylvania Colonization Society. John Harrison, father of 
George Leib, was a merchant of Philadelphia, whose taste 
for chemistry was so strong, that he determined to acquaint 
himself with all matters pertaining to that science, and ])ro- 
ceeded to England for that purpose. This was about 179S, 
and while his mother was in that country. He entered a 
laboratory there, and by earnest application and study, 
learned the then discovered secrets of the business. Re- 
turning to Philadelphia, the following year, with his mother, 
he established chemical works on the present site of Rud- 
man's Brewery, Green street west of Third, and his success 
there led to the erection of an extensive establishment for 
the manufacture of chemicals and white lead — on Harrison 
street, in the old district of Kensington — which is still 
owned and conducted by his sons and grandsons, as Harri- 
son Brothers & Co. He was the acknowledged pioneer in 
America, in the varied products of the laboratory, and the 
public archives at Washington bear witness to his zeal in 
his endeavors to inchice the National Government to foster 
this valuable branch of industrial science he had intro- 
duced into the Union. The maternal ancestors of George 
Leib Harrison were natives of Strasburg, and Lutherans 
in religious belief George and Dorothea Leib arrived in 
America in 1753, and settled in Philadelphia, and their 
tomb is yet to be seen in the graveyard of St. Michael's 
Church, at Fifth and Cherry streets. Michael Leib, their 
son, was twice a member of the House between 1790 and 
1800; and from 1S08 to 1814 served as United .States 
Senator from Pennsylvania with distinguished credit. 
George Leib Harrison, nephew of the last named, was 
educated chiefly in the Academies of Benjamin Tucker and 
Rev. Dr. Wylie, the latter of whom prepared him for col- 
lege, and he entered the Freshman class of Harvard Uni- 
versity in 182S; but at the close of a year his health was 
so poor as to forbid his return, and his physicians advised 
him to try a year's residence in the West. He became an 
inmate of his uncle's family, near Detroit. This was Judge 
Leib of the United States Court, and formerly a member 
of the Philadelphia bar. On his return to Philadelphia, in 
1830, he commenced the study of law with the late Joseph 
R. Ingersoll, and after three years was admitted to the bar, 
almost at the vei-y hour of his father's death. This bereave- 
ment changed his plans of life, and he entered his father's 
business ; to him it was a new study, but he gave it his 
undivided attention. In 1S49, he entered into partnerehip 
with Powers & Weightman, in the new chemical enterprise 
commenced by them at the Falls of Schuylkill, and under 
him it was enlarged. Later in life he engaged largely in 
sugar refining. He has ever devoted much time to philan- 
thropic pursuits, beginning with labors in the various org.ini- 
zations of the Episcopal Church. He has been a zealous 



4o6 



EIOGRAnilCAL EXCVCLOP.EDIA. 



member of St. I,uke"s since 1842, and Warden for most of 
the intervening time. He has served as a member of the 
General IJoar<l of .Missions, and Treasurer of the Hospital 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, for twenty years ; since 
186S, as a Delegate to the General Convention; as a Trus- 
tee of the Divinity School since its establishment. He has 
been a Director of tlie North American Insurance Company 
since 1854, and for a considerable time an active and effi- 
cient Manager of the House of Refuge. He resigned the 
latter position in 1S69, the Legislature having created, in 
that year, the Board of Public Charities ; and though per- 
sonally unknown to Governor Geary, he was asked by the 
latter to be one of the five commissioners, and accepted the 
responsible position. In this capacity, he has wrought 
many and great reforms, and has been, almost from its 
inception, the President of the Board. Four annual reports 
show something of what he has done ; and his election as 
President over the First General Convention of the Boards 
of Public Charities in the United States, held in New York, 
May, 1874, though he represented the youngest commission, 
will tend to show the estimation in which he is held 
throughout the country. He has also received the thanks 
of the British Government for voluminous information fur- 
nished them by special request. The Board h.as effected 
great changes in the Legislative appropriations, and has 
materially changed for the better the treatment of the 
insane poor in the almshouses and prisons of the Common- 
wealth, which had been, until this time, a disgrace to the 
State — while the superintendents of these institutions were 
growing rich upon the spoils. To secure these reforms, he 
urged the Legislature to pass — which was accordingly done 
— two comprehensive acts, which opened the hospitals of 
the State to the insane poor, and to criminals of unsound 
mind. This change was brought about in the spring of 
1S74. The Penitentiaries have also been changed, by the 
Board, to veritable places of reformation. 



(aROCHE, RENE, M. D., Physician, was born in 
Philadelphia, September 23d, 1795, and was the 
only son of Dr. Rene and Marie Jeanne (de la 
Condemine) LaRoche. His father was a native 
of Montpelier, France, where he also received 
his education, and graduated, in 1784, from the 
celebrated university of that city. He afterwards left his 
native country for the island of Saint Domingo, where lie 
subsequently became a planter, but was forced, in 1793, t" 
make his escape, with many other of his compatriots durin;.; 
the terrible revolution and insurrection of the colored race. 
On his arrival in Philadelphia he commenced the practice 
of medicine, which he continued until his death, in 1S20, 
a period of over a quarter of a century, and his success 
and patronage was extensive — having an average of twenty- 
five patients each day. Dr. Rene LaRoche, the younger, 




was educated at a large private school at which many of 
the most prominent men of after years were attendants. 
In 1811, he was placed by his father in the counting house 
of an extensive shipping merchant, where he remained for 
three years. In 1814, during the war with Great Britain, 
he was assigned to the command of a Company attached 
to the Regiment of Colonel C. Biddle. In 1S17, he 
matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania, and after 
pursuing the three years' course received his degree of 
Doctor of Medicine, in 1820, and at once commenced the 
practice of his profession in Philadelphia. His health 
becoming poor, he went abroad in 1S27, and remained in 
Europe for two years. He was a voluminous writer, being 
a regular contributor to Walsh's National Cnsetic, furnish- 
ing that journal with a series of articles on French political 
movements. He was also a contributor to all the medical 
magazines and papers of the day, and his articles attracted 
considerable and favorable notice both at home and abroad. 
One of these on Fevers, and another On the Action and 
Effect of Music on Human Beings and Animals — and its 
Use Alcdically, especially in A'ervous Diseases, gave him 
much celebrity. He also wrote a work on Yellow Fever, 
and also others on Pneumonia and Malarial Fevers, all 
of which were published. He was a member of the Board 
of Health for thirteen years; a Trustee of the University 
of Pennsylvania for twenty years ; President of the Phila- 
delphia Medical Society for several years; President of the 
Philadelphia County Medical Society for some years; and 
President of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society for one 
year. He was a member of the Imperial Academy of 
Medicine of Paris; member of the Rhode Island Medical 
Society , and was the first honorary member ever elected 
by the New York Academy of Medicine. He always 
took an active part in the proceedings of the American 
Medical Association, and was well-known to the profession 
generally throughout the country. He was also a mem- 
ber of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Phila- 
delphia, and also a member of the Pathological Society, 
and of the American Philosophical Society. He was for 
many years one of the Board of Directors of the Musical 
Fund Hall. He was married, in 1824, to Mary Jane, 
daughter of Colonel John Ellis, of Natchez, Mississippi. 
He died December 9th, 1872. 

l^^;pOLTZ, JONATHAN M., A. M., Vi. D., E.x-Sur- 
geon General, United States Navy, was born in 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, April 25th, 1810. He 
is of Prussian descent, his ancestors having emi- 
grated from that country in 1 755, and settled in 
Lancaster county. After receiving a thorough 
academical education, he studied medicine, and graduated 
from the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1S30, 
anil the following year was commissioned an Assistant 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



407 



Surgeon in the Navy. During his first cruise, which was 
performed on tlie frigate " Potomac," Commodore John 
Downes, he was present at the bombardment of Qualah 
Eattoo, Sumatra, and " was active and zealous in the dis- 
charge of his duties, binding up and dressing the wounded 
under the fire of the enemy." {Captain Shubrick's Report.) 
In June, 1S34, the "Potomac" returned to Boston, and 
during the following year, he published a paper on The 
Jlt-dical S/(i/is/itrs and Observations during a Voyage around 
the World, on board the United States Frigate " Potomac," 
in the years 1831-4. From August, 1834, until December 
8th, 183S, he was stationed at the Washington Navy Yard, 
during which period he was present, and endeavoring to 
act the peacemaker, at the memorable duel between Wm. 
C. Graves, of Kentucky, and Jonathan Cilley, of Maine, 
when the latter was slain. At the last-named date he had 
passed his examination, and was commissioned Passed As- 
sistant Surgeon in the Navy, and the following year was 
appointed Surgeon of the Naval Hospital at Port Mahon. 
While en route to his post he visited Algiers, where he met 
with the expedition under the Duke of Orleans moving 
against Abdcl-Kader, with Colonel Pelissier and Captain 
MacMahon — the present Ruler of France — then on their 
way to " win their spurs." The military hospitals at 
Algiers were crowded with cases of the Pernicious pener 
of Africa, on which he published a Report in the iV'i'w 
York Medical Journal. After a two years' residence at 
Mahon, he returned to New York in the frigate " Brandy- 
wine," and, in 1843, published an essay On the Endemic 
Influence of Evil Government, as illustrated in the Island 
of Minorca, with Notes on the Climate, Topography, and 
Diseases of the Island, together with accounts of the 
Medical Faculty, the French Military Hospital, and the 
United States Naval Hospital there. He next served on 
the Frigate " Raritan," coast of Brazil, as Fleet Surgeon, 
from which station that vessel was ordered to the Gulf of 
Mexico on the breaking out of the Mexican war. He was 
present while the battle of Palo Alto was being fought, 
and assisted in the treatment of the wounded on that occa- 
sion, and also of the battle of Resaca de la Palma, the 
gallant Major Ringgold being under his care after receiv- 
ing his mortal wound. He also served at the blockade 
of Vera Cruz, and at the battles of Alverado and Tobasco. 
After the termination of the war, he published A Report on 
Scorbutus, as it occurred on board the United States Elect 
in the Gulf of Mexico during the IVar. He subsequently 
served at the Navy Yard and Naval Hospital, Washington ; 
three years on board the corvette "Jamestown," on the 
Brazil coast ; at the Philadelphia station. Naval Asylum, 
and as a member of the Naval Medical Board of Ex- 
aminers. In 1842, he published a series of articles in the 
Baltimore American, On the Employment of Steamships 
of War in the United States Navy, a portion of which was 
embodied in the Annual Report of the Secretary of the 
Navy, upon whose urgent representation Congress made 



liberal appropriations to build the "Princeton" and 
" Union." For many years, Surgeon Foltz was an inti- 
mate friend and medical adviser of the late President 
Buchanan during his suffering from a painful and pro- 
tracted local disease. ' He als3 attended him while pros- 
trated with that mysterious malady termed the " National 
Hotel Disease," about the time of his inauguration, March, 
1S57. Oa the breaking out of the Rebellion, he was 
ordered to the Gulf of Mexico on the frigate " Santee," 
from which he was transferred to the " Niagara " steam 
frigate, Commodore McKean's flag ship, and was present 
at the bombardment of Forts McCrea and Barrancas, 
November 22 and 23, 1861. He was next appointed Fleet 
Surgeon of the Western Gulf Squadron, and had his quar- 
ters on the " Hartford," the flag ship of Admiral Farragut. 
Under his direction a hospital was established at Pilot 
Town for the reception of the wounded. He was present 
at the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, at the 
capture of the Chalmette Forts, and at the surrender of 
New Orleans. On M.-iy 8th, lS52, when off B.iton Rouge, 
some boats from Farragut's fleet were fired into by gue- 
rillas ; Dr. Foltz went in an open boat, under fire, to attend 
the wounded. On July 15th, during the battle with the 
rebel ram "Arkansas" he went on board the "Tyler" in 
a boat, to peform a like service. From this time forward, 
for a year and more, he remained attached to the " Hartford," 
until the Mississippi river was virtually opened by the sur- 
render of Vicksburg, July 4th, 1863. During this period, 
while New Orleans was occupied by so many Northern 
troops, and the presence in the river of the great naval force, 
he had serious apprehensions of the havoc which yellow 
fever would make, if it made its appearance in that city. 
By the combined efforts of the Port Physician, and the 
Military Governor, General Butler, such precautions were 
taken that the city was entirely exempt from the scourge, 
though it furiously raged in all the cities of the Gulf, in- 
cluding Mexico and Cuba. In August, 1863, he returned 
to New York, and the following year served as a member 
of the Naval Medical Board, and in 1866, was President 
of the same. In June, 1S67, he was named Fleet Surgeon 
to the European Squadron under Admiral Farragut, and 
with that high ofiice made the celebrated cruise in the 
"Franklin" steam frigate. On his return, in 1870, to the 
United States, he was again ordered on duty as President 
of the Medical Board, and was appointed, October 25th, 

187 1, by the President, Chief of the Bureau of Medicine 
and Surger)', and Surgeon General of the Navy with the 
relative rank of Commodore, and held these positions 
until he reached the age of sixty-two years, April 25th, 

1872, when he was retired by law. In 1837, he received 
the honoraiy degree of Master of Arts from Yale College; 
and in March, 1874, was elected one of the Vice-Presidents 
of the Alumni of the Jefferson Medical College. He mar- 
ried, in 1854, Rebecca, daughter of John F. Steinman, of 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and has a family of three sons. 




40b . 

c% V 

JOOD, JAMES FREDERIC, Fifth Bishop of llie 
Roman Catholic diocese of Philadelphia, was 
born, April 27th, iSlJ, at the Southwest corner 
of Front and Chestnut streets, in that city. His 
parents were both English, and came to this 
country in 1S09, settling in Philadelphia, where 
his father engaged in business, as a merchant and importer, 
lie received his elementary education at a school in Dock 
street, and, in November, 1S21, was sent to England for 
its completion. There, he entered the grau.mar school 
attached to the church of St. Maiy de Crypt, in Gloucester, 
where he remained for more than live years. After that 
lime he returned home, and continued his studies at the 
school of Mr. Sanderson, in Market street. In 1S27-8, he 
removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and obtained, in that city, a 
position as check clerk, in the Branch Bank of the United 
States, being, afterwards, advanced to the post of individual 
book-keeper and discount clerk. He remained thus till 
1S33, when he was appointed paying and receiving teller, in 
the Franklin Bank of Cincinnati, and three years subse- 
([uently, cashier, in the same institution. Shortly prior to 
this, he became converted to the Roman Catholic faith and 
was baptized, on the 7th of April, 1S36, by the Most Rev. 
Archbishop Purcell of Cincinnati, and confirmed by him, 
in the same year, in the church of the Most Holy Trinity. 
In September, 1837, lie resigned his position in the bank, 
and, in Octolier following, went to Rome for the purpose 
of studying for the church. After spending three or four 
months at the Irish College, in Rome, of which Cardinal 
Cullen was then Rector, he entered the College of the 
Propaganda, (March, 1838,) as a subject of the diocese 
of Cincinnati. Having completed his studies, he was or- 
dained priest, by Cardinal Fransoni, Prefect of the Sacred 
Congregation of the Propaganda, March 25th, 1S44. He 
then returned to this country, re.iching Cincinnati in the 
ensuing October, after an absence of seven years. He was 
appointed assistant pastor at the Cathedral, continuing so 
between nine and ten years, when he was appointed pastor 
of St. Patrick's Church, in Cnicinnati. While in that 
office, he received the Pope's Bull, creating him Coadjutor 
Bishop of Philadelphia, with the right of succession, and 
was consecrated Bishop, April 26th, 1S57, by the Arch- 
bishop of Cincinnati. He reached Pliiladelphia in the 
early part of May, and took charge of the financial affairs 
of the diocese. His predecessor, Bishop Neuman, dying 
suddenly, January 5lh, 1S60, he succeeded to his title and 
assumed llie administration of the diocese. He made a 
second journey to Rome, to be present at the canonization 
of the Japanese Martyrs, in 1S62, and returned thither in 
1867, to assist at the eighteen-hundredth anniversary of the 
martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. He was also a mem- 
ber of the CEcumenic.il Council, which opened at the Vati- 
can, December 8th, 1869, and was a warm advocate of the 
Infallibility of the Roman Pontift ; but, after participating 
in its deliberations during three months, was compelled, by 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




ill health, to return home. On his assumption of the title 
and authority of bishop, he vigorously prosecuted the builil- 
ing of the cathedral, which was dedicated, November 20th, 
1S64; and, on April 4tli, 1 806, he laid the corner-stone 
of the new Seminary near Overbrook. This building was 
completed in September, 1871, for the reception of its 
inmates. The prcjjaratory seminary at Glen Riddle, pur- 
chased during the lifetime of Bishop Neuman, was then 
abandoned and the pupils transferred to the preparatory 
department of the new edifice; the Glen Riddle establish- 
ment and faim being sold to the Sisters of the Third Order 
of St. Francis, who now occupy it as a novitiate. In the 
administration of the diocese he has manifested abilities of 
a high order, and under his fostering care it has advanced 
greatly in importance and to unprecedented prosperity. 



HON. ANDREW II., Lawyer, and State 
Senator from the Seventeenth District, comprising 
the counties of Snyder, Union, Northumberland, 
and Perry, was born in Baltimore county, Mary- 
land, Januaiy l8th, 1836. His father, Rev. 
Henry G. Dill, wa.s a clergyman of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, and in accordance with the custom 
of that denomination was periodically removed from place 
to place. In 1849, he er.tered the Dickinson Seminary, 
whence he graduated in 1852. He entered the Junior 
Class in Dickinson College in September, 1853, and gradu- 
ated in the first section in June, 1855. He then engaged in 
teaching in Frederick county, Mainland, and became a 
student at law with James Lynch, of Frederick city, where 
he was admitted to the bar, in the fall of 1S5S, after 
which he became a practitioner in Columbia county, Penn- 
sylvania, and there remained until 1859. In that year he 
opened an office in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but after six 
months associated in a law partnership with his uncle, 
Isaiah Dill, of Huntsville, Alabama. In April, i860, he 
returned to Pennsylvania, and settled in Lewisburg, Union 
county, where he became actively engaged in the practice 
of his profession, and has since resided. He served as 1st 
Lieutenant of Company F., 28th Regiment Pennsylvania 
Militia, during the emergencies of 1862 and 1863, lending 
his aid to the country in the hours of her most mmiinent 
perils. In 1865, he became a member of the firm of Bill- 
meyer. Dill & Co., boat builders, at Lewisburg, who operate 
two steam saw mills and are extensively engaged as dealers 
in square timber, in addition to the production of some 
seventy-five boats per annum. Receiving the Democratic 
nomination for the House of Representatives, in 1S69, for 
the counties of Lycoming, Union, and Snyder, composing 
a Republican district, he was elected and look his seat 
January 1st, 1870. In the fall of 1870, he was elected to 
the Senate from the same district, for three years, and in 
1873, was re-elected from his present district. In each of 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



409 




these contests he ran far ahead of his ticket, carrying in 
each case a Repulilican district. As a legislator he has 
been a faithfifl custodian of the interests of his constituency, 
and his course has been marked by a con--cienlious de- 
votion to his conceiJtions of the best interests of the whole 
people. 



INGST, JOHN IL, Farmer and Merchant, was 
born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, August 
9th, 1833, and is the son of Lewis and Rosanna 
Yingst. His early years were spent upon his 
father's farm, where indeed he labored until he 
attained manhood's estate. His educational ad- 
v.antages were very limited, being only those afforded by 
the common country schools of that section, and even these 
benefits were dispensed but a limited portion of the year. 
His partents' language was the peculiar dialect known as 
" Pennsylvania Dutch," and his opportunities for acquiring 
a knowledge of the English tongue were very slight, for 
it was not taught or even used in the schools of the dis- 
trict or county ; yet with all these disadvantages, he man- 
a;;ed by sheer energy, and the perseverance with which he 
was possessed to gain a sufficient knowledge by which he 
was enabled, in after years, to rise to a position of respect- 
ability and affluence. Scarcely had he attained his nr.ajor- 
ity than he married, and through the influence of his wife, 
who was a humble devout Christian, he likewise became 
one, and as a Christian he has ever since consistently 
walked. He remained on his father's farm, actively en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits, and receiving a share of the 
crops in payment for his labors until 1862, when he was 
aljle to purchase for himself a farm of 158 acres, and 
shortly afterwards, another plantation, both being situated 
in his native county. In 1864, he connected himself with 
D. S. Early, of Hummelstown, Dauphin county, on the 
line of the Lebanon Valley Railroad, and conducted a 
general warehouse business, proving himself an active 
energetic partner in the establishment. In tlie fall of 1S66, 
he disposed of his interests in the firm to his partner and 
returned to Lebanon county. In June, 1867, he associated 
himself with Isaac Hoffer, of the borough of Lebanon, and 
established a large hardware trade, and rapidly rose to 
prominence and success. In 1870, he sustained a domes- 
tic bereavement in the loss of his wife, from whom he 
never was parted during all the years of their intercourse. 
He had been the happiest of men, while leading the quiet 
life of a farmer, or engaged in business jiursuits ; and now 
that the tie which bound him to home was severed, he re- 
solved to travel through the great West, a resolution which 
he carried out, visiting twenty-four of the States, and glean- 
ing ideas, .as he proceeded, of the agricultural resources 
and business capacities of other localities, and subsequently 
extending his visit through the Dominion of Canada. On 
February 1st, 1874, he puich.ased his partner's interest in 

5 = 



the business, which he now carries on, on his own account, 
and enjoys a large and extensive patronage. Personally 
he is tall and well formed, with a florid complexion and a 
clear blue eye : his hair, once dark, is now beginning to be 
tinged by the hand of time. He was married, October 
i6lh, 1S54, to Eliza Kreider of Lebanon county, who died 
in March, 1870, leaving him with three children. In 1872, 
he was married to Sallie G. Lehman of the same county, 
who lived but a single year after their union. 




/ 



_^.^TRONG, HON. WILLIAM, LL. D., Associate 
'^^M? Justice of the .Supreme Court of the United 
States, was born at Somers, Connecticut, May 
6th, 1S08, and is the son of the Rev. Willi.im L. 
Strong, an eminent Presbyterian clergyman and 
graduate of Yale College. His preparatory edu- 
cation was acquired at the Munson Academy, Massachu- 
setts, and when sixteen years of age he entered the Fresh- 
man Class of Yale College, pursued the usual four years' 
course, and gradu.ated with honor to himself and the In- 
stitution, in 1828. He subsequently t.aught a Classical and 
Mathematical School, occupying his leisure hours in the 
study of law, and so continued until February, 1832, when 
he entered the law school of Yale College. In the follow- 
ing month of October, he was admitted to the Bar of the 
Superior Court of Connecticut, and shortly thereafter, he 
was also admitted to practice in the District Court, and 
Court of Common Pleas of the City and County of Phila- 
delphia. On November 17th, of the same year, he opened 
a law office in Reading, Pennsylvania, and made that city 
his future residence. In political faith, he was a Democrat 
of the Old School, and as such was several times elected a 
member of the City Councils of Reading, and also one of 
the Controllers of the Public Schools. In 1846, he w.as 
elected by the Democracy of the Ninth District (Berks 
county) as the Representative to Congress, and was re- 
elected in 184S. He served on several important Com- 
mittees, and was Chairman of the Committee on Elections. 
In 1850, he declined are-election and returned to the prac- 
tice of his profession. In 1857, he was elected by the people 
of the Commonwealth a Judge of the Supreme Court of 
Pennsylvania for the term of fifteen years, but resigned his 
position on the bench, October 1st, 1868, and returned to his 
practice at the bar. On February i8th, 1870, he was named 
by President Grant, an Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court of the United Slates, which high position he yet re- 
tains. While a resident of Reading, he was for many years 
a Director of the Farmers' Bank of that city, as well as a 
Director of the Lebanon Valley Railroad ; and was counsel 
for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company until 
he went on the bench. In religious faith, he follows in the 
footsteps of his father, having been for many years a mem- 
ber and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, and is 



4IO 



liionRArnicAi. f.ncvclop.'F.dia. 




fully iilentificil w'a): all the leading boards of that denomi- 
nation. For several years, he has been one of the Vice- 
Presidents of the American Eible Society, and also of the 
American Sunday School Union; and, in 1S73, was elected 
President of the American Tract Society. He received, 
in 1867, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, f.-om 
Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania; and, in 1S70, 
the same honoraiy diploma was granted him by Nassau 
II.all, Princeton, New Jersey, and also by his Alma Mater, 
Yale College, New Haven. 

'ICKMAN, JOHN, Lawyer and St.itesman, was 
born near the battlc-field of the Brandywine, 
Pennsylvania, on the anniversary of that cele- 
brated action, September nth, iSlo. His father 
was a farmer, widely known and conspicuous for 
his good, sound, common sense and upright deal- 
ings. His education was acquired from a private tutor, 
a foreigner by birth, who resided in the neighborhood, and 
who took particular pains in the thorough instruction of his 
young pupil. He subsequently studied law wilh Hon. 
Townsend Haines — who afterwards became Judge of the 
District — and was admitted to the bar in 1S32. As a 
young man, he rendered himself conspicuous in his pro- 
fession, and soon acquired an excellent reputation as a 
successful pleader throughout the Commonwealth. He 
took an active part in the political arena, and warmly 
espoused Democratic principles ; he was wont to " stump " 
the State, and attracted much attention as an opponent of 
the views and opinions of Anti-Slavery men, often en- 
countering their most eminent debaters, and being acknow- 
ledged by all to be a " foeman worthy of their steel." In 
debate, he was quick, terse, and withal eloquent, couching 
his expressions in the choicest language, and carrying con- 
viction to those who were wavering in their opinions. He 
filled the office of District Attorney for a term, and was 
honored by the nomination and election to Congress from 
the then Sixth District — coinposed of the counties of 
Chester and Delaware — in 1854, as a Democrat in full 
standing. It was during the summer of 1S55, that he be- 
came interested in the great struggle then occurring in 
Kansas; and in order to have the matter properly investi- 
gated by Congress, he suggested a certain course of action 
which was adopted by ex-Governor Reeder, who had 
recently been removed from the Executive chair of the 
Territory ; and this was to have Reeder run against Whit- 
field for delegate, and' then contest the election ; this plan 
w.as fully carried out, subsequently. It was during the 
memorable days at the opening of the Thirty-fourth Con- 
gress, when the great contest resulting in the election of 
N. P. Banks as Speaker, that John Hickman took the 
initiative of his final abandonmi nt of the Democratic 
Pro-Slavery secessionist faction, by "shelving Governor 



Aiiken," the candidate of the " fire-eaters," for Speaker, 
and standing by the Republican nominee, being determined 
iTever to submit to Southern dictation and domination. 
Just about this time Reeder went to Washington to contest 
his election with Whitfield, which was done, and Repre- 
sentative Hickman being on the Committee wrote the 
Report and presented the same, March 5th, 1856. This 
led to a close contest between him and Alexander H. 
Stephens, also a member of the Committee, but finally it 
resulted in a Committee who were to proceed to Kansas, 
and the ultimate consequence was that Slavery was not 
legislated into Kansas, but Popular Sovereignty governed 
the question. This was the seed which, in after years, 
produced the Rebellion, and during the whole period of 
those troublesome times, he was one of the most cour- 
ageous and resolute men in the House as a defender of the 
North. And yet, notwithstanding his great opposition to 
the Buchanan administration, he had been, during .the 
campaign preceding his election, one of his most ardent 
sujiporters; but when that President obeyed the behests and 
demands of the South, he did not hesitate between Liberty 
and Slavery. Since his retirement from political life, he 
has devoted himself much to reading, and is considered a 
fine Shakspeariaii scholar. As to his religious traits, he 
was at one period an attendant of the Episcopal Church, 
though he was never a believer in any sectarian views. He 
is, however, a great Scripture reader, and being possessed 
of a retentive memory, the accuracy with which he quotes 
from any of the sacred books is remarkable. His powers 
of conversation are genial, social, and very entertaining, 
and he is a great lover of home — which is an attractive 
one, adorned with a fine picture gallery and a magnificent 
library. He married a sister of General John Wolcott 
Phelps, a prominent military chieftain during the War 
of the Rebellion. 

e V 

' VERHART, WILLIAM, Merchant, was bom in 
Vincent township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, 
May 17th, 17S5, and was the eldest son of James 
Everhart, who, at the age of eighteen years, 
entered the Army of the Revolution, and suf- 
fered the many hardships of the days that tried 
men*s souls. William chose a mercantile life, and, before 
he attained his majority, entered into business on his own 
account. During the War of 1812, he raised and drilled 
a rifle corps, but was not called into service, as peace was 
declared shortly afterwards. Having determined to be- 
come an importer of merchandise, he sailed from New 
York for Liverpool in the packet ship " Albion," and had 
the misfortune to be wrecked in that vessel on the Irish 
coast. His escape from a terrible death was marvellous, 
and saved himself by clinging to a rock on which he 
secured literally but a foothold, as he could only rest one 
foot at a time on its narrow surface. By the lowering of a. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOPvEDIA. 



rope from the overhanging cliffs, wliich he attached to his 
body, he was drawn up to a place of safety, and received 
very l<ind treatment at the hands of the Irish peasantry who 
rescued him. Such a miraculous preservation as was his, 
out of such a terrible wreclc and, loss of life — for he was 
the only passenger out of twenty-lwo that was saved — ex- 
cited the public sensibility ihrougliout Europe and America, 
and on his arrival in Liverpool, he received marked atten- 
tion. He was thus left perfectly destitute, a stranger in a 
foreign land, having, in some way, lost $10,000. Although 
this amount was found, and freely and earnestly offered to 
him by the officers of the Government, and although it was 
probably the very money he had lost, yet he refused to re- 
ceive it, fearing he might be mistalien in its identity ; thus 
manifesting a rare instance of sterling integrity. He was, 
however, well cared for, and amply repaid his patrons in 
after years, during the Irish famine, by large donations 
which he remitted from the United States : and to such an 
extent did he remember the favors he had received when 
cast away, that his name will not be forgotten by the thou- 
sands whose miseries were alleviated by his gifts, and by 
their descendants in all future years. On hi ; return to the 
United .States, he removed to West Chester, where he pur- 
chased large tracts of land, including the " WoUerton 
Farm." He improved these in various ways, laying out 
streets and donating them to the town, and on the lots and 
blocks so formed, he erected many elegant buildings, So 
manifest were the improvements he projected and executed 
that the borough throve exceedingly, and it was soon 
doubled in extent. He remained an importing merchant 
for thirty years, when he retired from active business pur- 
suits. In political creed, he was a Whig of the Henry 
Clay school, and, in 1852, he was nominated and elected 
as the Representative in Congress, from the district com- 
posed of Chester and Delaware counties, receiving a largely 
increased vote over the average on that ticket. He was a 
man of simple habits, plain and unostentatious in his man- 
ners, but withal of bold and successful enterprise ; and his 
character as a merchant and capitalist was without a spot 
or blemish. He was universally respected, and his death 
was considered a public loss. 



9?^H0MAS, ISAAC, 






M.D., rhvsician, was born 



Willistown, Chester county, Tennsylvania, Sep- 
tember 16th, 1797, and is a son of Mordecai and 
Lydia (Hooper) Thomas, both of whom were 
zealous membei-s of the Society of Friends. His 
primary education was obtained in the schools of 
the neighborhood, and he also passed a year at the boarding 
school of Joshua Hooper in Merion, Montgomery county, 
closing with an attendance at the academy in Westchester. 
Having selected the medical profession as his future sphere, 
he duly prepared himself, and matriculated at the Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania, in 1817, and after the prescribed three 



years' course of studies graduated therefrom, and forthwith 
commenced practice in Delaware county, where, however, 
he remained but a few months. Finding a better field of 
duty, he removed to Westchester, in the fall of 1820, and 
devoted himself industriously to the practice of his profes- 
sion, in which he ntet with marked success. He soon ac- 
quired an extensive patronage, which he retained until 
1S58, when, after nearly forty years of service, he relin- 
quished practice, and retired from the active duties of his 
profession, although at times his ripe experience and ju- 
dicious counsel is sought for in consultations with the pre- 
sent practitioners of the healing art; all of whom bear 
honorable testimony to his skill and excellence. For twenty 
years he has been a member of the State Medical Society, 
and he has also b;en for a long period connected with the 
National Medical Association. In 1858, he went to Europe, 
where he sojourned for three months. In public affairs 
and improvements he has ever taken a lively interest, and 
by his efforts has contributed largely to the growth and 
prosperity of the beautiful town of Westchester. He was 
one of the Trustees of the academy there for many years, 
and prior to its conversion to the Normal School. He was 
also a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 
Westchester during its existence. For twenty-one years 
he was a Director of the Westchester Railroad Company, 
and during eight years was President of the Board. He 
was also a Director of the old Chester Bank for thirty-five 
years, resigning therefrom in 1872, on account of ill-health. 
Thus it will be seen that his services have been for many 
years sought for and obtained in the various positions whose 
developments tend towards the advancement and prosperity 
of the country in general. In political belief, he has been 
a life-long opponent of the Democracy. He has never al- 
lowed himself to take an active part save on one occasion, 
when his name was placed on the Anti-Masonic ticket for 
the Legislature ; but the opposition proved successful. Per- 
sonally, he is short in stature, being a trifle below the me- 
dium height. In conversation he is fluent and agree.ible, 
at the same time possessing the gem of true modesty. Al- 
though he has passed the allotted limit of " three score 
years and ten," he is in the full enjoyment of all his facul- 
ties. He was married, in 1824, to Ann C, daughter of 
the eminent Charles Miner, whose reputation is national. 
In 1835, he was again married to Maiy H., daughter of 
George Brinton of Chester county, his foniier wife having 
died in 1S32. 

cCONKEY, DAVID, Banker and Conveyancer, 
was born at Howellville — now Chester Valley 
Post-Office — Tredyffian township, Chester county, 
Pennsylvania, May 5th, 1800. His parents were 
of limited means, and while he was quite young, 
they removed to Northumberland, Pennsylvania, 
where his early life w.as p.assed in assisting his father on the 
farm. Owing to a lack of public schools in those days. 




412 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



his educational advantages were limited, and he only ac- 
quired the rudiments of learning from the village school. 
In the spring of 1824, he proceeded to Westchester, seek- 
ing employment, for now he had his own way to make in 
the world. At that time the duties of Recorder and Pro- 
thonotary were performed by Joseph Pierce, who tendered 
the young stranger a clerkship in his office; which being ac- 
cepted, he remained during the entire term of three years 
of this incumbent. Me was re-appointed by William Wil- 
liamson, who next filled the office, and continued during 
his term, and also for two months of his successor, Darling- 
ton. His sterling integrity, and his business qualifications 
were now recognized and acknowledged by the many with 
whom he had been brought in contact. On his retirement 
from the county office, he left Westchester, and passed 
about four years on a farm near his birthplace. In 1833, 
he was solicited by Thomas Williamson to return to West- 
chester and take charge of his business — that of general 
banking and conveyancing, the latter branch being the spe- 
cialty of the firm of Williamson & Weaver. The latter 
having died, while the former was desirous of removing to 
Philadelphia, an arrangement was entered into and David 
McConkey assumed charge of the concern — then the only 
banking and conveyancing office in Westchester. His 
many years of service in the Recorder's and Prothonotary's 
office fitted liim admirably for the new position he occupied. 
He soon began to tievelop the rare business genius of which 
he was possessed ; and his ability and success in the man- 
agement of all financial matters entrusted to his care added 
greatly to his business, and he soon became the acknow- 
ledged authority on all mattei-s in that line. He erected 
for himself a handsome marble building for a banking house, 
superior to any edifice in the town at that time ; and subse- 
quently he built a fine brown-stone dwelling on the same 
street and opposite his former location, with his banking 
house adjoining. This messuage is now occupied by his 
amiable widow. As a citizen, he was exemplary, although 
confining himself arduously and strictly to the prosecution 
of his business. He steadily declined all public office, al- 
though at the same time he was keenly alive to all enter- 
prises that tended towards public improvements. He never 
took any active part in political matters, although previously 
to the Rebellion he was a Democrat in predilection ; but 
when the safety of the Union was imperilled, he was most 
active in advancing its cause, and aided it very materially 
by liberal contributions from his means — which had become 
very ample. He was married, in 1839, to Catherine W. 
Jones of Chester Valley, who died in 1851. His second 
wife and present widow was Sarah Brinton, who belonged 
to one of the well-known and opulent families of that name 
and section. He died February 27th, 1867, and the press 
throughout the State eulogized his memory. He was in 
the fullest sense of the term a self-made man, rising from 
the straitened circumstances of his early life by his own 
unaided ability, industry, and perseverance. 




ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

% 
cFARLAND, DAVID McCONKEV, Banker and 

Conveyancer, was born in TreddyfTrin township, 
Chester county, Pennsylvania, M.ay 6th, 1S39, 
and is a son of James and Mary (McConkey) 
McFarland of ihat section. His early years were 
spent on his parents' farm, and his education was 
acquired partly at the Freeland Seminary in Perkfomen, 
Montgomeiy county, and finally at the academy of W. Y. 
Wyers in the same county. In the autumn of 1S55, when 
in his seventeenth year, he left school and entered the Re- 
corder's office in Westchester, where he remained about 
six months, and then became a clerk in the banking house 
of his maternal uncle, David McConkey. Here he acquired 
those superior business habits which, with close attention to 
his duties in the office, have resulted in his becoming the 
proprietor of t'.ie present prosperous and ably managed finan- 
cial establishment, having on the death of his uncle, Feb- 
ruary 27Lh, 1C67, succeeded to the business. Personally, 
he is of medium height, pleasant in conversation and man- 
nei"s, in all business dealings prompt to act, paying strict at- 
tention to a.l its various details ; making his daily labors 
his chief study, and avoiding all outside matters. He was 
married, in September, 1S66, to Mary Mifflin, daughter of 
Dr. Abram Rothrock, of McVeytown, MifHin county, 
Pennsylvania. 




RAIIAM, JAMES HUTCHISON, Judge, was 
born, September loth, 1S09, in West I'enns- 
borough township, Cumberland county, Pennsyl- 
vania. At Dickinson College, in the same 
county, he received a careful classical education, 
graduating in the class of 1827. Upon leaving 
this institution, he commenced the study of law in the 
office of Andrew Carothers, a prominent member of the 
Carlisle bar, and was admitted to practice, Januai-y, 1 830. 
Tlie skill he evinced in the management of his first cases, 
soon placed him among the most promising members of 
this very able bar, and in 1839, he was appointed by Gover- 
nor Porter, Deputy Attorney-General of the State, a posi- 
tion he held for six years with signal credit, as was testified 
in 1850, by his election as President Judge of the Ninth 
Judicial District, composed of the counties of Cumljcrland, 
Perry, and Juniata. To this honorable post he was again 
elected, in 1861, for another period of ten years, so that at 
his retirement from this office, in 1S71, he had passed a 
score of years upon the bench. His decisions were char- 
acterized by marked ability and were rarely reversed by the 
Supreme Court upon review — probably as seldom as those 
of any District Judge in the State. After his retirement he 
resumed practice at the bar in Carlisle, where he still re- 
sides, associating with him his son, James Graham, Jr. ; 
he has also actively interested himself in giving instruc- 
1 lion in the Law Department of Dickinson College. In 
' 1862, his Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



4'3 




LL. D., an honor, in his instance, well-merited by a pro- 
found acquaintance with forensic literature, and uncommon 
skill in bringing its principles to bear on the practical ques- 
tions of life. He has been twice married, his second wife 
and a large family of children still surviving. 



jATTERSON, BURD, Coal Operator and Iron 
Master, was born in Juniata county, Pennsyl- 
vania, on the 8th day of July, 1788. He was 
connected, both on the paternal and maternal 
sides, with a number of influential and well- 
known Pennsylvania families, among whom may 
be mentioned the Birds, Yates, Conynghams, Ilubleys, 
and Peales. He received a thorough classical, scientific, 
and English education. In his early manhood he was a 
Professor of the Latin language, at Mt. Airy College, near 
Philadelphia. He then engaged in manufacturing pursuits, 
but was, in the year 1S26, attracted with other enterprising 
men to Pottsville, Schuylkill county, where he resided up 
to the time of his death. To have been a pioneer in the 
anthr.acite coal fields, helping to originate and foster a trade 
so far reaching in its effects, as to be almost at the founda- 
tion of the wealth of the Eastern sea board, is, in itself, a 
high honor ; and to this honor Burd Patterson was most 
emphatically entitled. But he was entitled to far more. 
He was in a most wonderful degree the embodiment of 
enterprise and progress. When he came to Pottsville he 
had passed the heyday of youth — he was verging on middle 
life, having attained his thirty-eighth year. His pecuniary 
resources were not great, l:)ut he had large knowledge of 
men and things; good character, a mature and broad in- 
tellect, and keen insight into the future. Proud of his 
country and its resources, he was anxious for their develop- 
ment. He early engaged in the purchase and sale of town 
lots in Pottsville, and in extending the limits of the then 
village in the wilderness ; indeed, up to the time of his 
death he was connected with much of its improvement, 
and in all the leading enterprises for its development. 
Ilis charactei and disposition was from his youth upwards 
essentially that of a lender, and the difficulties which de- 
terred others from entering into new enterprises, clothed 
them to him with a spirit of fascination. In Manayunk, 
now filled to overflowing with manufactories, he had em- 
barked in the manufacture of wool, and, before his removal 
to Pottsville. hail put up the first spindle that was ever run 
there. It would be next to impossible to specify all he has 
done in the development of the coal regions. His mark 
was made and his influence felt in all directions. Earnest, 
enthusiastic, untiring, and far-seeing, he, not only by in- 
dividual enterprise, but by large personal influence and 
exertion, induced others to aid in the work of development. 
In the d.arkest days of the early history of the coal trade, 
when many of the boldest of the coal operators faltered, 



he with undaunted nerve and rational hopefulness made 
clear the way before them. Understanding and appreciat- 
ing the necessity of railroad facilities in his work of de- 
velopment, an earnest and effective labor for their extension 
and increase was co-extensive with his residence in Potts- 
ville; through him old lines of road were extended, and 
by him new lines originated. But he did not confine him- 
self to Schuylkill county alone. At an early day he com- 
menced the development of the Shamokin Coal Basin, and 
was instrumental in introducing there the men and the 
capital who carried out his views. The Ashland Coal Fielil 
next commanded his attention, and in connection with 
the Messrs. Brock, of Philadelphia (who were possessed 
of the requisite capital) he laid out the town of Ashland, 
and mduced the development of a new source of immense 
wealth. With Dundas, Troutman, Biddle, of Philadelphia, 
and others, he laid out Mahanoy City. He invested largely 
in the Mahanoy Coal Field himself and induced invest- 
ments on the part of others. What has been effected by 
these several enterprises can be best appreciated by those 
who, a few years since, gazed upon an almost unbroken 
wilderness, and who now see the wilderness replaced by 
thriving towns and villages, mines and m.anufactories ; a 
country traversed in all directions by rival railroads, and 
peopled by nearly 100,000 souls. But equally remarkable 
with his efforts in coal development has been his connec- 
tion with the manufacture of iron. Few of those who now 
mark the long line of furnaces in the Lehigh and Schuyl- 
kill Valleys, and who with unvvondering eyes note the 
heavy shipments of anthracite coal used in the manufacture 
of iron, can realize the care and anxiety with which its use 
for that purpose was introduced. How failure followed 
failure ; how the timid were in utter despair ; and how even 
the sanguine lost faith and heart before success was plucked 
out of defeat. To Burd Patterson more than any other 
one man can that success be attributed. He believed, and 
believed earnestly, that iron could be so manufactured. 
With him such a belief was tantamount to action. In 
efforts from which others drew no lesson except that of 
failure, he saw the glimmer of success. Experiment after 
experiment shook the belief of nearly all except himself, 
and his influence in that direction was almost powerless, 
as, after repeated failures and heavy losses, one friend after 
another withdrew from the enterprise. Nearly every re- 
source had failed. Sustained by a few, at Last success 
crowned an effort not to be over-estimated in its influence 
upon the material prosperity of the countiy. Iron had 
been manufactured from anthracite coal. It was upon the 
occasion of a banquet given in honor of this event, at 
which Henry C. Carey, Thomas Chambei-s, and others 
were present, that Nicholas Biddle gave his celebrated 
toast — "Pennsylvania; like her sons rough and rugged — 
plenty of coal to warm her friends, and plenty of iron to 
cool her enemies." Bnrd Patterson was the founder of the 
Pioneer Furnace at Pottsville (the nucleus of the extensive 



414 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



operation of C. M. Atkins), where he met his first success 
in the manufacture of iron. In connection with Thomas 
Chambers, and receiving efficient aid from Peter Baldy, he 
started the " Rough and Ready " Iron Works at Danville. 
lie aided in the erection of the Shamokin Furnace, and 
also ill the Furnace at Farnsville. He also built the Fur- 
nace at St. Clair, now owned by James Lanigan. He had 
himself, at an early day, conceived the idea of manufac- 
turing steel from pig metal, and as a consequence, when 
the Bessemer process was discovered his mind was pre- 
pared for it. He made earnest efforts for its introduction 
in this country. He published pamphlets containing re- 
liable information on the subject, which he forwarded to 
leading iron men and capitalists in this and other States. 
He sent, at his own expense, John Pott, in company with 
an Englishman, who professed knowledge of English Iron 
Works, to Great Britain for the purpose of getting full and 
accurate knowledge of the iron works of England, Scot- 
land, and Wales. To his mind no enterprise was too 
grand; and yet there was no detail but had its significance. 
For a period of forty years his life was devoted to the dis- 
covery of coal and iron ores, their production and manu- 
facture, and the transportation of the same to market. 
Held in the highest esteem by all, his death, which occur- 
red at Pottsville, on March 31, 1867, was felt as a public 
loss. At a meeting attended by the most prominent citizens 
of Pottsville, resolutions were passed in commemoration 
of his services, and of condolence with his family. His 
loss was felt, not only in his own home, but by a wide 
circle throughout the State. 



lORTHINGTON, HON. WILMER, Physician, 
was born in what is now West Goshen township, 
Chester county, Pennsylvania, January 22d, 1S04, 
His ancestors emigrated from England about 
1700, and settled within the present corpora- 
tion limits of Philadelphia, in Byberry township. 
Subsequently they removed to the forks of the Neshamony 
creek, and 'at a later date, one branch of the family settled 
in Chester county. He received a thorough general and 
classical education at the West Chester Academy, on leav- 
ing which institution he commenced the study of medi- 
cine, under the prcceptorship of Dr. William Darlington, 
eminent both as a physician, linguist, and naturalist. The 
medical department of the University of Pennsylvania con- 
ferred a diploma upon him at his graduation, April, 1825, 
when he settled in West Chester, and applied himself with 
assiduity and success to the practice of his profession. At 
the outbreak of the Asiatic Cholera in Philadelphia, in 
1832, he voluntarily quitted his business to visit that city, 
and render aid in the overcrowded and pestilential hos- 
pitals. Some ye.irs later, in 1 839, having been appointed 
Lazaretto Physician of the Port of Philadelphia, by Gover- 




nor Porter, he .again left his increasing practice, and for 
three years served with untiring fidelity in this onerous 
post, until failing health warned him to resign. From 
early life he took a warm interest in political questions, and 
his readiness and force as a public speaker gave him great 
influence in the party of his adoption. He was elected, in 
1833; to the State Legislature, by a party composed of 
Whigs and Democrats in opposition to the Anti-Masonic 
party, then quite powerful in the .State. During his term 
of service he was one of the Joint Committee appointed to 
frame a bill for the establishment of Public .Schools on a 
plan offered by Samuel Breck, of Philadelphia, which 
passed the Lower House with but one dissenting vote. 
Near the close of the Session of 1833-4, he presented a 
memorial from the Chester county Academy of Science, 
asking legislation for a geological survey of the State. On 
his recommendation a bill was passed by both houses mak- 
ing an appropriation for this purpose, and authorizing the 
survey to be made. Professor Rogers was placed in charge 
of this undertaking so important to the industrial resources 
of the State; and his Report, in three large volumes, re- 
mains as a monument of judicious legislation. On the 
expiration of his first term of office he was off^ered a renomi- 
nation, but declined it, preferring to give his energies to 
his professional duties. Though previously a Democrat in 
principle, he was an ardent advocate of the Union cause in 
the war of the Rebellion, and attached himself at its outset 
to the Republican party. In 1863, he was elected by this 
party, to represent the district composed of Chester and 
Delaware counties in the State Senate; and again, in 1S66, 
was re-elected to the same office, the district then including 
Montgomery couiHy. During his senatorial career he was 
Chairman of the Committees on Education and on the 
Library, and a member of the Finance Committee. In the 
caucus of the Republican party, in 1S69, he was the unani- 
mous choice of his colleagues for Speaker of the Senate ; 
he was elected, and discharged the duties of that responsi- 
ble position to the great satisfaction of both parlies. While 
in the .Senate at this time he reported and had passed the 
bill creating the Soldiers' Orphan Schools, and also the bill 
creating the Board of Public Charities, both of them most 
useful and beneficent enactments. In 1869, he was ap- 
pointed by General Grant, Appraiser of the Port of Phila- 
delphia, which post he resigned in the fall of the same 
year to accept a commission as General Agent and Secre- 
tary of the Board of Public Charities. In the discharge 
of the duties of this office he has visited every prison, poor 
house, insane asylum, house of refuge, eleemosynary insti- 
tution, and local charity in the State, and has prepared and 
submitted to the Board voluminous and valuable reports, 
which have been published from time to time. These pur- 
suits have naturally obliged him to cease the practice of his 
profession, in which he h.ad achieved unusual distinction, 
as was evidenced by his election to the Presidency of the 
Pennsylvania State Medical Society, and to the Vice-Presi- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPyEDIA. 



41; 




dency of the Alumni Association of the Medical Depart- 
ment of tlie University of Pennsylvania. He has also been 
President of the Chester county Medical Society, and a 
contributor to the periodical literature of the profession. 
From his youth he has been an earnest member of the 
Presbyteriaa Church, and, since 1834, an elder. On several 
occasions the Presbytery has elected him Commissioner to 
represent it in the General Assembly. lie was married, 
September 28th, 1826, to Elizabeth, daughter of William 
Hemphill, a lawyer of West Chester. 

/ ^^^ 

'OLWELL, STEPHEN, Lawyer and Author, was 
born in Brooke county, West Virginia, March 
25th, 1800. His classical education was ob- 
tained at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania, where he graduated 
in 1819. Choosing law as his profession, he 
studied under the direction of Judge Halleck, in Steuben- 
ville, Ohio, was admitted to the bar in 1 82 1, practised 
seven years in St. Clairsville, Ohio; in 1S28, removed to 
Pittsburg, where he resided as a lawyer, until 1836. The 
practice of law was not, however, the sphere in which he 
won his chief honors, though its study doubtless formed 
an admirable preparation for the investigations in social 
science, to which his later life was chiefly devoted. In his 
thirty-.sixth year he abandoned law, and became a manu- 
facturer of iron, first at Weymouth, Atlantic county, New 
Jersey, and afterwards at Conshohocken, on the Schuylkill. 
Thenceforward throughout a quarter of a century of vicis- 
situdes, resulting from the inconstant and often unfriendly 
governmental policy toward iron manufacture, he had 
ample opportunity for studying the interests of productive 
industry. Before entering upon this pursuit he had visited 
Europe, and there had studied the art and management 
of its advanced and varied industries. In addition to con- 
ducting the affairs of his own business, he was much occu- 
pied during many years, in the settlement of the large es- 
tate of his father-in-law, the late Samuel Richards, and 
the administration of those of several other members of his 
family. He also took a prominent position in various 
public associations, industrial, mercantile, benevolent, and 
educational. He was a working member of the American 
Iron and Steel Association from its origin to the close of 
his life; of the African Colonization Society for more than 
twenty years; of the management of the House of Refuge 
for sever.al years; a Director of the Camden & Atlantic 
Railroad for nearly twenty years; a Director of the Read- 
ing and Pennsylvania Central Railroads ; a Trustee of the 
University of Pennsylvania .and the Princeton Theological 
Seminary for years, also of the Presbyterian General As- 
sembly, and a member of the Board of Education of the 
Presbyterian Church. During the war he contributed 
liberally to the Sanitai-y and Christian Commissions; after- 



ward both in money and service to the Freedmen's Aid 
Society. In service and sacrifice he was one of the earliest, 
most constant, persistent, and efficient of the men in pri- 
vate life who gave themselves unreservedly to the salvation 
of the Union. He took an active part in the organization 
of the Union League; presided at the first formal meeting 
that led to its establishment ; his name headed the list 
of signers of its constitution, and he was ever a zealous 
worker in any movement planned by it for aiding the Union 
cause. These various duties, public and private, gave him 
that sound practical experience Avhich, woven into the 
studies of his life, made him the eminent economist he be- 
came. He was ever an earnest student. On commencing 
his business life, if not even earlier, he began to collect a li- 
brary of works on social science, political economy, finance, 
pauperism, organized charities, productive industries, and 
associate and cognate departments of science. It is now the 
largest and best to be found in the country, considerably ex- 
ceeding five thousand volumes, and is valued for the purpose 
of insurance at $20,000. To this library, and to the books, 
pamphlets, periodical, and newspaper articles of his own 
production, he devoted all his leisure. He was especially a 
collector of pamphlets on Political Economy, regarding them 
as containing the best thoughts of the writers in the most 
condensed form, and as more likely to be widely and atten- 
tively read. Naturally, therefore, he put his own publica- 
tions on social and economic subjects principally into pam- 
phlet form. He possessed rare judgment, of which an 
admirable illustration is to be found in his Essay Prelimi- 
nary to Lisfs Political Economy. His literary industry is 
exhibited not only in the number, but also in the value of 
his publications. In addition to his own writings he pub- 
lished translations, with annotations of such books as by 
their treatment of important scientific truths bearing upon 
social welfare, seemed to him to deserve extensive circula- 
tion. Among these may especially be mentioned the trans- 
lation of Lisfs National System of Political Economy, and 
Chaste!' s Charity of the Primitive Churches. He also re- 
published The Race for Riches, by William Arnot, of Glas- 
(Tow, with corroborative preface and notes by himself. His 
published writings are thirty-two in number, the most im- 
portant being. The Ways and Means of Payment, an 
octavo of 644 pages, published in 1859, in which he con- 
tends against the doctrine that prices are wholly dependent 
on the supply of money, and maintains that " among the 
innumerable influences which go to determine the general 
range of prices, the quantity of money or currency is found 
to be one of the least effective." Another important work 
is, Ke-tO Themes for the Protestant Clergy, with iVotcs on 
the Literature of Charity, a duodecimo of 384 pages, 
which quickly ran through two editions, and created a 
great sens.ation in the religious world, on account of its 
boldness and originality. He was a deep student of re- 
ligious literature, and a devoted Christian. Political 
economy he cultivated as a theory of benevolence. His 



4i(J 



EIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



labors of mind and jien, hi.'; endeavors, services, and sub- 
sidies in aid of ihe eslaljlishment and extension of collegiate 
education; his influence, donations, and legacies were all 
devoted to the propagation of sound doctrine in social 
duty, and its enforcement in the education not only of 
scholars, but also of the reading people. For this he gave 
his library to the University of Pennsylvania, coupling it 
with a condition requiring the endowment of a chair of 
social scijnce, waived for the present. He largely assisted 
in the establishment of the present professorship of Chris- 
tian Ethics and Apologetics in the Theological Seminary 
of Princeton. In his sixty-fifth year he was ajipointed upon 
the Revenue Commission, authorized by Congress, in June, 
1865. For over twelve months he labored so faithfully 
and incessantly as to impair his health and to end in great 
measure his life-long pursuits as student and writer. He 
submitted special and most valuable reports on The Injlu- 
ence of Duplication of Taxes tipon American Industry ; 
The Relations of I'oreii^i Trade to Domestic Industry and 
Internal Kevenne ; Iron and Steel; IVool and Woollens; 
High Prices and their Kelations luith Currency and Taxa- 
tion ; and Overimportation and Relief. He died in Phila- 
delphia, January 15th, 1S71. 



fCCAULEY, JAMES ANDREW, D. D., Presi- 
dent of Dickinson C.jliege, Pennsylvania, was 
born, October 7th, 1S22, in Cecil county, Mary- 
land, of mixed English and Scotch ancestry. 
The proper preparation having been given him 
in the schools of Baltimore, he entered Dickinson 
College, and received his academic degree frora that institu- 
tion, in 1847. Teaching occupied him the two following 
years, when, in 1850, he was received into the Baltimore 
Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and was appointed Principal of the Wesleyan Female In- 
stitute, located at Staunton, Virginia. For four years he 
was occupied with the duties which there devolved upon 
him, performing them in a highly acceptalile manner to 
those interested ; at the expiration of that term he left the 
institute to devote himself to regular pastoral labor. He 
was appointed to the City Station, Baltimore, and later to 
the Wesleyan Chapel, Washington. While in this latter 
city he was made presiding Elder of the Washington Dis- 
trict, and in the third year of this eldership was elected a 
Delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist 
Episcopal Cnurch, which met at Brooklyn, in May, 1S72. 
By this body he was appointed a Delegate to visit, in 1874, 
the English and Irish Wesleyan Conference. During the 
year 1872, upon the resignation of the Rev. R. I,. Dathiell, 
D. D., he was called to the Presidency of the College of 
which he is alumnus, and in th.at position has met with 
deserved success, being popular with the students, and ]>ns- 
sessed of that administrative tact, which, while it holds 




them under control, docs not forfeit their aflectionate es- 
teem. Fertile with the pen and fluent in the pulpit, he 
has contributed many valuable articles to theologic.-il litera- 
ture, and h.as exercised a powerful and excellent influence 
in the various churches to which he has been attached. 




/ 



LBRIGHT, HON. CHARLES, Lawyer, Manu- 
facturer, and Legislator, was born in Berks 
county, Pennsylvania, December 13th, 1S30. 
He is a son of Solomon Albright, and springs 
from one of the oldest families in that portion 
of the State. He attended a school at Strasburg, 
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he was prepared 
for college, and entered the Sophomore Class at Dickinson, 
in 1848. Having graduated in June, 1851, he engaged in 
the study of the law with Robert L. Johnston, of Ebensburg, 
Pennsylvania, and was admitted to and engaged in prac- 
tice there, in December, 1852. He early enlisted under 
the Anti-Slavery banner, and went to Kansas, in 1S54, to 
take an active part in the struggle between the Pro-Slavery 
and Anti-Slavery parties in that Territory. Having re- 
turned to Pennsylvania, in 1856, he settled in Mauch 
Chunk, where he resumed the practice of his profession. 
He became a leading spirit in the Republican party, and, 
in i860, was a delegate to the National Republican Con- 
vention which nominated Lincoln. He took an active 
interest in the campaign which followed ; and became a 
member of the Clay Battalion, in February, 1861, and with 
it not only guarded the public buildings at Washington, but 
organized for the defence of the President. He took an 
active part in raising troops in response to the call of the 
President, and was obliged by business engagements to 
decline the proffer of a commission in the army, in 1S61 ; 
but, in August, 1862, he accepted the commission of Major 
of the I32d Reginient Pennsylvania Volunteers, \\'hich took 
an honorable part in the battle of Antietam the following 
month, and received a marked commendation from General 
McClellan in his official report. He was immediately 
afterward commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel, and having 
assumed command of his regiment was made a Colonel, 
February 22d, 1863, and assigned to the command of the 
3d Brigade, 3d Division, 2d Corps, which he commanded 
until after the b.attle of Chancellorsville. Having been 
mustered out with his regiment of nine months men, he 
accepted the appointment of Commanding Officer of Camp 
Muhlenburg, at Reading, where he organized troops for 
the emergency incident to Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania. 
He was sent to Philadelphia, in July of the same year, to 
assist in enforcing the draft. He became Colonel of the 
202d Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in September, 
1864, and w.as shortly afterwards given the command of 
the forces guarding the Orange, Alexandria, and Manassas 
Gap Railroads, and the defences of Washington from the 



BIOGRAPHICA!, ENCYCLOP.-KDIA. 



417 



depredations of the rebel Mosby. In recognition of his 
many services and deeds of gallantry, among which were 
Fredericl<sburg and Chancellorsville, the latter especially 
mentioned in the report of General French, he was ap- 
pointed Brevet Brigadier-General of Volunteers, in March, 
1S65. After the surrender of Riclimond, he was assigned 
to the command of the Lehigh Military District. Having 
been mustered out, in August, 1865, he resumed his prac- 
tice at Mauch Chunk. Upon the organization of the 
Second National Bank, at Mauch Chunk, in 1863, he be- 
came its President, and so continues. He had engaged in 
the manufacture of mining machineiy in 1S58, and having 
continued it alone until 1863, he then associated with him 
William H. Stroh, under the firm name of Albright & 
Stroh, who still operate the works well known as the 
Mauch Chunk Iron Works. He was again a Delegate to 
the National Republican Convention, in Philadelphia, in 
1872 ; and, in 1873, was elected to the Forty-third Congress, 
where he has proved an energetic and indefatigable 
worker, devoting himself assiduously to the labors devolv- 
ing upon him. He is one of the three Congressmen at 
large from Pennsylvania, and received the highest number 
of votes polled for any Congressman at his election. He 
is public spirited and earnest in the projection of every 
useful enterprise. Firm in his convictions, he is a gener- 
ous opponent and esteemed for his uniform courtesy and 
sterling integrity. 



lUCACHET, REV. HENRY WILLIAM, M. D., 
D. D., Clergyman, was a native of Charleston, 
South Carolina, where he was born in the year 
1786. At an early age he came to Philadelphia, 
where he received his education, and having 
selected medicine as a profession, devoted his at- 
tention to that science ; and subsequent to his graduation 
practised for some years in New York city. Believing, how- 
ever, that this was not exactly his sphere, he studied divinity, 
was ordained to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in 1S25, became Rector of St. Peter's Church, Salem, 
Massachusetts, and afterwards, of a parish in Norfolk, Vir- 
ginia. In 1834, after the death of Rev. Dr. Montgomery, 
he was invited to minister to the congregation of St. 
.Stephen's, Philadelphia, which he accfipted, and there con- 
tinued for the remainder of his life, a period of nearly a 
third of a century ; fulfilling the duties entirely, until during 
the last three years of his settlement, when he was pro- 
vided with an assistant. For many years he was the Secre- 
tary of the Diocesan Convention of the State, and several 
times represented the diocese in the General Convention 
of the Church. He was also for several years Rector of 
the " Burd Orphan Asylum," an institution which owes its 
origin to his suggestions, and his subsequent untiring exer- 
tions. He was prominently identified with the Masonic 
order, and filled the office of Grand Chaplain, in both the 

53 



Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of the Commonwealth. 
He was a man of high scholarly attainments, of a genial 
temperament, ready conversational powers, and was greatly 
beloved and respected by a very wide circle of friends. 
A few weeks previous to his death, his only child, a Sur- 
geon in the United States Army, died in \Vashington, 
which event, doubtless, hastened the father's decease. He 
had retired to his study for the purpose of writing, as was 
his habit in the evening, and was found therein early the 
next morning, lifeless on the floor. He died December 
14th, 1S65. He was married, about 1819, to Ann, daughter 
of the late John B. Satterthwaite, of New York city. 

ODD, GENERAL LEMUEL, Lawyer and Soldier, 
was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, July 29lh, 
1817, his parents, Isaac and Elizabeth Todd, being 
residents of the same town. After receiving his 
academic degree from Dickinson College, Carlisle, 
he entered the office of General Samuel Alexan- 
der, of that town, to read law. Admitted to the bar, 
August, 1841, he formed a partnership with his preceptor, 
and practised with him as long as he lived. After hi.; 
death, he continued to conduct the business alone, until 
1854, when he was elected a member of the Thirty- fourth 
Congress. Educated a Democrat, he acted with that party 
until that year, when he separated from it on the Nebraska 
issues, and has subsequently voted uniformly with the 
Union and Republican party. On his return from the 
National Legislature, he resumed his professional practice, 
in which he had always distinguished himself by careful 
research and acute analytical jiowcrs. The needs of his 
country, however, at the outbreak of the Civil War, led 
him to forego all the advantages of civil life; and heat 
once, early in 1S61, raised a company of soldiers and went 
into the army as Major of the 1st Regiment Pennsylvania 
Volunteer Reserve Corps. With this command he served 
throughout the seven days' battle on the Peninsula before 
Richmond, and continuously until after the second battle 
of Bull Run. At this time, much against his inclination, 
continued ill health compelled him to resign his command 
and seek restoration of his impaired constitution at the 
North. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered, he again 
took part in the national struggle, in organizing the nine 
months drafted men of the Eastern Military District of 
Pennsylvania, serving as Inspector-General of the Stale on 
the st.ifif of Governor Curtin, and acting as Commissioner 
to determine the quota of Pennsylvania in the successive 
drafts ordered by the General Government. At the close 
of the war he again returned to his practice, which he 
prosecuted with unab.ated vigor and success, until 1873, 
when he was elected Congressman at Large from the State 
of Pennsylvania, which oflice he is now holding. His 
oratory is rapid, pungent, and popular, and as an extem- 



418 



BIOGRAPHICAL EN'CVCLOP.'liDIA. 



poraneous "stump" speaker, he has few superiors in the in years, he was released from active service and spent the 
State. The only office he holds in any corporation is that i remainder of his life in the society of his children and 
of the Presidency of the Carlisle Gas and Water Works, friends at Carlisle, Penn^ylvania, where he died March 



wliich he has occupied for many years. He was married, 
in 1S49, lo Sarah A. Wilson, and has two sons. 




/ 



[ONTGOMERY, JOHN B., Rear Admiral United 
States Navy, was born, November 17th, 1 794, in 
Monmouth county, New Jersey. He was ap- 
pointed Midshipman from that Slate, June 4lh, 
1812, shortly previous to the declaration of war 
against Great Britain. The next year but one 
he was present in that capacity on board the flag ship 
" Niagara " with Commodore Peny, at the victory of Lake 
Erie, September, 1814. His commission as Lieutenant is 
dated April 1st, 1S18, and that of Commander, December 
19th, 1839. In these years he saw a large share of sea 
service, and was present with Commodore Decatur against 
Algiers, which so triumphantly vindicated the power of" 
our flag against the Coi"sairs of the Mediterranean. The 
Naval Rendezvous at Boston was placed under his charge 
in 1840, and in the years 1845-48, he was Commander 
of the Sloop-of-War "Portsmouth" in the Pacific squadron. 
While with this latter command, the War with Mexico 
was declared, and he had the distinction of being the first 
officer who planted the American flag on the California coast. 
The " Portsmouth " was in the Bay of San Francisco, 
when he received orders to take possession of the country. 
Within twenty-four hours he had the Stars and Stri_pcs fly- 
ing at San Francisco, Bodiga, Sonora, Sutter's Fort, on the 
Sacramento and at San Jose. In honor of this exploit the 
principal business street of San Francisco bears the name 
" Monlgomery Street." Another incident occurring at this 
time testified to his firmness and skill. While maintaining 
the blockade of the coast, a question of jurisdiction arose 
with some officers of the British Navy, which, for a time, 
threatened to become serious. So skilfully, however, did 
he reconcde the controversy, that he not only received the 
warm approbation of his own government, but was the 
rccijiient of a letter of thanks from Lord Palmerston, with 
the autograph of the Queen, for having conclusively settled a 
difiicult point in international law. When, at the commence- 
ment of the civil war, there was much disafltcliim in the 
navy, he did not hesitate a moment to declare in favor of the 
government, and called together the officers and men of the 
whole Pacific stpiadron, then under his command, and 
secured from them a unanimous adherence to the same 
righteous cause. In the following year, 1862, he was in 
command of the Boston Navy Yard, and of that at Wash- 
ing, 1864-5. He was commissioned Commodore July 
16th, 1862, and Rear Admiral July 25lh, 1S66. The two 
following years he commanded the Naval Slalion at .Sack- 
elt's Harbor, New York, after which, being well advanced 




25th, 1S73, in the house of his son-in-law, Dr: Mahon. 



ISTER, WILLIAM, Trc.isurcr of the North 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Februaiy 4th, 1804. 
He is the son of John Wister, a prominent dry 
goods merchant and importer, whose place of 
business was on Market street, east of Fourth ; 
the latter was the grandson of John Wister, who came to 
Philadelphia from Heidelberg, early in the eighteenth cen- 
tui*y, and bought land and entered into business and carried 
it on successfully in the same place ; and on his mother's 
side, William was the great-grandson of Owen Jones, the 
first Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 
His mother was a native of New Jersey, and a grand- 
daughter of Jeremiah Langhorne, an estimable and public- 
spirited citizen of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, a man of 
immense wealth, and the owner of Langhorne Park. 
William Wister was educated in the public schools of Ger- 
mantown ; and when he had arrived at man's estate en- 
gaged in the manufacture of Woollen Goods, near German- 
town, in connection with his brother-in-law, Thomas U. 
Fisher, the firm being known as Wister & Fisher. He 
continued in this business for several years, when he dis- 
posed of his interest in the establishment, and subsequently 
purchased a Calico Print Works, near Germantown, and 
remained for a number of years its proprietor; when, find- 
ing that a longer connection with his manufacturing goods 
would not be congenial to his tastes, he disposed of his 
mills. In 1853, he was elected Treasurer of the North 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and this position he has 
ever since retained. He is also largely interested in Iron 
manufactures, being a stockholder in several companies, 
and President of ihe Duncannon Iron Company. He is a 
Director of the Hand in Hand Insurance Company, and 
also the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society. Although he 
has been frequently urged by his fellow-citizens to accept 
of some public office at their hands, and especially solicited 
to be nominated foi- Congress, he has — with the exception 
of a few minor offices of no pecuniary profit — steadily re- 
fused to allow his name to be used in this connection, pre- 
ferring to remain in private life. Although his years pre- 
vented him from serving in the field during the War of the 
Rebellion, yet he contributed freely of his means in the 
support of the National Government, and his donations to 
the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, for the relief of 
the sick, wounded, and suflering soldiers, were liberal and 
well timed. But in one respect, especially, he contributed 
to the welfare of the Union cause, for all his sons, six in 
number, were in the field at one and the same time. His 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



419 



eldest son, William Rolcli, when nnislered out of the 
service, had attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel ; 
Langhorne came home with the title of General prefixed to 



cise of prompt precautionary measures suggested by a con- 
sciousness of approaching danger, been able to meet all 
demands, and sustain their credit and honor. William 



his name; Francis was a Captain in the Regular Army, and Parker is a Director in the Oil Cily Savings Bank, and was 

one of its first organizers in 1863. While always declining 
to enter the lists as a candidate for political honor or office, 
and unwilling to involve himself in the warfare of public 
partisanship, he inclines in opinion to Republican princi 
pies, and supports that party in its measures and move- 
ments. He was married July 4lh, 1850, to Bell M. Pollock, 
a former resident of Jefferson county, Ohio. 



a Colonel in one of the Union League regiments of Phila 
delphia, and served during the war, but has since resigned 
his commission ; Jones and Rodman were likewise in the 
field ; and John was connected with General Couch's staff 
at Harrisburg, looking after the movements of the rebel 
General Longstreet, in Cumberland valley and vicinity, 
and reporting Uiem to headquarters. If his age prevented 
his own presence in the field, he was ably represented by 
his sons; and he must feel proud of the thought that, .at 
the time the nation's vei-y existence was imperilled, all his 
sons risked their lives to succor and aid it ; if not a 
warrior himself, he was the father of warriors. He was 
married, in 1826, to Sarah Logan, a daughter of William 
L. Fisher, a prominent and successful woollen manufac- 
turer of Germantown, and the founder of the Duncannon 
Iron Company, who was also a grandson of James Logan, 
the founder of the Logani.m Library, and Wi!li.im Penn's 
confidential secretary and most intimate friend, and a man 
of great learning and note in the early days of the Province 
of Pennsylvania. 



jARKER, WILLIAM, Oil Operator, w.-is born at 
Parker's Landing, Venango county, Pennsylva- 
nia, May 23d, 1823. His parents were John W. 
Parker and Margaret (Perry) Parker, a native of 
the county. He attended the log school-houses 
of his birth-place and the surrounding countiy, 
working on the farm during the vacations and whenever 
his services were required. In 1848, he engaged in the 
lumbering trade, interesting himself also in enterprises con- 
nected therewith. He was thus successfully occupied until 
i860. Leaving Parker's Landing in the spring of that 
year, he moved to Oil City ; when he arrived there, three 
houses and one small hotel constituted the sum total of its 
buildings and structures. Judging, however, that the region 
would ultimately develop into a well-populated and pros- 
perous town, and become the centre of a thriving commerce, 
he interested himself in land and oil enterprises and opera- 
tions, and, in the latter, became producer as well as dealer. 
Success crowning his able efforts, he associated with him in 
partnership W. Thompson, and thereafter prosecuted busi- 
ness under the firm-name of Parker & Thompson. This 
connection, inaugurated in 1861, has continued to the 
present time, and as an oil-producing and oil-operating 
establishment, the concern is one of the largest in the oil 
regions, and possesses a wide-spread reputation for stability, 
reliability and solid prosperity. Through the financial 
panics and crises which have agitated the country since 
l86l, the partners passed untouched, having, by the exer- 




OWE, JOHN, Farmer and Surveyor-General, was 
born October 4th, 1814, in Greencastle, Franklin 
county, Pennsylvania, his father having been a 
native of Ireland, a Protestant, from the county 
of West Meath, and one of the early settlers 
of Franklin county. No sooner had he com- 
pleted his education than, although not yet to his legal 
majority, he commenced to take an active part in local 
politics. The Democrats sent him as a delegate to their 
county convention before he was of age, and this body in 
turn selected him as a delegate to the State convention 
with instructions to nominate Martin Van Buren for the 
Presidency. In 1840, when twenty-five years of age, he 
was elected Justice of the Peace at the first election for that 
office under the new Constitution. Four years later, he 
was Democratic nominee for the General Assembly, and, 
though unsuccessful at that time, was the representative of 
his party in the State Legislature in 1851, and again in 
1852. In the exciting year of 1856, when the Presidential 
campaign which elected James Buchanan was in process 
of organization, he was nominated as Surveyor General, the 
second place upon the State ticket, as his party believed 
his popularity would carry great weight throughout the 
State. His election followed, and at the expiration of his 
term, in 1859, he was unanimously chosen for re-election, 
although it was well known that he was a warm adherent 
of Stephen A. Douglass. That year, however, the Demo- 
cratic party failed to carry the State. At the outbreak of 
the war of the Rebellion, he took firm ground with the 
Government, and, in the fall of 1S61, he was elected on 
the Republican ticket to the State Legislature, and was 
chosen Speaker of the House. Since then he has acted 
constantly with this party, and has taken a prominent posi- 
tion in its more recent contests. In the fall of 1872, he 
was pi-esented to the Republican Convention of Franklin 
county for Congress, and his nomination was strongly 
urged by many of the delegates, but failed to be carried. 
In his business, as well as his political relations, he has 
always been characterized by integrity of purpose, candor, 
and decision. 



420 



y 



BIOGRAPHICAI, ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



|ARKE, CENERAL JOHN G., United Stales 
Army, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, 
September 22<1, 1827. He sprang from an old 
Chester county family, descended from the Scotch- 
Irish Presbyterians. He prepared for college 
with Samuel Crawford, of Philadelphia, and 
matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1843, 
where he continued until he entered the United States 
Militai-y Academy, July 1st, 1S45. He graduated July 1st, 
1S49, when he was promoted to Brevet Second Lieutenant 
Topographical Engineers, and assigned to duty as Assistant 
Topographical Engineer in determining the initial point 
of the boundai-y between Iowa and Minnesota. He was 
transferred to the Department of New Mexico in 1850, and, 
in 185 1, became engaged in the survey of the Little Colo- 
rado river, etc. He was chosen Secretary of the Board 
for the Ini])rovement of Lakes, Harbors, and Western 
Rivers, in 1852, and, in 1853, received the appointment of 
Assistant Topographical Engineer in the survey for the 
Pacific Railroad in California, and also had charge of the 
survey for the Pacific Railroad on the 32d parallel, as 
well as a second survey in Southern California and on the 
32d parallel from the Pacific coast to the Rio Grande, 
1854-56. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant Topo- 
graphical Engineers April l8th, 1854, and continued his 
survey duty until his appointment as Engineer Secretary of 
the Light-House Board, April 24th, 1856. Having been 
commissioned First Lieutenant, July 1st, 1856, he con- 
tinued the last-named duty until March 2d, 1857, when he 
became Chief Astronomer and Surveyor of the Northwest 
bounilary between the United States and the British Pro- 
vinces, being determined by a joint commission from the 
two countries under the provisions of the Treaty of 1846. 
Upon the completion of the field work of this expedition, 
in the summer of 1861, he repaired to Washington to pre- 
pare the necessary maps and reports. Having declined a 
Capt.iincy in the 13th United St.ites Infantry, May 14th, 
1S61, he received a Captain's commission in the Corps of 
Topographical Engineers, September glh, 1S61. He was 
appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers, November 23d, 
1S61, and ordered to report for duty to Brigadier General 
Stone, commanding at Poolsviile, Maryland. But before 
he could comply, he was detailed as a member of a Gene- 
ral Court Martial sitting in Washington. He was relieved 
in December, i86i, and ordered to report to Brigadier 
(ieneral Ambrose E. Burnside, at Annapolis, by whom he 
w.as assigned to tbe command of the 3d Brigade of the 
Coast Division. The expedition sailed for North Carolina 
in Januaiy, 1862, and having taken Roanoke Island, Feb- 
ruary 8th, proceeded to Newbern in March. Having 
landed on the right bank of the Neuse, the command drove 
the enemy from his entrenchments, March 14th, and en- 
tered Newbern. To his brigade w.as assigned the difficult 
task of the reduction of Fort Macon; and, after some 
dekay, a lodgement was effected on Bogue Bank, whence 



the invested fort was bombarded for eight hours, on April 
25lh, when the enemy surrendered. In recognition of his 
gallant antl meritorious conduct in this action, he was 
made a Brevet Lieutenant Colonel United States Army, to 
date from April 26th, 1 862, the day upon which the terms 
of surrender were arranged. He then commanded a divi- 
sion under General Burnside, in North Carolina, until 
July, 1862, when he was ordered with his command to 
Newport News, Virginia. Having been commissioned 
Major General of Volunteers, July l8lh, 1S62, he was sent 
with his ccmimand to Fredcricksburgh, Virginia, via Aquia 
creek, where he was soon afterward relieved of his com- 
mand and assigned to duty as Chief of .Staff to General 
Burnside. After the evacuation of Fredcricksburgh and 
Aquia creek, during the campaign of General Pope in 
Virginia, General Burnside took command of the ist and 
9th Corps for the Maryland campaign. General Parke 
participated in the battles of South Mountain and .»\ntietam, 
as well as in the pursuit of the enemy to Warrenton, Vir- 
ginia, in October and November, 1862. General Burnside 
took command of the .'Vrmy of the Potomac, November 7ih, 
1S62, and General Parke was continued as his Chief of 
St.aff until January 25th, 1863, when General Burnside was 
relieved by General Hooker. General Parke was actively 
engaged in the battle of Fredcricksburgh, and after General 
Burnside had been assigned to the command of the De- 
partment of the Ohio, he was sent to Fortress Monroe to 
conduct the two divisions of the 9th Army Corps, lying at 
Newport News, to Kentucky. Upon the completion of 
that duty, he was again retained at the department head- 
quarters as Chief of Staff. General Burnside having been 
ordered to reinforce General Grant, at Vicksburg, early in 
June, 1S63, the 9th Army Corps was detailed for the mis- 
sion, and General Parke having been placed in command, 
assisted in the reduction of the besieged city. When Vicks- 
burg surrendered, July 4lh, 1863, he was ordered to report 
with his command to General .Sherman, by whom he was 
placed in command of the left wing of the army pursuing 
General Johnston to Jackson. After a vigorous investment 
of eight d.ays, the enemy evacuated, July 1 6th, 1 863, and 
General Parke again received a recognition of his gallant 
and meritorious services, in the capture of Jackson, by a 
commission as Brevet Colonel United States Army, to date 
from July 12th, 1S63. He returned with his command to 
Haines' Bluff, on the Yazoo river, to await transports to re- 
convey his corps to Kentucky. Having embarked them 
early in August, he ])roceeded to Camp Nelson, where he 
found less than one-half the effective strength he had taken 
to Mississippi. After a short recuperation, he proceeded to 
Knoxville, participating in the action at Blue Spring, 
October loth and nth, 1863. Reaching Knoxville, he 
again became Chief of Staff, and so continued until the 
raising of the siege, December 5th, 1S63, when he was 
placed in command of the foi-ces in the field. The troops 
having been ordered into winter-quarters about January 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.€DIA. 



421 



20th, 1S64, he returned to the command of the 9th Army 
Corps, and during January and P'cliruary, 1S64, operated 
against General Longstreet. He continued in command 
of that corps during its removal to Virginia, March 17th to 
May 3d, 1S64, and then resumed his place as Chief of 
Staff to General Burnside. He participated in the battles 
of the Wilderness and around Spottsylvania, the passage of 
the James river, and the march to Petersburg, in June, 
1S64. He was commissioned Major, Corps of Engineers, 
June 17th, 1864. He had command of the 9th Army 
Corps at the siege of Petersburg, from August 13th, 1864, 
to April 3d, 1865, when the rebel entrenchments before 
Petersburg were captured, and then joined in the pursuit 
of Lee, until his surrender, April 9th, 1865, remaining in 
command until the corps was disbanded. He had partici- 
pated in the engagements at Preble's Farm, October 2d, 
1S64, Hatcher's Run, October 27lh, 1S64, and the gallant 
repulse of the assault on Fort Steadman, March 25th, 1865. 
For his gallantry at Knoxville he wrs made a Brevet 
Brigadier General United States Army, while his heroism 
at Fort Steadman won for him the appointment of Brevet 
Major General United States Army, both commissions to 
date from March 13th, 1S65. In May, 1S65, he was placed 
in command of the District of Alexandria, which he held 
until July 28th, 1865, when he was assigned to the com- 
mand of the Southern District of New York, in which he 
continued until mustered out of the volunteer service, Janu- 
ary 15th, 1866. He was a member of the Board to recom- 
mend for Brevet appointments from March loth to June 
22d, 1806, after which he awaited orders until September 
26th following. He resumed his duty as Chief Astronomer 
and Surveyor for determining the Northwest Boundary, 
Septemlier 2Sth, iS56, and so continued until its comple- 
tion. Since then he has been an assistant to General 
Humphreys, Chief of Engineers. 



■^JEYNOLDS, WILLIAM F., Merchant and 
Banker, was born in Mifflinville, Columbia 
county, Pennsylvania, June 9th, 1S13. His 
V , p father, Thomas Reynolds, was a prominent citi- 
(3, c^ zen of his day and section ; but his means being 
moderate, he was able to secure for his son only 
such an education as could be obtained at the common 
schools of that period and locality. At the age of thirteen, 
he was placed in the store of Stephen Bnldy, then a leading 
merchant in the town of Catawissa. Here he remained 
one year, receiving no other compensation for his services 
thsoi his board. While in this position, his industry, busi- 
ness tact, and quick perceptions, with his excellent moral 
character, attracted the attention of Matthew McDowell, 
conducting a large mercantile Iiusiness at Berwick, in the 
same county, who oftered him five dollars per month. This 
offer, ha\ing obtained his employer's jiermission, he ac- 



cepted, and remained in that store two years. Mr. Mc- 
Dowell then retired from business, and proposed to his 
assistant, who was but sixteen years of age, to become his 
successor. He agreed, and, with a small capital furnished 
by his father and his own good credit, the young merchant 
embarked in business. He remained in Berwick for ihree 
years, when, in 1832, he removed to the larger and more 
progressive town of Danville. He continued to reside 
there until 1841, when he transferred his business to Belle- 
fonte, Centre county, where he has ever since made his 
home. He inaugurated a new era in the mercantile busi- 
ness of this place, and soon became the acknowledged 
leader of his branch of trade. He also engaged in iron 
manufacturing, in which he was for a time successful. His 
surplus capital having been judiciously invested in real 
estate, the rise in value of the latter enabled him to retire 
from business with a handsome fortune. Inaction soon 
liecoming irksome to his active disposition, after a year or 
two of leisure, he engaged in the private banking business, 
his house, which was opened in the spring of 1859, being 
known as that of W. F. Reynolds & Co. To this lie has 
given his personal attention, and under his management it 
has become one of the leading financial institutions of that 
section of the State. Though frequently solicited to permit 
his name to be placed on the ticket of his party as the 
nominee for Congress, he has steadily declined, preferring 
eminence in his chosen walk of life to the cares of a politi- 
cal career. He is popular with the masses of the people, 
among whom he has an enviable reputation for uprightness, 
fair dealing, and liberality. 

.•) a / 
^cJUNKIN, HON. EBENEZER, Lawyer and 
Legislator, was born in Butler county, Pennsyl- 
vania, March 28th, 1819. Having Ijeen duly 
prepared at the preparatoiy school of Jefferson 
College, he entered the Freshman class at Jeffer- 
son College, \Vashington county, Pennsylvania, 
in 1837, and graduated in 1841. He then engaged in the 
study of the law with Charles C. Sullivan, of Butler, 
Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar on the second 
Monday of September, 1843. He commenced practice at 
Butler, Pennsylvania, where he has continued until the 
present time. He was appointed Deputy Attorney General 
for Butler county, in 1849, by Cornelius Darragh, Attorney 
General of Pennsylvania, and held the position during 
the following year. He was a delegate to the National 
Republican Convention at Chicago, in 1S60, and his name 
appeared on the Republican electoral ticket in Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1864. After retiring from his public ofhce, he 
resumed private practice, and continued it uninterruptedly 
until 1872. In that year, he was nominated and elected 
to the Forty-third Congress from the Twenty-third District 
by a large majority. He has ma<le an excellent recortl. 




422 



BIOGRAnnCAL ENCYCI.OP.EDIA. 




and has rendered efficient service as Chaiinian of the 
Committee on Expenditures in the Navy Department, as 
well as a member of tlie Committee on Invalid Pensions. 
He was nominated by the Republicans of the Seventeenth 
Judicial District of Pennsylvania, in 1874, as their candi- 
date for Judge. 

'DGE JACOB, Bank President, was the son 
of Thomas and Edith Edge, of Downingtown, 
Pennsylvania, where he was born, December 
2lst, 1808. His father's grandfather, George 
Edge, emigrated from Wales about th? com- 
mencement of the eighteenth century. His 
mother's grandfather, Caleb Pusey, came frotn England 
with William Penn, and is mentioned in the early history 
of our Commonwealth as the first person whoierecte^ a 
water-power mill in Pennsylvania. His father being a 
farmer, he worked with him until 1S25, when he learned 
tanning, and, in 1S29, commenced that trade for hinaself, 
continuing in it until 183;. From that time until l$52, he 
carried on a general mercantile business with satisfactory 
success. He then purchased a fine property- in Chester 
county, consisting of a mill, store, and farni, in the manage- 
ment of which he was engaged until 1862, when he retifed 
and gave place to his son, Jacol) T.,Edge. ■ The following 
year he was elected President of the Bowningtown NatioJisd 
Bank, and has been annually re-elected to the 'safne 
position. By birthright and conviction he -is a member-.of 
the Society of Friends, and for many years has been Elde^ 
and Overseer in the Meeting. He has also been a member 
of the Indian Committee, and has occupied other official 
positions, always performing the duties devolving upon 
him with credit to himself and advantage to others. He 
was married, in 1837, to Annie Valentine, of Downing- 
town, Chester county, Pennsylvania, also a member of 
the Society of P'riends. 



jUTAN, JAMES SMITH, Lawyer and State Sena- 
tor, was born in Carroll county, Ohio, May 29th, 
1838, and is a son of Alexander A. Rutan, a 
farmer of long experience, of almndant means"; 
and an influential and public-spirited citizen. 
He received an excellent tducation, having at- 
tended Richmond College, Ohio, and the Beaver Academy, 
at Beaver, Pennsylvania. After completing his studies at 
the latter institution, he taught school for a year, and then 
began to prepare himself for the profession of the law, 
pro.secuting his studies under Colonel Richard P. Roberts, 
who afterwards fell on the battle field of Gettysburg. Being 
admitted to the bar, he commenced the practice of law at 
Beaver, Pennsylvania, where he remained until September, 
1S61, and then entered the army as a Lieutenant of a com- 
pany of the loist Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and 




served throughout the Peninsular Campaign. He was dis- 
charged from the service in August, 1S62, at Harrison's 
Landing, owing to ill health, and, on his return home, was 
elected District Attorney of Beaver county, having been 
nominated to that office while still in the field. In this 
position he served altogether six years, having been re- 
nominated and re-elected without opposition. He con- 
tinued in the practice of his profession until the Presidential 
election of 1868, and was selected by the Electoral College 
of Pennsylvania as their Messenger, or Bearer of their 
returns to the National Capital. In 1869, he was elected 
to the Senate of Pennsylvania from the Twenty-sixth Dis- 
trict, consisting of the counties of Beaver, Butler, and 
Washington, and was re-elected, in 1872, by a largely 
increased majority. He was twice Chairman of the Com- 
mittee^on Congressional Apportionment, and was Speaker 
of the Senate during the session of 1S72. He has also 
served as a member of the Committees on Federal Rela- 
.tions, P'inance, Railroads, and others of an important 
character. During the session of 1874, he did good service 
as^Ch.-iirman of the Committee on Apportionment. He 
has a controlling interest and is the principal of the 
'Bca^'cr Jiadhal, and is a Director of the Beaver National 
Bank. He was ^larried. May 2d, 1S65, to a daughter of 
Rev. Dr. (i<}.v, of figaver county, Pennsylvania. 



lESTLING, GEORGE BERRYIIILL, Civil and 
Mining Engineer, was born in Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania, January 25th, 1835. His grand- 
father, a Saxon by birth, was a surgeon in the 
German navy, and emigrated to this country 
shortly before the Revolution ; while, on his 
mother's side, his ancestry is Scotch-Irish. The problems 
of engineering having early attracted his attention, he gave 
much study to mathematics and mechanics, aided by an 
unusually inventive and perceptive mind. The first public 
works in which he was eng.aged were the Philadelphia & 
Erie, the Sunbury & Erie, and the Lancaster, Lebanon & 
Pennsgrove Railroads, on which he did much practical 
field labor, and assisted in the computation of most of the 
surveys. Later, he became an active member of the firm 
pf McAllister & Wiestling, railroad contractors, and under- 
toolc some exten?five operations in this capacity. Among 
these may be specified the Oxford tunnel, in Warren 
county, New Jersey, and some heavy grades on the Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna & Western, and the Chesapeake & Ohio 
Railroads. This la.st-mentioned contract was occupying 
his time when the outbreak of the Rebellion put a summaiy 
close to the operations in that quarter. When the Southern 
forces invaded tlie Cumberland Valley, he had charge, 
under the St.ite government, of shipping troops from Har- 
risburg to the front. Several regiments were placed 
under his command as Colonel ; first, the 23d Regiment 





"Kiiiya^ &aii>/i*;,-.-'" 




BIOGRAl'IIICAL ENCYCLOP.'EDIA. 



42j 



Pennsylvania Emergency Men, then the drafleil men of the 
Sixteenth District, at Camp McClure, and lastly the 177th 
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with which he 
participated in the engagement ; at Black Water and Suf- 
folk, Virginia. The fatigues of the campaign so severely 
injured his health that, in 1S63, he was compelled to 
resign his command and return to civil life. The Mont 
Alto Iron Company, in which he owned an interest, of.ered 
him the Superintendency of their extensive works, which 
he accepted and still retains, together with that of Engineer 
and Superintendent of the Mont Alto Railroad Company. 
His inventive skill has been most advantageously displayed. 
He lias devised an improved ore-washer, a rinsing and 
screw attachment, and an ore calciner. The only success- 
ful charcoal kilns in Pennsylvania are those under his 
management, and the blast furnace of the works has made 
the longest blast on record without " blowing out," which, 
in the opinion of mining authorities, is the highest proof 
of the skill of a manager. In politics, his views are those 
of the Radical Republican party, but never so strong as to 
induce him to vote for worthless men merely because they 
are party candidates. He has been a frequent delegate to 
conventions, but has declined holding office. 



'LAYTON, HON. POWELL, United States Sena- 
tor from Arkansas, was born in Delaware county, 
Pennsylvania, August 7th, 1S33. When William 
Penn came from England to Pennsylvania in 
16S1, he was accompanied by one William Clay- 
ton, who settled in what is now Delaware county, 
Pennsylvania. Sixth in descent from him came Powell's 
father, John Clayton, who wedded Ann, daughter of Cap- 
tain George Clark, of the British army. After a common 
school education, at the age of twenty, he entered Captain 
Alden Partridges's Military Acndemyat Bristol, Pennsylva- 
nia. He studied civil engineering with Professor Sudler at 
Wilmington, Delaware, in 1S54, and after due preparation 
began practice. He took such high rank in this field of 
labor that, in 1859, he was. made Engineer and Surveyor 
of Leavenworth, Kansas. At the outbreak of the war, as 
captain of a company of militia, he was, immediately after 
the firing upon Fort Sumter, ordered by the Governor into 
camp near Leavenworth. He was mustered into the ser 
vice of the United States May 29th, 1861, as Captain in ist 
Kansas Infantiy, and participated with the command of 
General Lyon in the battle of Wilson's Creek, his company 
losing forty-nine cut of seventy-four men. This action 
gained him the commission of Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
5th Kansas Cavalry in February, 1862, and the next month 
(March) he became their Colonel. In the gallant repulse 
of the Confederates under General Holmes in their attack 
upon Helena, the cavalry brigade, under the command of 
Colonel Clayton, took a prominent and honorable part. He 




also participated in the capture of Little Rock, Arkansas, 
by General Steele, and was shortly afterward assigned to 
the command of the military post at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. 
The rebel General Marmaduke having demanded his sur- 
render, October 25th, 1S63, he replied: "If General Mar- 
maduke desires Pine Bluff, he is at liberty to attempt its 
capture." A terrible onslaught was then made upon the 
town, defended by but 600 men and 9 pieces of artillery, 
the attacking force being 4000 men and 12 cannon. With 
the aid of the freedmen who liad flocked to him for protec- 
tion, he barricaded the .streets, and having stationed his 
guns in such a manner as to command every approach, 
massed his men, stationed his sharp-shooters at eveiy avail- 
able point, and endured the furious attack against such odds 
for five hours, when the enemy retired in confusion, leaving 
his dead and wounded on the field. Soon after this victory 
he moved on Monticello simultaneously with the advance 
of General Steele upon Camden, and having met the rebel 
division of General Dockery at Mount Elba, on the Saline 
River, routed him, and returned to Pine Bluff with 300 
prisoners, 30D horses, 60 wagons, and a paymaster's chest 
containing $60,000, as trophies of his success. President 
Lincoln, in recognition of his distinguished gallanti'v, aji- 
pointed him a Brigadier-General in August, 1S64, and he 
continued in command at Pine Bluff until he was mustered 
out, August, 1865. Having married B. A. McGraw, daugh- 
ter of an old and prominent citizen of Helena, Arkansas, he 
settled on a plantation in Jefferson county near Pine Bluff. 
Upon the organization of the Republican party in that State, 
in 1S67, he made the first canvass in its interest in favor of 
the Constitutional Convention. In Februaiy, 1S6S, he was 
nominated for Governor, and the election resulted in the 
adoption of the new constitution and the election of General 
Clayton. He entered upon the discharge of his official 
duties with a vigor and a determination rarely manifested. 
The presidential campaign having opened immediately after 
the adjournment of the Legislature, there commenced the 
Ku Klux Klan and Order of the While Camelia outrages. 
The Governor met the issue promptly and firmly, and on 
the day succeeding the election proclaimed martial law in 
the disturbed sections, and called for three brigades of 
State militia. The troops were speedily forthcoming, and 
several encounters ensued. After a service of four months, 
during which time a large number of " Ku Klux " were 
arrested, convicted and executed, the militia was mustered 
out at Little Rock. The course of the Governor had, mean- 
while, been endorsed by the reassembled Legislature, as 
well as in special reports to the General-in-chief. Law and 
order thus reinstated, a tide of immigration flowed into the 
State, and the Republican party gained such prestige as to 
sweep the Stale in 1S70. Upon the assembling of the 
Legislature in January, 1S71, Governor Clayton was unani- 
mously nominated by the Republican caucus for United 
States Senator, and was elected January loth, receiving all 
but fourteen votes. Being under a pledge to his friends not 



424 



BIOGRAPHICAL i:N"CYCLOr,-EDIA. 



to vacate the eNeculive chair if llie quo wartanlo pemling 
against Lieutenant-Governor James M. Johnson was de- 
cided in his favor, he continued in the office of Governor. 
Meanwhile, personal enemies, with the Democracy, hoping 
to secure the suspension of the Governor from the guber- 
natorial office, presented articles of impeachment in the 
Lower House and secured their adoption. The managers 
having obeyed the instructions of the House, and presented 
the articles at the bar of the .Scn.ate, resigned. Other mana- 
gers, all Democrats, having been selected, reported to the 
House their inability to secure any testimony in their sup- 
]>ort, and moved that the articles be dismissed and previous 
action in the case rescinded. This report having been 
adopted by a large majority, the Goverrfor, who had stead- 
fastly refused to surrender his office despite the threats of 
violence, the same day resigned his Senatorship^as the 
Lieutenant-Governor had, a few days previously, been de- 
clared entitled to his seat. This act wi^roccivcd with so 
much enthusiasm that the people demanded Suih aa.ftdjast- 
ment as would render Governor Clayton free to accept the 
Senatorship. Finally, March 13th, iS/lj -Sloir. R. J. T. 
White, Secretary of State, . and jii^Lieutenant-Gov^nor 
both resigned, the latter being iij|iiV)cJi:^'elyapi»iuted ■Secre- 
tary of State, and the Seiiate,electe4. Hon; O. K.- Hadley, a 
staunch and earnest Republican,- Speaker o/:the,- Senate. 
The Legislature n.et thtens.\t day-lo elQct-the Uniledjgtates 
Senator, and each House re-elected Governor C^layton^i the 
first ballot. He inmiediatsly rcsigiv-'d his Goverporship, 
and took his seat in thftU.^S.Jepate, March 25th! , I Syt: 
In the Forty-Third Congres-s Jie was SJlairm.iii of 'the Joint 
Committee on Enrolled Bill_s,- as tveM as a r.ien\^rof Ijie 
Committees on Military Affairs, on Territories, and the 
Select Committee on the Levees of the Mississippi river. ' 

si ~^^ 

JICHMOND, HIRAM L., Lawyer and Legislator, 
was born in Westfield, Chautauqua county. New 
York, May 17th, 1810, and is a son of Doctor 
Lawton Richmond, the family being of Norman 
descent. After receiving a thorough* educdTion 
in the academjt.of his native town, he. engaged 
in the study of medicine under ^his f.u1ier, anjso contiinrEd 
for two years. ,,J4^,^l»efiuently m.Uriculated at Allegheny 
College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, and passed two years in 
that institution. His early inclinations having tended in 
the di.ection of the law, he entered upon the requisite 
course of study to qualify himself for that profession under 
the preceptorship of lion. David Derrickson of Meadville, 
and was .admitted to the B.rr in Febru.ary, 1838. In the 
following April he commenced to practise as an Attorney at- 
Law at Meadville, where he has ever since been profession- 
ally engaged. He early manifested a deep interest in the 
political afifliirs of the country, being identified with the 
Whigs until the organization of the National Republic.in 




party, when he became anil still continues one of its most 
active members. In 1S72, he was elected by the Republi- 
cans of the Twentieth District as their Representative to 
the Forty-third Congress, and has there proved himself a 
faithful, zealous and effective member. He has served on 
the Committees on Public Expenditure and Indian Affairs. 
His sympathies for the down-trodden aboriginal race are 
well known, and were forcibly expressed by him in a 
speech delivered in the House, May 1st, 1S74, on the 
" Indian Appropriation Bill," urging a continuance of 
the " Peace Policy " inaugurated during the administration 
of President Grant under the auspices of the Society of 
Friends, and opposing the gunpowder system as advocated 
by those who believed in the principles of the old regime. 
He is connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
for twenty years has been a member of the Centenary Board 
of the Erie Conference. He has also been for thirty years 
a Trustee of Allegheny College. 



V 

HOEMAKER, LAZARUS DEXISON, Lawyer 

^tnd Legislator, was born in Kingston, Luzerne 
cumity, Pennsylvania, November 5th, 1S19, and 
" .is the. youngest son of Colonel Elijah S. and Eliz- 
abeth (Denison) Shoemaker, who was the posses- 
sor-of'a large landed estate in the Wyoming 
Valley, j. I ill paternal ancestors were natives of Holland, 
'who left Tjieir country first for England, and afterwards 
tmigated to America, locating on the banks of the Del.a- 
w'are. ' His great grandfather, Benjamin S. Shoemaker, 
was one of the first white settlers of the Wyoming Valley 
in 1 763, but after the first massacre, returned to the Dela- 
ware, where, subsequently uniting with emigrants from 
Connecticut, he finally made a permanent settlement on 
the banks of the Susquehanna river, under the auspices of 
the " Connecticut and Susquehanna Land Company." His 
son. Lieutenant Elijah S. Shoemaker, was killed at the 
second massacre of Wyoming, July 3d, 1778, his son, Elijah 
S.^^Jr., being only si.K*\veeks old. The maternal grand- 
father of Lai^rus D. Shoemaker was Colonel Nathan Deni- 
sonVa native of New Sigland, who married Elizabeth Sill 
in 1769, inaJbg cabit? siruate'd within the present limits of 
the city of Wilkesbarre, being the first marriage of whiles 
which ever took place in the Wyoming Valley ; and Lazarus 
Denison, father of the late Charles Denison — who served in 
Congress from i85i to 1S67 — was the first white child born 
in that section. Lazarus D. Shoemaker was first placed in 
the celebrated Moravian school, " Nazareth Hall," for his 
preliminai-y education, whence he was sent to the Gambler 
Grammar School in Ohio. He entered the Freshman class 
of Yale College, New Haven, in 1836, and graduated with 
honors in 1840. He subsequently engaged in the study of 
l.iw with General Sturdevant of Wilkesbarre, and was ad- 
mitted to the Bar in August, 1S42, and h.as ever since pr.ac- 



^«# 




Wl. •i. VLA^CMAVL 



(TM^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



42s 



tised his profession in that city until tlie ]iresent time, except 
when interrupted by official duties. In 1 866, he was nomi- 
nated by the Republican party as their candidate for the 
State Senate, and notwithstanding the district was strongly 
Democratic, his personal popularity was so great as to over- 
come all opposition, and he was returned by over two hun- 
dred majority. During his entire term of three years, he 
served with great honor to the Commonwealth ; his con- 
stituents and himself laboring indefatigably for their inte- 
rests and the public weal. He served during his term as 
a member of the General Judiciary Committee, for the sec- 
ond and third years as its Chairman, besitle being also con- 
nected with other important committees. Among the mea- 
sures he introduced and advocated was an " Act for the 
better and more impartial selection of persons to serve as 
jurors in each of the counties of the Commonwealth." 
This law secures from each county a commissioner for each 
of the two great political parties, who, with the Judge of 
the District, select all the jurors. Under this law, the 
character of jurors has greatly improved, it being the aim 
of each Commissioner to bring out the most respectable and 
judicious members of his own party. Another Act which 
he supported is entitled the " Registry Law," for the pre- 
vention of illegal voting, and it is sustained hy the honest 
men of all parties. At the close of his term of service, he 
had given such satisfaction to his constituents that he was 
deemed worthy of advancement, and received the nomina- 
tion as Representative of the Twelfth District for Congress, 
and was elected, in 1S70, by a majority of 1220 votes over 
his competitor; he was re-elected, in 1872, by a handsome 
majority. In this new and more important sphere of duty 
he has likewise proved an indefatigable worker, not merely 
devoting himself to the interests of his constituents, but 
also to the whole country. He has rendered efficient ser- 
vice as Chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary 
Claims and War of 1812 ; he is also a member of the Com- 
mittee on Claims. At home he is a public-spirited and 
enterprising citizen, being quite prominent in various cor- 
porations, among which are the Wyoming Insurance Com- 
pany, of which he is a director; he is President of the 
Wyoming Valley Manufacturing Company, and also of the 
Second National Bank of Wilkesbarre. 



|ARRY, EDWARD OWEN, Attorney at Law, 
was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 
the 3d of July, 1807. He is the eldest son 
of Edward Parry, who emigrated to this country 
from his birth-place, Anglesea, North Wales, in 
the latter part of the last century. Through his 
mother, a daughter of the Hon. Benaiah Collins, of Massa- 
chusetts, he claims descent from those early Pilgrim Fathers 
who came over in the " May Flower." Edward Parry, 
54 




the elder, was ot well-known and highly respected merchant 
of New England for a number of years, but failing in 
business during the financial crash of 1817, he moved to 
Baltimore. From Baltimore, in 1821, he moved to New 
York, and from there, in 1822, to Philadelphia. Edward 
Owen Parry was educated at the best schools of Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, 
and in the grammar school attached to the University of 
Pennsylvania. His father desired him to study law ; but, 
wishing to earn his own living, he went to sea for one year, 
before the mast, in the hope and expectation of receiving 
the appointment of Midshipman in the navy. Failing in 
this, he yielded to his father's continued wish, and studied 
law in the office of Henry Chester, in Philadelphia. He 
was admitted to the bar, February, 1829^ and moved to 
Pottsville, August, 1829, where he h.is lived ever since in 
the practice of his profession, highly respected and uni- 
versally esteemed. In 1S30, he was appointed Solicitor 
for the Borough, which position he has filled, except for 
short intervals, until within a short time, when he declined 
a re-election. He drew up the borough charter of 1831, 
most of the ordinances for the government of the borough 
were passed at his instance, and he has been identified in a 
marked degree with all borough improvements. In July, 
1831, he married a daughter of the late Judge Witman, of 
Reading. Since 1833, he has been a vestryman of Trinity 
Church, and, since 1838, he has represented that church in 
the Diocesan Convention, in which body he has always 
occupied a very prominent position. He is now and has 
been for years a leading member of the Schuylkill county 
bar. After the death of Judge Hequis, in 1862, he received 
the appointment of President Judge of this district. He 
has been mentioned prominently in connection with the 
nomination for Judge of the Supreme Court. Without 
solicitation on his part, most of the leading members of the 
coal trade in Schuylkill county and in Philadelphia, united 
in recommending him as Judge of the Circuit Court of the 
United States. Governor Curtin, without Judge Parry's 
knowledge, was on the point of recommending him for the 
appointment of Brigadier General, but refrained for the 
reason, as he expressed it, of the great service he was ren- 
dering at home. He was an earnest supporter of the war 
policy of the administration during the Rebellion, and has 
been a member of the Republican party since its organiza- 
tion. Both his sons, as well as his son-in-law, were in the 
regular army. He is at present in full practice of his pro- 
fession, and has earned reputation in the arguinent of a 
large number of important cases before the Supreme Court; 
he also acts as counsel for the Schuylkill and Columbia 
county portions of the Girard estate, a position of im- 
portance and dignity. He is a Christian gentleman of 
ripe and extensive legal learning, and of high literary 
attninment. He came to the country without means and 
friends, and at once took a high position, a po^itiju which 
he has always sustained and increased. 




/ 



F.IOGRArillCAL ENXYCLOP/KDIA. 



KINDERMAN, HENRY RICHARD, M. D., Di- 
rector of ihe United States Mini, was born in 
Leliman township. Pike county, Pennsylvania, 
on December 26lh, 1825. His father. Dr. John 
J. Linderman, practised medicine in the valley 
of the Delaware for nearly half a centmy, and 
married a sister of the late Senator Richard Brodhead. 
After receiving a thorough academic education, he engaged 
in the study of medicine with his father, and completed his 
Course at the Medical Department of the University of New 
York, and the New York Hospital. He commenced the 
practice of his profession with his father, in 1845, ^"'' '" 
the early part of 185 1, removed to Nesquehoning, Carbon 
county, Pennsylvania, where he continued in practice until 
SL'i)lember, 1853, when he was appointed principal clerk 
in the office of the Director of the Mint, at Philadelphia; 
he continued in that position until 1S65, when he resigned 
to eng.ige in private business. He was appointed Director 
of the Mint by President Johnson, in 1867, and held that 
office until he was succeeded by Ex-Governor James Pol- 
lock, in May, 1869. In July following, he was selected by 
Hon. George S. Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury, to 
examine the Western mints and adjust some intricate 
bullion questions. These investigations were continued 
until 1872, when he was appointed by the Secretary of the 
Tre-asuiy a commissioner, with Professor R. E. Rogers, 
of the University of Pennsylvania, to examine the subject 
of wastage in operating on gold and silver bullion, and was 
also a member of the commission for fitting up the new 
mint at San Francisco. In 1872, he made an elaborate 
report upon the condition of the market for silver, and pre- 
dicted the decline in its relative value to gold, which has 
since taken place. With a view to obtaining an advan- 
tageous market for the large and increasing production 
of that metal in the United States, he projected the coinage 
of the Trade Dollar, which was subsequently authorized by 
law, and successfully introduced into the Oriental markets 
with marked advantages to American commerce. In the 
same report he called attention to the disadvantages arising 
from the compulation and quotation of exchange with 
Great Britain on the old and complicated colonial basis, 
and from the undervaluation of foreign coins, in computing 
the value of foreign invoices and in levying and collecting 
duties on foreign merchandise at the United States Custom 
Houses; he was the author of the Act of March 3d, 1873, 
which corrected the defective laws referrc<l to. In i86g 
and 1870, he assisted John Jay Knox, then Deputy Comp- 
troller of the Currency, in the prep.ira^ion of the Coinage 
Act of 1873, which established the mints and assay offices 
of the United States as a Bureau of the Treasury Depart- 
ment at W.ashington. When this Act took effi;ct, April 
1st, 1873, he was appointed Director of the Mint, organ- 
ized the Mint Bureau, and in this capacity exercises a 
general supervision and management of all the mints and 
assay offices in the United Slates. 




URNS, ROBERT, Physician, was born in Glas- 
gow, Scotland, Novemlicr 71I1, iSog. His father 
was an Irishman, of good family, and his mother 
a Scotch lady; they were married in Scotland, 
but shortly afterwards removed to Ireland, where 
they continued to reside until 1830, in which 
year they emigrated to the United States. Robert Burns 
received his early education in Newtownards, county of 
Down, Ireland, removed subsequently to Dublin, where 
he passed successfully a preliminaiy examination, and then 
entered the office of Dr. William Strane, who at that time 
held the leading position among the physici.ins and sur- 
geons of the city. In November, 1S28, he commenced a 
course of study in the University of Gl.asgow, which he 
continued until November, 1819, and the following year 
he returned home. His father, who had for some time 
contemplated emigrating to the United States, had now 
finally determined on that course, and in August, 1830, the 
family arrived in Philadelphia, after a passage of seven 
weeks, Robert Burns having filled the position of Surgeon 
on board the vessel in which they crossed the Atlantic. 
In March, 1S31, he commenced the business of Pharmacy, 
in Frankford, and, in 1839, received his M. D. degree 
from the University of Pennsylvania. He then entered 
upon practice as a physician, and has continued the same 
until the present time (1S74). His career has been a most 
successful one, and his practice is one of the most extensive 
in the neighborhood. He has, for many years, held the 
position of Assistant Surgeon to Ihe United States Arsenal 
at Frankford. He has a family of seven daughters and 
two sons; one of whom, Robert, died in 1863, and the 
other is Dr. R. Bruce Burns, a surgeon of great promi.se. 



AND, THOM.\S C, President of the Delaware 
Mutual .Safety Insurance Company, w.as born in 
Pliiladelphia, Pennsylvania, January lolh, 181 1. 
His father, Caleb Hand, was a prominent ship- 
owner of that city and the founder of various 
lines to the South, among them Hand's Line 
of Packets to Alexandria, Portsmouth, and Norfolk, Vir- 
ginia; since extended to New Orleans, Louisiana. Lis 
mother was of Swedish descent, and was the daughter of 
John Keen, a very noted builder and architect. He re- 
ceived his education in the schools of his native city, and 
though he left these at the age of fifteen, such was his dili- 
gence and assiduity that he obtained a thorough English 
education. At first, after leaving school, he entered the 
book business, in Bradford's establishment, but shortly 
afterwards jiassed into the employ of John B. Grant, auc- 
tioneer, and here his steady habits and sound judgment 
soon led his employer to place much confidence in liini ; 
and though but eighteen years of age, he had the entire 
charge of the financial affairs, while his jirincipal was 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



427 



prostrated by disease, which eventually terminated fatally. 
He ne.\t became engaged with the firm of Weber & Ken- 
dall, wholesale dry goods merchants ; and from the very 
commencement of his entrance into their establishment, 
although not then nineteen years of age, was given the en- 
tire charge of their counting room. From the position of 
head clerk he became junior, and eventually senior partner 
of the firm. In 1846, the firm of Miller, Hand & Eagle — 
owing to its many debtors having already availed them- 
selves of the provisions of the National Bankrupt Act of 
1842 — were compelled to suspend operations. They mi- 
inediately called a meeting of all cretlitors, who at once 
agreed to accept seventy-five per cent, of thei: claims ; and 
this was paid to the last dollar. Throughout the entire 
period, when the firm was thus occupied in settling up 
their affairs, they were the recipients of a large amount of 
sympathy from not only their creditors, but from all the 
business community to whom they were known : such was 
the high standing of the firm for integrity and fair dealing. 
Owing to the illness of the senior partner, Mr. Miller, the 
firm ^lecided to relinquish further business operations, and 
in October, 1849, Thomas C. Hand proceeded to New 
Orleans, as a co-agent with Samuel F. Ashton, for the 
Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance Company. Having 
found that the business was not. sufficiently remunerative to 
justify the removal of himself and family to a climate so 
notoriously unhealthy, he returned to Philadelphia, and, in 
the autumn of 1850, was elected Vice-President c.f the 
company. He held this position uninterruptedly until the 
decease of the President, in 1S62, when he was unani- 
mously elected to that office, wliich he has held until the 
date of the present writing (July, 1S74). Believing, as he 
does, that his first duty in life is to his family and to the 
corporation over which he presides, he has steadily refused 
to allow his name to be brought before his fellow citizens 
as a candidate for any office in their gift. Although his 
age prevented him from taking any active part in the late 
war of the Rebellion, yet his influence and private means 
were at the disposal of the Government, and he did not 
hesitate to use them. During the entire peiiod of the 
four years' strife, the Board over which he presided never 
met without taking some action whereby the sinews of the 
Union cause were strengthened, and the treasury repeatedly 
sympatliized in donations to the various voluntaiy organi- 
zations created and operated during this period. He is 
one of the original members of the Union League; a mem- 
ber of the Philadelphia Bo.inl of Trade, and President of 
the Board of Fire Underwriters of Pliiladclphia ; also a n.an- 
ager of that noble charity. The Merchants' Fund. Though 
occupying so elevated a position in the business commu- 
nity, he is one of the most retiring of men, and yet active, 
industrious, and indefatigable in all that relates to his 
official position.' He is possessed of a true sympathy for 
those deserving it, and his private donations are those 
which are described as being effected by the right hand, 




while the left, is ignorant of the gift. His religious faith 
is that of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and for a lime 
he was a vestryman of old Christ Church; in later years, 
however, he has been an active and leading member of the 
Church of the Atonement. He was married, in 1840, to 
Maria Flanagan, daughter of a prominent wholesale grocer 
of Philadelphia. 



VANS, HON. HENRY S., Journalist and Legis- 
lator, was born in Doylestown, Bucks county, 
Pennsylvania, April 1st, 1813. At the age of 
fourteen, he was apprenticed to the Hon. Henry 
A. Miner, editor and publisher of the Village 
Record, published at ^Vest Chester, Chester 
county, Pennsylvania, then a small sheet with a limited 
circulation. On completing his apprenticeship, he visited 
Germantown and Philadelphia, and worked as a journey- 
man in various printing offices in those places. Returning 
to West CheEter, in 1835, he purchased the entire interest 
of the Village Record, and assumed its editorship. Since 
that time the paper has constantly increased in circulation 
and public favor, until it now ranks among the very best 
rural weekly papers of the State. Necessarily in this 
position he took an active interest in the political questions 
of the day, throwing his influence and that of his paper 
on the side of the Whig, and later the Republican party. 
In 1846, he was elected a member of the St.ite Legisla- 
lature for three years, and, in 1S50, was chosen State 
Senator, an office for which he had been a candidate also 
in 1S45, and had lost by only one vote in the nominating 
convention. Symptoms of (iii'ing health having mani- 
fested themselves in 1869, he spent several months in 
Europe, whence he returned with invigorated powers, and 
the following year was again elected State Senator by his 
fellow citizens. In the midst of his term of service, how- 
ever, in February, 1872, he was seized with a violent 
attack of pneumonia, which terminated fatally on the 9th 
of that month. His legislative services were numerous 
and important. He was member of several of the most 
prominent committees in the House and Senate, and was 
Chairman of the House Committee on Printing and 
Education. While in this latter position, he originated 
and framed the Act which was passed by both Houses 
for the Regulation of Common Schools in Pennsylvania. 
For many j'ears before his death he had been a member 
of the Episcopal Church, and held posts of trust in the 
Masons and Odd Fellows Lodges of his town. Among 
the youths who from time to lime learned the printing trade 
in his office were Bayard Taylor, Judge Butler, Judge Pax- 
son, and Henry T. Darlington, Editor of the Bucks county 
Intelligencer. He married, in 1842, Jane, daughter of 
the eminent botanist. Dr. William Darlington, of West 
Chester, and left, at his death, the p.ipcr he had so 



428 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOPyEDIA. 




successfully built up to his two sons, Birton D. and 
William D., who have continued to carry it on with 
similar tact and energy. 



ROOMALL, JOHN M., Lawyer and Statesman, 
was born in the township of Upper Chichester, 
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and is the son 
of John and Sarah (Martin) Brooir.all, of that 
locality. His ancestors, prior to the commence- 
ment of the eighteenth century, were English, 
and of the religious faith of the Society of Friends. He 
received his education in the Friends' School in his native 
county, and also in Wilmington, Delaware, at Smith's! 
Quaker Academy ; in both of which institutes of learning! 
he betrayed a remarkable fondness for mathematlcs;'a'nd 
made great progress in that branch of study. Inth 
interim between his attendance at school, ah^white'-'yet aj 
pupil, he took upon himself the r6'e of a teacher^ .ind "for 
a brief space pursued that avocation with success in' fliei 
Friends' Academy. In 1837, he commenced thestiidybf: 
law in the office of the late Judge Bouvier, of Philadijliihia,! 
and in the month of May, 1840, was admitted to the bar. 
Although his predilections Were iri favor' pr'a hdfiig "fTfe, 
devoting especial attention to agricuitur6,'5(ef Ifie !tllt!\^edt 
himself to be drawn into the practicft ''pf" hii^' profi?siion,. 
and, by 1848, he had attained !i very respe.Aable nuniBer; 
of clients, to whose interests he devoted him'self. He' was, 
elected to the lower branch of the Legislature, and served' 
during the sessions of 1S51 and 1S52, with'acceptability to- 
his constituents. During 1S54, he was a member of the 
State Revenue Board. In 1862, he was elected a Repre- 
sentative of his district in Congress, and was continuously 
returned at three separate elections, his service in the House 
terminating in 1869; though again nominated, he refused 
to accept the office. During his career in Washington, he 
acted as Ch.iirnian of several important Investigating Com- 
mittees, was a member of the Committee on Expenditures, 
and for two years was Chairman of the Committee on Ac- 
counts. During his term, he also served as a member of 
the Committee appointed to investigate the Massacre at 
Memphis. He was also a zealous advocate for the several 
Amendments to the Constitution which pointed towards 
the consequences of Emancipation, and the bestowment 
of Universal Suffr-ige. In 1872, he was elected a member 
of the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania, and, 
during several sessions of that body, served as Chairman 
of the Committee on Taxation, etc. He earnestly labored 
in the Convention for the .\boliiion of Capital Punishment, 
and also in behalf of Female Suffrage. During the War 
of the Rebellion, in 1862 and 1863, when the State was 
invaded by the armed insurgents, he volunteered, and 
served as Captain of a Company of " Emergency Men," 
and was in the field for two months defending the border. I 



He has been twice a member of the Electoral College of 
Pennsylvania, fnst, in 1S60, when Abrar.am Lincoln w.xs 
chosen President for his first term; and again, in 1S72, 
when General Grant was re-elected. In 1874, he was .ap- 
pointed President Judge of the District, which position he 
still retains. He was much interested in the extension of 
the city of Chester, and is the principal owner of the South 
Ward, which he laid out. With other parties embarked in 
the improvement, he purchased and projected most of the 
ground now occupied as South Chester ; and to both of 
these enterprises he gives much attention. Of late years, 
he has manifested considerable interest in the extension, 
welfare, and prosperity of Media, the shire town of Dela- 
ware county. He was married, in 1841, to Elizabeth, 
daughter of Joseph and Martha Booth, of Delaware county, 
who died, in 1 848, leaving two children, one of whom, a 
■son, is at present practising law in Chester; and the other, a 
datighter, Aas graduated in medicine, at Philadelphia, and 
isaiow continuing her studies in Vienna. He was married 
•■a'-second time, in 1853, to Caroline L., daughter of John 
■VtffdTiCharlotte Larkin, of Chester. 




-ATTS; HON. FREDERICK, Commissioner of 
Agriculture, was born in Carlisle, Pennsylv.inia, 
May 9th,i8oi. He is a son of the late David 
Watts, who was one of the most distinguished 
lawyers of Pennsylvania, and practised exten- 
sively through all the middle counties. His 
mother was a daughter of General Heniy Miller, of Re- 
volulionary fame, who commanded the United States troops 
at Baltimore, during the War of 1812. His grandfather, 
Frederick Watts, was a member of the Executive Council, 
of Pennsylvania, before the Revolution, and one of the most 
prominent men of the Province and subsequent State. 
Having been duly prepared, he entered Dickinson College, 
at Carlisle, whence he graduated in 1S19. Led by an early 
acquired taste for agricultural pursuits, he then went to Erie 
county, Pennsylvania, where he s|ient two years upon the 
farm of his uncle," William Miles, during which time he 
was "engaged Sn all- the operations of the farm and mills 
erected \hereon. lie ^eturned to Carlisle in 1821, and en- 
tered the office of Andrew Carothere, as a student at law. 
Having been admitted to practice in August, 1824, he be- 
came a partner with his preceptor, and soon acquired a large 
and lucrative practice. In 1831, he was appointed by the 
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Rejiorter of their De- 
cisions, and during the fourteen years in which he held that 
position he published twenty volumes of law reports. The 
pressure of professional duties compelled him to withdraw 
in 1845. In the same year, he was elected President of the 
Cumberland Valley Railroad Company, which was then 
suffering great pecuniary embarrassment, and was likewise 
out of repair and dilapidated. He devoted his energies to 




y^,^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.-EDIA. 



429 



its recuperation; ami during his long Presidential career it 
was renewed and brouglit up under his energetic and able 
management to a high state of i>rosperity, paying all its 
indebtedness and yielding handsome returns to the stock- 
holders. In 1S49, he was appointed President Judge of 
the Ninth Judicial District, of Pennsylvania, comprising the 
counties of Cumberland, Perry, and Juniata. Under the 
amended constitution the Judiciary became elective, in 
1S52, and Judge Watts then resumed the practice of his 
profession, devoting his time to it and the management of 
his farms, in which he yearly grew more deeply interested. 
In 1S54, he became one cf the projectors of the Agricul- 
tural College of Pennsylvania, and upon its organization 
was elected the President of its Board of Trustees, in which 
capacity he still acts. In the same year (1S54) he projected 
the erection of Gas and Water Works in his native place, 
and having formed a company was elected its President, 
and under his effective management it speedily developed 
into a substantial and paying enterprise. He remained its 
President for many years after its success was permanently 
assured, and fmally withdrew to give his attention to other 
important works. He removed to his farms iji 1S60, and 
as soon as possible retired from all practice at the bar, 
designing to devote his whole energies to the improvement 
and advancement of agriculture. His valuable experi- 
ments and practical demonstrations attracted such attention 
that, in May, 1S71, he was tendered the appointment of 
Commissioner of Agriculture, but he declined, having 
determined to give his whole attention to his own farms. 
But he was fmally induced to accept the appointment, and 
entered upon the duties, August 1st, 1S71. After his re- 
moval to Washington, he declined a re-election to the 
Presidency of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, over which 
he had presided with so much ability and acceptability for 
twenty-seven years, and has since devoted himself assidu- 
ously to the practical development of the agricultural re- 
sources of the country. An admirable system pervades his 
departinent, and the three divisions are so excellently ar- 
ranged that the most detailed and accurate information can 
be oliiained with the greatest facility. He was married, 
24th of March, 1835, to Henrietta Ege, daughter of Michael 
Ege, of the Carlisle Iron Works, Cumberland county, 
Pennsylvania. 



'DGE, JOIIX PENNELL, Physician, was born in 
East Cain township, Chester county, Pennsyl- 
vania, June 22d, 1822. His ancestors on the 
father's side came from England early in the 
eighteenth century, and settled in Edgmont, 
Delaware county, Pennsylvania. His mother's 
fiimily were descendants of early English and Welsh set- 
tlers. He received a sound classical education at West- 
town school in his native county. From 1840 to 1843, he 
w.as engaged in teaching in various private and public 




schools, after which time he began the study of medicine 
under the preceptorship of Professor Robert M. Huston, of 
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, at which institution 
he graduated in the spring of 1846. The location he se- 
lected for practice was Downingtown, Chester county, Penn- 
sylvania, at which point he has been engaged ever since 
in the active duties of his profession. His .skill and care 
have secured for him a just eminence among- the prac- 
titioners of the county; and his strict observance of the 
ethics of his profession have won for hiin the esteem of 
its members. For more than twenty years he has been 
a memlier of the Chester County Medical Society, and 
twice has been elected its President. He has always taken 
a deep interest in the social and political questions of the 
day, and has frequently been present as Delegate in the 
County and State Conventions of the Republican party, to 
which he has always been attached. He was one of the 
pioneers of the " free soil " movement in the United Slates ; 
and has always been a zealous participant in the various 
Anti-Slavery organizations. Though often requested to 
become a candidate for office, he has uniformly declined; 
believing that his duty rather lies in his professional career. 



Bto LLEN, SAMUEL T., Lawyer and Brevet Colonel 
United States Volunteers, was born in the town 
of Russellburg, Warren county, Pennsylvania, 
in the year 1837, and is a son of Samuel P. and 
Mary (Thompson) Allen. His father was of 
Scotch-Irish descent, his grandfather, a nephew 
of General Anthony Wayne; on his mother's side he is 
partly of German extraction. He was reared on a farm, 
and attended the district school during the winter months. 
In 1857, he proceeded with his brother. General Harrison 
Allen, and became a student in the Academy at Randolph, 
New York ; and during the winter months following taught 
school with great success. During 1859, and the follow- 
ing year, he attended the Academy at Jamestown, New 
York. He commenced the study of law, in 1S60, in the 
office of B. W. Lacy, at Warren, Pennsylvania, where he 
remained until he entered the military service, in 1862, 
and was appointed Adjutant of the 151st Regiment Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers, commanded by his brother, (then) 
Colonel Harrison Allen ; he was also made aide-de-camp 
to General Rowley, of the First Corps, Army of the Polo- 
mac. He participated in several engagements, among 
these the great battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, 
in both of which he displayed great coolness and braveiy, 
and was especially complimented. During the first day's 
fight, on the latter field, when the color-bearer of the :51st 
w.is shot down, and the men were breaking, he seized the 
flag, rallied the men, but was cornpelled to fall back to 
Cemetery Hill, where the line was again formed. On the 
third day, he displayed great coolness and daring during 




4JO 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.liDIA. 




the whole contest, being in the hottest of the fiylit, anil 
helped to retake the Union battery on Cemetery Hill. At 
the close of the battle, he was shot Ihrouijh the leg, which 
disabled him during the balance of his term of enlistment. 
For his gallant conduct at Gettysburg he was Ijrevetted 
Colonel, and honorably discharged from the service. Re- 
turning to Warren, he resumed his legal studies, and was 
shortly afterward admitted to the bar, where he has met 
with much success, being at this time widely known as 
one of the best read and promising members of the legal 
profession in his section. 



ISTER, WILLIAM ROTCH, Lawyer, and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel United States Volunteers, was born 
in Germantown, Pennsylvania, December 7th, 
1827. His father is a gentleman of much promi- 
nence in various enterprises, being President 
of the Duncannon Iron Company, and Treasurer 
of the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company, besides hold- 
ing other responsible positions. His mother is a daughter 
of the late William Logan Firbee, one of the great iron 
manufacturers of Pennsylvania. He received a liberal and 
classical education in the Germantown Academy, and 
graduated in the class of 1846, from the University of Penn- 
sylvania. His predilections being in favor of the legal 
profession, he shortly thereafter entered upon his studies in 
the office of the late Benjamin Gerhard, under whose pre- 
ceptorship he prepared himself for the bar, to which he was 
admitted in 1849, '^"^ ^'^ been actively engaged in the 
various duties of an Attorney and Counsellor at Law for 
the past quarter of a century. In 1S58 and 1S59, he served 
with credit to himself and his constituents in the Common 
Council of Philadelphia, but, preferring the interests of his 
clients, he has not been a candidate for any office since 
that lime. He entered the military service of the United 
States in June, 1863, as Orderly Sergeant of the Wissa- 
liickon Cavalry, a company mustered for the then existing 
emergency. When the company became a part of the 
20th Pennsylvania Cavaliy, Mr. Wister was made the 
Lientenant-Colonel of the regiment, which rank he held 
when mustered out at the expiration of the term of service 
(six months). He was emphatically a supporter of the 
Union cause during that troublesome era, and was a con- 
tributor of his substance towards the maintenance of the 
war. He is a stockholder and director of the Bloomsburg 
Iron Company, and is also a special partner in the firm 
of J. & J. Wister, of Harrisburg, who are engaged in the 
manufacture of pig iron ; and in various other ways is asso- 
ciated and interested in iron manufactures. He is Solicitor 
for the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company; also for 
several other large corporations, including the National 
Bank of Germantown. In religious faith — although not an 
active member of any church — his sympathies are with 




those of his ancestors and family, who are prominent 
leaders in the Society of Friends. He was married, in 
1S68, to Mary Channing, a daughter of Frederick A. 
Eustis, a descendant of the Massachusetts family of that 
name, and proninent citizens of that Commonwealth. 
Her mother was a daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Chan- 
ning, so universally known that further mention of him, in 
this connection, is unnecessary. 



EBSTER, BENJAMIN CRAMPTON, is the son 
of Orrin Webster, Merchant, of Litchfield, Con- 
necticut, and was born at Hartford, in that 
State, October Sth, 1S21. After being educated 
at various schools in Connecticut, he was for 
four years clerk to the Hon. E. D. Morgan, of 
New York, and for eighteen months clerk to the then 
Governor of New York, living at Albany during that time, 
and rendering important services to the St.ate. His first 
step was in the ship-chandler business, with Marshall O. 
Roberts, who offered him the business, which was being 
carried on in his own name. After continuing in this for 
several years, he became interested in Mexican mines, and 
sold out his ship-chandlery. He now devoted four years 
to working a silver mine in Mexico, seeing life in many 
phases. In 1850, he became, and was for many years 
afterwards, a Director in the North River Bank of New 
York. In 1852, his father, who was then Treasurer of the 
Society for the Promotion of a Collegiate and Theological 
Education in the West, died ; and, after settling up the 
books, he was elected Treasurer in his place, holding the 
office for about eight years, working faithfully and effectu- 
ally for a worthy object, without pecuniary reward. In 
1863, he went to Philadelphia, as President of the Lehigh 
Zinc Company, and the same year moved to Bethlehem, 
taking entire charge of the works and mine-.. During his 
administration, the business of the Zinc Works has greatly 
increased, new mines have been developed, antl the rolling 
of sheet zinc has been added, a branch never before carried 
on in this countiy. The first sheet zinc ever made in 
America was rolled under his direction, April 1st, 1S65. 
The capacity of the sheet zinc mill has been developed to 
3000 casks, or 1680 tons per year, and the capacity of the 
oxide works is now 3000 tons per annum. The annual 
yield of the mines near Friedensville is about 17,000 tons 
of ore, requiring 40,000 tons of coal for their reduction. 
He employs about 600 operatives. On January iglh, 1S72, 
a monster engine, capable of pumping 12,000 gallons if 
water, from a depth of 300 feet, which had been built by 
him, under the superintendence of John West, was started 
at the mines. It is believed to be the largest in the world. 
He was married, in 1S49, to Eliza Wilbur, of New York 
city, and has three children, all young. His business 
capacities are of the highest order, and his genial and 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



43 « 



modest manners have rendered him the most popular of all 
the gentlemen who have managed the zinc company at 
lielhlchem. 



jOBERTS, SOLOMON WHITE, Civil Engineer, 
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 
3d, 181 1, and is a son of Charles and Hannah 
(White) Roberts, both of whom were members 
of the Society of Fiiends. His paternal ances- 
tors came from Wales, in the time of William 
Penn, and settled near Gwynedd, about eighteen miles 
from Philadelphia, while his mother's father, Solomon 
White, was a successful merchant in the same city. His 
father taught one of the Friends' schools, and his uncle, 
Joseph, was Principal of the mathematical department in 
the academy where he received his education. When 
about sixteen years old, he left school and went to Mauch 
Chunk, Pennsylvania, where he entered the family of his 
uncle, Josiah White, the principal founder of the Lehigh 
Coal and Navigation Company, and Acting Manager and 
Superintendent of their works. By him he was employed 
as an assistant, and under his direction the first railroad in 
Pennsylvania w.as constructed and opened for use, in the 
.'pring of 1827. This was the line from Summit Hill to 
Mauch Chunk, nine miles long, and he rode on the first 
train of cars that were dispatched from the initial ])oint to 
Mauch Chunk. He next he :ame rodman to a party of 
engineers, under Canvass White, Chief Engineer of the 
Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, and was subse- 
quently Assistant Engineer on a section of the canal in the 
mountainous region below Mauch Chunk. This work was 
begun in 1827, and finished in the autum of 1829. On its 
completion, he entered the service of the Slate of Pennsyl- 
vania, on its canal, upin the Conemaugh river, and was 
stationed at Blairsville, with Sylvester Welch, Principal 
Engineer, who had also been Resident Engineer on the 
Lehigh canal. This improvement was completed in the 
spring of 1831 ; and now the Portage Railroad, over the 
AlleghanieSj was undertaken. He became its Principal 
Assistant Engineer, and led the exj^loring and locating 
party, though but twenty years of age, upon the western 
half of the line, which included the great viaduct over the 
Conemaugh at Horse Shoe Bend, which was designed and 
superintended by him, and w'lich is still used as a part of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad, located many years afterwards. 
After the completion of the Alleghany Portage Railroad, 
with its ten inclined planes and twenty stationary engines, 
he remained as its Resident Engineer and Superintendent 
of Transportation, thus beginning his career as a railroad 
superintendent. He resigned from this position in 1836, 
and sailed for Europe to jjrocure iron for the Philadelphia 
& Reading Railroad, etc. He was absent two years, pass- 
ing a large portion of his time in the iron region of South 
Wales, superintending the manufacture of railroad iron. 



About this period, George Crane, an iron master at 
Yniscedwin, near Neath, succeeded in smelling iron ore on 
a practical commercial scale, by the use of anthracite coal 
and the hot blast, and his claims as the inventor of the 
process were finally fully established by the resu'.t of legal 
proceedings in England. S.ilomon W. Roberts became 
his friend, visited his works, and subsequently called the 
attention of Pennsylvanians, and especially of the Erankliii 
Institute, to the matter. Soon after this, Josiah White 
and his associates established the Crane Iron Works, on 
the Lehigh, which have since been very successful, and the 
anthracite iron trade thus inaugurated has been immensely 
augmented throughout Pennsylvania. From 1838 to 1841, 
Solomon W. Roberts was the Chief Engineer of the Cata- 
wissa R.iilroad. In 1842, he was the President of the 
Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad Com- 
pany, and also its Superintendent. From 1843 to 1845, he 
was the President of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, 
and formed the general plan for the enlargement of the 
works, by which the tonnage of the boats has been more 
than doubled. In 1847, the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- 
pany was chartered, he being much interested in the work, 
though he would not accept an official position ; but, at the 
instance of the Directors, he consented to become a candi- 
date for membership of the Lower House of the Legislature, 
and was elected, and served during the session of 1848. 
His great experience in railroad matters enabled him to 
take the lead on all questions pertaining to this subject, and 
very important legislation — as regarded Philadelphia, the 
Commonwealth, and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company — 
was effected through his exertions. An Act was also passed 
to incorporate a company to construct the " Ohio & Penn- 
sylvania Railroad," from Pittsburgh to the Ohio State line. 
In 1848, he became its Chief Engineer, and located the 
line, not only to the State line, but beyond as far as Crest- 
line, Ohio, the site of that town and Alliance being by Mm 
selected and named. In 1849, by appointment of the 
Board of Trade, he represented the city of Philadelphia in 
the National Pacific Railroad Convention, held at St. Louis. 
He planned the railroad bridge across the Alleghany river 
at Pittsburgh, connecting the Western line with the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad. As the different divisions of his road 
were opened for use, he became the General Superintend- 
ent of the working of the line. It reached Crestline, Ohio, 
April nth, 1853, where it intersects the Cleveland, Colum- 
bus & Cincinnati Railroad. This road now forms the 
Eastern Division of the Pittsburgh, Fort W.iyne & Chicago 
Railway, one of the most successful and valuable lines in 
the country. When he fir.st became interested in il, the 
company, though organized, had not Jfsoo in cash, and for 
some time he served without salary. He continued in 
charge of the road until 1856, when he resigned, and re- 
turned to Philadelphia to reside. In the same year, he 
became the Chief Engineer and General Snperinlendent 
of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, which had lieen com- 



432 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




pleted to Gwynedd, and under his direction the work was 
continued and the road opened to Freeniansl)ur^, on the 
Lehigh, January 1st, 1857, and to Bethlehem, July 7th of 
the same year. Since that lime he has continued in charge 
of this line, and its business has grown apace with each 
successive year. He has declined the Presidency of several 
railroad companies, preferring to devoic himself to his pro- 
fession as a Civil Engineer. In his long career, it has 
ever been his aim to promote the interests of his native 
city, with which his welfare has always been identified. 



'^ARNES, JOSEPH K., Brigadier-General, Brevet 
MajorGeneral, and Surgeon-General United 
States Army, was born at Philadelphia, July 
2lst, 1817. He studied medicine in the office 
of Dr. Thomas Harris, and graduated from the 
Medical Department of the University of Penn- 
sylvania, in 1838. He then served one year as Resident 
Physician at the Blockley Hospital, and one year as " Out- 
door Physician to the Poor" for the Norlliwestern District 
of Philadelphia. He entered the army as Assistant Sur- 
geon, June 15th, 1840, and July loth, following, was as- 
signeil to duty at the United States Military Academy, 
whence he was transferred to Florida, November 9th, 1840, 
seeing his first field service in Harney's expedition to the 
Everglades, during the war against the Seminole Indians. 
He left Florida in 1842, and was stationed at Fort Jessup, 
Louisiana, until it was abandoned, in 1846, when he con- 
ducted the convalescents of the 2d Dragoons and 3d and 
4th Infantry to Corpus Chrisii. He was Chief Medical 
Officer of the Cavalry Brigade during the Mexican War, 
and participated in every action on both General Taylor's 
and General Scott's line except that at Buena Vista. After 
the close of the Mexican War, he was in charge of the 
General Hospital at Baton Roif^e, Louisiana, and subse- 
quently on duty at various posts in Texas and the Western 
departments, and as Medical Director of the Department 
of Oregon. He was stationed at West Point from January 
3d, 1854, to June 1st, 1857, and during that period was 
commissioned Surgeon, August 29th, 1S56. The outbreak 
of the war, in 1861, found him on duty on the Pacific 
co.ist, and he was among the first officers ordered thence 
to Washington. He was appointed Medical Inspector, 
February glh, 1863; Inspector-General, August loth, 1863; 
and Surgeon-General, August 22d, 1864, having then been 
on duty as Acting Surgeon General since September 3d, 
1863. He was made a Brevet Brigadier-Gener.al United 
States Army for meritorious and distinguished services 
during the Rebellion, .as well as a Brevet M.ijor-General 
United States Army for faithful and meritorious services 




:\ND.\LL, HON. SAMUEL J., Merchant and 
Congressman, was born in Phil.adclphia, on Oc- 
tober loth, 1828, and received an excellent 
academic education, the foundation for which 
was laid in the public schools of that city. 
Finishing his studies with considerable distinc- 
tion, he entered, at the age of seventeen, a large dry goods 
house, and for a number of years applied himself with 
industry and success to mercantile pursuits. Immediately 
upon attaining his majority, he entered the political arena, 
and became a member of the City Councils, serving the 
three years immediately preceding the consolidation (in 
1854) of the various' districts into one municipality. This 
first public service was commenced when he h.id reached 
the age of twenty-three years only, and in its fulfilment he 
won the gratitude and esteem of his constituents, the pos- 
session of which he has ever since retained. In the years 
1858-59, he served in the Senate of Pennsylvania, filling 
the unexpired term of Charles B. Penrose. In 1862, by 
an overwhelming majority, he was elected as Congressman 
from the First Congressional District of Pennsylvania. 
He was then, as he has since been, unswervingly devoted 
to the principles of true Democracy, and his elevation to 
the Thirtv-eighth Congress was regarded as a just tribute 
not only for the valuable labors he had performed disiiuer- 
estedly as a municipal and Stale legislator, but for his 
p.arty zeal. He was successively re-elected to the Thirty- 
ninth, Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty-second, and Forty-third 
Congresses. While more of a worker than a speaker^ 
there have occurred numberless occasions in which he has 
shown his possession of a fine talent for oratory, and for 
clear and cogent reasoning. His speeches, usually terse 
and to the point of the matter under discussion, are invari- 
ably listened to as the utterances of a ]>ractical mind. 
Among the finest specimens of elegiac oratory are classed 
his eulogies on the death of Hon. Charles Denison, and 
Hon. Darwin A. Finney, the latter of whom, though hold- 
ing political opinions antagonistic to his own, was one of 
his warmest friends. In the session of 1868, he delivered 
a strong argument against the impeachment of President 
Johnson, and constantly urged, whenever any discussion 
was sprung upon the condition of the South, a large sub- 
sidy to relieve its impoverished people. In the session of 
1869, when it became somewhat popular to talk of repudi- 
ation, in replying to Mr. Mungen's speech, which w.as 
flamed in that vein, he emphatically declared that to 
renounce the debt would be a violation of national honor, 
and a lasting disgrace. He has invariably maintained his 
belief in the superiority of the " greenback " over the 
national bank note, and, in all of the many discussions 
relative to the existing currency and proposed modifica- 
tions, has shown himself a careful student of financial 
topics. Conspicuous services have been rendered by him 



during the Rebellion, both commissions dating from March as a member of various committees, and he is now on th.U 
13th, 1S65. ' of Banking and Currency, Post-offices and Post-roads, 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.liDIA. 



433 



Rules, and Mississippi Levees. He has been at all times 
a diligent and worthy representative, and has secured a 
high reputation for his fidelity to his constituents, for his 
liberality, for his unchanging firmness in the advocacy of 
his principles, and for the undiscriniinating courtesy he 
pays to all who approach him. A war Democrat, he served 
himself for some time with the First Troop of City Cavalry, 
commanding that organization at Gettysburg, in 1863. His 
vole was cast in favor of every army appropriation asked 
from Congress. For the past ten yeare he has been looked 
upon as a leading Democrat, and has always, in the organi- 
zation of the party of his choice, held prominent positions, 
having been frequently Chairman of the City, State, and 
National Executive Committees. 



jOWLAND, JOSEPH, Physician and Surgeon, 
was born in Haverford township, Delaware 
county, Pennsylvania, October gth, 1814, his 
parents being Robert Rowland, of Chester, and 
Mary Jones, daughter of John Jones, of Mont- 
gomery county. His education was received in 
the common schools of Haverford ; and so apt was he as a 
student, that at the early age of seventeen he was solicited 
to teach in one of the institutions where he himself had 
once been a pupil. His ambition was to secure a thorough 
collegiate education, and, by patient industry and judicious 
economy, he at length paved the way to it. After passing 
some years as a tutor, he entered Delaware College, at 
Delaware City, then under the care of Dr. Ely, a gentle- 
man of fine tastes and a ripe scholar, and remained there 
twelve months. Thence he proceeded to Newtown town- 
ship, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and conducted a 
private school. He seems to have enjoyed rare success as 
an instructor, even beyond that of many greatly his seniors 
both in regard to age and experience ; and this may, per- 
haps, be accounted for upon the ground that he himself 
was yet a student, continuing his studies and investigations 
with a zeal that was spurred by one ambition, that of being 
a collegian. There was, then, a sympathetic relation be- 
tween him and those under him which was mutually 
advantageous. He was at this time particularly engrossed 
with the study of medicine, pursuing it with avidity under 
the mentorship of Dr. Ervin, a celebrated practitioner of 
that day. He maintained this special application during 
the three years of his residence in Xewtown township, and 
when, in 183S, he became a matriculant of the Medical 
Department of the University of Pennsylvania, he did so 
with an excellent foundation upon which to conduct the 
studies provided in the comprehensive course of that insti- 
tution. The fruits of his careful reading were quickly 
developed, and in two years, very much sooner than 
his co-matriculants, he took his degree as an M. D., 
and commenced at once the practice of his profession. 
55 



He located in Media, and secured, in a comparatively 
short period, a large and lucrative patronage, which he still 
retains. While his practice is a very general one, he has 
made obstetrics a special feature of it, and in this connec- 
tion has secured more than local celebrity. But, while 
heavily engi-ossed wi,th the responsibilities of his position as 
a physician, he has not overlooked his relation as a citizen. 
He has been identified with all the conspicuous local im- 
provements of Media for many years past, and is one of the 
most enterprising as well as liberal men. In 1864, he was 
appointed on the corps of Volunteer Surgeons, and in May 
of that year was called to the front, by the Surgeon General, 
and rendered important services during the battle of the 
Wilderness. He remained on the field where this terrific 
conflict occurred, and where the Union army subsequently 
encamped, a number of months, doing everything in his 
power to alleviate the misery of the sick and wounded 
victims of that encounter. He has always been closely 
identified with the Republican party in this Slate, and has 
been elevated to various positions of local trust and respon- 
sibility. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. In 1845, he married Jane Eves, daughter of W. 
Eves, of Lower Providence, Delaware county, and of the 
eight children born to them, six are now living. 



AND, JAMES C, Merchant, w.is born December 
6th, 1808, in Alexandria, District of Columbia, 
while his parents, residents of Philadelphia, were 
on a visit to that place. His father, Caleb 
Hand, was a prominent ship-owner of Phila- 
delphia, and the founder of various lines to the 
South, among them particularly " Hand's Line of Packets" 
to Alexandria, Portsmouth, and Norfolk, Virginia, and 
which has since been extended to New Orleans. His 
mother was of Swedish descent, her ancestors coming over 
with the earliest Swedish settlers, some time before the 
advent of William Penn into this country. Her father, 
John Keen, in his day attained considerable celebrity as 
an architect and builder. James C. Hand was educated in 
the schools of Philadelphia, and at the age of fourteen 
entered the commission house of D. W. Prescoit, witli 
whom he continued until he reached his twenty second 
year. It was while thus eni|)loyed that he early develo]ied 
that keen foresight and fine business tact which have since 
carried him successfully through life. In May of 1S30, he 
ventured to Cuba, in the expectation of commencing busi- 
ness there ; bnt, circumstances being unfavorable, he re- 
turned to Philadelphia in the September following. In 
Januaiy, 1831, he associated with Benjamin T. Curtiss in 
the hardware business, under the firm name of Curtiss & 
Hand. Within a few years of the commencement of this 
mercantile enterprise, they dropped the llgh:er articles of 
hardware altogether, and confined their business to nails. 




434 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



steel, pig-iron ami Ihc heavy American manufactures. 
Their trade increased with great rapidity, and, with a 
generous regard for a number of faithful employes, they 
elevated them to the position of junior partners. In De- 
cember, 1859, Mr. Curliss died, and on the 1st of the 
January following a new co partnership, under the title 
of James C. Hand & Co., \>y which it is still known, was 
formed. The senior partner is a man of great activity and 
of the most undaunted enterprise. As a citizen, he has 
done much to increa.se the commercial and mercantile pros- 
perity of Philadelphia. Since the year 1842, he has been 
a director of the Bank of North America, and foriiipwards 
of twenty-five years his influence has been prominent in 
the management of the Delaware Mutual Safely- Insurance 
Company. He is one of tlie original stoclchoklers of the' 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, having buen one of its 
most sanguine supporters at a time when only a few could 
be found who believed in the ultimate success of the 
scheme. At the first meeting for orga'nizatron, he riot 
only invested largely his own means in whnt many were 
pleased to regard as a vast Utopian project, but secured 
subscriptions amounting in the aggregate to aJheavy sum. 
In pursuance of a settled policy, he gave a hearty support 
to the American Steamship Ljuc, as he did to the varioiis 
coastwise lines, believing that everyftjcitizen slioul<l_ lend 




INGSBURY, C. A., Doctor of Dental Surgery, is 
a native of East Windsor, Connecticut, his an- 
cestors being among the earliest settlers of 
New England. Amariah Kingsbury, his father, 
was a lineal descendant of Henry Kingsbui"y, 
who came to this country from Grolon, England, 
in 1630, in one of the vessels which conveyed hither (Jov- 
ernor Winthrop's company. His mother was the daughter 
of Captain Erastus Buckland, of East Windsor, and pos- 
sessed sterling qualities both of mind and heart. Her 
superior natural endowments pre-eminently fitted her for 
the responsible duties of a mother and a teacher. When 
eight years of age, she removed to northern New Hamp- 
shire, taking with her her son, and from this period until 
his sixteenth ye.ar he remained upon liis stepfather's farm, 
his mother having married a second time. He possessed 
here the facilities for receiving instruction common to the 
sons of New England farmers; but, being passionately fond 
of books, • and of investigating those hidden fields of 
knowledge, glimpses of which rapidly began to break upon 
his' mind, he soon acquired an education far more liberal 
and comprehensive than any of his associates. He com- 
menced -to teach in the puljlic schools of New England in 
■his si.xteenth year, enq.loying his leisure time alternately at 
the Weslej'.an A6idemy, at Williraham, Massachusetts, and 



material encouragement to -euLetprises calculated "to restore '•Newbury Seii\ir.:'"^,Verniont, until his eighteenth year, in 



Philadelphia to its lost commercial pre-eminence. Active 
in Inisiness, he has also Jftboveil generously as a philan- 
thropist, and has given dibcral-aid' to institutions whose; 
aim is to gratify and cullivale'-the artistic- facirllies of the 
people. He is prominently -idsntified with the Philadel- 
phia Academy of Music, having' been one of its organizers, 
and for fifteen years its President. Ever since its inception, 
he h.is been one of the principal supporters of that noble 
charity, " The Philadelphia Merchants' Fund," and the 
success of many other benevolent societies is in great 
part due to his careful and constant labors. During the 
civil war, he contributed largely and in various ways 
towards supporting the Government in its emergency, and 
to alleviate the sufterings of sick and wounded soldiers. 
He was one of the commissioners of the "Citizens' Boimty 
Fund " of Philadelphia, and gave time and means tinspar- 
ingly in the furtherance of its oliject. He is a, member 
of and a regular attendant at Christ Church (Protestant 
Episcopal). He married, on the 22d of June, 184^, a 
daughter of James ' Martin, of the Society of Friends, 
and one of the firm of Thomas & Martin, extensive 
wholesale dry goods dealers. The fruits of this union 
are six children, all of whom are living. Of his three 
.sons, the eldest, Henry J., is a member of the firm of 
James C. Hand & Co. The next in point of seniority is in 
Colorado, in the stock business, and the youngest, in 
March, 1S74, graduated with high honors from the Medical 
Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and is now 
practising medicine in his native oily. 



■preparing himself-Hor a.-collegiale career. During the win- 
'ter of 1837-38, he tauglit'a vet^ large school in his native 
town.' In the latjer year, he visited Trenton, and there 
foAied the acquaintance of the I.ate Dr. Nathaniel Bunn, 
engaged then in dental practice. The associations growing 
mit-hf'this iiew and most friendly intimacy had much to do 
in 'deciding his subsequent career. With Dr. Bunn he be- 
came a student of the dental science, though still filling the 
vocation of a teacher in the common school. He devoted 
his leisure hours with the utmost industry, in order to 
master the contents of the text books on dental surgeiy, 
then quite limited in number. So rapidly and yet so thor- 
oughly did he progress in these that, at the end of the first 
'year of his application to this science, he became a more 
th.in ordinarily successful practitioner. Notwithstanding 
the popularity ' of Garengeot's key for extracting tcelh 
with dentists at that time, he rejected it altogether as an 
improper and barbarous instrument, and invariably used 
the forceps. It was during this first year of his dental ex- 
perience that he conceived the idea of applying electricity 
as a therapeutic agent to relieve aching teetll, and smm 
succeeded in constructing an apparatus which more ihan 
realized his expectations. It is believed that he was the 
first to apply this subtle agent towards the mitigation of 
pain in dental practice. In the spring of i8;9, he relin- 
quislied his engagements as a teacher, and went to Phila- 
delphia, obtained a position with a gentleman who had a 
large practice in mechanical dentistry, and became very 
successful ii\ the insertion of artificial dentures. He 




'''"ii>-^ Tai Cf S^^°~ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



43S 



returned to New Jersey, and, after a short Init profilahle 
application to his new profession, commenced inuler a 
private tutor the study of languages and natural sciences, 
following this with a year's devotion to the classics, under 
the supervision of the late John H. V/akefield, of Boston, 
a ripe scholar and most successful teacher. In i84l,he 
recommenced his dental practice in Bordentown, New 
Jersey, and in the ensuing fall removed to Philadelphia, 
where he soon obtained a large and lucrative business. 
In 1S42 dawned a new era. His earlier education had 
been directed with special reference to the high calling of a 
Christian minister, and while at Newbury Seminary, being 
then scarcely eighteen years old, he received a lay commis- 
sion and officiated frequently in public. In this year, he 
sacrificed all secular pursuits, and united with the New 
Jersey Conference, being assigned to Haddonfield. He 
entered upon his work under most promising auspices, but 
within a short time was so shattered by malarial fever, his 
voice being especially impaired, that he was compelled to 
relinquish his pastoral labors. During the four years fol- 
lowing, he studied medicine with Dr. B. H. Stratton, and 
graduated with distinction at the Philadelphia College of 
Medicine. His object in prosecuting his researches in the 
wide domain of medicine, was simply to fit himself more 
thoroughly for his labors as a dentist. In 1S57, he re- 
moved to Philadelphia, where he has resided ever since, 
devoting himself to the duties of a large and constantly in- 
creasing practice. He aided materially in the organization 
of the American Dental Association, the Odontographic 
Society of Pennsylvania, and of the Dental Society of 
Pennsylvania. He is a leading member of the Pennsyl- 
vania Association of Surgeon Dentists, and of the Academy 
of Natural .Sciences. In company with Dr. William C. 
Head, in 1867, he made an extended European tour, and 
gained much interesting and valuable infoniiation pertain- 
ing to dental science. His contributions to the literature 
of this science have been numerous and valuable, and the 
results of his careful investigations Iiave proved highly 
beneficial to the profession. 



J^RAY, REV. JOHN, D. D., Clergyman, was born 
in Ireland, in December, 1799, from Scotch and 
Irish parentage. His education was a careful, 
comprehensive, and liberal one, being received 
principally, during his earlier years, at the fine 
University of Edinburgh ; but, with a natural 
talent for study and introspection, his whole life became 
devoted to scholastic acquirements. In the year 1S22, in 
company with his wife, nee Jane Lewers, of Ireland, he 
emigrated to this country. Mrs. Gray was a lady of more 
than ordinary refinement and culture. Inheriting a faculty 
for versification, she wrote a large number of poems, which, 
from their flowing hamiony and beauty of sentiment, .se- 




cured wide publicity, being translated into the German and 
French languages. She was the daughter of William 
Lewers, of Castle Blayney, Ireland. Dr. Gray became the 
first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton, the 
pulpit of which, up to the time of his ordination, had been 
filled by " supplies." Easton was then a small village, 
very remote, by reason of the obstacles to easy and rapid 
travelling, from the centres of civilization. Here it was, 
with everything to excite doubt and misgiving, that he 
commenced a ministiy which, during its long continuance, 
was blessed with the richest fruits of divine gift. For 
forty-five years, up to his death, in January, 1868, he 
labored with true Christian zeal, endearing himself, by the 
sweetness of his manners, to the congregation under him, 
which grew constantly in numbers. As a tribute to his 
niemoi7, the church erected a chaste monument over his 
remains, which rest in the yard adjoining. A man of fine 
literaiy ability, he wrote clearly, elegantly, and forcibly 
upon all topics. He contributed to many of the religious 
miscellanies during the earlier period of his life. He took 
a very deep interest in educational matters, and his gene- 
rously applied industry is a part of the histoiy of Lafayette 
College. Of this excellent collegiate institution he was for 
many years a trustee. As a pulpit orator, he had few 
superiors, possessing in a rare degree that magnetic influ- 
ence over an audience which so many speakers seek for in 
vain. His widow survived him four ye.ars, her death 
taking place in 1S72. 



ASH, MAJOR JOHN C, U. S. Marine, was bom 
in Philadelphia, March I5lh, 1817. His father, 
Thomas Cash, of English parentage, was an old 
and highly esteemed citizen of that city. His 
mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth 
Mirtle, was of German lineage. He received a 
thorough and comprehensive education at Lafayette College, 
Easton, and gained more than ordinary distinction for the 
industry with which he pursued the various courses in its 
fine curriculum. After his graduation, he entered, at the 
age of nineteen years, the office of his brother, A. D. Cash, 
conveyancer, and remained in this business some time. 
While thus employed, he was honored with a commission 
as a Special Agent of the Post-office Department, the ap- 
pointment coming direct from the Postmaster-General, 
Hon. E. A. Wickliffe. He filled this important station 
with rare discretion, receiving the commendation of the 
department. Surrendering eventually to what had been 
his inclination for years, he entered the United States 
Marine Corps, March 14th, 1845, ^^ Second Lieutenant, 
stationed on board the "Columbus," then under orders for 
the r.icific. This vessel, under Commodore Biddlc, pro- 
ceeded according to the bill of instructions, and cruised in 
ihe Pacific until the close of the Mexican War. Soon 
after he was advanced to the First Lieutenancv. .^t the 




436 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



l)ruaking out of lli'.- late Civil War, lie was appointed Cap- 
tain of Marines, and stationed on board the " Sabine," 
Captain Adams, Commander. He participated with dis- 
tinction in almost all of the exciting events which occurred 
along the' Gulf Coast during the first st.agcs of the Rebel- 
lion. He commanded the troojis of the sijuadron which 
w.as ordered tore-enforce Kort Pickens, and conducted him- 
self with such gallantry in carrying out the instructions 
given him as to receive a high compliment in the " General 
Orders," for " efficiency and valuable services." He re- 
mained in Fort Pickens, meanwhile retaining charge of it, 
until ordered home, which he had scarcely reached when 
he was prostrated by a serious and prolonged illness, result- 
ing from physical exhaustion. Upon his recdvery he was 
rewarded by President Lincoln with a commission as_^a- 
jor and Paymaster, service to date from NoveiViber 20th, 
1862. At present he is stationed at the Washington N.ivy 
Yard. He is a fine disciplinarian, a man of undaunted 
courage and genial manners, who stands. in high esteem' 
both in military and naval circles. He has been tyice mar- 
ried, his present wife a Miss I'"arr of Pbiladelphjp, being a 
lady of fine culture, and the mother of an intefe^higjfamily. 



»ALDEMAN, I.SAAC; Baffk^'li/eSjlgiu" wa* t*rn 
in Charlestown township, Gh&;t^'foBfi4'i P<^n>i; 
sylvania, in September, I7f)7r. His pavfftJts were' 
y^^^"! Abram Ilaldeman and' Mary^Shotvwalter,. botJl_ 
members of the Meunice .Society. At an^acjy 
age he was sent to the common schools of his 
native township, where he remained until his fourteentli 
year. He made rapid progress in his studies, and soon 
secured an education far in advance of his associates. 
Knowing that his means for its attainment were narrowly 
circumscribed, he improved eveiy opportunity for increasing 
his store of knowledge which n.itur.ally or by accident 
was afforded him. In this laudable pursuit he overcame 
many obstacles which would have intimidated less deter- 
mined minds. From his fourteenth until his twenty-first' 
year he remained with his paje^ils, securing frofn the fruTts 
of his labor a great degree of comfort for theni.' Then he 
was thrown completely on his own resources. After va- 
rious trials, experiencing in his efforts to obtain an honor- 
able livelihood many severe vicissitudes, he determined to 
try his fortunes in another section, and removed to Dela- 
ware. Here in various capacities he labored for some 
time, until by his unceasing industry and the careful ad- 
ministration of his finances, he managed to lay up $150. 
This hard-earned sum — limited as it was — formed the nu- 
cleus of what has since become a respectable fortune. With 
it he set up a country store, and shortly after the commence- 
ment of this enterprise, then very doubtful of success, was 
enabled to enlarge it by the voluntarily given aid of a 
number of gentlemen who learned to admire his inlegiity 



and indomitable perseverance. This aid, by the growing 
popularity of his store, he was enabled in a few months to 
repay with interest. I5y a careful attention to the details 
of a business which in a country town was of necessity 
compelled to cover a range of articles each of which would 
have made a specialty for a city store, he soon obtained 
the patronage of a Large section. The country town to 
which he had fii-st migrated was now a city, and his estab- 
lishment, one of the finest, still retained its early-won 
popularity. He grew up to a position of prominence as a 
citizen, entering actively into all schemes for municipal im- 
provement, and contributing largely of his means in furthe- 
rance of them. lie continued as proprietor of the store 
which had been foundecl through the most zealous appli- 
cation until 1856, when his son succeeded him. He was 
amon^ the original movers in the est.ablishment there of 
one of the soundest b.anks in the country, being one of its 
iTi6st painstaking directors, and for a number of years its 
President. While taking no active part in politics, nor 
making any effort to secure office, he has been repeatedly 
honored with an election to the Town Councils, his services 
in ll^m covering a period of eighteen years. In the capa- 
city^f a.munjeip.il legislator he acted intelligently, and 
wilh-a^conscrcnfiou^ regard for the interests of his fellow- 
citizeifsj sif?curiiig iucach successive re-election a gratifying 
endorsemo^f fi'bm the voters of both parties. He invested 
largelyjit bitiWing improvements, and some of the finest 
structm:es -in 3tft.e city. of his residence are conspicuous evi- 
Vlences of ^ilJ'^catSiprise and liberality. He is one of the 
feiv ipeirJiMiD liiv'e carved out a fortune under the most 
tiying of -adverse circumstances. In his dealings he was 
alwf^s prompt, filling all contracts in the -spirit and to the 
letter of the agreements. He soon won a reputation for 
sterling integrity, the lustre of which time has not served 
to diminish. He is an able and far-sighted fin-incier, and 
his opinion as such is frequently consulted. He married 
Kliza West, daughter of Thomas West, of Delaware county, 
January 31st, 1S2S, their union being a very happy one. 




/ 



ARLINGTON, HOX. EDWARD, Lawyer and 
Congressman, was born near Westchester, 
Chester county, Pennsylvania, September 17th, 
1795. His f.ither, Jesse, came from the well- 
known Sharpless family, which at a period long 
antecedent to his birth took up a large tract of 
Middletown township, the major portion of which 
has lineally descended. His ancestors on both sides came 
over with the Peuns. His first instruction was received in 
a log school-house, where he continued to study until his 
fifteenth year. Text books at that time were few in num- 
ber and poorly constructed, but by patient application he 
succeeded in securing the highest benefits from the rude 
means placed within liis reach. From Middletown, w'-'re 




t/(2r^ C^^0^/<i^<^:^(i.^^^^Z^^>i) 




I 



inOGRAnilCAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



437 



these youthful school days were passed, he went to the old 
academy at Westchester, v.-hich at that time ranked as an 
excellent institution, the professors being gentlemen of un- 
usual attainments. Here he remained until his ninteenth 
year, when he had so far advanced in scholastic acquirements 
as to be capable of teaching. He was soon solicited to as- 
sume the preceptorship of a school in Bucks county, and 
his success evinced that he had acquired the rare art of im- 
parting to others what he himself had thoroughly learned. 
For two years and a half he taught in this and Delaware 
counties, and then surrendered his engagements for the 
purpose of entering upon the study of law. In 1818, he 
entered the office of Samuel Edward, of Delaware county, 
and, in 1820, having successfully passed the ordeal of a 
rigid examination, was admitted to the b.ar. In Novem- 
ber, 1 82 1, he opened an office in Chester City, and con- 
tinued in the practice of his profession there until the re- 
moval of the county seat to Media, in 1S50, and succeeded 
in the latter place in obtaining an extensive and prolit;',ble 
patronage. His ability was early recognized liy the citizens 
of his district, and, in 1S33, he was sent to Congress, being 
successively returned until 1839. While .acting in this Con- 
gressional capacity he filled many important positions on 
various committees, remaining on that of Claims of the 
House from 1835 until his retirement from this public office 
in 1S39. He filled the position of District Attorney for 
his county for a number of terms, and in this capacity se- 
cured a fine reputation as a Prosecuting Attorney. In 1863, 
he relinquished the practice of the law, being succeeded 
by his son, G. E. Darlington. In 1S27, he married Ann 
Eyre, a lady of rare culture, descending from a highly es- 
teemed family of Delaware county. He has been promi- 
nent in a number of business enterprises, was for many 
years a Director of the Delaware Mutual Insurance Com- 
pany, and is a gentleman of rare learning and pleasing 
address. 



/ 



c«^^OREMAN, 




HON. ARTHUR INGRAIIAM, 
Lawyer and United .States .Senator, was born 
in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, July 24th, 1823. 
His grandfather was a native of London, who 
emigrated to America before the Revolution, and 
served in that conflict as a ])rivate, .and eventually 
as a Paymaster of the Continental Army. Upon the con- 
clusion of that war, he settled permanently in Waynesburg, 
and was honored with an election to many positions of 
trust and responsibility in that town and c unty. In his 
childhood, Arthur Ingraham was taken by his father to 
Tyler county, West Virginia, where, after receiving a com- 
mon school education, he eng.aged in the study of the law 
with his brother and brother-in law in Middletown. He 
prosecuted his study with great application, and under ex- 
cellent supervision, and was early prc|)ared for admission 
to the bar. This event did not take place, however, until 



May, 1843. In November following he commenced tlie 
practice of his profession in Parkcrsburg, attaining soon a 
fine reputation as a jurist and an able advocate. He was 
retained early in his career as a lawyer in a number of 
difticult as well as important cases, and the sterling ability 
he exhibited in conducting them promised great success as 
a pleader, which has been more than realized. He has 
ever since continued in this practice in Parkersburg, save 
during the intervals when he has been called to perform 
official duties. In 1855, he was elected to the Virginia 
House of Delegates, and successively re-elected until 1S60. 
He was a member of the Legisl.ature which, amid the 
intense popular excitement of the time, held an extra 
session, in 1 86 1, to discuss the propriety of seceding, and 
his efforts -against that movement were very conspicuous. 
During the same year he presided over the Convention as- 
sembled at Wheeling to re-organize the State government ; 
and in the ensuing October was elected Judge of the Cir- 
cuit Court of the State, exercising the functions of that 
office until his unanimous election as first Governor of 
West Virginia in 1863. He was re-elected in 1864 without 
a dissenting vote, continued to wield the executive power 
with a rare conception of the most urgent needs of the 
State and Nation during that tiding period, and was again 
re-elected in 1866. In l85S, he declined to be a candi- 
date for the same high office, and was then honored by the 
Legislature of the new State by an election to the Senate 
of the United States, taking his seat March 4th, 1S69. In 
politics he is Republican. He served with great efficiency 
on the Committees on Manufactures, Territories, and Politi- 
cal Disabilities, and during the 43rd Congress has been 
Chairman of the Committee on Territories as well as a 
member of the Committee on Claims. He is a clear and 
powerful speaker, with a rare power for analysis, which is 
often exerted in debate. He is an industrious worker, a 
strict adherent to principle, and his liberal sentiments have 
won the admiration of his colleagues. 



EAD, JOHN R., Counsellor and Attorney-at-Law, 
was born in Philadelphia, January 15th, 1843, 
descending on his father's side from an old and 
highly respectable family of New Jersey. His 
early education was carefully conducted, his 
parents placing him under the preceptorship of a 
number of fine scholars who had obtained a long experience 
in the instruction of youth. He went through the prescribed 
courses of the Union and Pennsylvania Academy of Phila- 
delphia, making rapid progress in all his studies. Upon the 
completion of his academic career he associated with his 
uncle, Charles H. Cummings, in the mercantile business, 
and after passing a period in this relation, during which he 
obtained a very full knowledge of counting-house details, 
he entered the house of Billings, Roope & Washington, re- 



43S 



BIOCRArillCAI. ENXYCLOr.F.DIA. 



maining with llicm until July 1st, iS5i. At this tiine he 
iletcrmined to gratify an early developed inclination, and 
commenced the study of law in the office of St. George 
Tucker Campbell, an able advocate recently deceased. 
Under the mentorship of lliis gentleman, he read the various 
text-books and digests with marked success, and passed a 
credit.iblc examination, being admitted to the bar February 
1st, 1S64. In order to make himself thorou;_;hly familiar 
with the details of his cho^^cn profession, he supplemented 
the ordinary legal training by attending the lectures in the 
L>C]>artment of Law of the University of Pennsylvania, re- 
ceiving in this way the fruits of the experience of many of 
the ablest lawyers of this country. lie remained with Mr. 
Campbell until .September, 1S67, actively assisting the latter 
in important cases involving the interests of large 'corpora- 
tio.is. Since his admission, he has secured a large and 
lucrative ]iraclice, being now the senior member of the firm 
of Read & Pettit. lie has alw.iys been' a consistent mem- 
ber of the Democratic party, and has an^ influeiltSil voice in 
its local councils. His first vole was ca'st'for General-George 
B. McClellan, when a candidate-' for the ■Presidency.'? -In 
1S6S, he favored the nomination of th<S Late '-GBief "Jastice" 
Chase for the same position, but oppSted'tBa&'dif' tUe tete' 
Horace Greeley in 1S72 as ill-advisedS^ H^was electeV^ 
Democratic Delegate from thejS'ccbnd.'Sonatori.al District, 
embracing the gth, loth, I3th,'i4th,'i5th ■an"tl<29th Wards 
of Philadelphia, to the recent Goiivetition to revise and 
amend the Constitution of Pennsylvanin^-iSitfv^s appointed 
a member and selected as Secretary of tKe'-imi*rtant Com'-, 
mittee on Legislation. The records'bf that -Convention 
show that his services were of no common character. - As 
a speaker he is clear, earnest and logical. lie particularly 
urged on the floor and in committee the expediency and 
propriety of transferring the trials of contested seats in the 
.State Legislature from the houses in which they occurred to 
the courts, and the remodelling of the Judicial system of 
the State, as well as the amendment of the alderm.anic sys- 
tem of Philadelphia. In November, 1865, he married a 
daujjhter of E. S. Powell, a jirominent shipjMng merchant 
of New York. 

LLIS, COLONEL RICHARD, Builder, .Soldier, 
and Clerk of the Orphans' Court of Philadelphia, 
was born Friday, July 'aSrh, iSlQ, in Philadel- 
phia, of Irish parentage. His father, George 
Ellis, was well known in that city as a brewer, 
being one of the firm of Rudman & Ellis, and 
having emigrated to this country in 1816. Richard re- 
ceived an excellent education both in the common and 
private schools of the city, having been a student under 
William 'CoUom, in Commissioners' Hall, Northern Liber- 
ties, George Hippie, in Brook street, and afterwards under 
the preceptorship of the father of Hon. William B. Mann. 
District Attorney of Phil.idelphia. He was early appren- 




ticed to the house carpentering trade, under Thomas B. 
Patterson, a gentleman who had served with Jolm Rite, one 
of the prominent builders of his native city. This appren- 
ticeship commenced in March, 1S37, and he soon acquired 
unusual proficiency in the various details of this important 
trade. After the completion of his term of service, he re- 
mained with Mr. Patterson, as foreman- of that gentleman's 
establishment, for a number of years. While in this capa- 
city, he supervised the construction of the fn-st cottages put 
up by Philadelphia carpenters at Cape May. This was as 
early as the spring of 1S44, when only a few could be found 
who believed in the ultimate importance of that place as a 
seaside resort. Upon his return to Philadelphia he con- 
tinued as house carpenter for some years, and then engaged 
with-Clement Keen & Brother as a shipjoiner. W'ith this 
firm He remained until 1S50. By this time, he was not only 
a welHknown but a popular citizen of Philadelphia, whose 
courage, -firmness, and excellent judgment had been tested 
oa'many occasions. In that year he was by the City Coun- 
.cils elected as Lieutenant of Police, then under the late 
Marshall Keyser, and continued in this office until the con- 
soli3iition of the various districts into one municipality, in 
18547 -wHeq he was selected by Mayor Robert T. Conrad 
ftir»tbe dctective.-ljranch of the new police force. So ex- 
cel^ntly 'did he'fulfd all the grave and often onerous duties 
i'of"that-officc,Jhat upoi-i the incoming of Mayor Alexander 
'Herti-y he was-am'ong the ^-cry first officials re-appointed, 
lier-coptimied^under the able administration of this gentle- 
maifiil the-same' position until January, 1S61, when Gov- 
iernor Curtin ajipointed him Whiskey Inspector for the Port 
Jof Philadelphia. In this year the first flame of the Rebel- 
lion burst out, and he was one of the foremost to offer his 
services to the Nr.tional Government. He was mustered 
in, May 25th, 1861, as Captain of Company D, 2nd Penn- 
sylvania Reserves, Colonel William B. Mann, Command- 
ing, having been actively engaged in recruiting his com- 
pany from the date of the firing on Fort Sumter. His regi- 
inent went to the front, and in all its engagements he con- 
ducted himself with great gallantry. On October 28th, 
1863, he 'was promoted from Captain to Major ; was bre- 
vetted Lieatenant-Colonel March 13th, 1864, and was mus- 
tered out of service June i6th, 1865. During the continu- 
ance. of his military duties he retained the position to which 
Gdyernor Curtin had appointed him, and prior to the expi- 
ration- of his term in this office, was .appointed United 
States Revenue Ganger, and held the position until 1869. 
In January, 1871, he was appointed by Hon. William S. 
Stokley as Lieutenant of the 5th Police District, and so 
served until the fall of 1873. when, having been elected by 
a large majority Clerk of the Orphans' Court of Philadel- 
phia, he relinquished his police duties and entered upon the 
discharge of those devolving upon him as an important court 
official. Politically, he was originally a Whig, and ever 
since its organization has been a staunch and zealous sup- 
porter of the Rcpul)lican parly. He was a member of the 



EIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOP.-EDIA. 



439 



Convention which, at Baltimore in 1S44, nominated 
Henry Clay for the Presidency, and a delegate in the con- 
ventions in Chicago in 1S60 and in 1S68, which nominated 
respectively Lincoln and Grant. In the local and State 
councils of his party he has frequently been conspicuous, 
and has always been regarded as one of those workers to 
whom its success was mainly due. In manners he is ex- 
ceedingly affable, and in the prosecution of all the varied 
duties which he has been elected to perform, he has exer- 
cised a carefully trained and discreet mind, and an unusual 
degree of industry and tact. 




J 



■ CHRIVER EDMUND, Crevet-Major-General 
United States Army, was born in York counlyi 
Pennsylvania, .September i6th, 1S12; received 
a thorough education at the Mount Airy Military 
and Classical Lyceum, underthe charge of Colonel 
Rumford, and entered the United .States Military 
Academy July ist, 1829. He continued his military studies, 
and graduating July ist, 1833, was immediately promoted to 
Brevet Second Lieutenant of the 2nd Artillery, serving in 
garrison in Tennessee and in the Creek Nation, Alabama, 
initil March iSth, 1S34, when he received the appointment 
of Assistant Instructor of Infantry Tactics at the Military 
Academy, and was commissii ne I also as Second Lieutenant 
of the 2nd Artillery. lie remained at the Academy until 
relieved, July 23d, 1835, and on the 25th was assigned to 
duty in the Adjutant-General's office in Washington. Dur- 
ing this service he was promoted to the position of First 
Lieutenant 2nd Artillery, November Ist, 1836, and on July 
7th, 1S38, to Captain of Staff of Assistant Adjutant-General, 
lie continued in this capacity in Washington until Septem- 
ber Ist, 1841, save during the time of his gallant services in 
the Florida war in 1S39; he was then assigned to duty at 
the Headquarters of the Eastern Department, and while 
there was commissioned, August 17th, 1842, Captain of 
the 2nd Artillery, retaining that position until his resigna- 
tion, July 31st, 1846. In 1847, I's ^^'^5 elected Treasurer 
of the Saratoga & Washington Railroad Company, as well 
as of the Saratoga & Schenectady, and Rensselaer n&: 
Saratoga Railroad Companies. Of the last named he w.as 



elected President i 



185 1, and severing his connection with 



the Saratoga & Washington line in 1S52, devoted himself 
with untiring industry to the improvement of the last two 
roads, until the ou. break of the war in 1861, when he be- 
came Colonel of Staff and Aide-de-Camp to Governor Mor- 
gan of New York, with whom he served from April to July 
14th, assisting in the organization of the first thirty-eight 
regiments of New York Volunteers. Commissioned Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, May I4lh, 1861, he recruited the lith 
United States Infantry ; from July iSth to October I4lh 
same year, was stationed at I'"ort Independence, Massachu- 
setts, and from October l6th to March 15th, 1S62, at Perry- 



ville, Maryland, then a great depot of supplies, having here 
the command of two regiments. With these two, and two 
others just assigned him, he marched to Fairfax Court 
House, where he joined the Army of the Potomac. Became 
Chief of Staff, and on May l8th, 1S62, Colonel of Staff of 
Ist Army Corps, General McDowell commanding. He 
was with the advance army in Virginia, participating in the 
Shenandoah Campaign (June and July, 1S62), North Vir- 
ginia Campaign (.August and September, 1862), in the 
battles at Cedar Mountain, passage of the Rappahannock, 
Manassas and Chantilly, behaving in all these with great 
bravery and daring. He w.as then summoned to attend a 
Court of Inquiry at Washington, and upon its adjournment, 
was appointed, in response to the application of General 
Hooker, Acting Inspector-General of the Army of the Po- 
tomac, and was, in the March following, commissioned as 
Inspector-General, United Slates Army, continuing in that 
capacity with the Army of the Potomac until March, 1865, 
having been engagecl in the battles of Chancellorsville and 
Gettysburgh. In p.irtial recognition of his gallant services, 
Major-General Meade made him the bearer to the War 
Department of the thirty-one battle-flags and other trophies 
of victory which were captured at Gettysburg. He took a 
conspicuous part in the pursuit of the Confederate army 
through Virginia, ending at Mine I^un, November 30th, 
1863, and served in th."; Richmond Campaign, which cov- 
ered the operations from the Rapidan to Petersburg. He 
was brevetled Brigadier-General United States Army, 
August 1st, 1S64, " for faithful and meritorious services in 
the field," and on March 13th, 1865, " for meritorious and 
distinguished services during the Rebellion," was made 
Brevet M.ajor-General United States Army. From March 
22d to June 23d, 1865, he was ordered by the Secretary of 
War to special duty ; from June 28lh, to August 23d, and 
from October 7th to November 30th of the same year, made 
an inspectit n of the Quartermaster Departments. Decem- 
ber loth, I.' 65, took charge of the Inspection Bureau, and 
was at the ;am2 time re-assigned by the Secretary of War to 
special duty. July 30th, 1866, was appointed Inspector of 
the United States Military Academy, but in April, 1871, was 
relieved of that duty and the responsibility of the Inspection 
Bureau. Since that time he has employed himself solely 
with the functions of his office as Inspector-General of the 
Army under the immediate orders of the War Secretary. 



ALVIN, HON. Samuel; Lawyer, was born July 
30lh, 181 1, in Washington, Montour county, 
Pennsylvania, his parents being Matthew Calvin 
and Mary Hutchinso.i. Upon his father's side 
he is descended from a venerable family, which 
numbered many representative men, and was 
brought up in the Presbyterian faith, to which he still ad- 
heres. His primary education was very carefully conducted. 




440 



BIOGRArillCAL liNCYCLOP/EDIA. 



and upon being sent to the Milton Academy, he became the 
classmate of Governor Curtin, and in his company prose- 
cuted his studies with meritorious zeal. By a sudden and 
unexpected misfortune his father was deprived of his prop- 
erly, and he was early thrown upon his own resources. This 
domestic affliction occurred while he was in his seventeenth 
year, and before the completion of his academic course. 
lie had, however, applied himself with so much devotion 
and success to his books, that at that time he was capable 
of teaching. This labor he at once assumed, giving; entire 
satisfaction to the many families who placed their children 
in his charge. Subsequently he was intrusted with the 
charge of Huntingdon Academy, applying all liis leisure 
time to the study of law. Among the pupils placed under 
his instruction were Judge Porter, George and Titian Coffey, 
ana a number of others who have since earned the highest 
distinction in the judicial and mercantile capacity. In 1836, 
he was admitted to the Bar, rising rapiilly in his profession 
and in public estimation. By careful and persistent reading 
and long-matured habits of meditation, he olitained a pro- 
found knowledge of the law. His arguments were mo^ls 
of concise and logical reasoning, and invariably -attracted 
attention. In 1848, he was elected tc^'CongriSss; serving 
one term, and declining a re-nominafioBvW'hith WSRS ur^d 
upon him, preferring to continue in the.prnctic^of a'profes' 
sion for which he had not only a love but a natm-iil-aiKitude. 
Me occupied many offices of locaf resptinsibitnyr and was 
selected to fill the vacancy in the C'onstitiUionnl (Convention 
of 1872-3 caused by the death of lion: Hugh M.icatester. 
In this Convention, his suggestions, which were the prompt- 
ings of an extensive experience, had great weight in the 
disposition of the many questions relative to the then-exist- 
ing judiciary. He has always taken a lively interest in all 
matters of local and State improvement, and has contributed 
largely in means and self-application in their furtherance. 
He married Rebecca Smith Blodgett, and has two children, 
a son and a daughter. His present residence is Hollidays- 
burgh, Pennsylvania, where his enterprise and influence are 
very sensiljly appreciated. 

1 RIGHT, RICHARDSON L., Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, and Senator, was born 
in the Province of Ulster, Ireland, on August 30th, 
1820. On the side of his father, Robert Erskine 
Wright, he is connected with the families of 
Wright, Erskine, and Irwin, of Tyrone, and on 
that of his mother, Mary Richavdsim Little, with those of 
Little, Richardson, and Armstrong, of Armagh and Fer- 
managh. His ancestors on both sides were of the stock 
known as Scotch-Irish, the descendants of which race form 
so large a proportion of the ]>eop]e of Pennsylvania. His 
p.irents emigrated in the first place to St. John, New Bruns- 
wick, and finally, when he was nine years old, to the 




United .States. They settled in Philadelphia, where they 
continued to reside until their death, and in that city Rich- 
ardson L. Wright received liis education. His early man- 
hood was devoted to mechanical and mercantile pursuits. In 
the year 1S51 he retired from business and removed to 
Frankford. In 1S52, he was elected a member of the 
House of Representatives, taking his seat in that body in 
January, 1853. He was re-elected in 1853 and 1854, 
though but a portion of the ticket on which he ran was suc- 
cessful, and at the commencement of the session of 1855 
he was the candidate^ of his party for the Speakership. In 
the same year he was elected to the House for a fourth 
term, and at the org.anization of that body in January, 1856, 
he became the unanimous choice of his friends for the office 
ol^SpeaUcr, to which distinguished position he was duly 
elected. It may be noted that he was the third Speaker of 
the House from the county of Philadelphia in a period of 
.sixty-six years. In the autumn of 1856 he received the 
nomination for the office of .Senator, and was elected by an 
unusually large mnii)rity. During three years' service in 
ihe-Senate'he was a member of the Committee on Finance 
af\,d Chairman of the' Committee on Corporations. On re- 
tiring fcofti- the Senate in 1859, he was nominated by the 
State Gonveijlion for the office of Auditor General by nearly 
a two-tbii'fls-v©te'on the first and only ballot. Though run- 
ning faV aliofre his ticket, the ilissensions and divisions of 
his -jiarty on "National issues jircventcd a successful result. 
In Mgi^hiTSfe?, on the recommendation of Senator Bucka- 
lew, ht'w.aV apfiointed United States Assessor for the Fifth 
District of Pennsylvania by President Johnson, and con- 
firmed by the Senate. During his career in this branch of 
the public service he received the commendations of the 
Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of Internal 
Revenue for the faithful discharge of the delicate and im- 
portant duties pertaining to his office. In 1872, his friends 
appealed to him to become a candidate.for the House once 
more, and in their letter urging his acceptance of the nomi- 
nation used the following language : " Distinguished service 
in the House of Representatives and Senate in former years, 
and your unblemished deportment in public and private 
life, fit you in an eminent degree for the post of standard- 
bearer in our district at this time. ' In view of the general 
disposition to have reform introduced into our State, when 
we set up candidates around whom public confidence can 
gather, we are entitled to appeal to men of all parties and 
shades of o]iinion to go with us, and to establish a new de- 
parture which shall be one of purity, energy, faithfulness, 
integrity, and justice in government.' " In reply, he wrote : 
" I accept your goodwi.l offering, and thank you for the de- 
sire expressed to aid in conferring on me additional honors; 
and while I cordially endorse the sentiments so clearly ex- 
pressed by .Senator Buckalew, as quoted at the close of 
your letter, I have no new promise to make or pledge to 
"ive you. In the event of my nomination and election, the 
record of the past must serve as a guide to my future con- 




/4 



'^^i^dq/y7:^iid^ 





mOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



441 



duct. The Journals of the House of Representatives and 
Senate during a period of seven years' service in those 
bodies clearly indicate my opinions and line of conduct on 
all measures affecting the rights, interests, and welfare of 
the people." In an address to the Convention after his 
nomination, he said ; *' Next to a conscience void of offence 
before God, the confidence and respect of our families, 
friends and neighbors are results most worthy to be highly 
prized. The m.an who cannot command the confidence 
and respect of those who are near him, and witness his 
daily walk and practice, is not worthy of the public support 
for any office." In conclusion he thanked the Convention 
for the honor conferred, and in the event of his election 
Iioped to merit a continuance of their regard and favor by 
active and unwearied attention to public duty. These sen- 
timents and expressions indicate the character of the man. 
In December of that year he was appointed a member of 
the Board of Public Education of the First School District 
of Pennsylvania by the Court of Common Pleas, andin Janu- 
ary following took his seat in that body. lie entered, in 
1S54, upon the study of the law under Chief Justice Read, 
but never practised his profession owing to his continuous 
public service. He married, in 1846, Eleanor E:iz.ibeth, 
daughter of George S. Roberts, of the Northern Liberties. 
Trained among the f.iends and supporters of Presidents 
Jackson and Van Buren, he is by education a Democrat, to 
which organization he has adhered, serving as a representa- 
tive of its doctrines and principles. In his legislative career 
he exhibited force and ability as a debater, and having posi- 
tive opinions on all public (questions, he acquired the posi- 
tion of a leader, and exercised great influence in and beyond 
his party. In all his relations public and private, he is a 
striking example of integrity and strict adherence to prin- 
ciple. 



'OFFEY, GEORGE ALEXANDER, Lawyer, was 
born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, December 
20th, 1820, being the son of Dr. James Coffey, a 
leading physician of the central district of the 
.State. He was educated at Dickinson College, 
and graduated at the head of his ckiss in 1S41, 
having won great distinction for his rare inlcllectu.-il powers. 
This class, which was one of marked ability, has produced 
a number of men who have become distinguished in scien- 
tific and commercial pur.'uits. Especially was he noted for 
his brilliant powers as a speaker, and this led him for a 
time to prepare himself for the ministry. Eventually he 
adopted the law as his profession, being admitted to prac- 
tice in Blair county, Pennsylvania, in 1850, and shortly after 
that admission, so rapidly did he gain in public esteem, he 
was appointed Deputy Attorney General for that county. 
During his incumbency of this office, the work of construct- 
ing the Pennsylvania Railroad was in progress in that sec- 
lion, and it became his duty to conduct the jirosecution of a 




series of trials for murder committed along the route of this 
then new and novel highway, and in fulfilling this grave 
responsibilty, he gained an enviable reputation as a criminal 
lawyer. In 1855, he removed to Philadelphia, where he 
engaged in the practice of his profession, and rose rapidly 
to distinction. In 1S61, he was appointed United States 
District Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 
by President Lincoln, and his elevation met with the almost 
unanimous approval of the Bench and Bar of that city. lie 
held that responsible post until the time of his premature 
death, which occurred February 20th, 1S64, an event has- 
tened by the excessive labors in the United States Court, 
naturally accruing from the civil war. He was an early 
abolitionist, and, from 1856 until the election of President 
Lincoln, continued, with his eloquent voice and his trench- 
ant arguments to war upon the barbarisms of slaveiy, and 
to awaken a popular sentiment against it, one of the results 
cf which was the organization and subsequent triumphs 
of the Republican Party. He was a delegate from Phila- 
delphia to the Chicago Convention in 1S60, which nonii- 
n.ated Mr. Lincoln, and in the stirring campaign which 
followed in Pennsylvania, his voice was heard in evciy sec- 
tion. As an orator he scarcely had an equal, and his ser- 
vices in this respect were frequently solicited. Upon two 
occasions he delivered orations to the college societies of 
his alma mater. 



OGERS, HENRY C, Deputy Commissioner of 
Internal Revenue, was born in Erie county, 
Pennsylvania, May 27th, 1S26. The loss of his 
mother at a very early age caused the breaking 
up of his family, when he was taken by an uncle, 
who cared for him for four years. His ]irotector 
being then killed by the bursting of a cannon, the lad was 
ag.ain homeless. Up to this time and until he was fourteen 
years old, he had but few advantages fur gaining an educa- 
tion, and those only such as the country schools of that d.iy 
afforded. Without home or friends, his battle of life cuni- 
menccd early. Bravely he accepted any employment that 
offered, beginning with merchandizing, subsequently run- 
ning a blast furnace, and then assisting in building canals, 
until in 1855, when he was appointed by the Sunbury & 
Erie (now Erie & Philadelphia) Railroad as agent to pro- 
cure the right of way for their road through the counties of 
Erie, Warren, McKean and Elk. In this, as in eveiything 
else he undertook, he displayed fine tact and good judg- 
ment, and won the commendation of those who employed 
him. In September, 1862, upon the organization of the 
Internal Revenue System, he was appointed Deputy Col- 
lector by J. W. Douglass, then Collector of Internal Reve- 
nue for the 19th District of Pennsylvania, and filled the 
duties of that office very acceptably until the following 
winter, when he was appointed Assistant Quartennaster of 
United States Volunteers, and was ])laced in charge of tl.e 




S6 



442 



UIOCRAI'IIICAL ENCYCLOr.EDIA. 



" Clothing, Camp, and Garrison Equipage Depot '" for the 
Department of.the Sustiuehanna, at Ilarrisburg, Pennsyl- 
vania. For ten months he did duty in that capacity, when 
ordered to the front, and assigned to the Cavalry Corps 
under Sheridan, he did good service. In July, 1864, in 
consequence of sickness in his family he was compelled to 
resign ; and, on returning home, again entered the Revenue 
Bureau, as Deputy Collector. In 1869, Collector Douglass 
resigned, and his deputy was nominated and ajipointed in 
his place, holding the office for two years, until November, 
1871. He was then appointed Second Dejiuty Commis- 
sioner of Internal Revenue, and in February, 1874, was 
m.ide First Deputy Commissioner, which position he now 
holds. He has done good service in this office, and is 
certainly entitled to the gratitude of the nation for some 
valuable reforms. It was he who prepared and secured the 
adoption by the Internal Revenue Bureau of the draft of 
the Act of Congress, of December 24th, 1S72, which 
abolished the offices of Assessor and Assistant Assessor of 
Internal Revenue, and provided for the payment of licenses 
and special taxes by stamps. The results obtained by the 
l)ass.age of this act have been an annual reduction of ex- 
penditures of over a million and a half, and an actual in- 
crease of the annual receipts from these sources without 
increase of taxation. He is one of the most capable of 
government officers, is possessed of fine executive ability, 
is quick of decision, and to a high degree conscientious 
in the performance of his duties. He was married, in 
1852, to a l.ady who lived but three years thereafter. 
He took a second wife in 1857. 



'OFFEY, TITIAN J., Lawyer, brother of George 
Alex.ander Coffey, was born in Huntingdon, 
Pennsylvania, December 5th, 1S24. Receiving 
a thorough academic education, he commenced 
the study of law with Hon. Edward Bates, sub- 
sequently Attorney-General of the United States, 
at St. Eouis. Being admitted to the bar, in Januarj', 1846, 
he returned to Pennsylvania, and began practice in Holli- 
daysburg. In the spring of 1848, he removed to Indiana, 
Pennsylvania, where he formed a partnership with a dis- 
tinguished jurist, Hon. Thomas Wliite. During the suc- 
ceeding twelve years, he practised his profession regularly 
in the counties of Indiana, Armstrong, Jefferson, and Cam- 
bria; occasionally going to remoter portions of the Slate 
in response to calls for his services. During that period 
he entered earnestly the political arena, becoming repeatedly 
a delegate to the Whig .State Conventions, and a member 
of the Whig State Central Committee. He was at all 
times an earnest and effective advocate of the principles 
of his party. He was one of the organizers of the Repub- 
lican party, in Western Pennsylvania, having been one of 
the sixty bolters from the National Convention which 




nominated Fillmore for the Presidency, in 1855. Entering 
actively into the c.-impaign of 1856, he was nominated and 
elected, in that year, to the State Senate for three years. 
While a member of this body, he introduced and secured 
the passage of the law organizing the Normal School sys- 
tem of Pennsylvania, having early taken a great interest 
in the improvement of the standard of popular education 
in that Stale. He was the first to introduce and to advo- 
cate the law, which has since been enacted, authorizing 
parties to testify in iheir own defence. Having declined a 
re-election to the Slate Senate, he removed, in :86o, to 
Pittsburgh, and was one of the delegates elected by the 
Republican party, that year, to the Chicago Convention 
which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency. 
In March, 1861, he was appointed Assistant Attorney- 
General of the United States, retaining that position until 
1S64, when he resigned. During the three years succeeding, 
his services were frequently secured by the Government in 
the prosecution of important cases, especially in the United 
States Supreme Court. In this high tribunal, he won his 
greatest distinction as a man profoundly learned in the law, 
and as a reasoner, clear, logical, and eloquent. It was his 
duty to conduct the prosecution of some of the most im- 
portant prize cases growing out of the Rebellion, and he 
acquitted himself with uniform success. During his tenure 
of oflice as Assistant Attorney-General, he wrote the first 
official opinion, upon which the Government based its recog- 
nition of the right of colored officers and troops to equal 
rank and p.iy with the volunteer organizations of the 
Army. In the spring of 1869, he w.as appointed Secretary 
of Legation to the Court of St. Petersburg, and accom- 
panied Governor Curlin on his mission thereto. He re- 
signed in 1S70, but continued to reside in Europe until 
1S73. Although s'.ill a resident of Pennsylvania, he prac- 
tises his profession in Washington, District of Columbia. 
He married Mary, daughter of the late Andrew L. Keir, 
of Pittsburgh, on February I4lh, 1S55. 



ANGEWER, ALLEN MATTER, Chief Clerk 
Third Auditor's Office, Treasury Department, 
was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, June 27111, 
1818. His paternal grandfather, Andrew Gan- 
gewer, was a soldier of the Revolution, for 
which service he was granted a pension. He 
lived for many years at Allenlown, where he died at the 
age of ninety-six. His youngest son, George, was a prin- 
ter, and published a German newspaper in Carlisle, where 
he married, in 1817. lie died in 1819, at the early age 
of twenty-six. Allen's maternal ancestors were Germans, 
having emigrated from the neighborhood of Alsace. He 
was educated at a private school kept by Gad Day, in the 
old College building, which was first used by the students 
of Dickinson College, before the present spacious buildings 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



443 



were erected for their use. About 1831, he was sent to 
the office of the American Voi'iinteer newspaper, then 
printed by J. & Wm. B. Underwood, to learn the art and 
mystery of printing. He continued with them until 1S3S, 
when he removed to New Bloomfield, Perry county, where 
lie published the Perry Forrester newspaper. In 1840, he 
removed to Berwick, Pennsylvania, where he became part- 
ner in the publication of the Berwick Sentinel. He was 
married, in Berwick, April 5th, 1S42, to Anna Maria, 
eldest daughter of Hon. Jesse C. Horton, of Northumber- 
land county, who was afterwards a member of the Penn- 
sylvania House of Representatives, and subsequently of 
the Pennsylvania Senate. In 1844, he was appointed 
Collector of Canal Tolls, at Berwick, and in 1846, to a 
Clerkship in the Third Auditor's Office, at Washington, 
District of Columbia. When he first came to Washington, 
James K. Polk was President, James Buchanan Secretary 
of State, and R. J. Walker Secretary of Treasury. At 
the time the War with Mexico was in progress, and at its 
close, an exciting discussion arose as to the exclusion of 
slavery from the territory acquired from Mexico. In the 
House of Representatives, in 1846, David Wilmot, a 
Democrat from Pennsylvania, introduced what was called 
the "Wilmot Proviso," by which slaveiy was to be ex- 
cluded from any territory acquired from Mexico ; it passed 
the House with great unanimity, but the Sen.ite adjourned 
without coming to a vote on it. Mr. Buchanan's celebrated 
Berks county Harvest Home Letter, in 1S47, changed the 
(luestion at issue, so that the " Wilmot Proviso," when 
again proposed in the House, ceased to be a practical 
question, and was but little heard of afterwards. Mr. 
Gangewer was warmly in favor of the " proviso," but the 
prevailing feeling in the Departments in Washington was 
against it, and, in the fall of 1848, he was removed. In 
the winter of 1854, he removed to Columbus, Ohio, and 
took charge of The Columbian, an Anli-Slavery weekly 
journal, which he published for several years, when it was 
united with the Ohio State Journal, a daily and weekly 
newspaper. Ths paper was sold to Henry D. Cooke, 
afterw'ards a member of the firm of Jay Cooke & Co., also 
Governor of the District of Columbia. In 1855, Hon. S. 
P. Chase was elected Governor of Ohio, and a Republican 
Legislature was also chosen. Governor Chase was re- 
elected in 1857, and Mr. Gangewer was appointed his 
private Secretary. After this came the election cf Mr. 
Lincoln as President, in i860, the appointment of Gover- 
nor Chase as Secretary of the Treasury, and the re-ap- 
pointment of Mr. Gangewer as a Cleric in the Third 
'Auditor's Office. In November, 1S63, he was pro- 
moted to the Chief Clerkship in Third Auditor's Office, 
which position he has since held ; besides, that of Acting 
Auditor, on the several occasions, when vacancies have 
occurred, by the removal or resignation of several in- 
cumbents of the office. He is a gentleman of large and 
varied ability, and has proved himself a valuable official. 




UMPHREYS, ANDREW A., Brigadier and Bre- 
vet Major-General United States Army, was born 
in Philadelphia, November 2d, 1810, and at- 
tended school in his native city, following this 
study with a three years' course in the Moravian 
School, at Nazareth, Pennsylvania. He entered 
the United States Military Academy, July 1st, 1827; gradu- 
ated, July 1st, 1831 ; was promoted Brevet Second Lieu- 
tenant 2nd Artillery ; and soon receiving his commission as 
Second Lieutenant, was assigned to duty at Fort Moultrie, 
South Carolina, where he remained until Januaiy 5th, 
1S32, when he was detailed for special duty at West Point. 
On April 1 8th, of the same year, he was sent to the Chero- 
kee nation; from 1833 to August 22d, 1834, was on duty 
at Fort Marion and the Augusta Arsenal, Georgia, and 
was then appointed to make topographical surveys in 
Western Florida, and at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Com- 
pleting this difficult work, he participated in the Florida 
War against the Seminoles, taking part in the engagements 
at Oloklikha, March 31st, 1836, and at Micanopy, June 
gth, following. In recognition of his meritorious services, 
he was made First Lieutenant 2d Artillery, August i6th, 
1836, and having resigned, September 30th, of the same 
year, became a civil engineer in the employ of the National 
Government, assisting Major Bache in preparing the plans , 
of the Brandywine Shoal Light House, and the Crow 
Shoal Breakwater, in Delaware Bay. He continued these 
efficient labors until July 7th, 1838, wdien he was reap- 
pointed to the United States Army as First Lieutenant 
Topographical Engineers, taking charge of the important 
and costly improvements of Chicago Harbor; being the 
Assistant Topographical Engineer in planning the Oswego 
Harbor Defences ; and subsequently taking charge of the 
survey of Whitehill Harbor, New York. In 1840, he be- 
came an Assistant in the Topographical Bureau at Wash- 
ington, remaining there until the outbieak of the Florida 
War, in 1842, in which he was prominently engaged. 
Upon his return to Washington, he was engaged in pre- 
paring the plans of bridges, re-assuming his position as 
Assistant, until 1 844, when charge of the Coast Survey 
Office was given him. On May 31st, 1848, he was ap- 
pointed Captain of Topographical Engineers; in 1849, was 
assigned to "duty in the field ; in 1850, was ordered to make 
a topographic and hydrographic survey of the delta of 
the Mississippi river, with a view to the protection of the 
adjacent country from inundations, by deepening the chan- 
nel; continued in this work until 1S61, having in the in- 
terval (in 1S53-54) spent some time in Europe, and having 
been engaged also in geographical and other explorations 
and reconnoissances west of the Mississippi, as well as in 
the construction of the military road from Fort Benton to 
Fort Walla Walla. In addition, he was appointed member 
of the Light House Board, April 24th, 1 856, continuing as 
such until April 5th, 1 862. From January 12th to April 
24th, iS6o^ he sat with the board appointed "To Revise 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



the Programme of Iiistruclion at the Unilcd Stales Military 
Academy," and was one of the commissioners appointed 
under Act of Congress to examine into the organization and 
discipline of that institution. Early in 1861, Iwing relieved 
of all other duty at his own request, lie completed his im- 
portant re|X)rt upon the Mississippi river. Being commis- 
sioned as Major of Topographical Engineers, August 6th, 
1861, he was assigned to the Staff of General McClellan, 
then General-in-Chief, and became Colonel of Staff, and 
Chief Topographical Engineer of the Army of the Putomac, 
March 5th, 1S62. lie served as such through the Penin- 
sular campaign, participating in the siege of Vorktow;! aitd 
AVilliamsburg, and in all the movements before Richmond, 
especially at Malvern Hill, where he rendered- most effec- 
tive service. On August jotli, 1862, he took -command 
of a brigade of newly raised troops; September iithj'SlSea, 
assigned to command of a division of -new troops, forming 
part of Fifth Army Corps; September' 1 6th, Commenced 
forced march to Antietam, where -his -command (Third 
Division, Fifth Corps) support-ed. the -batferrft;' October 
l6th and I7lh, commanded reconnohsimce. to*Leeforfn, 



cal Society of Philadelphia, in 1857; honorable member 
of the Imperial Royal Geological Institute of Vienna, 
Austria, in 1S62; member of the American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences, Boston, in 1863; corporator of the 
National Academy of Sciences, March 3d, 1S63, and of the 
Royal Institute of Science and Art of Lombardy, Milan, 
Italy, in 1S64. lie married Rebecca II., daughter of 
Heniy HoUingsworlh, of Philadelphia, June 19th, 1837, 
and had two sens in the army during the entire war, who 
were placed on staff duty. 




LEXANDER, JOHN, Merchant and C.-ipitalist, 
was bom on his father's farm, in Crawford county, 
, Pennsylvania, July 21st, 1805. His p.ircnts, Hugh 
and Jane (Gray) .\lexander, were descended from 
• Scotch-Irish families of good standing and sub- 
stantial wealth, and came to this country after the 
Irish Rebellion of 1798, in which his father took a promi- 
nent part.. Their ancestors were zealous Covenanters, and 
and in the general advance -of<.die arrtiy Wailiv^i«n-.wSB wetemarlced for compass of mind and decision of character; 
conspicuous for its gallant ass'au"ltg>ia'* P\qdericl>sl3infe ;. De- also for iheir firm- adherence to their faith, which brought 
cember 13th, made Brevet ""CSlB^l'-UiSled^itates Armyj,,u^n;tliem'ma'ny of the heavy blows inflicted in the days 
March 3d, 1S63, Colonel of Engineers-; ■1ia^yi44'h, assigneil, of (he, pfcreecfttiori in Scotland. His grandfather was an 
to command of Second Division,*Tb'ird' Cotis; tefek con- officer ii? Lord- Chartemont's celebrated corps of Irish Vol- 

untoerst i. His mother's brother, James Gray, D. D., a grad- 



spicuous part in all the mc»veiiwnts««>d.'batTt9s,<(%cfr!;ul- 
minated at Gettysburg, where he acre<fr%vhlT''the -tithiOia 
courage and gallantry; July 8lh," i863,'-cbirimrssi6iied 
Major-General of Volunteers, and appoiiitedCtiief of -Staff 
of the Army of the Potomac, participating in all its battles) 
May I2th, 1864, in personal command of the Fifth and 
Sixth Corps, at Spottsylvania ; November 25th, 1864, as- 
signed to command of Second Army Corps, which he held 
until tl:e disbanding of the army, July 7th, 1S65, h.aving 
been engaged in the siege of Petersburg until its fall, April 
3d, 1S65, and in the pursuit of Lee's retreating forces, until 
the surrender at Appomattox Court House, April 9th, 
1S65. All the correspondence between Generals Grant 
and Lee, relative to the surrender of the Armyof l>Iorthem 
Virginia, preceding the interWe\v, passed JhrdH^^ his 
hands. On July 28th, h^-.-t^. a^pdinted^tt^ the conimaqd 
of the District of Pennsylvania, Jkli<UUe-Bepartmef>rv -re- 
lieved December 9th, and placed in charge of examiniffion 
of the Mississippi Levees, continuing this duty until ap- 
pointed Brigadier-General, and Chief of Engineers, United 
States Army, August 8th, 1S66, and placed in charge of the 
Engineer Bureau, at Washington ; August 31st, 1S66, mus- 
tered out as Major-General of Volunteers, and made 
Brevet Brigadier-General United States Army, for gallantry 
at Gettysburg, and Brevet Major-General United States 
Army, for meritorious services at Sailor's Creek, Virginia, 
both commissions dating March 13th, 1865. His skill and 
research as a scientist have had many favorable recogni- 
tions. He became a member of the American Philosophi- 



, uate bf the JJijiversity of Glasgow and an accomplished au- 
th'ofran'd, divine, was well known in Philadelphia in the 
early part of the present century, as the pastor of the Spruce 
Street Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church ; another 
brother was a merchant in the West India trade, and re- 
sided in New York city. His father, after the War of 1812- 
'15, in which he served with General Harrison in the North- 
west, reduced both in health and means, removed with his 
family to Pittsburgh, where John Alexander, as he neared 
manhood, learned cabinet-making, but, his health failing, he 
travelled east and went by sea to New Orleans. He was 
owner of a part of the cargo of the brig in which he sailed, 
and in' New Orleans invested the proceeds of his venture in 
rice, which he shifiped by river to Pittsburgh, and there sold, 
realizing, a hai\dso"Hie margin above all expenses. This trip 
resToTed- his-health, gave him considerable knowledge of the 
world for one of his years, and encouraged a taste for mer- 
cantile pursuits. He embarked in business on his own ac- 
count, in Pittsburgh, in 1831, and with his brothers, one of 
the firm of Willi.am G. Alexander & Co., and the other of 
Sterling, Baird & Alexander, of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, 
took position among the active and prominent dry goods 
merchants of the former city. About this time he became 
largely interested in pine lands, on the upper Allegheny 
river, and, with a partner, built a saw-mill in Venango 
county. He removed to Philadelphia in 1836, and, with 
his brother Hugh, as J &' II. Alex.inder, succeeded the firm 
of Sterling, Baird & Alexander, and for the twelve follow- 





/'i^^y^^c-T^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/KDIA. 



4^5 



ing years was engaged in a large wholesale dry goods 
business, which extended over the South and West. This 
house passed safely through the memorable panic of 1S37, 
and those of the decade following, promptly meeting all 
obligations. His business connections took him upon long 
and frequent journeys to the South and West, which gave 
him an extensive knowledge of the countiy, its resources 
and developments. In 1837, associated with J. B. Warden, 
he purchased the site and laid out the town of Temperance- 
ville, which is now a part of the city of Pittsburgh. Two 
years subsequently, he passed several months in the Indian 
Territory, in 1S39, as Commissioner from the Reformed 
Presbyterian Church to look after the interests of its Indian 
missions. Travelling alone, he had many adventures and 
narrow escapes, and met with many of the noted Indian 
characters of that day. He brought home one of his 
guides, a bright young Cherokee, to whom he gave a col- 
legiate education. The firm of J. & H. Alexander was 
dissolved in 1848, the senior member removing to Pitts- 
burgh, and shortly after the branch firm of Alexander & 
Day, of that city, was also dissolved. He now built a 
thoroughly equipped steam saw mi'.l in Venango county, 
which was an innovation in that section, and also quite an 
undertaking, as all the machinery had to be taken from 
Pittsburgh by boat and ox-teams. The lumber was shipped 
as far as St. Louis, and, although he was the pioneer in 
departing from many of the conservative modes of manu- 
facturing and shipping forest products, his plans, being laid 
with sound judgment and business ability, worked out suc- 
cessfully. After a prosperous career of over twenty-five 
years, he withdrew from active business, in 1S56, with a 
generous fortune, and resided for some years in Xenia, 
Ohio, but returned to Philadelphia in 1864. Prior to going 
to Ohio, he had become a large purchaser of lands in Iowa 
and other Western States, the care of which, together with 
that of other property still retained in Pennsylvania, kept 
him fully occupied. He took a great interest in the petro- 
leum discoveries in Western Pennsylvania, and, while on 
a health seeking visit to Europe, in 1862, invited attention 
to that then new development, and in London urged the 
importance of railway connections with that field. The 
same year he made an experimental consignment of the 
crude product to London, which was one of the first at- 
tempts made to introduce it into England. During the 
late war, he was an earnest supporter of the Government, 
and promptly responded to the frequent demands upon his 
means it brought with it. His active temperament still 
keeps him at work, and he is now (1S74) found, with all 
the vim and vigor of one of half his years, energetically 
engaged in the development of a large lumber property in 
Jefferson county, Pennsylvania; and, as the President of an 
Indiana railway company, projecting great improvements 
for the opening up of the block-coal fields of that State. He 
is also a director in the Corn Exchange National Bank of 
Philadelphia. He has alw.ays been active in church and 




Sabbath school matters in the Reformed Presbyterian 
Church, and more recently in the United Presbyterian 
Chtirch. He has been a ruling elder for over thirty years. 
In 1S69, he was appointed a Commissioner from the Gene- 
ral Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church to the 
General Assemblies of the different Presbyterian bodies in 
Scotland and Ireland. He was one of the founders, and 
the first President of the National Association for securing 
the religious amendment to the Constitution, and is one of 
the most earnest supporters of the movement. 



EINTZELMAN, SAMUEL P., General United 
Slates Army, was born at Manheim, Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania, September 30th, 1805, of 
German descent, his family having been among 
the primitive settlers of that State, Having at- 
tended the common schools until 1822, he was 
in that year nominated by Hon. James Buchanan to the 
United States Military Academy, graduating from that in- 
stitution July 1st, 1S26, and being promoted to Brevet 
Second Lieutenant 3d Infantry. He served in various 
capacities and sections of the country, rising meanwhile in 
grade, until 1S35-37, during which period he participated 
in the Florida War, acting as Adjutant to Major Kirby, in 
the expedition to Mosquito Inlet, Florida, and in the action 
near tli.at place, September loih, 1S37, when he com- 
manded the artillery of the " Dolphin," which covered the 
landing of troops. He was made Captain of Staff, July 
7th, 1S38; Captain of Infantiy, November 4th, 183S; and 
in 1S42, acted as one of the Court appointed to investigate 
Florida Military Claims. In 1S45, he commanded Fort 
Gratiot; in 1S46, was sent to Louisville to raise troops for 
the Mexican War; in 1847, was assigned to the defence of 
convoys from Vera Cruz; on September 12th, 1847, par- 
ticipated in the action against Padre Juaranta, at Paso los 
Ovejas; at Ilumantia, October 9th, and at Atlixco, October 
19th, same year. For gallantry at Humanlia he was made 
Brevet Major, and was complimented by the Legislature 
of his native .State. In 1848, after a brief command at Fort 
Hamilton, New York Harbor, he was ordered to Cali- 
fornia, whence he proceeded in a sailing vessel around 
Cape Horn, and upon his arrival was assigned to frontier 
duty, his headquarters being at San Diego. He engaged 
actively in field duty, leading the expeditions against the 
Vuma Indians, establishing Fort Yuma, at the confluence 
of the Gila and Colorado rivers in 1851, commanding at 
the skirmish of Coyote C.-^non, December 21st, 1 851, and 
in the final expedition, in 1852, which terminated hostili- 
ties. For services in that department he was made Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, December 19th, 1S51, and continued in 
charge until 1854, being then assigned to recruiting duty at 
Newport Barracks, Kentucky. March 3d, 1855, he was 
commissioned M.ijor; was made Superintendent of Western 



446 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



Recruiting Service, July 1st, 1855, and was ordered to Fort 
Duncan, Texas, in 1859, being for the ensuing year in 
command on the Kio Grande against tfie Mexican Inar^u- 
ders under Cortinas. He continued in service on the 
Texan frontier until he apprehended, in 1861, the surrender 
of General Twiggs, when he procured leave of absence and 
came North. In April, 1S61, he became Superintendent 
of General Recruiting Service in the Eastern Dep.artment ; 
in M.ay, was assijjned to duly as Inspector-General of the 
Department of W.nshington ; M.iy 14th, was commissioned 
Colonel of the lyih Infantry, and a few days after was 
made Brigadier General of Volunteers. On the 24th of 
M:>y, 1861, in command of a large force, he crossed the 
Long Bridge, capturing Alexandria and Arlington Heights, 
after which he was placed in charge of the defences to 
Washington, his headquarters being at Alexandria. Enter- 
ing upon the Manassas campaign, in July, lS6i,he par- 
ticipated in the skirmish at Fairfax Court House, the first 
battle of Bull Run, where he was wounded in the arm, 
having his injured limb dressed while in the saddle. He 
followed the general retreat to Washington, having been 
twenty-seven hours on horseback. His injuries did not 
permit him to take the field until the following October, 
when General McClellan placed him in command of a 
division holding the left of the line of Washington defences, 
which he held until March l6lh, 1S62, receiving then the 
command of the Third Army Corps, for the Peninsular 
campaign. This corps consisted of the three divisions of 
Generals Fitz John Porter, C. S. Hamilton, and Joseph 
Hooker, Porter's division being subsequently detached. 
With 30,000 men he participated in ihe successful siege of 
Yorktown, and, after a desperate encounter at Williams- 
burg, gained the first substantial victory of the war, being 
made Major-General of Volunteers for his gallantry. His 
corps, coming to the rescue of Casey's division, saved the 
day at the battle of Seven Pines, on the Chickahominy. 
On the 1st of June, 1S62, he assumed command of the 
Fourth Army Corps, in addition to his own, took the tfTen- 
sive at Fair O.aks, and drove the enemy within four miles 
of Richmond, and was still pressing on when General 
McClellan ordered him to fall back. For this brilliant 
achievement he was made Brevet Brijjadier-General United 
States Army, dating May 31st, 1S62, there being no 
vacancy for a full Brigadier-General in the Regular army. 
His men showed conspicuous conr.ige at the bntlles of the 
Orchards, .Savage Station, GIend.ale, M.ilvern Hill, and at 
Harrison's Landing. Subsequently, joining the Northern 
Virginia campaign, he took part in the bailies of Man:issas, 
August 29th, 30lh, and Chantilly, September 1st, 1862. On 
September 2d, his corps re-encamped at Fort Lyon, with 
but 6000 of the 40,000 men which he had led away less 
than five months before ; but it had never been vanquTshed 
in action. From this time until February 2d, 1863, he 
commanded the defences of Washington sonth of the 
Potomac, and then was placed in command of the Depart- 



ment of Washington and the Twenty-second .\rmy Coqjs. 
He assumed, October I3lh, 1863, command of the Northern 
Department (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan), sup- 
pressed the secret order of the " Sons of Liberty," aide<l 
in sending off 40,000 soldiers from Ohio; was relieved 
October 1st, 1864, and mustered out of the volunteer 
service August 24th, 1865, and placed on wailing orders; 
and was commissioned Brevet Major-General United States 
Army, dating from March 13th, 1865, for his services at 
Willianisl)urg. In 1866, he took comm.and of the whole 
District of Texas, proceeding thence with his regiment, the 
17th Infantry, remaining there until 1S67. On February 
22d, 1869, after a continuous service of nearly forty-three 
years, he was retired as Colonel ; but, in recognition of his 
great achievements. Congress passed a joint resolution retir- 
ing him with the full rank of Major-General United States 
Army. He is a member of the Loyal Legion of the United 
States, of the Society of the Third Corps, and of the Society 
of the Army of the Potomac. His record is a most honor- 
able one, and, though now advanced in years, he retains 
the full vigor of a remarkable mind. 



E FRANCE, HON. ROBERT U., Lawyer, was 
born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, near Sandy 
Lake, July 22d, 1S26, his father, Jt>hn De France, 
and his mother, Mary Darley, being both natives 
of Pennsylvania, their native counties being re- 
spectively Lycoming and Mercer. Both were 
persons of refinement and culture, and took an unusual 
personal interest in the education of iheir son. He was 
first sent to Grand Rivers Institute, on what was known as 
the Western Reserve, in Ohio, where his progress was so 
rapid and thorough that, before he had finished his course, 
his services as teacher of mathematics were solicited and 
given. For this abstruse science he entertained a decided 
inclination, and possessed an inherited talent for its study. 
In order to make himself a thorough ni.aster of its higher 
branches, he became one of the pupils of Professor II. N. 
Robinson, a fine scholar and mathematician, who was then 
preparing at Cincinnati a course of lectures on his favorite 
pursuit. Having finished his studies under this gentleman, 
he removed to southern Indiana, and taught the Academy 
in Princeton, Gibson county, for one year; then migrated 
to Kentucky, where he followed in the same capacity 
another year, and in May, 1851, returned to Mercer county, 
where he commenced the study of law, registering his 
name in the office of the Hon. Samuel Grifiiths. After two 
years of constant application, aiding that gentleman very 
materially in his large civil practice, he was admitted tg 
the bar, and entered at once upon the practice of his new 
profession. As a lawyer, he soon secured a good reputa- 
tion, and in some of the features of the profession has few 
superiors. His reading has been very extensive, and very 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



447 



cnrefully conducted, being continuous fiom the date of his 
admission, and the result is that few jurists have a more 
profound knowledge of law, in all its departments, than he 
has. He early allied hin.self to the Democratic parly, and 
became one of its most influential members. In the fall of 
1853, being elected to State House of Representatives, by 
the voters of that party in his district; he served meritoriously, 
and was re-nominated for the same office in the year fol- 
lowing by the coalitions which made up the Know No- 
thing party. He has always been a firm and consistent 
Democrat, having an abiding faith in the correctness of its 
principles, and has often been honored by his parly for va- 
rious positions of trust and responsibility. In the first Presi- 
dential campaign of General Grant he was defeated for 
Congress by the Hon. C. W. Gilfillan. On October 6th, 
1869, while on his way from his office to his home, he suf- 
fered a shock of paralysis, which almost completely disabled 
him from further exertion. Notwithstanding this physical 
affliction, the members of his party desiring him in a place 
of great responsibility, made him their nominee for County 
Treasurer, in 1870, but he was defeated by only three hun- 
dred voles, running largely ahead of the general ticket. In 
addition to his duties of a lawyer, which after his partial 
paralysis are mainly those of a Counsellor in Cham- 
bers, he continued to exercise the functions of a notary pub- 
lic, to which position he had been appointed by Governor 
William F. Packer. In 1872, he was elected by the De- 
mocracy to the State Constitutional Convention, in which 
body his course has been that of an intelligent and con- 
scientious gentleman, having at heart the Ijighest interests 
of the Commonwealth. He was always in his seat, and 
carefully attended the many important duties devolving 
upon him. On May 15th, 1856, he married Sarah, the 
youngest daughter of Samuel Powell, of Venango county, 
Pennsylvania, a lady distinguished for her refinement and 
amiability. 

y ^^ 

?;nPPEN, WILLIAM, M. D., Physician, Scientist 
and Philanthropist, was born in Philadelphia, 
January 29th, 1792. He was the grandson of 
Dr. William Shipiien, one of the founders of 
the Medical Department of the University of 
Pennsylvania, and a Surgeon in the Revolutionary 
War. He was educated at an excellent academy in Ger- 
mantown, Pennsylvania, where he was prepared for col- 
lege ; entered the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated 
in the class of 1810. He commenced the study of medi- 
cine under Dr. Caspar Wistar, and subsequently received 
his diploma from the university, in which institution he for 
some lime filled the Chair of Anatoiny. Resigning his 
position he removed to Bucks county, where he engaged 
in the practice of his profession until 1836, when he re- 
turned to Philadelphia and devoted his time to the public 
schools, as also to various charitable and reliirious institu- 





tions of the city. For nearly forty years he was a member 
of the Board of Trustees of the College of New Jersey, 
frequently taking part in the examination of the student-; 
in the Department of Physical Science. He was prominent 
in all the educational and charitable movements of his native 
city, and held a high place in the affections of all with 
whom he was brought in contact. He died June 5th, 1S67. 



- ^ ARTON, HON. GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
Lawyer and Judge, was born in the city of Lan- 
caster Pennsylvania, September 2d, 1807. He 
was the son of David Barton, and grandson of 
Rev. Thomas Barton, who had married Esther 
Rittenhouse, a sister of the celebrated astrono- 
mer. This clergym.an was for many years Rector of St. 
James Episcopal Church, Lancaster, having originally been 
a missionary sent out from England by the venerable So- 
ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel. He was a man 
of great refinement and cultivation, and he assisted in the 
education of David Rittenhouse, who attributed much of 
his knowledge and high attainments to the superior excel- 
lence of his instructor. George W. Barton was educated 
at home, which, however, he left in boyhood, being impel- 
led by a desire to see the world, and, like the majority of 
adventurers in those days, betaking himself to the Missis- 
sippi Valley. Having reached Nashville, he set about 
looking for employment, which he finally found by becom- 
ing the Assistant Editor of a journal published in that city. 
This position aided him materially in making and cultivat- 
ing the acquaintance of the higher class of residents, among 
whom was the hero of New Orleans, the celebr^ed General 
Jackson. In him he found much that interested him, espe- 
cially as he was of the same political faith. When but 
twenty years of age, he returned home, and General Jack- 
son having meanwhile been nominated for President, young 
Barton took the stump in his favor, and advocated the 
claims of the soldier for the highest office' in the gift of the 
people. Such was the brilliancy of his addresses, together 
with the elegance and eloquence of his delivery, that he at- 
tracted the attention of every one who listened, and among 
the rest, the Hon. James Buchanan, then a prominent lawyer 
of Lancaster. Notwithstanding the disparity in their ages, 
a firm and enduring friendship ensued between them, 
which was only terminated by the death of Judge Barton. 
At the suggestion of Mr. Buchanan, his young friend was 
induced to commence the study of the law in his office, 
and under his patronage and instruction. He entered 
upon his reading with that energy and determination to 
succeed which was characteristic of him through life; so 
that as soon as he was admitted to practice at the bar, he 
rose very rapidly in liis profession, and was most successful 
in the majority of cases confided to his care. When hut 
thirty-one years of age, he was appointed Assistant District 



448 



lilOGKAPIIICAL ENCYCLOr.EDIA. 



Attorney with C. Wallace Biooke, which position he ably 
filled to the satisfaction of the Court and Government. A 
few years afterwards, he was commissioned President 
Judge of the Court of General Sessions of the City and 
County of I'liiladelphia, which at that lime was restricted 
to cxscs of misdemeanor. lie remained on the Bench less 
than three years, having resigned the office to resume the 
practice of the law, jMeferring the ac'.ive life of an attorney 
and barrister to the passive condition of a judge. Having 
determined to remain in the city of Philadelphia, he at 
once became one of the leading members, and enjoyed a 
most lucrative practice. But the restlessness of his early 
years returned, and, in the autumn of 1S49, he sailed for 
San Francisco, then in its infancy. Having safely reached 
his destination, he opened an office in that city, and the 
same success which had attended him in his native State 
was vouchsafed him there, and he was rapidly becoming 
the leading star of his profession in California when, after 
a residence of but little over a year, he was stricken by 
death. Before he left Lancaster, in 1835, he was united in 
marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of the late Thomas Clem- 
son, at that lime a prominent citizen of Philadelphia. 




/ 



JOHN WATKIXSON, Lawyer, 



cMlf^ OVGLASS, 

Commissioner of Interna'. Revenue, son of 
Joseph M. and .Martha A. Douglass, was born 
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 25th, 
1S27. Ten years sul>sequenlly his parents re- 
moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he remained 
during his youth and early manhood, receiving liis educa- 
tion at the Erie Academy. On the completion of his aca- 
demic course he entered the law office of the late Hon. 
J.ames Thompson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of 
Pennsylvania, under whom he pursued his legal studies 
until he was admitted to the bar, at Erie, in 1S50. By 
diligence and perseverance, superior natural abilities and 
proficiency in knowledge of the law, he at once attracted 
attention and soon acquired an extensive and lucrative prac- 
tice. He was also active in local and national ]>olilics, and, 
in Seplemljcr, 1862, was appointed by President Lincoln 
Collector of Internal Revenue for the 19th District of Penn- 
sylvania. The office being newly created, and the system 
adopted being a result of the exigency of the times, the or- 
ganization and details necessary for the proper prosecution 
of the important business of the Bureau called for executive 
ability, originality of conception, and a general knowledge 
not often met with in those upon whom devolves the ad- 
ministration of public affairs. When he entered upon the 
duties of his untried position he possessed the confidence 
and esteem of the entire community amongst whom he 
lived, nor did he disappoint the expectations of his friends. 
So thoroughly did he apply himself to the prosecution of 
his work, and such energy and al)ilily did he displ.ay in the 



management of public affairs, that he attracted the attention 
of the authorities at Washington. In April, 1869, he was 
offered, and accepted, the position of 1st Deputy Commis- 
sioner of Internal Revenue under the Hon. Columbus 
Delano. The experience acquired while serving as Col- 
lector he brought to bear upon the difficulties and duties 
of the new post to which he had been raised, and he aiiled 
largely in laying the deep and strong foundation on which 
the vast Internal Revenue system of this country is built. 
In 1S71, the office of Commissioner becoming vacant, he 
was appointed Chief of the Department, and so unanimous 
was public sentiment in favor of his promotion that the 
endorsement of this act of the President was general, re- 
gardless of politics or locality. The details of official busi- 
ness in this department are most complicated and varied, 
new questions are constantly arising, numljerless complaints 
of the law and its administrators are daily brought before 
the Commissioner, and unforeseen circumstances require 
modifications of old or the creation of new rules or regula- 
tions. Mr. Douglass combines the necessary qualities of 
mind enabling him to meet these heavy requirements, and 
has conclusively demonstrated his fitness lo control the re- 
venue syste.n. lie has popularized it by correcting abuses ; 
introduced economical measures lessening greatly the per- 
centage of cost in the collection of the revenue ; reduced 
the number of his employes from 8000 to 3000, and has 
greatly advanced the department toward perfection. His 
integrity and the efficiency of his Bureau have never been 
questioned, even in the heat of political debate ; on the 
contrary, he has been the subject of frequent eulogy as an 
exceptionally honest and able official. Originally he was 
a Democrat, but early uniting with the Repulilican party 
he has since been an active, advanced, hard-working mem- 
ber of that organization. He was married, in 1 851, to 
Margaret M. Lyon, daughter of Rev. G. A. Lyon, D. D., 
of Erie, Pennsylvania. 



ARVEY, SAMUEL, Merchant and Banker, was 
born June i6th, 17S0, in Pennsylvania, on the 
banks of the Juniata. After receiving the rmli- 
ments of a good English education, he engaged 
himself as clerk at Springton Forge, Chester 
county, where he remained for several years. 
.\t the end of the century, he removed to Philadelphia, and 
took a clerkship in the importing house of Baker & Co- 
megys. He then estal)lished himself as a hardware mer- 
chant in that city, and for sixteen years conducted that 
business with marked success. In 1811, he removed to 
Germantown, and there began that active course of pub- 
lic usefulness which continued without intermission to his 
death, an event that occurred in 1848. He was the first 
President of the Bank of Germantown, and held the posi- 
tion while living. He was also the first Burgess of the 
then young and promising borough, and served in that 




BlOGRArillCAL ENCVCLORliDIA. 



449 




office with great acceptance and usefulness for several years. 
For a consideralile period he was also the Treasurer of the 
Philadelphia Ahnshouse ; and in every possible way was 
thoroughly identified with the improvement and develop- 
ment of his adopted home. The present Town Hall of 
Germantown is located on the Harvey property ; and a 
street which bears his name is also designed to perpetuate 
the public sense of his services. From a very early period 
he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
was long known as a highly useful and acceptable local 
minister of that denomination. He was in every respect a 
most estimable and worthy member of the social and re- 
ligious community. 

y ~^^^ 

ilOARDMAN, HENRY AUGUSTU.S, D. D., 
Clergyman, was born January glh, iSoS, at Troy, 
New York State. He was educated at Yale 
Cjllege, New Haven, Connecticut, where he 
graduated with honors, in 1829, haviu'^ been 
selected to pronounce the Valedictory address 
of his class. In the fall of 1830, he entered the Theological 
Seminaiy at Princeton, New Jersey, and was licensed to 
preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of New York, in April, 
1S33. On returning to the Seminary, with his license in 
his pocket, he was met by Dr. Alexander, whose turn it 
w'as to preach in the village church on the Sunday follow- 
ing, who so strongly insisted that he should become his sub- 
stitute, that he consented and preached his first sermon on 
that day. During his 'stay at Princeton various offers of a 
settlement were made him, from New York and elsewhere, 
but he declined them all, being resolved not to undertake 
the pastorate of a church in a large ci'ly. But matters fell 
out differently. In the year List mentioned, the Tenth 
Presbyterian Church, at Twelfth and Wabnit streets, Phila- 
delphia, was without a pastor, owing to the rcsi<>nation of 
the Rev. Dr. McAuley, and he was invited by the session 
of that church to temporarily fill the vacancy. He com- 
plied and preached his first sermon tliere, July 2Sth, and 
his second August iSth, 1833. On the 2d of September, 
the congregation met together and resolved to offer him 
the pastorate of their church, a charge which he ultimately 
accepted after much hesitation and deliberation. He was 
duly ordained to the ministry, and installed as Pastor of 
the Tenth Presbyterian Church on the 8th of November 
following, and has since presided over the congregation, 
with a few intermissions occasioned by the state of his health 
and his temporary absence in Europe. During the long 
interval of forty years, between that time and the present, 

many tempting offers of change have been made him the 

most remarkable and flattering being his appointment, by 
the General Assembly of 1853, to the Chair of Pastoral 
Theology in the Theological Seminaiy at Princeton, va- 
cated by the death of the Rev. Dr. Alexander— but he has 
steadily refused them all, preferring to remain with a con- 
57 



gregation to which he has become endeared by his talents 
and jiersonal character. During his occupation of this pul- 
pit many events of an important nature have occurred. 
The schism in the Presbyterian ranks, which was com- 
mencing at the date of his ordination, continued to augment 
till it culminated, in. 1S38, by a division in the church. 
But his prudence' and piety led him safely through this trial. 
He is an ardent advocate of colonization, and several new 
congregations have gone forth from the parent stock during- 
his p.asiorate. He was a decided opponent of the so-called 
OxJ'oii! Trad movement, and wrote a series of letters on 
the subject. On Sunday, November 7th, 1858, he delivered 
a discourse on.the occasion of the quarter-century anniver- 
saiy of his being ordained pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian 
Church, in which he ably and eloquently reviewed the events 
that had transpired during that period, and exhibited (per- 
haps unconsciously) those qualities which have won for 
him the affection of the flock he has so long conducted. 
This discourse, against his wishes, but at the earnest re- 
quest of'the congregation, was published and obtained 
wide circulation. On November 8th, 1S73, '"> preached 
his foriietli annivereaiy sermon, in which he gave a re- 
sume of all that had transpired since his quarter-centennial 
had been pronounced, including the period of the War of 
the Rebellion, its fruits, and also of the restoration and 
union of the two branches of the Presbyterian Church of 
the North, adding thereto his hopes and expectations of 
the speedy return of the Southern branch of that communion, 
which had held aloof from its Northern brethren since the 
separation at the outbreak of the Civil War. This also was 
published. His publications have been numerous. Among 
them m.ay be mentioned, as being some of the principal: 
"The Scripture Doctrine of Original Sin, 1S39;" "Let- 
ters to Bishop Diiane on the Oxford Tracts, 1841 ; " " The 
Prelatieal Doctrine of the Apostolical Succession Exa- 
mined, 1844;" "The Importance of Religion to the Le- 
gal Profession, 1849;" "The Bible in the Family, 1S51;" 
" The Bil)Ie in the Counting- House : a Course of Lectures 
to Merchants, 1853;" etc., etc. 

y '^^^ 

AWLE, WILLIAM HENRY, Lawyer, and 
Author, was born in Philadelphia, on the 31st 
of August, 1823. He belongs to one of the 
oldest and most distinguished families of the 
city, his paternal ancestor having settled in Phila- 
delphia in 16S6, while his family on the mo- 
ther's side settled in Maryland as early as 1661. He is the 
grandson of two of the most celebrated lawyers which the 
State has produced. One of these, William Rawle, served 
as United States District Attorney for Pennsylvania, by 
appointment of President Washington, and was the author 
of A Treatise on the Constittilion of the United States, and 
of other works of a high order of merit, while the other 




4SO 



BIOGRAI'IUCAL liNCVCLOl'.KDIA. 



was the celebrated jurist, Edward Tilj;hnian, whose name 
is cherished as one of " The Leaders of llic Old Bar " in 
Philadelphia. William Uawle, Jr., his father, also attained 
eminence in the profession, having served for many years 
as Reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Penn- 
sylvania. After receiving a thorough preliminary educa- 
tion, Willi.-xm Henry Ravvle entered the University of 
Pennsylvania, from which institution he graduated in July, 
1841. He then devoted three years to the study of the law 
in the ofiice of his f.ither, and was admitted to the bar in 
October, 1844. Inheriting the judicial turn of mind which 
had been so markedly developed in his ancestors, his career 
at the bar has been a brilliant success, and his nathe is fre- 
quently found in the State reports as counsel in the most 
impoilant class of cases. He has also attained a high rank 
as a writer on legal sulijects. His first work was a Practi- 
cal Treatise on the Law of Covenants for Title, first- pub- 
lished in Philadelphia, in 1S52. Oi this work' the late 
Chief Justice Taney remarked, that it displayed " greafiui 
dustry and research, and sound legal learning." ' A'fecond 
edition was published in 1854; a thud, in Bostoji,' in i860;; 
and a fourth in 1873. I' ^'^^ secured a place in eyery-^om'- 
plete law library, as an indispeni>al>le mid unquestioned 
authority, and has often been cojumeiided- by tha ablest 
jurists of the country in terms' as unqualilied as those 'used 
by Chief Justice Taney. In 18,53, ^^ i)Ul)li!.hed the- third 
American edition of the celehjated.Ejiijlish Mjork on. .the. 
Law of Contracts, by John WiKjaiii., Smith, -.idding many, 
original notes, which greatly incjKa^cd its v'iflue,- and. have 
been commended highly by leacljhg- jurists. 10185.7, he 
published the second American edition of Jofhua Willianis' 
LiUi) of Real Property, adding valuable notes thereto; and, 
in 1S68, gave to the pulilic a work on F.ijtiity in Pennsyl- 
vania, to which was appended the Pi'gistrar's Book of 
Governor A'eith's Court of Chancery, this volume, like its 
predecessors, taking a high rank. In 1849, he married a 
daughter of the Hon. John C.idwalader, Judge of the United 
States District Court, who was al.so a granddaughter of the 
venerable Horace Binney. His first wife died in l86l,and> 
in 1869, he married a dajighter of General Tjjomas'Qidwal- 
ader, of New Jersey. •■ His life has been devoted to the pro- 
fession of which he has pr^jvec^ sudi a brilliant ornament, 
and his career at the bar has been crowned with that large 
share of success which his p;ofound learning and patient 
industry have so richly merited. 



''HROOP, benjamin II., M. D., Physician, one 
of .Scranton's earliest and most distinguished 
residents, was born in Oxford, Chenango county, 
X"^C ^'<^^*' Vork, November 9th, 181 1, to which place 
\S(^^ his parents removed from Connecticut, in 1800. 
His father cng.agcd in mercantile pursuits, and 
for the times, w.as successful ; but, in a little settlement only 
slowly emerging from the wilderness, a fortune was not 




easily secured. Although the recipient of but a very ordi- 
nary school education, the lad combined with great force 
of character, indomitable energy and perseverance, and, by 
the proper use of these united qualities, he was soon quali- 
fied to enter the office of Dr. Packer, where he began his 
course of medic.il studies, in 1S29. Here, as in the school 
room, he exhibited those commendable traits of a strong 
and nervous temperament that had«cver distinguished him, 
and which rarely fail to bring to their possessor success and 
renown. At the age of twenty one, he graduated at Fair- 
field Medical College, in New York, and carried with him 
into the outer world the highest honors of his Alma Mater. 
In Februai-y, 1832, he made his professional tiibut in 
Hone.sdale, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, then a small but 
nhriving vill.age at the head of the Dtlaware & Hudson 
Canal.. Here, aided by a thorough acquaintance with the 
intricacies of his profession, he rose rapidly to the position 
*of leader among his medical brethren, and soon secured a 
reiiiiuieraiive practice; but, this field lieing too small to 
eoivt^nt him, heremoved, in 1835, to Oswego, New York, 
jleavin^g behind him many regretful friends and acquainl- 
■ancps \v4iq,had learned to confide in and esteem him. In 
:lS3'&, he. resided in the city of New York, where he com- 
'pelcd\succe^sfii!ly.wilh its most able ami renowned prac- 
•tiuoKers.' ills residence here gained him many friends and 
^illKk^era^le reputation, and, at the e.vpiration of four 
y€a«s, he remoAied to; Providence, Luzerne county, Penn- 
syjvatjja;. in 1S40, a hamiet of a dozen or more buildings. 
'The»La€ka>ya.iina Iron Company vi as then in progress of 
.for'niatioh, and Mr. Throop's intimate connection and ac- 
quaintance with the original founders of the city of Scran- 
ton qualified him admirably to assist this comp,any in 
various and important ways. His practice here was large 
and exacting; but, without in the slightest degree neglect- 
ing its demands, he took an energetic part in the work of 
building up the new town, and of opening and developing 
a country which had too long remained in a state of barren 
sterility for the want of suitable and vigorous minds. In 
lS45,"*he made Scranton proper his place of residence, 
eredting there the first dwelling outside of the iron com- 
pany's ■ buildings. At the period of his advent in this 
vicinity, the population of the whole township of Provi- 
dence comprised but a few hundred souls, with crude 
agricultural facilities, and a questionable indulgence in 
politics as the chief employment of the jjeople. Now, the 
integral portion of this township is a teeming and flouri^h- 
ing city. The Harrison on ])aper soon metamorphosed 
itself into bustling Scranton, with its 50,000 inhabitants, 
its furnaces, its foundries and machine shops, its hundreds 
of factories, and its general thrift and industry ; and it is to 
the tireless energy of Dr. Throop that the m.ajor portion of 
this desirable result must be credited. During the whole 
of this marvellous growth, bounded but by Ihirty-four 
years, no Christian or humane developnrent was inaugu- 
rated without his hearty co-operation and substantial aiil; 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



45 J 



and lie appealer! to surmise inluitively what was requisite 
to make the locality attractive as a place of residence, or 
business, or as a point where the tourist might delight to 
tarry and study the magnitude of nature's hidden wealth, 
as it was bared by industrious and far-seeing workers. He 
introduced the first supply of milk, the firet livery stable, 
the first drug store, the first railroad package express, and, 
fin.illy, established the first post-office. In the building of 
roa<ls, the opening of fresh coal mines, and the laying out 
and sale on easy terms of town lots, he took an active part ; 
and was the originator of the Scranton Gas and Water 
Company, whose charter he framed and secured. As a 
physician and surgeon, his superior judgment, great medi- 
cal and surgical skill, and his coolness and unfailing self- 
possession under the most ti7ing circumstances, have 
earned for him the esteem of the most eminent schools and 
professors. While continuing to hold the positions of 
Chief Surgeon to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, 
and the Delaware & Hudson Railroad and Canal Com- 
panies, he has retired from the .active work of his profession, 
and now would rather assist his younger brethren to secure 
a remunerative practice than labor himself in the field 
where he has gleaned so much profit and fame. Though 
in principle a firm Episcopalian, he not only assisted the 
Presbyterian Church to erect its place of worship, but in 
many ways generously assisted the deserving brethren of 
other denominations whose tenets were radically opposed 
to his own. St. Luke's, one of the most beautiful church 
structures of the State, stands as an enduring witness to his 
pioneership and liber.ality in the cause of Christianity, and 
it was with his money that the first preacher in Scranton 
was remunerated. Descended from Revolutionary stock, 
he has always evinced unswerving loyalty and indepen- 
dence; and, when President Lincoln called for volunteeis 
to suppress the Rebellion, he was the first to enroll himself 
as Surgeon from Luzerne county. On the 23d of April, 
1861, he was commissioned Surgeon of the 8th Regiment 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, and while absent from home not 
one man was lost by disease; a fact which needs no com- 
ment. He continued with his regiment until after the 
battles of South Mountain and Antielam, when, troubled 
by failing health, he returned to his home and ordinary 
pursuits. Later, he est-iblished the Odd Fellows organi- 
zation, and the Lackawanna Hospital, afterward endowed 
by Pennsylvania as a State institution, with its founder as 
its head and ruler; subsequently, he was appointed by 
Governor Hartranft, Trustee of the Danville Insane Hos- 
pital, a position which at present he fills with advantage to 
the institution and honor to hiirself. In private life, he is 
noted for his unsectarian humanity and cheerful hospitality; 
while his learning, brilliant conversational powers, and 
suave courtesy make him a valued and entertaining com- 
panion. As a thinker, he is acute, penetrative, and power- 
ful ; as a writer, terse, pointed, and logical. Although 
already beyond the three-score, and within but a few years 




of the remaining ten which mark the span of human life, 
he is still more vigorous and energetic than many of 
his younger cotemporaries. 



COTT, HON. JOHN, Lawyer, and United States 
Senator, was born in Alexandria, Huntingdon 
county, Pennsylvania, July 14th, 1824. His 
ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were 
Scotch-Irish; his father was a Major of Volun- 
teers in the War of 1812, and a member of the 
Twenty-first Congress. He attended the common schools 
of bis native town, enjoying, moreover, the advantage of 
private instruction in Latin and Greek. He early ex- 
hibited his powers as a forcible public speaker, and, before 
attaining his eighteenth year, had acquired some celebrity 
as an earnest advocate of the " Washingtonian Temperance 
Movement." His t.alents and taste led him to select the 
legal profession, and he entered the office of Hon. Alex- 
ander Thomson, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1842. 
Having been admitted to the bar in June, 1846, he imme- 
diately engaged in practice at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. 
He was the same year appointed Deputy Attorney-General 
for Huntingdon county, and continued until 1849 rising 
rapidly in his profession and acquiring a large professional 
practice. In 1 85 1, he was the youngest and one of the 
most active members of the Board of Revenue Commis- 
sioners; and, in 1S52, a member of the Democratic State 
Convention, where he spoke earnestly against the nomina- 
tion of James Buchanan for the Presidency. His health 
having failed considerably, he visited Europe in 1853, and 
in 1854 was nominated by the Citizens Convention for the 
State Legislature, but, refusing to affiliate with the " Know 
Nothings," when organized, after his nomination, he was 
by them defeated. He strenuously opposed the Kansas 
policy of Mr. Buchanan, and constantly endeavored to 
thwart and nullify its measures. Unsuccessfully nominated 
as a "Douglas Democrat" for the State .Senate, in i860, 
in 1861, he accepted the nomination of both political par- 
ties for the State Legislature ; having been elected without 
opposition, he worked to eflfect a non-partisan organization 
of the House, and warmly supported the Goveniment in 
its determined measures to suppress the Rebellion. The 
Democratic Caucus having declined to act in unison with 
him, he, with other War Democrats, took sides with the 
Republicans, and was appointed Chairman of the Judiciaiy 
Committee for the session, at the expiration of which he 
declined a re-election. Although not a politician, strictly 
speaking, he felt that so much was at stake that he became 
an earnest advocate of the re-election of Governor Curtin, 
in 1S63, and participated wannly in the support of Abraham 
Lincoln in the Presidential campaign of 1864. He was 
elected a delegate to the National Republican Convention 
of 186S, but was at this" time engaged in the argument 



452 



BIOGRAPHICAL EXCYCLOr.EDIA. 




before the Supreme Court of a question of vital importance, 
and his position was otherwise filled. Having taken a 
very active part in the political canvass of that year, he was 
prominently named for the United States Senate, to succeed 
Hon. C. R. Buckalcw; elected finally by the Legislature, 
he look his seat in the House, March 4lh, 1869. He has 
served on many of the most important committees, and has 
proved himself to be a diligent, fearless, and able Senator. 
He was Chainnan of the Select Committee appointed to 
investigate the alleged outrages in the .Southern States; and 
since has been Chairman of the Committee on Claims, as 
well as an industrious and effective member of the Com- 
mittees on Finance and Railroads. His voice is generally 
heard upon all momentous occasions when important 
questions come before the Senate; and, in his speeches, or 
addresses, there is a laudable avoidance of all straining for 
oratorical display, while his remarks are lucid, concise and 
pointed. 



EDELL, GREGORY TOWXSEND, D. D., the 
first Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Phila- 
delphia, was born on .Staten Island, New York, 
on October zSth, 1793. His father, Israel 
Bedell, was a man of exalted purity of charac- 
ter, who died in his eighty-first year, after having 
witnessed the eminent usefulness of his son. His mother 
was a sister of the Right Rev. Channing Morse, the elo- 
quent Bishop of Virginia. Losing his mother when only 
nine years old, his elder sistere assumed the entire charge 
of him and of his education. The failure of his father, 
soon after his mother's death, seriously impaired the pecu- 
niary ability of the family, and rendered it for some time a 
problem whether he would ever be able to attain the 
thorough education which it was the wish of the family he 
should receive. Through the intervention of a relative, 
whose means were by no means large, he was sent to the 
Episcopal Academy at Cheshire, in Connecticut, then 
under the care of Rev. Dr. Smith. Remaining there two 
years, the means for his support failed; and his weakness 
of constitution rendering hard and continuous study ex- 
ceedingly irksome, he was strongly tempted to abandon his 
project of a classical education. In this he was over-ruled, 
and, entering Columbia College, New York, in 1807, he 
prosecuted his studies with an ardor which overcame the 
feebleness of his constitution. Soon after his graduation, in 
181 1, he commenced his theological studies under Rev. 
Dr. Horr, an assistant minister of Trinity Church, New 
Y'ork, and was ordained to the Diaconate on November 
4th, 1814. His first sermon produced a powerful sensation 
for its rare beauty and the impressive eloquence with which 
it was delivered. His delicate constitution induced him 
to visit the Southern States during the following winter 
and spring, and on his return he entered upon his first 
parochial charge, in Hudson, New York, June 4th, 1815. 



On October 29th, 1816, he was married to Penelope Thurs- 
ton. The son of this marriage is now the Right ReT. G. 
Thurston Bedell, Bishop of Ohio. In July, 181S, he was 
ordained a Presbyter, and in October removed to Fayette- 
ville, North Carolina. After four years of successful labor 
in this place, his attention was called to the advantages of a 
residence in Philadelphia, by the Rev. Benjamin Allen, 
rector of St. Paul's Church. His wish w.as to settle in 
New York city ; but as he came North, on his way to New 
York, he was urged to remain, at least for a few weeks, in 
Philadelphia. As soon as he had arrived, he was met by 
an invitation from a number of gentlemen to remain and 
attemjjt the organization of another parish, they making 
themselves responsible for his support for one year. He 
accepted the invitation, though it cost him the sacrifice of 
his most cherished plans. During the summer, he preached 
among the diflferent churches, and the organization of a 
new palish, to be known as St. Andrew's, having been per- 
fected, a lot on Eighth street near Spruce was secured, and 
in the middle of September, 1S22, the corner-stone of the 
new church was laid by the venerable Bishop While. He 
commenced the services of his new parish in the Masonic 
Hall, in the autumn of that year, but subsequently ac- 
cepted the generous offer of the vestry of St. James's Parish 
to use Iheir church on Sunday evenings : at the close of this 
series of services, he was permitted to make a collection in 
the church for the benefit of his new organization. His 
ministi-y had already attracted great attention, his services 
being always jjarticipated in by vast crowds, attracted by 
his peerless eloquence, by a style of oratorj' superior to any 
thing then known in the pulpits of the country, and by his 
fervid and faithful exhibition of the gospel. A new era 
was inaugurated in the opening of St. Andrew's, on the 
first Sunday in June, 1823. His ministry in Philadelphia 
was eminently successful from the commencement. It was 
a matter of course that on every Sunday the church was 
crowded, even throughout the aisles, and the good accom- 
plished under his earnest preaching is incalculable. In 
1834, his feeble constitution began to show symptoms of 
speedy decay. Visiting Bedford Springs, he found him- 
self growing much worse, and, on his return home, he died 
in Baltimore, on August 30lh, 1834, leaving behind him 
a memoiy which remains green and fragrant now when 
more than a third of a cenluiy has passed. 

EWTON, RICHARD, D. D., Clergyman, was 
born in Liverpool, England, July 25th, 1813. In 
early childhood, he came with his parents to the 
United States, and settled in Philadelphia, where 
he received such education as the schools of that 
day afforded. Having determined to study for 
the Christian ministi-y, he entered a manual labor school 
near Wilmington, Delaware, when he was about sixteen 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



453 



years of age. After due preparation, he matriculated at the 
University of Pennsylvania, whence he graduated in June, 
1836, and engaged in the study of theology at the General 
Seminary, in New York. He was ordained a deacon in 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, July 4th, 1S39, and shortly 
afterward took charge of a parish at Westchester county, 
Pennsylvania. After the retirement of Dr. May from the 
rectorship of St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, he accepted 
a call to become its pastor, and for twenty-two years minis- 
tered to that congregation with great accejitance, and con- 
tributed much to the temporal and spiritual prosperity of 
that parish. In the spring of 1862, he accepted a call from 
the Church of the Epiphany, of Philadelphia, where he has 
since labored assiduously and effectively, lie received the 
honorary degree of D. D. from Kenyon College, Gambier, 
Ohio, some twenty years ago. He is an author of marked 
ability, and has given to the public many volumes of in- 
structive and entertaining, moral and religious matter. 
His writings are peculiarly adapted to the wants of youth, 
and find a place in the Sunday school libraries of almost 
eveiy denomination. Among them are, I^i/h from the 
Fountain of Life, The Best Things, The King's Highway, 
The Giants, ami H<nu to Fight Them, with very many 
others of familiar title. He is also a regular and valuable 
contributor to various Sunday school papers and periodi- 
cals, an<.l in every possible way manifests his deep interest 
in the welfare of those institutions. He is a man of strong 
moral sentiments and great depth of thought. As a speaker, 
he is clear and accurate in expression, while his discourses 
abound in choice sentiments and graphic illustrations. 
Socially, he is a man of warm sympathy and the kindliest 
feeling, and is much endeared to the circles in which he 
moves. 

cl^l E^EDER, ANDREW H., Lawyer, and Governor 
of • Kansas, was the son of Absalom Reeder, 
who, originally of Trenton, New Jersey, came to 
. . Easton, Pennsylvania, about 1770. After re- 

g'qvp ceiving a thorough general education in Law- 
renceville, New Jersey, Andrew H. settled in 
Easton, and there pursued a course of law studies with the 
well known General Peter Ihrie. On the iSth of Novem- 
ber, 1828, he was admitted to the bar under the most favor- 
able auspices, and in this place practised uninterruptedly 
and successfully during many years. Later, he resided in 
Kansas, and, while there, succeeded through his varied 
attainments and courteous affability to rich and poor, in 
winning the affection and esteem of all around' him. In 
September, 1854, he was appointed by President Pierce, 
Governor of the State, and fulfilled his numerous and 
arduous duties with honor to himself, and to those who 
had chosen him to occujiy this high position. L^pon re- 
turning to Easton, he resumed active practice, in July, 1857, 
connecting with him Henry Green, a worthy and re- 





spected practitioner, who remained his coadjutor in the law 
until his decease. He was unvaryingly an active mover 
and worker in the prevailing politics of the day ; and, by 
his energy, perseverance, and commendable qualities of 
mind and heart, signalized himself as a valuable ally and 
assistant. At first a Democrat, he became, when the 
famous Fremont campaign agitated the country, an in- 
flexible and warmly interested Republican. Subsequent 
to this stirring period, he invariably sided with the latter 
party, worked pereislently for its interests, and in all times 
endeavored to strengthen and uphold it. He was a man 
of sterling character, great firmness and probity, and un- 
swerving rectitude. As an incorruptible citizen, he gained 
the respect and admiration of all that knew him; as a 
politician, the esteem of honest men, and the fear of evil- 
doers; as Governor of Kansas, he was the recipient of 
countless encomiums and plaudits. He died, July 5th, 
1864, and was buried in the cemetery of that Easton, where 
he had gleaned his first laurels and his last. 



RANKLIN, THOMAS E., Lawyer, was born in 
Philadelphia, April 20th, iSlo. His father. 
Judge Walter Franklin, was at that time Attorney- 
General for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 
His mother was a daughter of James Ewlen, a 
well-known and highly esteemed preacher of the 
Society of Friends. His parents removed to Lancaster 
soon after his birth, and there he received the »udiments 
of education. In 1S22, he was placed in the mathematical 
school of Joshua Hoopes, in Downington, Chester county, 
where he remained for about a year. In September, 
1S24, he entered Yale College, and graduated with honors, 
in 1S2S. He was also admitted into the societies of 
" Phi, Beta, Kappa," and " Chi, Delta, Theta," mem- 
bership in which was then considered an honorable distinc- 
tion, an evidence of superior scholarship. After leaving 
college he commenced to study law, both in the office of 
his father, and in that of his brother-in-law, W. Hopkins. 
In 1831, being but twenty-one years of age, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and at once commenced the practice of 
his profession in Lancaster. He quickly established an 
extensive and lucrative practice, which has continued for 
more than forty-three years. In February, 1833, he was 
appointed District Attorney for the Mayor's Court of the 
City of Lancaster, which position he held for about three 
years. In April, 1851, he was appointed, by Governor 
Johnston, Attorney-General for the commonwealth of Penn- 
sylvania, and held the position until the end of the admin- 
istration, in January, 1852. In 1S55, he was reappointed 
by Governor Pollock, and continued the office until 1858, 
retiring again with the Governor. In 1S44, he was a 
delegate from the Whig party, of Lancaster county, to the 
National Convention, at Baltimore, which nominated Henry 



454 



BIOGRAI'HICAL ENCVCLOP.KDIA. 



Clay for ihe Presidency; and, in 1848, to the- National 
Convention, at Philadelphia, which nominated General Z. 
Taylor for ihe Presidency, and again, in 1864, in conjunc- 
tion with the late Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, to the conven- 
tion at Baltimore, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for 
re-election. In 1847, he was Chairman of the Whij; State 
Central Committee. In 1 86 1, he was one of the delegates 
appointed hy Governor Curtin, to what was popularly 
known as the " Peace Convention," at Washington. The 
degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Franklin and 
Marshall College, in June, 1874. lie was one of the 
original Directors of the Harrisburg & Lancaster Railroad 
Company, and also its solicitor. He has been fqf many 
years a Director of the Farmers' National Bank, "of- Lan- 
caster, and President of the Lancaster Fire InsurAHce Com- 
pany, since its organization; and is on the direclion of 
several other public companies. He was married, 'Novem" 
ber 7lh, 1S37, to a daughter of Colonel George M.ayer, 
who served in the War of 181 2, and was Subsequently a 
prominent merchant of Lancaster. 



vivid and picturesque home letters of those stirring and 
eventful times. He subsequently extended his travels 
through Italy, Germany, England, and Scotland, when he 
returned home, and immediately began the practice of his 
profession in his native town. Here, his life was filled up 
with professional usefulness. He was the benefactor of the 
poor and needy, and a kind ministrant to all who sought 
his counsel. He died, June 22d, 1S70. 



. S^.^ 




|f^OHNSON, Dr. WrLLftW&%.,=^ysiciaiv^w* 
^ Jj born in Germanlown; •J?nrisylvnnia,*-May''i6th, 



1 



'3 



1S07. His father, 'Jofln'-' Johnson;' who" built the 
present family mansid\i"riiS>n t"ft?""sit^^r"lh€, Gei^ 
mantown battle-grgun'd. ""•^ 'tip greaf-grarfdstvn 
of Dirk Jansen, v^u jr'Tiom' Delft, 

Holl.md, in 1683. The name w:is an;_;liLise(I-'in"'-t1ie' Sext 
generation. Dirk Jansen, as he 'was -(hen called,- was it! 
Friend, and probably one of those who were converted to 
that faith by William Penn, on the occasion ofhiS'visit IcT 
Germany, and who afterward came to this counti-y for the 
freer exercise of their religion. He bought large tracts 
of land in Germantown, from the Frankfort Company, 
London; and a house built by him in 16S9, is still stand- 
ing. As intimated, the battle of Germantown Avas fought 
(October 4th, 1777,) upon the well known Johnson and 
Chew |)ropcrty; the British cannon being placed in position 
in front of the site of the present Johnson house. Thirty 
ye.irs after this memorable epoch, William Norton, the' 
eldest son of nine chiWren,'wa_s norn on this famous battle- 
ground; and in due time was fitted for colle'jfe at the Ger-~ 
mantown Academy. In 1824, he ehlered the Junior Class 
at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he 
graduated in 1826, sharing the first honor with two others, 
who graded equally in scholarship with himself. He im- 
mediately began the study of medicine under Professor 
George B. Wood, of Philadelphia; and, in 1829, took his 
medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. He 
soon after went to Europe, and for two years attended 
clinical lectures at the hospitals in Paris. He was present 
.at the Revolution of July, 1830, which drove Charles X. 
from his throne, and his fruitful pen furnished a series of 



URGESS, JOHN CHANDLER, Banker and 
Hotel Proprietor, was born in Waitsfield, Wash- 

. ington county, Vermont, Januaiy gill, 181 1. He 
was one of a large family of W. B. Burgess and 
Hester (Williams) Burgess, of Pittsfield, Massa- 

' chusetts. His father w.as a blacksmith and bridge 
builder, and, while he himself was an infant, moved to 
Troy,- New York ; after remaining there some four years or 
ifiore,'fie settled in Pillstown, in the same county and State. 
Dufing'two years he resided here, and in which lime he 
built the u-or\-J)ridge across the Hoosic river. From Pitts- 
town i^ie Burgess family emigrated to what was then called 
•the -Hack -river country, in Oneida county. New York. 
Here JohTl' received what primary education could be ob- 
tained frftmwe log cabin schools of those days; working 
on the fa0D».in: s'urumer, attending school in the winter. 
iThis life hefed-until nearly twenty-two years of age, when, 
travelling Iti iHartford, Connecticut, he was employed as 
SoJ&-k by E. l^iSSenden, the proprietor of the Eagle Hotel. 
After serving creditably during four years in this establish- 
'iliint, he secured .an engagement as clerk at the City Hctel, 
in the s.ime town ; in this house also he remained for the 
same length of time. He then went to Morristown, New 
Jersey, and leased for himself the hotel formerly erected by 
W. Gibbons ; this establishment he conducted for two years, 
when he returned to Hartford, and leased for five years, 
(1S46-1851,) the City Hotel, where, in earlier days, he had 
been a clerk. Pecuniarily, his experience in hotel keeping 
had been emineiitly successful ; so much so, that, at the 
expir.ition of this Jease, in 1851, he retired from active 
.business. -A yeai-- later, however, he was solicited by a 
jurmber^ of New York • capitalists to take charge of the 
Wyoming -Holise, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This was 
the first hotel blending comfort with elegance that had been 
established in the town, and its great success and popularity 
was due to the able management and courteous business- 
like tact evinced by its chief. At the expiration of three 
years, he negotiated for the purchase of the house, and it 
became his property. A year later, he leased it for five 
years; but before three years had elapsed, he was again its 
host and director. While the hotel was managed by him, 
many of the prominent men of the valley made it their 
home, while all the leading business men who frequented 
that country, found there every requisite of a first-class 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



45S 



establishment. Also it is a fact well worthy of note, that 
the success and reputation sustained by the Wyoming 
House, is due entirely to the talents and shrewd sagacity 
displayed in so many ways by its proprietor; while the 
vending of liquors at the "bar" contributed little to its 
income. In fact, he has, during his long experience in 
hotel keeping, endeavored to prove that a house, second 
to none in every point, could be made to yield a remunera- 
tive income without relying upon the traffic in intoxicating 
liquors. In this he has been successful, as in all things 
else; and in repressing wisely an occasionally objection- 
able feature in this species of business, while devoting his 
attention especially to its more important features, he has 
found honor and fortune. In 1866, owing to the demand 
for further accommodation, a large wi-iig was added to the 
house; .md ajain, in 1872, one still larger, the latter ad- 
dition giving thirty-five ailditional rooms, under which are 
two spacious and handsome stores ; it has all the appurte- 
nances of a thoroughly first-class hotel. In 1869, John 
Ilandley, an attorney in Seranton, .appreciating the solid 
integrity and reputable sagacity of Mr. Burgess, solicited 
him for permission to use his name, and together they in- 
stituted a banking firm known as " Ilandley and Company." 
So rapidly did their business prosper and increase, that, 
at the expiration of two years, they re-organized and con- 
verted it into a .State bank, and received a charter under 
I the name of the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank of 
Seranton: John Ilandley, President; John Burgess, Vice- 
President — positions still filled by them. He has ever 
taken an active part in all general improvements concern- 
ing Seranton, and was the foremost m.in when the im- 
portant question of the introduction of drainage and sewer- 
age was under discussion. He was one of the prime 
movers in organizing and building up the Episcopal Church 
of the town, and has been closely connected with that sect 
since his residence in Hartford. In 1844, he was married 
to Marie Adelaide Amblairde, one of a worthy French 
family, then residents of .Springfield, Massachusetts. To 
this estim.able lady he attributes a large share of his success 
in life; while her active aid, politic counsel, and untiring 
attention to household duties have helped greatly to cheer 
and enrich him. In 1865, there was an interesting gather- 
ing, at Cleveland, of the Burgess famiiy, and on that 
occasion, the festivities were of a character at once joyous 
and afTecting. 



?RAKE, JOIIX, Merchant, E.iston, Pennsylvania, 
was born near Ashlnny, Warren county. New 
Jersey, December, 1803. His father, a farmer, 
was in comparatively limited circumstances, and 
hence all the education received by the son was 
acquired by attendance on a country school 
during the winter months. Of German and Scotch descent, 
he inherited those traits of character for energy and perse- 




verance which pre-eminently belong to the people of those 
nationalities, and which tend to, so frequently, render them 
successful in the business of life. Leaving his father's 
farm at the .age of twenty-five, he settled in a village called 
Broadway, in his native county, where he opened a hotel, 
and also a small country store. In about three years he 
removed to Townsbuiy, where he continued merchandizing, 
and also started a sawmill. At this place he remained 
about two years, when he moved to Bridgeville, .and turned 
his attention entirely to commercial pursuits. About this 
time he formed the acquaintance of, and employed Derrick 
Hulick, who afterwards became> his partner in business, 
which relationship continued, as Drake & Hulick, until the 
death of the junior partner, in 1872. The business is still 
conducted under the old firm name, by the sons of the 
original partners. His several removals within a few years 
seem to have resulted greatly to his adv.intage, for his 
business and means steadily increased. In 1836, he left 
New Jersey, and located in Easton, Pennsylvania. At this 
period Easton was a small town with its business confined 
to the immediate vicinity, not even extending to the limits 
of the county. Here he opened a retail store, associating 
with him his former employe. Derrick Hulick. With men 
of their energy and business tact, the operations of a retail 
store in a small country town were too circumscribed. It 
was not long before the retail was converted into a whole- 
sale business, and the trade formerly confined to the town 
and its immediate vicinity was extended throughout the 
fertile valley of the Lehigh, the counties of E.astern Penn- 
sylvania, and even into Southern New York. The establish- 
ment of this firm being before the construciion of the many 
railroads which now traverse those rich sections of Penn- 
sylvania, developing as much if not more substantial wealth 
than the same area of any other portion of the United 
States, Drake & Hulick gathered into the town of Easton, 
and transported thence to the great marts of trade. New 
York and Philadelphia, the produce of the country by 
means of wagons. These were under the superintendence 
of the junior partner, while the senior managed the 
mercantile and financial branches of the business at home. 
Under such management as this it was not long before the 
firm not only did a thriving business, but also monopolized 
the trade of the surrounding country. The cap.icity and 
probity of the senior partner was soon established and 
acknowledged by the community in which he lived, and he 
was, early in life, regarded as one of the leading business 
men of that section. Active and public spirited, he wa.s 
closely connected with every improvement looking to the 
advancement of Easton. He was a large stockholder in, 
and director of, the principal bank of the town. He was 
heavily interested in the iron trade in the Lehigh valley, 
and was a controlling director and originator of the Thomas 
and the Carbon Iron Companies. He was also one of the 
(five) owners of the Delaware Rolling Mill. He was not 
only an intelligent, active, and successful business man. 



4S6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOIVEDIA. 




but lie had few superiors i;i the faculty of conceiving and 
manajjing large oijeraliuns. In 1828, he married Margaret, 
daughter of Samuel S. Stewart, of Warren county. New 
Jersey. lie had no especial taste for politics, but always 
adhered to the Whig and Republican parties. He died in 
April, 1873, and his remains repose in the cemetery of the 
town whose jjrosperity he so materially advanced. Com- 
mencing life with no capital but energy, probity, and good 
judgment, he ended a life of usefulness, having amassed a 
fortune estimated at half a million of dollars, and leaving a 
record wholly honorable. 

/ ^^ 

■ OFFIN, JAMES HENRY, LL. D., .Scientist, was 
born at Williamsburg, Massachusetts, September 
6th, 1806. His father had at one time been 
wealthy, but suffered revei'ses through the war 
of 1812, and in consequence the lad was com- 
pelled to learn a trade. He selected that of 
musical instrument maker, but had hardly commenced, 
when, through the suggestion of his cousin — who afterwards 
became the founder of the American Tract Society — he 
determiiii;d upon an entirely different course of life. 
Though without any means of support, he matriculated at 
Amherst College, and throughout his four years' course 
there earned sufficient to meet his expenses, while still 
vigorously pursuing his studies, and notwithstanding he 
encountered a serious obstacle in the shape of an attack of 
blindness, ihrougli which he lost one year's time. He 
graduated in 1S28, and was engaged for some time as a 
teacher. In this position he was remarkably successful ; 
being deeply interested, and even enthusiastic in the work 
himself, he seldom failed to awaken the zeal of his students. 
One of his earliest undertakings of public importance was 
the establishment, at Oreenfield, of the Fellenberg Manual 
Labor Institution. He subsequently became Trincipal of 
the Ogdensburg (New York) Academy, and, in 1S39, a 
member of the Williams College Faculty. In 1846, he 
a.ssumed the chair of Mathematics and Astronomy in 
Lafayette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania, and retained 
the same until his death, which occurred at that college on 
February 6th, 1873. His labors in the cause of science 
were chiefly devoted to the department of meteorology, and 
the development of the theoiy of the winds. He was one 
of the committee of three, appointed to memorialize the 
United Slates Government to establish the Signal Service, 
known as the " Probabilities " bureau. He invented 
several self-registering weather instrnmenls ; and his in- 
vestigations, made with great minuteness, form the chapter 
on Climate in the Natural History of Nno ForX", published 
by the State in 1845. The Results of Meteorological Ob- 
sei~vations, a quarto of over one thousand pages, which is a 
standard work on the climate of North America, was pre- 
pared under his supervision. On the subject of the theory 



of the winds, his mind was actively and continuously 
engaged for thirty years. In his Winds of the Aortlurn 
Hemisphere, published in 1S53, he announced his great 
discovery of the existence of three principal zones of winds 
in this hemisphere, and of a meteorological pole situated in 
latitude 84° and longitude 105° west of Greenwich. Of 
this work the physicist Maury said, that it " contained 
myriads of observations on land and sea." The results of 
this discovery have been employed as the basis of the wind- 
charts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, published by llie 
English Board of Trade. His posthumous work, 'Ihe 
Winds of the Globe, completed by his son, and issued by 
the Smithsonian Institution, extends these researches over 
the entire globe, and includes records made at 4000 places. 
Besides his more important literary productions on scientific 
subjects, he also published four mathematical works, and 
read many valuable papers before the American Association 
for the Advancement of Science, of which association he 
was Vice-President, and had been a member from its com- 
mencement. He was also a member of the National 
Academy of Science. Of him and his services to science. 
Professor Henry, the eminent he.ad of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution, says : " The jiremature death of Professor Coffin 
is a loss to the world ; and in reviewing what may be called 
his extra labors, we cannot refrain from an endeavor to im- 
press upon the general public that men of his character, 
who d.) honor to humanity, ought not to be suffered to 
expend their energies in the drilling of youth in the mere 
elements of knowledge, and with a compensation not more 
than sufficient to secure the necessaries of li(e; that they 
should be consecrated as officiating priests in the temple of 
knowledge, and be furnished with all the appliances and 
assistance necessary to the accomplishment of their objects 
— namely, the extension of the bounds of human thought 
and of human power." 



INDERMAN, GARRETT B., Physician, Coal 
Operator, and Banker, was born October 15th, 
1829, in Pike county, Pennsylvania. His father, 
John J. Linderman, of Scotch descent, was a 
physician, and actively engaged in the practice 
of medicine for over fifty years in that comity. 
His mother was a daughter of the Hon. Richard Brodliead, 
granddaughter of Garrett Brodhead, an officer of the Revo- 
lution, and sister of the late Senator Richard Brodliead. 
After receiving an academic education, he read medicine 
with his father, and graduated in March, 1851, at the Uni- 
versity of New York. He first practised his profession at 
Unionvllle, Orange county, New York, but left It in 1S54 
and settled in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. In -August of 
the same year the cholera reaching that borough, carried 
off the resident practitioners there, and he soon advanced to 
a leading position among the physicians of that section of 




EIOURAI'HICAI. ENCYCLOP.liDIA. 



457 



the State. In i860, the daily rounds and niylit work of a 
large practice having told on his health, he withdrew from 
the profession and devoted a part of his time to commercial 
pursuits. In 1S63, he became the active partner in the 
East Sugar Loaf Colliery, worked by Packer, Linderman & 
Co., and a partner in the Room Run Colliery, worked by 
Douglas, .Skeer & Co., taking charge of all the business of 
the first named (irm. In 1865, on the retirement of Mr. 
Douglas, he also took charge ot the Room Run Colliery. 
The coal of these two collieries, which reached tide-water, 
was sold by E. A. Packer & Co. (composed of the same 
partners), until 1867, when E. A. Packer withdrew, and 
the name of the firm became G. B. Linderman & Co. 
After this Dr. Linderman took charge of the sale, as well as 
of the production of coal, and spent most of his time in 
New York. Looking the ground over, he found that all 
the coal produced in the Lehigh Valley was being sold by 
a number of firms, without any concert of action — a state 
of aff.iirs detrimental to all. Accordingly, he devoted him- 
self to the organization of the Lehigh Coal Exchange, of 
which he was elected President, and has so remained to the 
present time. The Lehigh Coal Exchange regulates the 
price of all coal that reaches tide-water from tlie middle 
coal-field, and thereby fixes the wages paid to the miners in 
the same di-;trict. In 1868, he organized the banking 
house of G. B. Linderman & Co., at Mauch Chunk. In 
1870, he moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 1S72, he 
organized the Lehigh Valley National Bank of Bethlehem, 
and was elected its President. He was manicd to Lucy, 
daughter of Judge Packer. He is one of the Trustees of 
the Lehigh University, at Bethlehem, and has the reputation 
of being one of the most progressive and sound business 
men in E.asteni Pennsylvania. 




/ 




RTII, HON. GODLOVE S.,Lawyer, and Congress- 
man, was born near Lebanon, Pennsylvania, April 
22d, 1817. He is of German descent, his family 
having emigrated to Pennsylvania as early as 
1729, under the auspices of the celebrated Mora- 
vian Count Zinzendorf. Pie was educated at 
Pennsylvania College, at Gettysburg, and removed to 
Indiana in 1S39. Having studied law with Hon. James 
Cooper, of Gettysburg, he was admitted to the bar in 1839, 
and commenced practice at Lafayette, Indiana. He 
entered upon the political arena early in life, and espoused 
the principles of the Whig paity, which elected him to the 
Slate Senate for the ye.rrs iS43-'44-'45-' 46-47 and 1848; 
during one year of this period he was President of that 
body. He was a Presidential elector in 1848, after w.hich 
he devoted himself to practice for a number of year=;. He 
was a member of the Peace Conference of 1S61, antl having ' 
subsequently raised a company of volunteers, served with 1 
them as Captain. He was elected to the Thirty-eighth 1 
58 



Congress, in 1862, by the Republican party of the Seventh 
District of Pennsylvania, and was successively re-elected to 
the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, and Forty-first Congresses, where 
he served in many important committees, and took an 
active part in all the proceedings of the House. Having 
been returned as a Republican from the State at large to 
the Forty-third Congress, in 1872, he was appointed Chair- 
man of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and has served 
with marked ability. 



LAIR, J.\MES, President of the Scranton Savings 
B.Tnk, Merchant, and Railroad Manager, was 
born in Warren county. New Jersey, May 15th, 
1809. He is a son of James Blair, and Rachel 
(Inslee) Blair, both of the same county and 
State, and whose antecedents are Scotch and 
German. His education was only of that primaiy and 
elementary kind obtainable in the common schools of his 
birthplace. At eighteen years of age, he engaged in busi- 
ness as a country storekeeper at Marksborough, Warren 
county. New Jersey. Here he remained for thirty-five 
years, and, during twenty-five years of this lime, his was 
the only store established in that vicinity. In 1S64, he 
removed to Scranton, and engaged in banking, also 
operating largely, meanwhile, in real estate. In 1867, he, 
with several other influential associates, originated and 
founded the .Scranton Savings Bank, of which he was 
chosen President ; to his credit be it observed that he is 
now, as then, the first officer of this well known institution. 
He projected and built, chiefly on his own account, and at 
his own personal risk, the various street railroads in 
Scranton, the stock in which has since been divided among 
others. In connection with various other capitalists, he 
became one of the originators of the Lackawanna Iron and 
Coal Company; also one of the first subscribers interested 
in the building of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 
Railroad, and has been a Director ofi this road for many 
years. He has, moreover, been largely interested with his 
brother, John J. Blair, in all his railroad operations in the 
West, and they contracted to build in that section of the 
counti-y over seven hundred miles of railroad. Throughout 
Scranton and elsewhere, he is known as a wise patron, a 
generous friend, a loyal and exemplary citizen, and a busi- 
ness man of great ability and tact. Wherever and whenever 
alterations or improvements have been deemed needful or 
desirable, his has always been the first brain to conceive, 
the first hand to perform ; and what the one conceived, the 
other has shown itself quick in performing. His success in 
life may be justly attributed to constant and cheerful indus- 
trv, shrewd economy, good management, at once cautious 
and decided, and entire and exclusive attention to business. 
Few men are able to point to so many examples of weighty 
projects matured so successfully, and in the face of so many 



45S 



BIOGRArillCAL F.XCYCI.OP.KDIA. 




and such peqilcxiiig (lifficulties as those which he has 
repeatedly conquered; and still fewer may, as he may, be 
cre<lited with so many acts tending to develop the resources 
of the country, and to benefit his brethren. In 1834, he 
was married to Elizabeth P. Locke, of Warren county, New 
Jersey; and again, in 1S64, to Margaret J. McKlnney, of 
Scranton, formerly of New Jersey, who is his present wife. 



llp^ULICK, DERRICK, Merchant, was born in War- 
ren county, New Jei-sey, November 28th, 1814. 
His father, Ilcnry D. Hulick, was a native of 
New Jersey; his mother, Phccbe (Morgan), of 
Pennsylvania. He enjoyed but few school ad- 
vantages, the meagre education he received being 
obtained at the country schools in the neighborhood of 
Oxford, Warren county, New Jersey, where, until his early 
manhood, he lived and worked upon a farm. Nevertheless, 
being naturally of a strong mind and quick perception, he 
had the faculty of utilizing what little preparatory education 
he acquired ; and hence this elementary teaching, though 
limited, was sufficient to be of gre.at advantage to him in 
subsequent life. Upon attaining his m,ajority, he was taken 
into partnership with John Drake, of Easton, Pennsylvania, 
in whose employ lie had for some time previously been 
engaged. Being energetic and prompt in all his business 
relations, he soon established a large trade for the house of 
Drake & Hulick. The existence of this firm being before 
the general introduction of railroads, the transportation, 
trade, and barter of merchandize was done by the now- 
considered slow means of wagons. He assumed the outside 
operations of the concern, and not only monopolized the 
trade of the Lehigh Valley, but even with his teams pene- 
trated into the State of New York, thus extending the busi- 
ness connections of the firm throughout Eastern Pennsylva- 
nia and the southern portions of New York. His social 
qualities gained him great personal popularity, which, 
together with his high character as a business man, aided 
him greatly in the acquisition of wealth. Although the 
business of the firm was not confined to any particular 
br.inch of merchandize, it being a countiy store in which all 
commodities were bought and sold, yet he became such a 
noted adept in his knowledge of the qualities of te.as, that 
his opinion as a judge of the article w.is frequently sought 
by large importers of New York city, who would forward 
him their samples for inspection and rely on his report in 
the purch.ase and sale of them. He was, in connection 
with his partner, one of the largest stockholders in the 
Thom.as Iron Company, and also in the Carbon Iron 
Company. For many years he was a Director in the First 
National Bank of Easton, in which institution his fine busi- 
ness qualifications and extensive knowledge of men gave 
him great influence. He was also a Director in the Warren 
Foundry, and was actively interested in |iublic improve- 



ments generally. Indeed by his personal efibrts and the 
influence which wealth always commands, he rendered 
much valuable assistance in the development of the country, 
infusing a spirit of energy and enterprise amongst his neigh- 
bors by his words and example. He could not be called a 
politician in the commonly accepted sense of that word, 
yet he was a finn party man, alway v voting, formerly the 
Whig, and subsequently the Republican ticket. To the 
principles of these parties he adhered from conviction, and 
not from policy, as he never desired nor sought office. He 
was married in Decembei-, 1839, to Ruth Swayze, of War- 
ren county. New Jersey. He died in July, 1872. Like 
his partner, he commenced at the bottom the ladder and 
gradually ascended it round by round until he reached, in a 
commercial sense, its top. He left an estate valued at half 
a million of dollars. It is to be regarded .as a noteworthy 
fact, that during the thirty-five years Drake and Hulick 
were in partnership, there never was a difference of opinion 
between them as to business transactions. The extensive 
trade which they so successfully established, is now con- 
ducted by their respective sons, under the old firm name 
of Drake & Hulick. 




HIDSEY, RUSSELL SMITH, Manufacturer, wa.s 
born at Foxon, New Haven county, Connecticut, 
June 4th, 1S02. He was a lineal descendant of 
John Chidsey, who came from England to Con- 
y^^ necticut in 1644; and, maternally, from William 
Holt, who also came to Connecticut from England 
about 1640. He was educated in and about New Haven, 
and upon completing his course of studies, taught school 
until elected Sheriff of New Haven county. This office he 
finally abandoned, and, with eighty dollars as his capital, 
started in business as a pedler of oysters. While engaged 
in this traffic, he w.as married to Eliza V.'ooden, of Columbus 
county. New York, August 14th, 1831. From this union 
sprang three sons and three daughters. He then was mar- 
ried .again, September l6th, 1847, to Lucy M. Street, of 
Connecticut, by whom he had two sons. Forsaking the 
business of pedler, he engaged in that of a stove and tin- 
ware dealer, at Geneva, New York ; and, upon removing to 
Easton, Pennsylvania, continued to carry on this trade until 
fresh and onerous duties compelled him to turn it over 
entirely to his son. He was one of the founders of the 
Thomas Iron Works, at Nokendaqua, Pennsylvania; of the 
Warren Foundry, at present the largest pipe works in 
America, located at Phillipsburg, New Jersey; and of the 
First National Bank of Easton, Pennsylvania. In all of 
these institutions he was a director and large stockholder 
at the time of his decease. He was also the leading 
founder, and (me of the most liberal supporters, of the First 
Protestant Reformed Dutch Church of Easton, Pennsyl- 
vania, and w.as one of its most influential elders and 
upholders. This church is known at present as the American 



BIOGRAPHICAL EXCVCLOP/EDIA. 



459 



Reformed. Throughout his life, he was a respected, ener- 
getic, and enterprising business man, and was ever ready 
to push forward any and every public work which he 
thought could redound to the common good. In politics, 
he was early in favor of the total abolition of slavery in the 
United States, and warmly supported the Whig and Re- 
publican policies. During the war, he was an active 
Unionist, sending his son, Charles, to battle for the Union, 
and spending his means freely for its cause. Upon the oc- 
casion of his funeral, the merchants of Easton, acting 
simultaneously, closed their places of business, thus show- 
ing the esteem in which he was held by his neighboi's and 
fellow citizens. He was killed by an accident, which befell 
him on the Central Railroad of New Jersey, December 1st, 
1S65, while in his si.vty-fourth year. He left an estate 
valued at about a half million of dollars; an honorable 
fortune, accumulated by dint of praiseworthy industry 
and shrewd ability. His remains are interred in the family 
vault at the cemetery of Easton, his grave being marked by 
an imposing monument of Rhode Island granite. 




/ 



f^cCARTNEY, HON. WA.SHINGTON, LL. D., 
Lawyer and Judge, was born in Westmoreland 
county, Pennsylvania, August 24th, 1812; died 
July 15th, 1856. At the time of his death, he 
was President Judge of the Third Judicial Dis- 
trict of Pennsylvania, composed of the counties 
of Northampton and Lehigh ; also Principal of the Union 
Law School, founded by him and located at Easton. He 
graduated with high honors at Jefferson College, Cannons- 
burg, Pennsylvania, in 1S34; and, in the same year, was 
appointed Professor of Mathematics in Lafayette College, 
Easton, Pennsylvania. In 1836, he was appointed Profes- 
sor of Mathematics and Modern Languages at Jefferson 
College, his alma mater. These honorable positions he 
filled creditably for one year, and on the 15th of August, 
1837, resumed his Professorship at Lafayette College, 
which position he resigned, September 30th, 1S43. On the 
iSth of September, 1S44, he was re-appointed to the 
same Professorship, which he again resigned in 1846. In 
March, 1849, he was appointed to the Chair of Mental and 
Moral Philosophy in the same college, a post which he 
filled during several years. Prior to this, on the iSth of 
J.anuary, 1838, he was admitted to the bar of Northampton 
county; and, during 1S46-7-S, was Deputy Attorney-Gene- 
ral for that county, and was elected President Judge of the 
Third Judicial District, as before mentioned, in the fall of 
1S51. lie commenced his Law School in 1846; in 
1S54, it was incorporated by the Legislature, under the 
name of the " Union Law School," and at his decease was 
in full and successful operation. The degree of LL. D. 
was conferred upon him in 1852, by the Marshall College. 



April i8th, 1S39, he was married, at Easton, to Mary E. 
Maxwell, daughier of William Maxwell, of New Jersey. 
In 1S44, he published his celebrated work upon the 
Differential Caleiilus, which at once was adopted as a 
text-book in many of our leading academies and colleges, 
and which elicited high encomiums from our most learned 
mathematical scholars. He published, in 1847, the His- 
tory of the Origin and Progress of the United States, pro- 
nounced the best and most thoughtful work on that subject 
ever issued by the American press, and considered far 
more philosophic in structure, and more satisfactory in its 
nature, to the student than Bancroft's History of the United 
States. He delivered, in Easton, and before the ladies of 
Mrs. Willard's Seminary, in Troy, New York, a course 
of eloquent and able lectures on Europe and the United 
States ; one of them, particularly noteworthy, called, " How 
to read a Book," was highly lauded, and contains a mine 
of information and sound, practical advice. His oration 
before the Literary Societies of Marshall College, in 1852, 
called forth merited encomiums and applause. He left be- 
hind him numerous manuscripts upon mathematics, logic, 
rhetoric, optics, and sundry other interesting subjects; also 
various papers, evincing a rare and varied acquaintance 
with law and legal formalities and informalities. Shortly 
before his decease, he was preparing for publication an ex- 
cellent work upon Evidence, which has been pronounced 
both accurate and exhaustive. From 1851 until his death, 
he held the office of President Judge, and upon all occa- 
sions exhibited scholarly profundity, moderation, and firm- 
ness. As a citizen, he was eminently affable and guileless, 
and may be cited as a type of morality, as a true and 
courteous Christian gentleman. As a linguist, he was in- 
ferior to few of his cotemporaries, and explored widely the 
field of theological literature; in German, P'rench, Hebrew, 
Greek, and Latin, he was an accurate and finished scholar; 
and with all his manifold duties on the Bench, in the Law 
School, and elsewhere, he had commenced and — when 
stricken down — had partially mastered the Russian lan- 
guage. Yet, with all his gifts and attainments, arrogance 
had no part in his nature, while his pupils learned from 
him to deport themselves with gravity, modesty, and deco- 
rum. Without aspiring to leadership in anything, he was 
incessantly devising means whereby his fellow men might 
be benefited ; and, in the hisloiy of the region where he re- 
sided for twenty years, there was scarcely a moral or 
benevolent enterprise with which he was not identified, or 
in which he was not interested. In the lecture room, Bible 
room, college and school room, at the forum and on the 
Bench — everywhere — his good influence was felt and ac- 
knowledged. His remains were interred in the Easton 
Cemetery, and an immense concourse of mourners attended 
at his funeral ceremonies. Since his decease, a marble 
tablet has been inscribed to his memoiy, and placed in the 
wall of the main room of the High School building, where 
it testifies to his good heart and sterling gifts. 



460 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



i 



I 



'HAPMAK, WILLIAM, Founder of the Borough 
of Chapman, on the Lehigh & Lackawanna 
Railroad, near Bath, was born at Mount Bornen- 
shawn, France, June 26th, 1816. His father, 
William Chapman, was a slate quarryman of 
Cornwall, England, who, at the time of Eng- 
land's war with France, became First Lieutenant of an 
English company, and was shot in the lungs. His wife, 
fearing for her husb.md's life, hastened immediately to 
France, and, while nursing him there, William was born. 
On his recovery. Lieutenant Chapman returned to Corn- 
wall, with his wife and child, and here William passed his 
boyhood, and during many years was busily occupied in 
the slate business. His education he acquired entirely 
while attending various night schools, where, after working 
laboriously during the day, he studied with untiring appli- 
cation and delight. In 1842, he emigrated to the United 
States; landing at New York, in company with a number 
of Welsh laborers, he ultimately succeeded in reaching a 
skate quarry in Northampton county, and undertook a con- 
tract in slate working which promised to be remunerative. 
This speculation proving only moder.ately profitable, he 
sought a business opening, and invested his first savings in 
fifty acres of woodland, which he afterward sold to advan- 
tage. Continuing his quarrj'ing, and shrewdly foreseeing 
the future value of bark, he invested more largely in wood- 
l.ind, generally jiaying for the Land by the money realized 
from limber and bark. In 1S63, the extensive quarries 
owned by him, near Bath, were turned into a joint stock 
concern, and he was elected President, which office he 
continues t;j fill, having exclusive control thereof, and own- 
ing the greater portion of the stock. The reputation of the 
slate from this quarry is almost world-wide; and, although 
many veins have been opened in its vicinity, none yet dis- 
covered are equal to its slate in that mineral's most valu- 
able characteristics. The Borough of Chapman, at the 
quarries, was then named in honor of the able man to 
whom it was mainly indebted for its existence. The great- 
est difiiculty which W. Chapman has had to surmount, 
consisted in procuring capable and reliable Laborers; this 
he overcame by sending abro.ad several energetic agents, 
who have sent to this country many hundreds of sturdy and 
efficient workmen. In addition to the Presidency of these 
slate quarries, he is President of the Union Savings Bank 
of E.ast Pennsylvania, a position which he accepted only 
after much pressing and entreaty. Himself a workman, 
his warmest sympathies are with them, and the kindly per- 
sistency th.at has characterized his efforts to ameliorate 
their condition, his liberal system of wages, and his count- 
less gifts to needy but deserving laborers, entitle him to the 
unqualified praise of all philanthropists, and the gratitude 
of every workman. He is emphatically the vvorkingman's 
friend. In religion, he is a zealous member of the Mora- 
vian Church ; in politics, a Democrat. In 1857, he was 
married to Emily F. Cary, of Bethlehem, and by her has 



eight children. To him must be awarded the great merit 
of having demonstrated, beyond all cavil or question, that 
slate is hereafter to be a leading mineral export from 
Northampton ; also, of having thereby converted a barren 
region of country into a rich and populous district, swarm- 
ing with laborers and teeming with increasing industries. 
The good indirectly done by such a man is inestimable. 
Hundreds of honest and industrious laborers from the over- 
stocked mines of Wales and England have found with him 
constant employment and generous wages; and, through 
his efforts to secure trusty and sober workmen, the yet un- 
developed resources of one section of Pennsylvania have 
received a needed impetus, fraught with benefits to all. 
Finally, he is an enthusiastic advocate of the Total Absti- 
nence movement, and, by his re])resentations and persua- 
sions, has greatly furthered the cause of temperance among 
all under his charge, and earned the thanks of mothers 
and of wives who greet him .as their common friend and 
benefactor. 



r.-^' 

('", 



i 



EED, JOHN K., Banker, was born in Elizabeth 
township, Lancaster county, Pa., October 7th, 
1S16. Hisfather, George Reed, was one of the pro- 
l*' ^ minent men of that township, having been Justice 
(30 ^p of the Peace for many years, in the time when 
that appointment was in the hands of the Gover- 
nor of the Commonwealth. His mother was the daughter 
of a well known merchant in the Slate of Virginia, and the 
granddaughter of Baltzer Startzer, one of the chief citizens 
of Lancaster. He received his education in the schools 
of Lancaster, and at eighteen years of age left school and 
went to work in his father's tan-yard, remaining at that 
business until he was twenty, when he was appointed 
Deputy Sheriff of Lancaster coynty. This position he held 
for five years, at the end of which time he resigned it, and 
m.arried. He then opened a countiy store in the village 
of Earlville, Lancaster county, in partnership with his 
brother-in-law, William Carpenter, under the style of Car- 
penter li Reed. The partnership was dissolved by mutual 
consent, after two years, and he purchased what was known 
as the " Earlville property," consisting of the store in 
which he had been doing business, a farm, and a hotel 
building. He retained the hotel himself, and rented the 
farm and store. In 1S46, the hotel was burned, and he 
then sold the property and bought a farm, which he worked 
until the autumn of 1851. In this year he became a candi- 
date, upon the Whig ticket, for Prothonotary of the county, 
and, notwithstanding a very formidable opposition, was 
nominated upon the first ballot and subsequently elected by 
a majority of nearly fiooo. He held this position for 
three years, and, in l8j5 commenced a banking business, 
which he has continued to the present time, extending and 
developing it until he now is recognised .as one of the 
leading bankers of this country. He is eminently a self- 



41 



EIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



461 



made man, having worked his way up to his present posi- 
tion entirely by his own exertions. He has been elected 
and re-elected, during a period of six years, to the office of 
Director of the Poor of the County, and has also htld the 
position of County Commissioner. To this latter office he 
was elected without opposition of any kind from cither 
political party, a fact which shows the high estimation in 
which he is held by all his fellow-citizens. lie is one of 
the Trustees of the " Home for Friendless Children," of 
Lancaster county, and one of the Board of Health of the 
City of Lancaster. During the war he was a strong sup- 
porter of the Government, and had two sons in the Union 
Army, both of whom were wounded at the battle of Chan- 
cellorsville. He was married. May 4th, lS4l,to a daughter 
of Christian Carpenter, ex-Sheriff of Lancaster County. 




/ 



^\LE, JAMES W., D. D., Clergyman, was born 
in Wilmington, Delaware, October l6th, 1812, 
his parents being Richard C. Dale, M. D., 
of Maryland, and Margaret Fitzgerald, of Phila- 
delphia. His family removed from Wilmington 
to Philadelphia while he was yet quite young, and 
in this city he received his education. He graduated with 
distinction from the University of Pennsylvania, and imme- 
diately aftenvards entered the office of J. R. Ingersoll to 
study law. Among his fellow-students in the same office 
were several who have attained eminence in the legal pro- 
fession — Judge Thompson, Charles Gilpin, Charles E. Lex, 
and others. While prosecuting this course of study, he be- 
came concerned on the subject of religion, and united him- 
self with the Arch Street Presbyterian Church. His im- 
pressions on this subject gradually deepened and caused 
him to entirely change his course in life. He felt called 
upon to preach the Gospel, and, with this view, abandoned 
his legal studies, and entered upon a theological course at 
Andover Theological Seminary, Massachusetts, which col- 
lege afforded peculiar facilities for the study of Greek and 
Hebrew, in which he attained great proficiency. He also 
studied for some time at Princeton Theological Seminary. 
Having completed his curriculum, he desired to become a 
missionary to the heathen, and offered his services to the 
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 
From them he received a commission for Rajpootana, in 
I lindostan, but the accomplishment of the plan was prevented 
by pecuniary difficulties, and in the meanwhile he com- 
menced the study of medicine as a further preparation for 
his intended missionary work, in due time receiving his 
degree of M. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. The 
Board of Foreign Missions being still unable to send him 
abroad, he obtained an appointment from the P.ible Society 
of Philadelphia to superintend the Bible distribution through- 
out the State of Pennsylvania. He continued thus engaged 
for about seven years, and at the end of that time, finding 



his plan for employment in Foreign Missions still impracti- 
cable, he finally relinquished it, and accepted an invitation 
to tl\e pastorate from Ridley and Middletown Presbyterian 
Churches, in Delaware county, which two churches were 
united in one pastoral charge. He cnlered upon this work, 
June 2lst, 1S45, and labored zealously in it during more 
than twenty-five years. The duties of the pulpit in this 
charge were very heavy ; not only did he preach three times 
every Sunday regularly in his own church, but beyond the 
limits of the church building he was to be found preaching 
everywhei'e. He founded the First Church of Chester, and 
also the church at Media, both of which he fostered and 
greatly assisted to maintain — using all his efforts both as 
preacher and financier in their behalf, and more than once 
he has mortgaged his own property to secure the payment 
of the church indebtedness. He is an uncompromising ad- 
vocate of the temperance cause, and his untiring eloquence 
has been mainly instrumental in the securing for the town 
of Media a law prohibiting the sale of liquors. Besides the 
publication of a great number of sermons — which have had 
an extensive circulation and a deserved popularity — ^he has 
also written several volumes on Baptism, which have been 
received with very high commendation by the best classi- 
cal and biblical scholars of the day. The work comprises 
three volumes, divided into, " Classic Baptism;" "Judaic 
Baptism ; " and " Johannic Baptism ; '' which it is intended 
to supplement by a fourth volume, to be called " Christian 
Baptism." Shortly after the publication of the first of these 
volumes, the degree of D. D. was conferred on him by 
Hampden Sidney College of Virginia, and also by his own 
alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. On June 
19th, 1871, he received a call to undertake the pastorate of 
the Wayne Presbyterian Church, at Wayne Hall, Delaware 
county, which pulpit he now fills. He was married, on 
May 14th, 1S44, to Maiy G., daughter of Andrew Gray of 
Newcastle county, Delaware. 



ARLINGTON, WILLIAM, Lawyer, was born in 
Thornbury township, near W'estchester, Chester 
county, Pennsylvania, on October 19th, 1804. 
His parents were Abraham Darlington and Su- 
sanna (Chandler) Darlington, both of whom were 
of English extraction ; his grandfather, who was 
also named Abraham Darlington, emigrated to America 
from Cheshire, England, about 17 10. He is the youngest 
of twelve children, and passed his early years on his father's 
farm. His elementary education was received at a day- 
school in the neighborhood, after which he attended for 
several years a private classical academy, where he per- 
fected himself in Latin, French, and mathematics. Upon 
leaving school, when about eighteen years of age, he com- 
menced the study of the law with his eldest brother, Isaac, 
who afterwards became the distinguished jurist. Judge 




462 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



Darlington, whose scholarship and legal ability gained him 
a national reputatii.n, and who at this time resided in West- 
chester. Here William Darlington studied law, and, after 
p.issing a creditable examination, was admitted to the bar, 
February 1st, 1826, since whicli time he has been constantly 
engaged in the active pursuit of his profession in West- 
chester. In the autumn of 1S36, he was elected to the 
Constitutional (then called Reform) Convention, which met 
in the State Capital, on May 2d, 1S37, and closed its session 
at the Musical Fund Hall, in Philadelphia, on February 
22d, 183S, under the administr.alion of Governor Rimer. 
From the autumn of 1836 to that of 1839, he held the ap- 
pointment of Deputy Attorney-General of Chester County, 
with which exception (and that of Chief Burgess of West- 
chester) he has declined all political office. In October, 
1872, he was elected a delegate to the second Constitutional 
Convention of Pennsylvania, and in his place in th,at body 
has illustrated the principles of his life; he stoutly advo- 
cated therein the claim of women to the ballot. He has 
been for many years a Director of the Nitional Bank 
of Chester County, the Westchester Gas Company, and 
some insurance companies. He has also been attorney for 
some of the leading railroad companies. In the e.irly part 
of his life the political parties of the country were divided 
into Federalists and Democrats, and his family connections 
and associations being with the former, he naturally .adhered 
to that side. On the rise of the Republican party he be- 
came a firm supporter of its principles. He also took part 
strongly with the Anti-Masonic party, which came into 
existence in the earlier part of the century, being greatly 
opposed to all secret societies. He was married, in March, 
1829, to Catharine S., daughter of Charles Paxson, formerly 
of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, a member of a family long 
and favorably known in the State. 



KEEN, HON. HENRY, Lawyer, was born August 
2glh, 1828, in \Varren county, New Jersey. His 
father, Enoch Green, was a native of Easton, 
Pennsylvania, of which town his grandfather was 
one of the original settlers, having located there 
about the year 1770, at which time he married 
Mary Beidleman of that place. After a preparatory course 
of study at the school of John Vandeveer (who still resides 
in Easton), he entered Lafayette College in the fall of 1S42, 
and graduated with honor from that institution, in 1S46. 
The succeeding three years he devoted to the study of law 
in the office and under the tuition of the Hon. Washington 
McCartney, late Judge of that Judicial District. In Sep- 
tember, 1849, he was admitted to the bar in Easton, and 
has since continued without intermission to practise in the 
courts of Northampton and adjoining counties. His atten- 
tion to business as well as his reputation soon brought him 
a large and lucrative practice in the Supreme Court of the 
State, as well as in the Courts of Common Pleas. He is 



now one of the leading lawyers of "Northampton ; the man- 
tle of Judge Porter, A. H. Reeder, Alexander Brown, 
Judge McCartney and their contemporaries, being now grace- 
fully worn by him and his professional a-ssociales. For 
many years Easton has boasted of an able bar, and with 
him as one of its leading members the same well-earned 
reputation still clings to the pkace. In one aspect he is an 
active politician, and in another he is not. He has always 
been a working, efficient Republican, and is a most influen- 
tial member of that party in h.s section. He was one of 
the originators of the Republican party — yet he has alw.ays 
refused nomination for office. He was a member of the 
National Republican Convention which nominated John 
C. Fremont for President, in 1856, and was also a member 
of the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania, in 1872 ; 
in this body he occupied a prominent position and exerted 
a marked influence. Being strictly a lawyer, with little 
sympathy for politics, except as a matter of principle, he 
h.as devoted most of his life to the business of his profession. 
He is counsel for many large corporations, the Lehigh Yal- 
ley Railroad, Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, North 
Pennsylvania Railroad, and other considerable corporate 
bodies. These important interests almost exclusively oc- 
cupy his time in the direct pursuit of his professional du- 
ties. He was married in 1S53, and is as domestic in his 
habits .as he is conscientious in the discharge of his business 
engagements. Yet in the prime of life, a sound lawyer, 
industrious and careful, he cannot fail to continue to oc- 
cupy a prominent position among the jurists of Pennsylvania. 





y 



ATSON, JOHN FANNING, Antiquarian and 
Author, was born July 13th, 1779, in Burlington 
county. New Jersey. Among his ancestors were 
some of the earliest settlers of our country, of 
whom honorable mention is made by Onderdonk, 
Lossing, Wheeler and Lee. All were devoted 
patriots, with the exception of one, a distinguished Toiy 
(General Edmund Fanning), a graduate of Yale, in 1757, 
of whom the Gentleman's Magazine, for 1818, says, " the 
world contained no better man." The late Hon. John 
Wickham, of Richmond, Virginia, was a nephew of the 
former. After completing the usual course of education to 
qualify himself for mercantile pursuits, John Fannmg Wat 
son entered the counting-house of James Vanuxem, an 
eminent merchant of Philadelphia, with whom he remained 
but a short time, having offended the French interests of 
that firm by becoming a member of the Macpherson Blues, 
of which body he was one of the last six survivors at the 
time of his decease. He was now nineteen years of age. 
A clerkship in the War Department at W'ashington was 
ofiered him, which he accepted, and held until 1804, when 
he engaged himself in business with General James O'Hara, 
formerly Quartermaster-General to General Wayne's In- 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



463 



(liaii Army, and chief fountLr of thi; city of Pittsburgh. 
During this connection lie resided at New Orleans, holding 
the responsible position of Commissary of Provisions for 
the United States Army at all tlie posts hi Louisiana. At 
this period there was no Protestant worship in that city, and 
to remedy this, together with Edward Livingston, he be- 
came the prime mover in establishing the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church by giving a call to the Rev. Mr. Chase, since 
the venerable Bishop of Ohio and Illinois. Sudden do- 
mestic afniction caused his return to Philadelphia to the 
support of his widowed mother, and to this event the pub- 
lic are probably indebted for his invaluable services as a 
local historian of the olden time. As such his works will 
ever be enduring monuinents of his wonderful assiduity and 
laborious research. lie now became engaged in the publi- 
cation and sale of various works, among which were Dr. 
Adam Clark's Commentary on Ihe Old and A^cw Testament, 
the Select Revie-tus of Literature, etc., contributing frequently 
to the columns of various literary, scientific, liistorical, and 
ecclesiastical serials. Besides historical works, he has left 
some unpublished manuscript volumes on theology, showing 
great originality of thought and deep and varied research. 
He also devoted some pages to the vindication of Cromwell, 
in connection with some foreign correspondence. A letter 
of his to Dr. Ad.ira Clark on this subject, written in 1S21, 
was recently advertised for sale in London. To his mar- 
riage with a lineal descendant of the Lord Protector may 
he attributed some of the interest he evinced on this subject. 
For some thirty years of his later life he held the position 
of Cashier of the Bank of Germantown, Pennsylvania. It 
was when in freedom from the cares of this office, and 
often by the midnight lamp, that the Annals of Philadelphia 
and N'ew York were begun and completed. Of which he 
says, " My writings have their peculiarities and imperfec- 
tions, but they were written amid the pressure of daily offi- 
cial duties, and were published without revision." A note- 
worthy characteristic of the man was his reverence for the 
graves of great and good men, who had been useful in their 
generation, as illustrated in the removal of the remains 
of Thomas Godfrey, the inventor of the quadrant, and 
family from a neglected spot on his old farm to Laurel Hill, 
where a suitable monument was erected by subscription to 
his memory. Colonel Wheeler, in his History of North 
Carolina, says, " I cannot close without again expressing 
my admiration of the conduct of Mr. Watson, a stranger to 
our State and our peopje, gathering with patriotic reverence 
the bones of her gallant sons, and marking the hallowed 
spot that holds their mutilated remains. This Congress ne- 
glected to do, but private patriotism has been more faith- 
ful." These remarks were made in relation to the graves 
of General Nash, Colonel Irwin ami Captain Turner, killed 
in the battle of Germantown. A valuable collection of 
autograph letters and relics of the olden time made his house 
the frequent resort of kindred spirits. One of the brother- 
hood, Mr. Lossing, the historian, thus expressed himself 



before the Historical Society of New York: " Mr. Watson 
was one of those useful men who work lovingly for the 
good of the world. He was an enthusiastic delver in the 
mines where antiquarian treasures are to be found; but he 
never hoarded his earnings with a miser's meanness. 
Every gem which he gathered from the dark recesses, was 
laid in all its attractiveness upon his open palm in the 
bright sunlight, a free gift to the first applicant who would 
promise to wear it generously, where its beauty might 
gratify the world. Yet he was not a blind enthusiast 
ready to w-orship a torso because it is a torso, but an in- 
telligent co-worker in gathering into permanent receptacles, 
such perfections and fragments of the past as might be 
valuable in the future." In social life, and in the domestic 
circle, he was kind, genial, considerate, generous, and 
simple. His career was by no means unmarked by trials 
and adversity, but of firm faith he bore them manfully, and 
died peacefully, at his residence in Germantown, December 
23d, 1S60, in the eighty-second year of his age. 




/ 



AMILTON, JAMES, Marine and Landscape 
Painter, was born near Belfast, Ireland, October 
isl, 1S19. His father, David Hamilton, and 
mother, Isabella (Winter) Hamilton, with James, 
then a lad of thirteen years, came to America, 
in 1832, and settled in the city of Philadelphia. 
Soon after their arrival, William Erwin, a worthy English 
gentleman, became interested in James' welfare, received 
him into his family, assumed the charge of his education, 
and placed him in Mr. Luddington's school in Pine street 
above Second street, where his diligence and rapid progress 
in his studies fully justified the anticipations of his gener- 
ous patron. His fondness for delineative art led to his 
being placed in a Drawing school, not with any view to 
the ultimate pursuit of art as a profession, but to give 
proper direction to a taste and aptitude so marked as to 
invite culture and careful supervision. His is the old story 
— the oft-repeated experience of the enthuiastic student 
of art; an ardent devotee at her shrine, he could bring to 
other employments only constrained application and en- 
forced service. Placed by Mr. Erwin in a counting house, 
his attention was reluctantly concentrated upon day-books 
and ledgers, while his mind and symjiathies were else- 
where. He remained in the family of his friend some 
years, when the bent of his inclination and his tastes defied 
further restraint. Various sketches in water colors made 
at this period attracted the attention of Thomas Birch, the 
marine artist; John Nagle, the portrait painter; John Sar- 
tain, the engraver; and Joshua Shaw, the landscape painter, 
who gave to him the encouragement of their approval, and 
assisted him in the sale of several of his first efforts. 
Enamoured of his art, its pursuit was his delight; study, 
toil, and practice were his pleasures. Whilst engaged in 



464 



BIOCRAI'IIICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



perfecting himself in ils principles and details, he found 
pleasure in imparting instruction to othere less gifted than 
himself, and was for a time occupied in leaching drawing 
and painting. Of an active and ardent tcmper.-mient, an 
indefatigable worker, and a rigi<l economist of time, he 
found leisure for the study of the best writers and works 
on art. At intervals, he practised drawing on stone, upon 
the l)lock for wood engraving, and also made designs illus- 
trative of poems, annals, and of remarkable scenes and 
events in history, ficiion, and travel. About the year 1S50, 
he established liimself as a painter in water colors, when 
a number of his sketches were purchased by the Artists' 
and Amateui-s' .'\ssociation, of Philadelphia. But the 
public taste assigning to oil painting the preference, to 
this branch his attention was thereafter principally directed. 
With an unerring eye and hand, and a facility acquired by 
long and judicious practice, he grasps at once the charac- 
teristic and distinguishing features of the subject for de- 
lineation, and with a few bbld lines transfers them to his 
canvas. Fortified by disciplined habits of observation, he 
'has visited all accessilile points of interest, and made num- 
erous sketc' es in the vicinity of Philadelphia, along the 
Delaware Bay, and on the sea coast. Penetrating into the 
valleys, the glens, and the mountains of Pennsylvania, he 
has toiled gladly, at dawn and at dark ; in sunshine and in 
storm; in spring, summer, autumn, and winter — often 
beset by difficulties har.assing and dispiriting. In 1S54, 
he visited England, and sketched many of its coast scenes, 
with those also of Wales ; while along the Thames, in the 
vicinity of London,, he gleaned many charming studies. 
Early in life he was married to Elizabeth Deamer. She 
died, in August, 1871, leaving a son and two daughters, 
lie has devoted much attention to marine subjects, and in 
this department has evinced rare talent and true poetic 
sentiment. During his last trip to the United States, 
Charles Dickens visited an .art gallery in Philadelphia, and 
his attention was arrested by a picture of Mr. Hamilton's 
on the subject suggested by the words of little Paul, in 
Dombfy and Son, " What are the Wild Waves Saying ? " 
He expressed a desire to meet the artist, and an interview 
having been effected through the agency of Grace Green- 
wood, the novelist wished to purchase the study of the 
picture. It was immediately presented to him. In return, 
Dickens presented the painter with a favorite edition of 
his complete works. This picture, during the novelist's 
life, was assigned a conspicuous position in the author's 
study ; and at the sale of his effects, it brought — although 
a mere sketch in colors — over three hundred dollars. 
Hamilton is not less successful in his treatment of land- 
scapes than in his representations of sea and coast views. 
His illustrations of the "Arctic Explorations," pulilished 
in 1856, attracted general admiration at home and abroad, 
and were highly praised liy competent critics. His paint- 
in" of the " Old Ironsides," is a spirited translation to 
canvas of Dr. Holmes' well-known lines. " The Capture 




of the Serapis," — a brilliant incident in the career of John 
Paul Jones — is delineated with great effect and power. 
Among the best known and most admired of his pictures, 
are, "Solitude," "An Egyptian Sunset," "The Haunts 
of the Sea-fowl," "Wrecked Hopes," "The Finding of 
Perdita," " Moonlight Scene near Venice," " On such a 
Night as This," " Portia's House at Belmont," and several 
subjects from the Tempest, " The Sceptre of Egypt shall 
Dei)art," " The Equinoctial on Brigantine Shoals," and 
" Boston Harbor." 

V "^"^ 

^>E SCHWEINITZ, EDMUND, Bishop of the 
Moravian Church, was born at Bethlehem, Penn- 
sylvania, March 20th, 1S25. He is the third son 
of Louis David Von Schweinitz, who was the 
first Superintendent of the secular affairs of the 
Moravians, after the dissolution of the " Econ- 
omy ; " and the great great-grandson of Lewis, the Count 
Zinzendorf, who was the Restorer of the Moravian Church, 
in Saxony, and founder of the sect in America. His two 
surviving brothers are also prominently connected with this 
church ; one, Emil A., being Fiscal Agent of the Moravians, 
at Salem, North Carolina, and the other, Robert, being 
President of the Provincial Elders' Conference of the Mor- 
avian Church, at Bethlehem. The family are also related to 
General Alexander Von Schweinitz, Prussian Minister at 
Vienna. lie received his education firstly at Nazareth 
Hall, the Moravian Seminary at Bethlehem, and afterwarils 
at the University of Berlin, in Prussia. He returned from 
Europe, in 1S46, and became teacher in Nazareth Hall 
Seminary, in which, position he remained until 1850, when 
he entered the ministry, and was first stationed at Lebanon, 
Pennsylvania, after which he was successively at l.itiz, 
Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and, 
in 1864, at Bethlehem. His several congregations have 
held him in the highest estimation, both for his fervid elo- 
quence, for which he has been distinguished from the com- 
mencement of his pastorate, and which is unusual in that 
denomination, and also for his great amiability of charac- 
ter. Besides his other labors, his church thought fit to 
entrust to him the establishment of its paper, called the 
Moravian, which is the leading and accredited organ of 
the society, of which he was editor for ten years. In 1867, 
he was appointed President of the Moravian Theological 
Seminary, which office he still holds. In 1870, he became 
Bishop, by the selection of the Unity's Elders' Conference, 
in Heronhnt, and is now one of the only four Bishops of 
the Moravian Church in America. In addition to many 
sermons and articles in cyclopaedias, both religious and 
secular, he has written numerous works, chiefly ecclesias- 
tical in their character. In 1858, he published, by author- 
ity of the church, The Moravian Manual, of which a 
second edition was issued in 1869. In 1870, appeared. 
The Life and limes oj David Zeisberger, published by 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



465 



Lippincolt & Co., of Philadelphia. This work established 
his reputation as an exact historian, and is exhaustive in 
its treatment of a difficult subject. He also is writing all 
the Moravian articles in the German Conversations Lexi- 
con. In 1871, the degree of S. T. D. was conferred upon 
him by Columbia CoUege, New York — a deserved tribute 
to his thorough and liberal culture. He has been married 
twice; in 1S50, to Lydia De Zschirschky, and again, in 
l858, to Isabel Boggs, of Green Castle, Pennsylvania. 




/ 



of Dr. 
Adams. 



ICKEY, HON. OLIVER J., Lawyer, was born in 
Beaver Falls, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, April 
6th, 1823. His father, John Dickey, was a 
prominent politician, and member of the State 
.Senate during several ses^iions, and Congressman 
during two terms ; his mother was a daughter 
Samuel Adams, of the family of Massachusetts 
On his father's side, he is of Scotch-Irish, and on 
his mother's of English descent. He was educated at the 
Beaver Academy until his fifteenth year, when he entered 
Dickinson College, where he remained three years, leaving 
at the end of his junior year. He then commenced the 
study of the law, in the office of James Allison, in Beaver 
Falls. In 1846, he was admitted to the bar, and removed 
to Lancaster, where he entered the office of the Hon. 
Thaddeus Stevens, remaining with him for thirteen years, 
during the last eight of which he was his partner; he was 
also one of his executors. In 1856, he was elected 
District Attorney for Lancaster county, and, in 1S68, was 
returned to Congress, to fill the vacancy caused by the 
death of his friend and partner, of whom, in his first speech 
in Congress, he thus spoke: "This distinguished statesman 
w'as not merely my predecessor in this body, but was the 
instructor and guide of my youth, and the friend of my 
maturer years. If an intimacy with wise and noble men 
be one of the greatest blessings that can crown a man, then 
in no part of my career have I been so fortunate as in my 
association with Thaddeus Stevens. It was in his office, 
and in connection with him, that I commenced my profes- 
sional life, and from that moment down to the moment 
when, in his will, he selected me to perform the last service 
one man can ask from his fellow, through the turmoil of 
many legal and political contests, our friendship suffered 
neither diminution nor interruption." He was also elected 
for the succeeding tei-m, and, in 1870, w.as re elected by a 
large majority to the Forty-first Congress, during which he 
was a member of the Committee on Appropriations. So 
greatly satisfied were his constituents with his service in 
Congress that he was strongly urged by them to consent to 
again allow himself to be elected. This honor he declined, 
considering that the duties of his profession claimed his at- 
tention. In Congress, he seldom occui>ied the time of the 
House with formal speeches, but made brief a -.d incisive 
59 




remarks, sometimes turning the discussion by m.iking a 
suggestive inquii-y of a speaker upon the floor. During the 
late war, he was in the service as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
loth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, serving until 
the expiration of the time for which the regiment enlisted. 
He again served twice subsequently, each time as Colonel 
of regiments in the Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia. He 
was one of the original builders and owners of the Fulton 
Cotton M ill, and retained an interest in it for five yeai-s. 
He is also Solicitor for the Inland Insurance Deposit Com- 
pany of Lancaster county. He was married, in 1857, to a 
daughter of Christian Spenk, a well-known citizen of Lan- 
caster county. He has been engaged upon a great number 
of the causes celibrcs of Lancaster county during the last 
twenty years, and has always been an active politician, 
having been a member of fifteen State and two National 
conventions ; one of them being that which met at Chicago 
and nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency. He 
is attached to the Republican party. 



Sy^REENOUGII, EBENEZER, Lawyer, was born in 
Canterbury, New Hampshire. At the beginning 
of the present century, from iSooto 1825, there 
was a very noticeable accession to central Penn- 
sylvania of many persons of the cultured and 
higher classes of New England, and among them 
was Ebenezer Greenough, then in his twenty-second year, 
and a graduate of Harvard College. The force and self- 
reliance of his character were indicated in some of the cir- 
cumstances attending his journey. It was performed in 
the saddle, and he declined accepting from his parents a 
larger sum than that which would suffice for his travelling 
expenses, preferring to depend in the future upon his own 
exertions. lie was furnished with several letters of intro- 
duction from persons of position and influence. In one, 
written by Abiel Foster, these words occur : " He is a young 
gentlemen of a respectable family in this town. His moral 
character is fair and unimpeachable, his disposition modest 
and amiable." Referring to the memoranda of his early 
life, it appears that his father was a merchant, and was born 
at Haverhill, Massachusetts, December nth, 1783. His 
mother was the daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Flagg, of New 
Hampshire, and the family consisted of eight children — 
four sons and a like number of daughters. Consonant with 
the laudable desire of the mother, each son received a 
careful collegiate education, and each in due course ac- 
quired considerable wealth and influence. Except when 
in the academy, or college, the youth of Ebenezer was 
passed with his parents. During the vacation period, he 
taught school, and applied his earnings to the expense of 
his own training. At Wilkcsbarre, he was tendered the 
Principalship of the Academy, which he accepted, continu- 
ing to act in this capacity for three years, and discharging 



466 



lilOGRAPHICAI. F.NCYCLOP^EDIA. 



ils duties with ability and success. While in this town he 
entered upon the study of the Inw, in the office of ri!)enezer 
Bowman; and, upon removing to Sunbury, in 1S07, he 
finished his legal course under the tuition of Charles Hall 
of that place. January 19th, 1S08, he was admitted to the 
Sunbury bar, and immediately took high rank in his pro- 
fession. In iSii, he moved lo Danville, but, in 1815, 
returned to Sunbury, where he thereafter resided perma- 
nently, lie was a Federalist, in a fervidly Democratic 
county and .State, and although averse to holding oflice, 
was elected to the Assembly in 1829. Mis shrewd and 
superior intelli ;ence was in constant requisition during the 
term of his legisLitive service; also in various other rela- 
tions regarding the drafting of important bills, and the 
support of certain provisions calculated to meet the special 
demands and exigencies of the time. The beneficial influ- 
ence which he thus was enabled to exercise unostentatiously 
upon the material interests of the State, when in an incipi- 
ent stage of its development, can not be too highly praised 
or ajipreciated. As a lawyer, he was one of the most suc- 
cessful and distinguished in the State, and his record is free 
from stain or blemish. With unusual powers, enriched 
and strengthened by a familiar actpiaintance with men and 
literature; with a thorough knowledge of the details, 
subtleties, and complications of the law, he possessed a 
judgment at once clear and impartial, gre.at calmness under 
the most perplexing circumstances, keen shrcu'dness, and 
penetrative mental perceptions that seldom erred. In the 
latter years of his life, his health became much impaired ; 
but the immediate cause of his death was an accident that 
happened while in his carriage, from which lie was thrown 
with much violence. This event occurred in the spring of 
1S47, and, wherever he was known, occasioned great sor- 
row and regret. His family consisted of seven children, 
one of whom, an only son, is now a counsel of high repute 
at Sunbury 



^El.ST, J. M. W., B. D., Journalist, was born in 
Bart township, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, 
December 14th, 1824. On the paternal side he 
is of German, and on the matern.al Scotch de- 
scent. His parents being in humble circum- 
stances, he was unable to acquire that education 
which he had desired. But, afflicted by delicate health, 
and evincing an unusual aptitude for study, he was fortu- 
nately accorded a longer period for self-advancement than 
fell to the share of his more robust brothers and sisters. 
When quite young, his father lost his eyesight, and there- 
after became noted for the mechanical ingenuity which he 
displayed in fashioning many articles requiring the use of 
delicate tools ; he was also noted as a superior violinist, 
and possessed a quick and unerring ear for melody and 
harmony. He beg.m life as a school teacher, when but 
sixteen years of age, and followed that calling successfully 



during two years ; meanwhile, following the advice of in- 
terested friends, he devoted much attention to the study of 
medicine. At the expiration of two years, he moved to 
Philadelphia, in order to enter upon a course of medic'al 
studies; but, finding that his tastes and feelings were 
wholly opposed to medicine as a profession, he abandoned 
its pursuit, and secured a situation in a printing house, 
purposing to learn the trade, which he had admired from 
earliest boyhood. In this establishment he remained for 
two years, working industriously, and neglecting nothing 
which he thought might advance or benefit him. Several 
years previous to this, and while a mere lad, he had con- 
Iriljuted occasionally short articles to different newspapers 
and journals, and these juvenile efforts had attracted gene- 
ral attention, and elicited many favorable commendations. 
July 4th, 1S44, lie returned to Lancaster, and edited the 
American Reformer, but not possessing a sufficient amount 
of capital to cany on successfully an enterprise so costly, 
he was obliged to abandon it with reluctance and regret. 
In 1846, he went to Harrislnng, and edited with marked 
.ability a campaign paper called the Yeoman. At the close 
of this campaign, he settled in Philadelphia, and became 
Assistant Editor for the Quaker City yotirna! — a literary 
publication — until its suspension, when he was appointed 
Editor of the Stimlay Globe, and subsequently became one 
of the publishers of the Sunday Mercury. While Editor 
of the Sun Jay G/o/ie, such was the ability he dis]>Iaycd that, 
in a short time, the circulation of this journal advanced 
from about one thcjusand copies per week to nearly twenty 
thousand. In February, 1852, he returned to L.ancaster, 
.and was employed by John II. Pearsol to edit the U'eeit/y 
Express, a position which he filled with his accustomed 
ability until 1S56, when he entered into partnership with 
his employer, and established the Daily Express, in con- 
nection with the weekly. Since that period, this journal 
has been one of the most successful and popular pajiers in 
the interior of the State. John II. Pearsol is the indefati- 
gable business n.anager, while his partner attends strictly 
to the editorial department, which he is so eminently quali- 
fied to fill. Although in principle a Republican, he is 
laudably independent, and no false paity feeling can re- 
strain his pen when truth demands the exposure of corrupt 
politics or politicians. It is through this loyal course, ever 
maintained, that the journal has ripened into such a power- 
ful moulder of opinion, and political guide and adviser. 
He is Vice-President of the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation, and energetic Chairman of the Libraiy Committee; 
and it is to his ingenuity in devising means that the exist- 
ence of this flourishing library must be credited. He is a 
member of St. John's Free Episcopal Church, and has been 
a vestryman for upward of eighteen years. He is interested 
greatly in its Sunday-school libraiy, and is the inventor and 
patentee of" Geist's Patent Index System for Sabbath School 
Libraries," the most complete, yet simplest index in ex- 
istence, requiring but a few moments' time to "keep" the 



1 i 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



467 




books of a large library, yet, with an ordinary amount of 
care, perfectly and absolutely correct. This index has 
received many high encomiums from pastors and Sunday- 
school officers in every instance where it has been used. 
In the fall of 1849, he was married to Elizaljeth Markley, 
daughter of Dr. George B. Markley, a well-known and 
highly respected citizen of Lancaster. 



/ 

l^rl TRAWBRIDGE, HON. JAMES D., M. D., Physi- 
cian and Congressman, was born in Liberty town- 
ship, Montour county, Pennsylvania, in 1S24, and 
was the son of James Strawbridge, and Mary 
(Dale) Strawbridge ; his father being a faiTner in 
comfortable, if not opulent, circumstances. When 
nine years of age, James was sent to Danville, where the 
educational facilities proffered were superior to those in his 
birthplace ; and here, at the expiration of four years, occu- 
pied in attending school and farming, he was placed under 
the tuition of Mr. Conklin, of Danville, to be fitted for a 
collegiate examination. With an early fondness for books 
and study, he manifested a strong inclination toward 
mechanical pursuits. In 1841, he entered the Sophomore 
class of Princeton College, and graduated in the class of 
1S44. Professor Henry, now of the Smithsonian Institute, 
was, during his slay, the head of the scientific department, 
and was cordially liked ami esteemed by all his pupils. He 
studied for his profession under Dr. McGill, of Danville, 
and subsequently, under Dr. William Pepper, of Philadel- 
phia, both physicians of large practice and high repute. 
The degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred upon him 
by the University of Pennsylvania, and immediately after 
this, in 1S47, he began to practise at Danville, where he 
soon occupied the foremost rank in his vocation. At the 
breaking out of the Rebellion, he received from President 
Lincoln, the appointment of Brigade-Surgeon, afterward 
serving as Medical Director in the army of Occupation, at 
West Virginia, and in the Southwest and Mississippi. He 
also served sometime as Medical Examiner in tlie office of 
the Provost-Marshal at Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and 
as Medical Director of the Eighteenth Army Corps. Cap- 
tured in front of Richmond, he was during three months a 
suffering inmate of Libby Prison ; after his release, he was 
assigned to the Board of Medical Examiners in Philadelphia, 
and in that capacity continued to serve actively until the 
close of the war. In 1868, he resumed the practice of 
medicine at Danville, where he was warmly welcomed by 
his old associates. He was nominated for the Legislature 
in i860, but failed to secure an election. In the fall of 
1872, he was elected to represent in Congress the Thirteenth 
Pennsylvania District. He was married, July 1st, 1S51, to 
Emily Agnew, of Philadelphia; and again to Ellen Butler, 
of Wilkesbarre, October loth, 1872. At one time he w.as 
attached to the Staff of General Rosecrans ; and in 



August, 1862, was sent by General Ilalleck lo organize 
sundry hospitals in Jackson, Tennessee; there he remained 
until ordered by General Grant to Columbus, Kentucky, to 
superintend the arrangements for building hospital boats for 
use at Vicksburg. Owing to failing health, he was ordered 
to Annapolis, where he underwent a course 6f medical 
treatment. His application to be assigned to active field 
duty was entirely ignored, and he applied for a discharge 
from the service. He was then ordered to report to the 
Assistant Provost-Marshal of Philadelphia, where he re- 
mained for two months. On February 1st, 1867, he was 
assigned to duty at Harrisburg, there superintending the 
examination of recruits. Having recovered his health, 
in May, 1864, he was assigned to General Butler's command 
in the Eighteenth Army Corps at Cold Harbor, where he 
assisted as Operating Surgeon in the hospital ; finally, when 
the advance on Petersburg was ordered, he was appointed 
Medical Director of this corps, and worked laboriously and 
heroically to soothe the sufferings of those stricken by disease 
and wounds. During a short period, he remained in Phila- 
delphia as a valuable witness in certain prominent cases of 
bounty frauds; and in consequence, was temporarily as- 
signed to duty in the Department of Pennsylvania, where 
he remained as senior officer until the close of the war. 
Throughout the course of his eventful life, he has evinced 
many admirable qualities as a man, a soldier, and a 
surgeon ; and wherever known, he is esteemed and respected 
as a brave, learned, and courteous gentleman 

D.. / ~^^ 

ATMOUGH, JAMES HORATIO, Pay Director 
of the United States Navy, with the rank of Cap- 
tain, Acting Paymaster-General of the United 
States Navy, was born in Montgomery county, 
Pennsylvania, in July, 1S22. His family has long 
been identified with the history of the army and 
navy. His father was John G. Watniough, an officer of 
artillery during the war of 1812, and who subsequently 
represented his district in Congress. A brother, Pendleton 
S. Watmough, now United States Collector of Customs, at 
Cleveland, Ohio, was for many years an officer in the navy. 
Still another relative, his cousin, William N. Watmough, 
has long served as an efficient naval officer. Hon. John G. 
Watmough was the grandson of a captain in the British 
army, who died prior to the Revolutionary War, and who 
was connected with the Hope family of England, whose 
business in Amsterdam, Holland, was managed by the 
grandfather of James Horatio. James attended college at 
Andover, New Hampshire, at Westchester, Pennsylvania, 
and finally completed his education by a two years' course 
of study in the University of Pennsylvania. After leaving 
college, he studied medicine for two yeai-s under the instruc- 
tions of the celebrated Dr. Franklin Bache of Philadelphia. 
In 1843, he was appointed Acting Midshipman in the 




f 



468 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOI'/EDIA. 



United States Navy, and served as such for one year. 
December 12th, 1844, he was commissioned a Purser in the 
navy, and was ordered to join the sloop-of-war " Ports- 
mouth," attached to the Pacific Squadron, where he served 
until the close of 1848. At the outbreak of the Mexican 
war, his vessel was ordered off the west coast of Mexico 
and California, when the naval forces received orders to 
take possession of California, and hold it until the arrival 
of fresh troops. On this occasion, he landed and organized 
a company of volunteers as mounted riflemen. Taking 
post at Santa Clara, he held that point for nearly eight 
monlhs, although surrounded by hostile Indians and the 
dreaded half-breed Mexicans. When possession was first 
taken of California, in July, 1846, it was the officers of his 
ship, with those of the frigate " Congress," who landed at 
the town of San Francisco, and — hoistinj the American 
flag in the principal square — formally declared it a posses- 
sion of the United States. Rejoining his vessel after the 
arrival of reinforcements, he was engaged in the bombard- 
ment and reduction of Guaymas. For his valiant services 
upon this occasion, he was honorably mentioned in the 
Congressional Reports of 1846. In 1849, he was ordered 
to the* brig " Peny," then cruising along the coast of Africa ; 
returning to the United States in 1851, he remained here 
for eight months, then joined the frigate " Constitution," a 
cruiser on the same malarious coast, continuing with it until 
1S55. During his service on this coast, he participated in 
the capture of four slavers, and in a native war with the 
savages living south of Leape Palwas, occasioned by their 
maltreatment of certain missionaries. From 1S55 to 1857, 
he enjoyed comparative rest and tranquillity, until he was 
ordered to the United States steamer " Michigan," the 
solitary armed vessel which, by our treaty with England, is 
permitted to sail on the Western lakes. Det.ached from 
this vessel in 1858, he was, in 1859, ordered to the sloop- 
of-war " Saratoga," then stationed in the Gulf of Mexico. 
Here he served actively during two years, and participated 
in the capture of two armed Spanish steamers that were 
endeavoring to reach Vera Cruz in order to replenish the 
military stores of the .Spanish commander Miramon, the 
.assailant of the Republican army of Mexico. These vessels 
were sent as prizes to New Orleans, where, upon the out- 
break of the Rebellion, they were seized by the Confederates, 
and filted up as privateers; one of these became the cele- 
brated cruiser "Sumter." In i86i-'62-'63, he was on 
duty at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and in the latter year 
was ordered as Paymaster on board the frigate " Niagara," 
which was detailed on special ser\'ice to watch the coast of 
Nova Scotia. Detached from this vessel in 1864, he was 
ordered as Fleet Paymaster to the -South Atlantic Blockad- 
ing Squadron. In 1866, he was appointed Inspector of 
provisions and clothing at the New York Navy Yard, and 
continued serving in that capacity until 1S68. He was 
afterward, i869-'7o, on duty as P.aymaster of the same 
station. In the fall of 1S73, he was ordered on duty as 



Acting Paymaster-General, in charge of the bureau of pro- 
visions and clothing, at the Navy Department, during the 
absence in Europe, on special duty, of Paymaster-General 
Bradford. He was mart-ied in 184S, to a daughter of 
George Sheeaf, of Pennsylvania, who is a granddaughter 
of Frederick O. Muhlenburgh, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, and who was afterward the 
first Speaker of the House cf Representatives in Congress. 



^@) 




,p TLEE, WILLIAM AUGU.STUS, L.awyer, was 
born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, January gtli, 
1832. His father. Dr. John L. Allee, is still 
living (July, 1874) in Lancaster, and is one of 
the most successful physicians in the State ; his 
mother was a daughter of the late Judge Walter 
Franklin. He is, from maternal and paternal ancestors, 
of English descent. After a prcliminai-y training in the 
schools of his native city, he became a student at Yale 
College when but fifteen years of age, and at nineteen, 
graduated with honors in the class of 1851. He then 
entered the law office of his uncle, Thomas L. Franklin, 
one of the most prominent legal practitioners in Lancaster; 
here he evinced the same industry and ability which 
characterized his college life, and fitted himself rapidly for 
the practice of his difficult profession. In 1854, he was 
admitted to the bar, and immediately entered the political 
arena by attaching himself to the Republican party. Since 
this period, he has ever taken an extremely active and 
prominent part in the politics of his country, and exhibited 
much talent and sagacity. During the camp.aign of John 
C. Fremont for the Presidency, in 1856, he was, though but 
twenty-four years of age, Chairman of the County Republi- 
can Committee, and brilliantly acquitted himself of his 
onerous functions. In October, 1865, he was elected 
District Attorney for Lancaster county, and, during three 
years, held this honorable position. In 1869, he was 
elected JInyor of the city of Lancaster, a post he filled 
until 1871. In 1861, he entered the service of the United 
Slates as a volunteer in the 1st Regiment of Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, and served until the expiration of the lime for 
which the regiment was enlisted. Soon after this, he was 
appointed Captain of Company A, 12th Regiment of the 
Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia. Later, he became Captain 
of Comp,any F, in the 50th Regiment of the same patriotic 
militia. At present, he is Solicitor for the Lancaster 
County National Bank, also for the Peach Bottom Railway 
Company, and for the Lancaster Board of Trade. He was 
married, October 14th, 1857, to the daughter of Hon. 
Benjamin Champneys, Judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas for Lancaster county. He stands high at the bar, 
and hxs an extensive and lucrative practice, which testifies 
to the great confidence placed in him by a wide circle of 
admiring friends. He h.as been engaged upon many cases 





/^fcKV^^ 




^ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



4C9 



of considerable local importance, and in each and all has 
exhibited commendable moderation, ability and tireless 
perseverance. His chronicle as student, lawyer, soldier, 
official, and gentleman may stand as a model and an ex- 
ample for his younger brethren to imitate. 




(|OUGIIRIDGE, JOHN ALEXANDER, Protho- 
notary of the Court of Common Pleas of Phila- 
delphia, was born in the old District of Kens- 
ington, in the county of Philadelphia, June 2d,, 
1839. He is of Irish descent, his parents, An- 
drew Loughridge and Jane Wilson, having emi- 
grated from Ireland to St. John's, New Brunswick, about 
forty-five years since. Shortly afterwards they removed 
from thence to Philadelphia, where they have ever since re- 
sided, and where John Alexander was born, he being one 
of eleven children. His early education was receive^jajj 
the Harrison (boys) Grammar School, which- he attended 
until he attained the age of fourteen. Immediately -upon 
leaving school, he obtained employment in the " Koy^tpiff.. 
.Saw Works" of Henry Disston, where he remaint'illhre^ 
years. His father, in 1S57, removing to Lijjiepck .tciwn- 
ship, Philadelphia county, to eng.age in farming, he left hW 
position in the saw works and accompanied hini,.rejnaininL; 
for a year and aiding in the work of the Aajrm. , Wearyiiu 
of the monotony of farm life and ambitious^o push his own 
way in the world, he returned to Philadelphia, .in I^^S. 
He was at once received again into the employ, of Il^ry. 
Disston, and placed as foreman in charge of the handler, 
polishing department of the works. This position (with 
the exception of the time he was in the military service) he 
held until elevated by the people to the public position he 
now occupies. He w.is prompt to respond to the claims of 
his country in her hour of need. In 1861, shortly after 
the declaration of war, he enlisted as a private in the 15th 
Pennsylvania Regiment — the Anderson Cavalry — and was 
conspicuous as one of the noble 3CX3 who fought so bravely 
in the battle of Stone River, December 25th, 1863. He 
served until the cloie of the war, and was mustered out with 
the rank of 1st Lieutenant, having filled every intermediate 
grade and earned by gallant and meritorious conduct each 
step upwards in the line of -promotion. During, his con- 
nection with the army he occupied many responsible posi- 
tions, and always with credit to himself and his command. 
He served as Acting Provost-Marshal upon the staff of 
General Joseph R. .Stewart, at Richmond, Kentucky, for 
the Department of the Mississippi. In this capacity he dis- 
played signal ability in discharge of the onerous duties con- 
nected with the office, and received encomiums, justly be- 
stowed, from friend and foe. While he was faithful in the 
performance of the trusts confided to him, he at the same 
time, by strict discipline, impartiality, and courtesy, exerted 
an influence which was most beneficial. His record as a 



soldier is one in which he may feel a most justifiable pride. 
After returning from the United Stales' service he again 
entered the works of Heniy Disston. Bringing with him so 
pure a record from the army, and having gained a reputa- 
tion for intelligence, sobriety and industry before entering 
it, it was not long before his party friends manifested a dis- 
position to reward him for past political and military ser- 
vices. Always having been an active, working, and pro- 
minent member of the Republican organiz.ation, he was 
nominated by that party for the responsible office of Pro- 
thonotary of the Court of Common Pleas for the City and 
Cgunty of Philadelphia. In October, 1871, he was elected 

'to that ofnQe^f the term of three years. By the provisions 
of the newly-adopted Constitution of Pennsylvania, the Pro- 
thonotary^j^no''longer elected, but is appointed by the 
judges of the courts. Mr. Loughridge is the last Protho- 
notary who wi^. serve in that office as the elective choice 
of the people. .OiiSince he has filled the position he has exe- 
cuted the duties devolving upon him with fidelity, and ren- 
-defed -entire satisfaction to the bar and suitors of the courts. 
He is an aptive member of the Masonic fraternity and of 

,lhe Order <5^0dd Fellows, and is connected with various 
otTur l)caeficiM?^d, charitable associations. He is closely 

Jileniihi'd \viU\'tlie progress of his native city, and is always 
rea.d^lo contribute, by e.very means in his power, to the 
.im'aricement'qf its material prosperity. 




ICKESON, WILLIAM T. W., M. D., Physician, 
and Scientist, was born at Woodbury, New Jer- 

., .sey, January 4lh, 1828. His father, although a 
^■j{Q,a\ native of the United Stales, was of Norwegian 
b T<^ extraction, his immediate ancestor having emi- 
grated to this counti-y with a colony of that peo- 
ple, in 1776, and settled as a farmer at Salem, New Jersey. 
He received his preliminary education at the primary 
schools of Woodbury and the Presbyterian Academy of 
that place. The classical studies of his early manhood he 
sulisequently completed under a private tutor in Philadel- 
phia, in 1^846. Having chosen medicine as his profession, 
■he entered the University of Pennsylvania, and was gra- 
dii.ated from the Medical Department in 1849. Deciding 
■to remain in Philadelphia,^ inmiediately after graduating 
h^ commenced the practice of liis profession. He met with 
more than average success, and remained in that city until 
1853. He then moved to Greensboro', North Carolina, 
where for three years he was actively employed in practice, 
and also as Superintendent of mines during the gold and 
copper excitement which enlivened that region for a time. 
Returning to Philadelphia, he devoted himself with ardor 
and success not only to medicine but also to the manufac- 
ture of petroleum oils. In pursuit of the latter interest he 
established a factory at Powelton, then a suburb of Phila- 
delphia, which, in 1S60, was consumed by fire. After this 



470 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



misfortune he abandoned the walks of commercial life and 
confined himself strictly to the business of his profession. 
In 1861, shortly after the commencement of the Civil War, 
he offered his services to the State, and was commissioned 
as Assistant Surgeon. He was assigned to duty with the 
4th Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserves, and ordered to 
Cainp Washington. Soon after he was promoted to the 
full rank of Surgeon, and connected with the 99th Regi- 
ment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. With this com- 
mand he remained for about two and a half years, when he 
retired from the service and located at Media. He has 
through life devoted much of his time to the study of the 
classics and natural sciences, as well as to the higher and 
more abstract departments of his profession. With survey- 
ing, mining and engineering, he is equally familiar. Geo- 
logy and surgery have ever been his favorite studies. To 
tliese' sciences he is passionately att.iched. In 1S52, at the 
early age of twenty-four, he occupied the Chair of Pro- 
fessor of Agricultural Chemistry in the Wagner Free Insti- 
tute of Philadelphia. In 1854, he was married to Eunice, 
daughter of Jabez ISurchard of Philadelphia, United States 
Commissioner for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
In 1863, he entered into a second marri.ige with Emily J., 
daughter of J. Snider, Jr., wine merchant, and inventor and 
manufacturer of Snider's rifle. He still continues active in 
the practice of his profession at Media. Preferring sur- 
gery to general practice, his connection is so extended as 
to give him little time apart from that devoted to the de- 
mands of his patients, though he still feels and exhibits a 
warm interest in every discovery tending to advance the 
sciences to which he is devoted. 



'ANLEY, CHARLES DE HAVEN, Lawyer, was 
born in the township of Radnor, Delaware 
county, Pennsylvania, December 20th, 1807. 
His father, Benjamin Manley, was a farmer c^nd 
mechanic, residing in the county of Delaware, 
near Chester; his great-grandfather was a mem- 
ber of a noble family of Ireland, and his mother, a De- 
Haven, ''of the Dellavens of Schuylkill," was of German 
extraction. His preliminary education was received at tlie 
country schools of the neighborhood, after which he was 
sent to boarding school for about one year. After having 
received a fair English education, he, at the age of seven- 
teen, commenced teaching school in Chester. He continued 
at this occupation for four years, applying himself diligently 
during his leisure hours to the study of law, and by eco- 
nomy contriving to save a considerable sum of money. 
But his health beginning to evidence signs of failure, in 
consequence of too intense application to his studies and 
business, he abandoned teaching and assumed a clerical 
position in the Bank of Delaware, located in Chester. In 
this capacity he remained about sixteen months, when he 




entered into the mercantile business as one of the firm of 
Eyre & Manley. In this connection he continued for the 
four years succeeding, when, abandoning commercial pur- 
suits, he again turned his attention to the law. He entered 
the office of P. II. Engle as a student, continued there for 
some time, and finally, finishing his legal reading under the 
tuition of E. Darlington, was admitted to the bar, in 1848. 
Establishing himself at first in Chester, he there practised 
until 1850, when he removed to Media, then just commenc- 
ing to be settled as a town. Here his professional business 
rapidly and steadily increased ; it was not confined to the 
State courts, but included much and important business in 
the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1856, he was 
elected to the State Legislature, and was subsequently the 
Democratic nominee for Congress in the district in which 
he resided. He has always been a Democrat in politics, 
and while he is not aggressive or offensive in his opinions, 
he has always been fii-m in his adhesion to the principles of 
his party. Having since his admission to the bar confined 
himself almost exclusively to the business of his profession, 
he is looked upon more as a conscientious lawyer than as 
an aspiring politician. He has always taken an active in- 
terest and given substantial aid to any movement tending 
to the advancement of the town of Media, and has re- 
peatedly been a member of the T(jwn Council. In 183S, 
he was married to Margaret Worrall, a member of an old 
and well-known family of Delaware county. In religion, 
he is an Episcopalian, a member of the vestry of St. Paul's 
Church at Chester, and has always manifested a deep in- 
terest in the religious denomination with which he is con- 
nected, as well as in all questions of private and public 
morality at home and abroad. 



EARSOL, JOHN HARPER. Journalist, was born 
at Cambridge, Chester county (now Lancaster 
county), Pennsylvania, January 12th, 1818. His 
father was of Welsh descent, and was a soldier 
in the (Regular) United States Army. His mo- 
ther, who was of Irish extraction, was killed when 
he was quite young. At the age of seven years he was re- 
ceived by Hugh Maxwell, of Lancaster, into his printing 
office as errand boy. At the close of one year he com- 
menced setting type, for which he had always manifested a 
fondness, and in six months' time became the most rapid 
compositor in the office. Subsequently he obtained the 
reputation of being one of the fastest compositors, if not the 
fastest, in the United States. At the age of fourteen he re- 
moved to Mount Joy, in order to attend store for his sister. 
In this occupation he continued for two years, when he re- 
turned to the types, having obtained em]iloyment in a print- 
ing office in Marietta, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He 
remained there one year, and on the failure of his employer 
m.ade his way to Philadelphia, and entered the office of 





*^^£ 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



471 



Ricrgs & Young, Printers, on Jayne above Sixth streets, 
with whom he worked until he attained his majority. 
After spending some time in different offices in Philadelphia 
and New York, he returned to Lancaster and entered into 
the employ of Colonel John W. Forney, who was then 
publishing the Lancaster Intelligencer and Jouinal ; here 
he served as foreman of the office. On August 19th, 1839, 
he associated with him Bryson and Wimer and commenced 
the publication of a literary and temperance paper, called 
the Semi-wcelify Gazette. The firm was not very long 
lived. The paper was disposed of, but the amount for 
which it was sold was never received on account of the 
failure of the purchasers. On February loth, 1843, he 
commenced the publication, on a borrowed capital of §500, 
of the IVeekfy Express, a temperance paper. He con- 
tinued to issue the Express as a weekly, until 1856, when 
he associated with him J. M. \V. Geist, and started the 
Daily Express, now the oldest paper iu Lancaster county. 
His paper is outspoken in the cause of temperance and 
public morality, and is independent on all subjects, He 
confines himself closely to his business, and has per- 
sistently refused to accept any office, honor, or emoluinenf. 
lie has always taken a great interest in worthy young niie4i, 
and has, even at personal sacrifice, advanced the fortunes 
of many such. Being a champion of the ^tflmp^rance 
cause, he aids it by every means in hi^: power.' fie. is 
President of the Committee of Forty-ijy^.no '.supptess the 
sale of Liquor on the Sabbath ; is«yic^-Presid_ent-.t)f the 
Yoimg Men's Christian Association, pf.^- Laivc^tgii and 
Chairman of its Board of Finance; aii^ is alf o itctl:ye in 
many other good works tending to -the improyemait, of 
public morality. During the late Civil War he was a 
strong supporter of the government and dedicated his only 
living son to his country's service : his boy was killed upon 
the field when but seventeen years of age. He was mar- 
ried, ill 1S44, to a daughter of Benjamin Ober, a wealthy 
and prominent merchant of Lancaster, and seven children 
have been born to him, three of whom are living. He is 
an active member of St. Paul's German Reformed Church, 
arfd is Superintendent of the Sunday-school connected 
therewith. Believing and acting on the principle that true 
greatness lies largely in a rigid adherence to truth and duly 
as a man understands them, he is a highly respected and 
influential member of the community in which he resides. >. 



r V 

gP >5pASEY, HON. JOSEPH, Lawyer, Ex-Chief Jus- 
tice of the United States Court of Claims, was 
born in Ringgold's Manor, Washington county, 
Maryland, December 17th, 1814. His father, 
Joseph Casey, was born in Wicklow, Ireland, 
July I2lh, 1771 ; was educated as a Physician, at 
the University of Edinburgh, and emigrated to the United 
States in 1792. He married, in 1S04, Rebecca, the 



I 



daughter of Thomas McLaughlin, of Franklin county, 
Pennsylvania, who was of Scottish descent and who h.id 
served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Joseph was 
next to the youngest of nine children, and was born while his 
father, a man of great learning in the ancient classics and 
literature, was engaged as tutor in preparing the sons of 
General Ringgold for college. The father, after a time, re- 
moved to Pennsylvania, and lived at Newville and Shippens- 
burg, in Cumberland couuly, until his death, in 1841. Prior 
to that date, the family, through misfortune, were obliged to 
separate for a time. In 1S19, Joseph was hired to a black- 
smith named Henry McDermond, at Newville, and here 
he remained until his fourteenth year, when he returned 
to his father's home, in Shippensburg. Up to this time he 
had attended school but three months in his life. Not- 
withstanding, he was by no means illiterate, evei-y oppor- 
tunity for the acquirement of knowledge having been 
.eagerly seized by hi.n. He was very fond of books and 
devoured all literary matter that fell in his way. From 
the age of ■five years he attended Sunday-school, mostly 
^t the Big Spring Presbyterian Church, of Newville, and 
so strongjind tenacious was his memory that he early com- 
mitted the greater part of the New Testament and most 
of thq-Psaf^is. _• In this manner was laid the foundation 
of -the.iiiOTal aiui- intellectual character which now distin- 
gilishes- liim. v^After leaving his blacksmith tutor he at- 
tended scl^pol for about; one year, and thus acquned the 
rudiments of a.Jair English education. His father's means 
b_ging-'insuffici^t tg afford iiim further scholastic advan- 
tages,"h.es.iiTil83l, entered as an apprentice, a hat manu- 
factory iiv Sliippensburg. Here he remained for over a 
year, when he engaged himself, in the same business, to 
Samuel Culbertson, at Williamsport, Maiyland. Through 
the friendship of the wife of Ambrose M. C. Cramer, a 
merchant of that town, he was enabled to procure books 
and encouraged to pursue his reading and studies. But 
hard work and close application to books began to under- 
mine his health. He returned to Newville, and there he 
remained, engaged at his trade, teaching school, and con- 
tinuing his studies, during the years 1834-35. He then 
entered the employ of the late William Ileyser, of Cham- 
bersburg, as clerk and assistant manager of a large manu- 
factory. The active employment, and outdoor exe-rcise 
fully re-established his health, and in the autumn of 1S36, 
he entered, as a student, the law office of the Hon. Charles 
B. Penrose, at Carlisle. During the two years of the 
course he taught school in order to defray his expenses, 
and devoted his leisure moments to the acquirement of 
legal knowledge. He was admitted to the bar at Carlisle, 
in November, 1S38. He then settled at Bloomfield, Periy 
county. In 1S41, he was married to Mary A. Krettle, 
of Carlisle — three children were born to him, all of whom 
are dead. In the spring of 1845, he removed to New 
Berlin, Union county, where he at once assumed a leading 
position at the bar of that region. In 1848, he was nomi- 



472 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



iiatod I>y Ihc Whig party for Congress, in the old Tliirtecnth 
District of Pennsylvania, as the successor of Governor 
Pollock. The contest was a very fierce and determined 
one, and, though the district was strongly Democratic and 
his opponent championed by the most able men of that 
party, yet he w.ts elected by a handsome majority. He 
declined rcnomination in 1S50. In Congress, as elsewhere, 
he was liberal and conservative in his views and votes. 
He supported, in the main, the administrations of Presi- 
dents Taylor and Fillmore, and voted f ;r Clay's Compro- 
mise Measures of 1850, except the Fugitive Slave Law. 
In 1851, the new amendment to the Constitution making 
the Judiciary elective, he w.as nominated by the Whig party 
for President Judge of the district composed of the counties 
of Mifflin and Union. Owing to a division in the party, he 
w,as dL-feated. In 1S55, he removed to Ilarrisburg, where 
his reputation had preceded him. At the solicitation of 
Governor Pollock, he accepted the appointment of Com- 
missioner, under an Act of Assembly, to settle the contest 
between the State and certain New York and Ohio railroad 
corporations, known as " The Erie Railroad War." While 
thus engaged, the office of Reporter of the Decisions of the 
Supreme Court becoming vacant, it was tendered to him 
by Governor Pollock, and was accepted. He reported 
twelve volumes, known as Casey''s Reports, which gave 
general satisfaction both to Bench and Bar. During all 
this time he also attended to an increasing and important 
practice. During his official connection with the Court, 
the Bench w.ts occupied by Judges Lewis, Black, Wood- 
ward, Lawrie, Knox, and others. He enjoyed the friend- 
ship and confidence of them all. In May, 1861, he was 
appointed to the Bench of the United States Court of 
Claims, by President Lincoln, and in 1863, upon the re- 
organization of that court and the extension of its authority, 
he was appointed its first Chief Justice. This position he 
held until December 1st, 1S70, when, in consequence of 
ill health and the demands of private business, he resigned, 
and resumed the practice of law in W.ishington, District 
of Columbia. The records of the Court over which he so 
long presided are substantial evidence of his high character 
as a Judge. The post was one of uncommon difficulty and 
delicacy; the track an unbeaten one. The judicial rela- 
tions of the citizen with his government, regarding business 
transactions, had not been defined. How far the ordinary 
rules and principles of law, which regulate the intercourse 
between individuals, were modified in their character or 
application, by one of the parties being a sovereign nation, 
were unsolved problems. Judge Casey and his friends 
can refer, with pride, to the record of his discharge of these 
high and responsib'e duties. Freedom from prejudice, 
and fearlessness in the right, ever characterized his decis- 
ions and opinions. Resuming his practice, after his 
resignation, he was soon overwhelmed with business, 
which continues, of the most extensive and lucrative 
nature. In politics, he has long been identified with the 




Republican party, though, in 1872, he supported Horace 
Greeley for President. In his religious connections, he is 
a Presbyterian, a member and elder in the New York 
Avenue Church. He is free from all sectarian bigotry or 
bias, believing in the united efforts of all Christians for the 
elevation and regeneration of mankind. 



ALDY, PETER, Merchant, was born in Sunbury, 
Pennsylvania, March 2d, 17S9, thirteen years 
after the Declaration of Independence, and when 
Pennsylvania was little more than a virgin wil- 
derness. The family was of German extraction, 
and upon the paternal side were seven brothers, 
all of whom were soldiers in the American ranks when the 
Revolution w.as unfolding itself. Opportunities for educa- 
tion in those days were rare and meagre in Pennsylvania, 
and Peter's humble rank in life prevented him from acquir- 
ing aught save a very limited share of school discipline or 
learning. When sixteen years of age, he entered his 
father's blacksmith shop, and became an apprentice to the 
trade, continuing in this occupation until he was twenty- 
one, or " free," according to the custom and language of 
the time. The over-ruling desire for pecuniary competence 
and independence, which h.as been, in so influential a 
degree, the distinctive trait in his career, was at an early 
date noticeably prominent. In place of giving to profitless 
pursuits his leisure time, as was the general habit of boys 
at his age, it was devoted to extra work, therefore to extra 
earnings. Thus, when he had attained his majority, he had 
not only well fitted himself for an active life by economical 
habits and steady labor, but had also accumulated a sum 
of money not usually found in the possession of one of his 
age and trade. The blacksmith's shop seemed to be a 
sphere too circumscribed for his aspirations; and his atten- 
tion was turned to mercantile pursuits, wherein he resolved 
to hazard a venture. Borrowing the sum of S850, he set 
out for Phil.adelphla, where, obtaining further credit, he 
bought goods to the amount of between two and three thou- 
sand dollars. With these he returned to Danville, and 
established himself at once in business. In those days, 
there were no railroads in Pennsylvania, and a journey to 
Philadelphia was a tedious and costly affair. He was soon 
pleasantly assured that his undert.-xking was a success; the 
borrowed money was promptly repaid, and prospects were 
encouraging. Shortly after, his store became one of the 
princip.il centres of trade for all the surrounding counliy ; 
farmers brought to him their wheat and produce, which 
they e)(changed for merchandise adapted to their require- 
ments ; this produce w.as floated on arks to Philadelphia, 
where it was again exchanged for fresh supplies of commo- 
dities. In this business he continued to amass wealth, 
until the year 1845, when he withdrew from mercantile 
pursuits to enjoy leisure and tranquillity. Owing to the 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



473 




Eiilianced value of large tracts of land bought when ex- 
tremely cheap, his income has douhled and redoubled 
itself since his outset in life, thus justifying many of his 
early and oft-repeated prophecies. He is distinguished for 
strength of will and great energy of character; business tact 
and capacity; exactness in his dealings, and a willingness 
to aid the poor and deserving. He was married, February 
17th, 1818, to the daughter of Daniel Hurley, and he has 
h.ad a family consisting of three sons and as many daughters. 
Edward H. Baldy, a prominent lawyer of Danville, is one 
of these sons ; the second is a clergyman ; the third a thriv- 
ing merchant. Two of his daughters are married to worthy 
and talented lawyers, and the third is the wife of a clergy- 
man loved and esteemed i)y all his parishioners. 



ADDELL, HON. WILLIAM B., Lawyer, was 
born September 21st, 1S28, in the city of Phila- 
delphia. His father, Robert Waddell, was Irish 
by birth, but came to this country when quite 
young. He was an intelligent mechanic — a 
carver — and occupied a respectable position in 
the social circle in which he moved. His mother, Mary 
Bell, sister of Hon. Thomas S. Bell, late Judge of the 
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, was a woman of marked 
characteristics. When seven years of age, the family re- 
moved to Trenton, and here the son lived until he was 
thirteen years of age, when he was sent to attend school at 
the Academy at Westchester, Pennsylvania. This school 
was considered at that time one of the best in the country, 
and it was here that the foundation was laid which enabled 
him to subsequently rise so rapidly in public estimation. 
After leaving the Academy, he went to Princeton College, 
New Jersey, where he was graduated, with a good position 
in his class, in 1849. When at college, he was quiet, un- 
assuming, and attentive to his studies, but did not exhibit 
any marked traits of character. Immediately after gradu- 
ating, he entered the ofiice of Joseph Hemphill, of West- 
chester, and commenced the study of law; he was admitted 
to the bar of Chester county in March, 1852. Besides 
having the advantage and benefit of an attendance at such 
schools of learning as the Academy at Westchester and 
Princeton College, he made a wise selection when he 
entered the law office of Joseph Hemphill, a well-known 
and most excellent lawyer, pleasing in his manners and 
scrupulously conscientious. Immediately after his .admis- 
sion to the bar, he assumed a prominent position, which he 
has maintained ever since. His practice has been confined 
principally to the courts of Chester county and the .Supreme 
Court of the State, in which he has always had a large 
share of business. Originally a Democrat, and a w,arm 
supporter of Stephen A. Douglas for President, in 1861, 
when the second great ]iolitical revolution swept over the 
countiy, he entered the ranks of the Republican party, and 
60 



has ever since been an active worker in that organization. 
During 1865-66-67, he was a member of the General As- 
sembly of Pennsylvania, in which body, in 1S66, he was 
Chairman of the Conmiittee on the Judiciary, one of the 
most important committees in the House of Representa- 
tives, and, in 1867, he was Chairman of the Committee of 
Ways and Means. In 1872, he was elected to fill the un- 
expired term of II. S. Evans, in the Senate of the State ; 
in this body, as in the Lower House, he occupied a promi- 
nent position. In the cause of education he has always 
been deeply interested ; as President of the Normal School 
Board, his services and influence have been marked with 
beneficial results. He has been for many years a director 
of and counsel for the National Bank of Chester county. 
In 1856, he married Mary Jane Worthington, of West- 
chester, niece of Dr. Worthington (deceased), late State 
Senator. He occupies a prominent position in Chester 
county; has earned, by faithful and valuable services, the 
esteem and confidence of the community, and is quoted as 
an attentive and safe lawyer, an honorable, enterpris- 
ing, and influential citizen. 



ERR I FIELD, HON. WILLIAM, Merchant, 
Legislator, and Judge, was born at Pine Plains, 
Dutchess county. New York, April 22d, 1806. 
His parents, Robert Merrifield and Catharine 
Wilsey, were both natives of New York State. 
His early life was spent upon the farm of his 
father, and what education he received was acquired at the 
common schools of the neighborhood. In 1819, his parents 
removed to Hyde Park, Pennsylvania, then known as and 
called Providence. Here he was apprenticed to learn the 
trade of a carpenter, at which he worked about four years. 
After this, he engaged in mercantile business at Cenlre- 
moreland, in Luzerne county. At the end of one year, he 
returned to Hyde Park, where he recommenced business, 
in which he continued for thirty years. In 1835, maiidy 
through his instrumentality, a post-oflSce was located in the 
town of his residence, and he was appointed Post-master, a 
position which he retained for twelve years. In 1S43, he 
was elected to the Stale Legislature, and served in that 
body during the sessions of 1844-45-46. While a member 
of the Legislature, he was Chairman of the Committee on 
Banks, was a member of the Committee of Ways and 
Means, and of several other important committees. In 
politics, he is a Democrat of the old school, and a strong 
believer in the principles advocated and promulgated by 
Jefferson. He was ever regarded by his parly in the Legis- 
lature as a safe .adviser, his opinions being frequently 
sought and much respected. In 1S56, he was nominated 
for and elected an Associate Judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas of Luzerne county, and occupied, for five years, a 
seat on the Bench with the late Judge Connyngh.im, Presi- 




474 



EIOGRAI'IIICAL ENCVCLOP.ICDIA. 



dent Judge of that court. lie is President of the Hyde 
Park I!;ink, and is connected with several other financial 
institutions. He was one of the owners of 500 acres of 
land on which the city of Scranton now stands, and which 
was sold by him and his partners to the Scrantons and 
their associates, in 1846. This city, which was located 
subsequently to 1846, now contains a population of about 
30,000 inhabitants. He has always been greatly inter- 
ested in all such public improvements as would develop 
that portion of the Stale with which he was imme- 
diately connected. He was an untiring advocate of slack 
water navigation of the Susquehanna, though neither 
he nor any other advocate of that project has ever been_ 
able to induce the State to undertake the enterprise. 'Me 
was also an earnest advocate of the extension of the canal 
to the State line of New York, and furnished many articles 
to the public press in the interest of this work, which wasj 
finally accomplished. Thus, it will be seeii ihStj both as- 
an individual and a public officer, he has afways Taken an, 
active part in the affairs of his adopted St»te. Trte \fasi 
married, in 1831, to Almira Swetland, of" Wyoming, Penn'-i 
sylvania. There are few men who possess' nipre fully tpcl 
entire confidence of his acquaintances, his chief charaiifer-t 
istics being those of honesty and inte^ify, and a cWiscten- 



pointed Colonel, and afterwards Brigadier-General, h'.s 
services have become a matter of history. He enjoyed the 
high esteem and confidence of General Washington, an<l 
was by him assigned to many important commands anil 
positions. John Maxwell, the grandfather of Henry D., 
was also one of those who fully met the claims which his 
country had upon him. He joined the Revolutionary 
army, and was raised to the rank of Captain. Participating 
in numerous battles, he long lived to enjoy the fruits of the 
independence he had fought to win, dying at Flemington 
in 1828, aged eighty-nine years. His wife was a Miss Clif- 
ford, a descendant of one of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims, 
and a lady of remarkr.ble strength of character. Their 
eldest son, George C. Maxwell, became one of the leading 
law-^'.prs of New Jersey, and represented his district in Con- 
gress, in'iSi2. Their youngest son, William, who was the 
father of Henry D., was a man of remarkable attainments, 
accjuiV'ed''ilncler the tuition of some of the most accom- 
ffiished ttachers of his day and locality; he graduated with 
•Tugh fiSnnf . at Princeton, in 1S04. He studied law, and 
'wnTafmlt'ted to the Bar in New Jersey, November loth, 
%SbS,''aSd'continucd to practise in Flemington until his 
(flaili^fn iS:S. Ileniy D. Mnxwe'.I resembles his father 
iif }lis 7tfti rst for knowledge and the avidity with which he 



mon topics of the day, but may also be regnrocd 1 



^111 



tious discharge of all duties entrusted- toi Wiiri. * ■Wivm.:'~rmii'ftV^l. < In his fifteenth year, he had completed his 
acquired, mainly by his own industiy and- -pei-st^ f- itoi^ studies, and was qualified to enter Princeton 

good Emdisli eilucation, he is ver«;ed" nof Oftly.lii-liiu t.jni i ...id'ef The d&'.h df his father required him to abandon 
' ' ' ' ■ ' '■•-•« 1 '" 1ii5 cherislicd object, and use his energies in aid of a 

wKloiftil motheVand her six children. At this early age. 
Re' crtmmencerl,' single-handed, the battle of life. Olitain- 
Hig 'tli?'sim;atiim''of Usher at the boarding-school of the 
•Rcv.*^ Robert 'Steel, 'at' Abington, Pennsylvania, he there, 
'fljr irooiit eighteen "months, prepared young men, most of 
tEelttv l«^?6niors,'for that college life which he was required 
'ib'for?go. Returning to his home in Flemington, he com- 
fnenced the study of law under the late Nathaniel Sexton, 
ti <. continuing it in the office of Thomas A. Hartwell, in 

C^fy^ WW'ELl^, HON. HENRY D., Lawyer, and Somerville, New Jersey, and completing his course under 

the tuition of his uncle, Hon. John P. B. Maxwell, at Bel- 
videre, New Jersey. He was admitted to the Bar, Septem- 
ber 4lh, 1834. His mother, a daughter of the late Major 
Henry Dusenberry, a successful merchant of Philadelphia 
aYid Ne»(~Hamptony New Jersey, having about that lime 
ract^ ^enft>ved l\Ba\on, PeVnsylv.inia, he accompanied her, at 
v'ew 'her reque.sfj an'd commenced The practice of law in Phillips- 
Jersey, about three -miles froni" Etston, he resumed hT!i''Tflir«j;-fesitling'wilh her jn? Easlon. On November yih. 



read in history, politics, and philosophy" H^hra hsd^con-f 
ferred upon him, without solicitation <fll*l.is flaity maiiyj 
offices of honor and trust, and has invariably fmfnimsSJred^ 
them to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, 'tfis'life; 
presents a record which proves condii^el^ llvi't the^'i^^t 
road to success in life is pre-einin«ifly tlist"'fif' luic'easiiig! 
labor and undeviating integrity. - *' j 



• AXWELL, HON. HENRY D., Lawyer, and 
Judge, was born in the village of Flemington, 
Hunterdon county. New Jersey, December 5th, 
1812. His great grandfather, John Maxwell, 
was of Scottish extraction, and emigrated to this 
country from the north of Ireland, with his foun 
sons and two daughtei-s, in 1747. ' Furehnsinj a fine t 
of land in Greenwich township (now \\'arren cminfy)fiie\v 




business as a farmer. His eldest son, William, after com- 
ing to this country, atlacheil himself to the English army, 
and served wiih it in the French war; was with Braddock, 
and also at Quebec when Wolfe fell. .At the breaking out 
of the Revolution, he was in the Commissary Departir.ent 
of the British army, and stationed at Mackinaw. He at 
once resigned his commission, made his way on foot 
through the then wilderness to Trenon, and tendered his 
services to the Provincial Congress of Is'ew Jersey. Ap- 



1834, he was admitted to the Bar of Northampton county, 
Pennsylvania, and opened his oflice in Easton, in 1835. 
He w.as subsequently admitted to practice in the Supreme 
Court of Pennsylvania, December, 1 836, and to the Supreme 
Court of the United States in 1841. Shortly after locating 
in Easton, he associated in partnership with the Hon. J. M. 
Porter. This connection continued for several years. In 
1848, he was appointed Deputy Attorney-General for 
Northampton county, and again, in 1849, the same honor 




J^./0../^ayuc^^C 



t' 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



475 



was coiirerred upon liim. In 1S50, he was appointed by 
President Taylor Consul to Trieste, in Austria. His 
health having been impaired by too close application to 
professional duties, he accepted the appointment, repaired 
to his post, and ably performed its ret[uirements for about 
one year. Resigning, he returned to his home and resumed 
his ]irofession. He continued his legal practice until July, 
1S56, when he was appointed by Governor Pollock, Presi- 
dent Judge of the Third Judicial District of Pennsylvania, 
succeeding his brother-in-law, Hon. Washington McCart- 
ney, deceased. He was re-appointed in December, 1856, 
and continued to discharge the important duties of his post 
until December 1st, 1857. Upon his retirement, he was 
the recipient of the highest encomiums from the press, the 
bar, and the people. A public entertainment was tendered 
him by all of his fellow-citizens, irrespective of party, as a 
testimonial of their appreciation of his high character as a 
man and a jurist. It may be mentioned, as an example of 
his spirit of self-sacrifice at the call of duty, that when, in 

1829, the then Secretary of the Navy, Samuel L. .Southard, 
forwarded him a warrant as Midshipman in the Navy, he, 
finding his mother opposed to his acceptance of it, yielded 
to her wishes and resigned the tempting offer. In May, 

1830, he gave his first vote in approval of the principles of 
the Whig party; upon its dissolution, he warmly embraced 
Republicanism, and has continued unswervingly in that 
political faith. He was a Delegate to the National Con- 
vention at Baltimore, in 1844, whenTllay and Frelinghuysen 
were nominated. In 1S46, he was a candidate for Congress 
in the district called the " Tenth Legion of Democracy," 
opposed to the Hon. Richard Brodhead, the nominee of the 
dominant party. In this contest, he reduced their usual 
majority of about 5000 to 1000. In 1853, he was elected 
to fill a vacancy in the Easton Town Council, and was im- 
mediately made its President. At the succeeding spring 
election, he received the highest vote of any candidate, and 
continued President of the Council until 1856, when he 
declined re-election. At an encampment held in Easton, 
in 1842, General George Cadwalader commanding, he was 
appointed Quartermaster-General. The title " General " 
was then accorded him by popular consent, until his subse- 
quent appointment as Judge. He has represented his party 
in numerous conventions, .State and national, and served 
frequently on the State Central Committee. Through his 
instrumentality, in 1S56, a Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion was organized in Easton, of which he w.as made Presi- 
dent ; this position he still holds. He is also Secretary of 
the Fire Insurance Company of Northampton County, Sec- 
retary and Director of Easton Gas Company, member of 
the Board of Control of Public Schools, Chairman of the 
Committee on Grounds of Easton Cemetery, etc. He has 
alsc been, for years, one of the Directors of the Central 
Railroad of New Jersey, a member of the Historical Society 
of Pennsylvania, a Vice-President of the Pennsylvania State 
Agricultural Society, and President of the Northampton 



County Bar Association. He received the honorary degree 
of A.M., from Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, 
in 1844. By Governor Curtin, he was appointed, in 1861, 
Paymaster-General of the Pennsylvania Reserves, with the 
rank of Colonel ; with that celebrated corps he continued 
until they entered the field in the service of the United 
States. Was again appointed, by Governor Curtin, in 1S62, 
President Judge of the Third Judicial District of Pennsyl- 
vania, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of 
Judge Findlay. He married. May 9th, 1S54, Maria Louisa, 
daughter of John Honeyman, a physician of prominence, 
of New Germantown, New Jersey. In the practice of the 
profession to which he has returned, he has been unusually 
successful. Frankness and cordiality, joined with quick 
business habits and untiring industry, have given him a 
strong hold on the confidence of the community as a practi- 
tioner. His habit of thorough research and vigor of intel- 
lect, have made him prominent as a jurist. Generous to a 
fault, philanthropic in motive, with a high moral character 
and popular manners, having a kind word for every one, 
his commanding influence in society is easily understood. 
He is still active and energetic, as when " stumping it " in 
'46, and is truly one of the representative, high-minded 
men of the United States. 



OS.S, HON. SOBIESKI, Surveyor, Civil Engineer, 
and Congressman, was born at Coudersport, 
Pennsylvania, May l6th, 1828. He is of Scotch 
extraction, but his ancestors long since emigrated 
to this countiy, and may be considered as among 
its earliest settlers. His grandfather, Thomas 
Ross, served with distinction during the Revolutionary 
War, and his father, David Ross, was an officer of the War 
of 1812, and has always been a prominent citizen in the 
section of the State where he resided. The early education 
of Sobieski was quite thorough, he having always evinced 
a disposition to acquire knowledge. He was especially 
fond of mathematics, and early excelled in that branch of 
learning. After having acquired a sufficient elementary 
education, he adopted surveying and civil engineering as a 
profession ; he also engaged in the study of law, but its 
practice not being congenial to his tastes, he has never 
attempted or desired to follow it as a business. Always 
passionately attached to his profession, he has devoted much 
time and study to the duties and science appertaining to 
surveying and engineering. He has been for several years 
actively engaged in settling a large tract of land in th ■ 
northern counties of the .State of Pennsylvania. His pur- 
suit as engineer affording him great facilities and advan- 
tages, he has operated largely in real estate, and in some of 
these operations has been very successful. He has done 
much to develop the country through the northern portions 
of the St.ate, and being both patriotic and public spirited. 




476 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



has taken ihe lead in many enterprises which have proved 
most lucrative and advantageous. Besides beinj; engaged 
in real estate operations, he is largely interested in mining. 
He has also given much attention to agricultural pursuits, 
and being the possessor of a fine farm, has contributed 
largely to the improvement of the scientific and practical 
-methods of cultivation. He has never been considered a 
leading politician; nevertheless, being widely and favorably 
known, and being considered, in a marked degree, as 
reliable and efficient, he was nominated by the Republican 
party of the Eighteenth District of Pennsylvania, in 1872, 
and elected .as their representative to the Forty-third Con: 
gress. Since his advent into Congress, he h.is displayed 
fine business qualifications, great familiarity with the leading 
questions of the day, and is considered one of the working 
members of that body. Always alive to the>best interests 
of his constituents, he is untiring in his ear(i?sf efforts jlo 
serve them. He is on the Committees of .\^iculture and 
Militia, where his experience and learning render his 
services of importance. He is in the prime fpf life, and' 
with his practical mind and scientific attainments, his posi- in 'tlje Mexican W.ar — in Company I, Second Dr.-igoons. 
tion in Congress, as elsewhere, must ever be in the front In September, 1S4S, he m.arried and moved to Altoona, 



present time, is President of the Allegheny Hook and Lad- 
der Company. He is a man of considerable literai-y ability ; 
a fluent writer; and a ready, i>leasing, and effective speaker. 
He is also Captain of the Juniata Ridemen, belonging to 
the 5lh Regiment, Fifth Division, National Guards of Penn- 
sylvania ; and during many past years, has taken a leading 
part in all public affairs. 



G^y^LARK, JOHN M., Brevet Major, United States 
Army, Treasurer of Blair county, Pennsylvania, 
was born in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, 
February 6th, 1839. His parents, Robert and 
Mary Clark, were born in America. He was 
educated in the common schools of Delaware 
cqU^ty,:.where he manifested unusual insight and perseve- 
rance. Soon after abandoning school life, and wlien in his 
seventeenth year, he entered the service of the United 
fJtStes Army, and served as a private under General Scott 





rank. 



IlLLTKEN, JAMES-.-Fts- Lawyer, ^ia, h.,rn in 
Lewistown, Mifflin county, PennS)-lvaui.a, July 
19th, 1847. He is fhe'son drSamJelMilliken, a 
prominent citizen and successful business man of 

Central Pennsylvania, and grandsgn' of ■ Hon. 

J.imes Milliken, late of Lewistown, a distinguished 
professional man and officer. He was educated afTusca- 
rora Academy, Academia county, at the Pennsylvania 
Military Academy, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in 
various other well known educational establishments of the 
-State. Throughout his school life, he was noted for his ap- 
plication, and a power of grasping the principle of an 
abstruse subject which is possessed by few. In 1S64, he 
pursued a course of legal studies with Hon. S. S. Blair, of 
Hollidaysburg, and was admitted to the bar, July 26th, 
1868. In this town he engaged in active practice, and was 
soon busied with the cares- and respcmjibilUies att.endant 
upon a large and remunerative clientage. As-a criminal 
lawyer, he has attained a wide reputation, and to him is 
assigned the greater portion of the criminal cases tried in 
the courts of his county. Repeatedly, he has been pitted in 
the legal arena against many and veteran ant.agonists ; but 
in almost every case, the embarrassing net of his impreg- 
n,able arguments, and the keen trident of his eloquent 
philippics and harangues, have entitled him to the wreath 
and award of the victorious combatant. At an early date, 
he participated actively in the prevalent politics of his time, 
and, before he had attained his m.ijority, was a Delegate to 
the Republican County Convention. In every political 
campaign, he has been a prominent mover; he, at the 



Blair jgounty, Pennsylvania, where he connected himself 
^\ ilh the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in whose employ 
lie remajncd-until 1S61. He then entered the United 
StateSr'.^er»ice with t-he commission of Captain, and during 
three years, served as a faithful officer in defence of the 
Government and the Union. Al the close of the Rebellion, 
he was cofpmissioned as Brevet Major for gallantly shown 
repeatedly during the war. In 1S65, he was appointed 
Police officer for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in 
Altoona, Pennsylvania. In this position he has served up 
to the present time. In 1868, he was elected Treasurer of 
Blair county, and in this capacity has ever held himself 
upright and free from reproach or suspicion. He is noted 
for his ability, his shrewdness, and his gentlemanly 
demeanor at all times and under all circumstances. 



.TRANG, HON. BUTLER B., Lawyer, Senator, 
and Speaker of the Senate of Pennsylvania, son of 
tlie Rev. Francis Strang, a prominent minister of 
the Methodist Church, was born in Steuben county. 
New York, March 6th, 1829. His family remov- 
ing to Pennsylvania in the year 1839, he was 
enabled to enjoy the advantages of the classical and mathe- 
matical academies of this State. After completing his pre- 
liminary education, at the age of twenty he commenced the 
study of law, and was admitted to the bar of Tioga county, 
Pennsylvania, when twenty-two years of age. Entering 
with the zeal and activity of youth on the prosecution of his 
profession, he at the same time exhibited a lively interest in 
political questions, and soon became a recognized le.ader in 
the Republican party of his section, and was early in life 





("viarrfsi -lo J>tii<uiv^J«^ 




^ 



3 



^Azzi 




n 



BIOGRAPIIICAL EN'CVCLOP.liDIA. 



477 



honored by election to the office of District Attorney of 
Tioga county. In the fall of i860, he was elected to the 
House of Representatives, and served two years; again, in 
the fall of 1S67, he was chosen Representative of his 
county, and for the four years following ably served his 
constituents in the lower House. So satisfactory was his 
record as a public official during these years that, in 1872, 
he was elevated by his fellow citizens to the Senate of the 
State, and to the Speakership of that body he was elected, 
in 1874. During the unfortunate Civil War, his influence 
and best efforts were devoted to the preservation of the 
Union, and his means were freely contributed for its per- 
petuation. Deeply interested in every portion of the .State 
of Pennsylvania, he is particularly zealous in advancing the 
welfare and developing the resources of the section which 
he represents. In the organization and construction of the 
Jersey Shore & Pine Creek Railroad, he was the chief in- 
strument of success ; to insure the completion thereof, he 
consented, contrary to his personal inclinations, to enter the 
Legislature for the second time. During the last two or 
three years, he has been unremitting in his efforts to accom- 
plish, for the benefit of his county, as well as the State at 
large, the construction of a branch of the Ilonellville & 
State Line Railroad (from that point to New York), to 
connect directly with the great coal fields of Tioga county. 
Of this branch road he is the projector as well as the Presi- 
dent. Fully alive to the necessity for. such means of 
transportation, he has steadfastly persisted in urging and 
assisting its construction until success has, at last, crowned 
his efforts; the line will be completed during the coming 
season. He was the first to recognize this outlet as the 
natural channel, to the great markets, of the coal and pine 
lumber trade of Tioga county. The want of railroad com- 
munication to leading points having previously compelled 
the traffic from that county to pass across the border to 
New York State, was a great drawback upon the advance- 
ment and prosperity of that region. In the prosecution of 
this project to successful completion, he encountered many 
discouraging rebuffs and disheartening circumstances. 
While J 1 20,000,000 had been appropriated by Legislative 
enactment for the benefit of other sections of the State, the 
veto of Governor Geai7 prevented him from obtaining the 
^4,000,000 which, through his influence, had been appro- 
priated for the internal improvement of the locality repre- 
sented by him. Nothing daunted by this unexpected blow 
from the Executive, he at once proceeded to enlist, in 
behalf of his great practical work, the aid of private capital, 
and to-day he enjoys the proud satisfaction of contemplat- 
ing his perfected enterprise and its beneficial results — the 
greatly increased and abiding prosperity and wealth of his 
country and its inhabitants. He was married, in early life, 
to the daughter of Charles T. Douglas, of Tioga, thereby 
still more fully identifying himself with the home of his 
adoption, where he is respected as a model citizen. As a 
legislator and an alile, upright lawyer, he stands pre- 




eminent. Though quiet and unassuming in manner, as a 
presiding officer he exhibits the dignity and decision which 
ever command respect from opponents as well as from 
friends, while his knowledge of parliamentary law renders 
him peculiarly acceptable as President of a legislative body. 



Ij^OESER, HENRY, Architect and Civil Engineer, 
was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, May 3(1, 
1S21. His father was a wealthy mill-owner and 
afforded him every means for the acquirement of 
a thorough education, and he finally graduated, 
one of the first pupils, at the Polytechnic School 
of Hesse-Darmstadt, when only seventeen years of age. 
He then entered into business as a mechanical and archi- 
tectural draftsman, and was connected with large works in 
his native country, and, for a number of years, was a promi- 
nent member of the Industrial Society. For about two 
years he was engaged as constructing engineer to the Main 
Neckar Railroad. In 1849, he emigrated to the United 
States, and, after remaining for one year with his brother, 
in Union county, chiefly for the purpose of perfecting him- 
self in the English language, he removed to Pittsburgh and 
(fommenced business as an architect and civil engineer. 
He is the inventor and patentee of a printing press, and 
also of an apparatus for printing directions on newspapers. 
In 1852, he associated in partnership with John N. Barr, 
and they continued business as architects, and numerous 
public school buildings, the Allegheny County Work-house 
and Allegheny City Poor-house, several churches, and a 
large number of private dwellings attest their taste and 
skill. In 1865, Mr. Moeser was appointed Consul for 
western Pennsylvania and West Virginia by the govern- 
ment of Hesse-Darmstadt, and, in July, 1 87 1, the German 
Empire renewed the appointment. A man of great pub- 
lic spirit and estimable character, he is an energetic pro- 
moter and generous supporter of all schemes calculated to 
advance the material and moral prosperity of the commu- 
nity of which he has been so long a member. He was 
married, in 1852, to Augusta, daughter of A. Michaels, of 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 



^ AY, HON. MALCOLM, Lawyer, was born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 1st, 1842. 
His preliminary education he attained in the 
Preparatory Department of the University of 
Pennsylvania, under the tuition of the eminent 
Dr. Samuel Crawford. After pursuing various 
courses of studies in, various schools and academies, he 
journeyed westward, in his seventeenth year, and settled 
finally in Missouri. Her.' he engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits, continuing in them, however, but for a short time. 




47S 



BIOGRAPHICAL rXCYCLOr.IiDIA. 



Three years Liter, lie returned to Trenton, New Jersey, 
M'lierc lie studied law under the tutorship of Chief Justice 
Mercer Beasley, and was admitted to the bar, February 
22(1, 1865. Removing to Pittsburgh, he engaged in active 
practice, and has since secured an extensive and honorable 
clientage. He has been an active member of the Demo- 
cratic party, and an influential member of several political 
conventions, where hij acumen, ability, and inflexible de- 
termination have won high praise and esteem. Ke has 
always been a prime mover in every important measure, or 
action, concerning the Protestant Episcopal Church, and 
in many church bodies and associations has worked to 
render himself useful in any and every manner. He is 
President of the Mercantile Library of Pittsburgh. In 
1072, he was elected a member of the Convention to 
Amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania, and sat with it 
through its sessions, cj^tending to November 3d, 1S73. 
lie was also Chairman of the Committee on Accounts and 
Lxpenditures of the Convention, and on Militia. He is 
an able and very promising lawyer, and is far from seeking 
or aspiring to political honors. He is Trustee of the Dollar 
Savings Bank, an officer of various important local com- 
panies, and the solicitor of various corporate bodies. Peter 
Hay, of Philadelphia, was his grandsire. 



JEET, JON.VTIIAX D., Lawyer, and Justice of 
the Peace, was born in Washington county, 
Pennsylvania, July 31st, 1S15. The major por- 
tion of his education he received at Washington 
College, Pennsylvania. His father was a well- 
known and worthy Virginian, and was one 
of the earliest settlers in the county where Jonathan first 
saw the light. His brother, Hon. Isaac Leet, was elected 
a member of the Twenty-fourth Congress, and, by his 
ability and energy, secured the admiration of all parties. 
Under the administration of Polk, Jonathan was the first 
Postmaster appointed in Washington county, Pennsylvania. 
After the expiration of his commission as Postmaster, he 
was elected to the Legislature, and served creditably dur- 
ing the sessions of l850-'5l. In 1852, he was appointed to 
supervise certain State improvements at Hollidaysburg, 
whither he removed in the same year. The onerous duties 
of this position he fulfilled admirably until 1855, when 
other affairs called him into other fields. Since this period, 
he has been noted as a prominent and influential member 
of the bar; has served as a Town Councilman; has, during 
seventeen years, been an indefatigable Director of Schools; 
and, in 1865, was elected Justice of the Peace, a post for 
which he was again chosen, in 1870. At the present time, 
he is Secretary of the School Board, and a legal practi- 
tioner in whom is placed great trust and reliance by his 
friends and townsmen. During lS43-'44-'45, he was ap- 
pointed Major of a battalion in Washington county, Penn- 





sylvania; and, during the late war, his sons distinguished 
themselves by their loyally and courage, he commanding 
meanwhile in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, in order to 
protect the town. In 1841, he w.is married to Mary A. 
Callahan, daughter of Captain Daniel Callahan, of Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania, a descendant of a family 
noted for patriotism. In 1S52, he w.as married a second 
time, to Maiy J. Sanders, daughter of Major Jacob San- 
ders, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 



LARKE, ROBERT DUNLAP, Major, and Pay- 
master United States Army, was born at Brosvns- 
ville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, April 29th, 
1816. His father, Robert Clarke, who settled in 
Fa, ette county, in the beginning of the century, 
had been for many years previously engaged at 
Washington, Pennsylvania, in partnership with Neil Gil- 
lespie, the grandfather of Hon. James G. Bl.aine, of Maine, 
in manufacturing and forwarding flour to Pittsburgh, for 
shipment to New Orleans. He was al.so a Captain in the 
Pennsylvania militia during the celebrated *' Whiskey In- 
surrection." Robert is one of ten children. His brother. 
General Henry T. Clarke, is Assistant Commissary-General 
of the Army. When fourteen years of age, he entered 
Kenyon College, near Mount Vernon, Ohio, where, among 
othei's, he studied with Professor Torshey of Louisiana, 
Hon. John L. Dawson of Pennsylvania, Henry Winter 
Davis of Maryland, and Edwin M. Stanton, the latter 
being his room-mate, and with whom he formed a friend- 
ship that proved life-long. Close application to his studies 
beginning to tell upon his health, he was obliged, at the 
expiration of three years, to leave Kenyon ; after a season 
of rest, he entered Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Penn- 
sylvania, and graduated from that institution with the 
degree of Bachelor of Arts, subsequently receiving that of 
Master of Arts. For the year following, he was engaged 
as Professor of Ancient Languages at Madison College, 
and then entering the office of John Dawson, of Union- 
town, Pennsylvania, he pursued the study of law until he 
was admitted to the bar of that place, in 1841. lie then 
formed a law partnership with his preceptor, and this con- 
nection continued until 184S, during which time he was 
admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania 
and the United States District and Circuit Courts. In 
1848, he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained 
practising his profession until 185 1, when he emigrated to 
Kenosha, Wisconsin. Here he paid no attention to the 
law, being deeply interested in real estate operations and 
in developing the copper-bearing regions bordering on 
Lake Superior; he published an interesting paper on this 
subject in Ifarper's Moulhly. In 1853, during Pierce's 
administration, he was appointed to a clerkship in the 
United States Treasury Department, and removed to 



BIOGKArillCAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



<79 



Wasliington, where he remainetl in various clerical capaci- 
ties ill the Treasury, the Pension Bureau, and Patent Office 
until lS6i. In this year he was Principal Examiner in the 
Patent Office, and had charge of the department of patents 
relating to land carriages, and calorifics, discharging the 
onerous and exacting duties of the position with distin- 
guished zeal, ability, and fidelity. Originally a Whig 
in politics, he had later identified himself with the Demo- 
cratic party, but at the outbreak of the Civil War he 
became a Republican. In 1863, he was tendered by 
Edwin M. Stanton, his former college-mate, the appoint- 
ment of Additional Paymaster of Volunteers with tlie rank 
of Major of Cavalry. Accepting the commission, he was 
assigned to duty in Washington, where he remained until 
September, 1865, when he was ordered to New Orleans; in 
December following, he was assigned to duty as Post Pay- 
master at Galveston, Texas. At the close of the war he 
w.as brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel of Volunteers, for faith- 
ful and meritorious services. In December, 1S66, he was 
ordered to Washington, ami on Januaiy I7tli, 1867, was 
nominated and confirmed by the Senate as Mijor and Pay- 
master, United Stales Army; he was detailed for duty in 
the Bureau of Bounties and Back Pay due Volunteers, 
known as the Bureau of Preferred Claims. In March, 
1S67, he was ordered to Omaha, Nebraska, and was em- 
))Ioyed in paying the troops serving in the Department of 
the Platte. While in this department, and upon duty near 
Fort Reno, Wyoming Territory, he participated in an en- 
gagement of over two hours* duration, between his escort 
and a band of Sioux Indians. In Au-^ust, 1S72, he was 
again ordered to Washington as Post-Paym.aster, and has 
been stationed there since that date. He was married in 
1847, to a daughter of Alpheus Wilson, at Morgantown, 
West Virginia. Mrs. Clarke is a granddaughter of Hon. 
Thomas Wilson, a Representative in Congress fron Penn- 
sylvania during Madison's administration. A sister of Mrs. 
Clarke married Hon. John R. Ewing, some lime Congress- 
man from Pennsylvania; her uncle, Hon. Edgar Wilson, 
and her cousin, Hon. Eugene Wilson, also served in Con- 
gress. A sister of Colonel Clarke married Hon. Heniy W. 
Beeson, and another, Hon. John I,. D.awson, both of 
whom represented Pennsylvania Districts in Congress; 
a brother, G. W. Clarke, became an extensive operator 
in real estate, and for him were named " Clarke's Point," 
in South Chicago, and " Clarke's Station," on the Pitts- 
burgh, Fort Wayne & Chicar^o Railroad. Me has three 
children, a son. Colonel A. E. Cl.irke, who was a Com- 
missary of Subsistence during the late war, and two 
daughters. His t.istes are of a decidedly literary character, 
and he delights to refresh himself by communion with 
the best classical authors. He is a finished linguist, 
speaking and writing the French, German, Spanish, and 
Italian langua'^es, with each of which, as well as with 
Greek and Latin, ha is as familiar as with his mother 
tongue. 




WARR, HIR.-\M 1!., Lawyer, was born in London- 
derry township, Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, 
March 9th, 1821. His father, Jacob Swarr, was 
a prominent manufacturer of Lebanon county, 
and a very able business man. He was also 
President of the Downingtown and Harrisburg 
Turnpike Company at the time of the construction of this 
road ; and but for his early deeease, which occurred in his 
thirty-seventh year, he would undoubtedly have attained 
high position and renown. His mother, who is still living, 
is a member of the well-known Bchn family, of Lancaster, 
and, as the names indicate, he is on both sides of the family, 
of German descent. His paternal ancestors came to this 
country with the Huguenots, from the province of Straus- 
burg; his maternal ancestors also were among the earliest 
settlers in this thriving region. After leaving the common 
schools of the county, Hiram was further educated at Leba- 
non Academy, also at Beck's Academy, near Litiz, in the 
School House Lane Academy, at Germantown, and finally 
pursued a course of studies in the Abbeville Institute, situated 
near Lancaster. When in his sixteenth year, he entered the 
commission house of Day & Gerrish, in Philadelphia, and 
subsequently became a member of the firm. Finding that 
his tastes inclined him to jirefer a professional life to mer- 
cantile pursuits, he disposed of his interest in the business, 
and, January 1st, 1845, entered the law office of George W. 
(& Levi Kline, the principal legal firm of Lebanon county. 
He was admitted to the bar, April 1st, 1S47, and, removing 
to Lancaster, began immediately the practice of his profes- 
sion. Being a man of an active and energetic temperament, 
and identifying himself with the Demoa'atic party, he became 
one of the foremost political workers of the county. For 
upward of twelve years, he retained the position of Chair- 
man of the Democratic County Committee'. In 1856, he 
was appointed by President Pierce, Postmaster of Lancaster 
county; in 1857, was re-appointed to the same position by 
President Buchanan, and continued to fulfil its duties until 
the spring of 1861. He was also a Delegate from his Con- 
gressional District to the National Democratic Convention 
in Cincinnati, in 1856, which nominated James Buchanan 
for the Presidency ; also to the National Democratic Con- 
vention which met at Charleston. In 1S6S, he was the 
Democratic candidate for Congress ' from his district; and 
such was his personal popularity in his county, that he 
received several hundred votes more than the " ticket," 
although the ascendancy of the Republican ])arty prevented 
his election. In 1872, he was a member of the Electoral 
College, and during ten years was an honored member of 
the Lancaster School Board. Although so busily engaged 
in the political arena, he has never ceased to devote to his 
profession the major portion of his time and unremitting at- 
tention, and has been engaged repeatedly on many cases 
of much local interest and vital importance. Throurhout 
the life of that statesman, he was one of the most admired 
and most trusted friends of James Buchanan, who placed 



4So 



BIOGRAPHICAL 




implicit reliance on his sagacity and honor; by him he was 
appointed his solicitor, while for several years previous to 
the death of Mr. Uuchanan, he was entrusted with the 
entire management of his general affairs and his investments. 
lie was also named as this gentleman's resident executor. 
During the late war, he was Secretary of the Committee of 
Safety, organized by the citizens of Lancaster, of which Dr. 
J. L. Atlee was chairman, and in this position he gleaned 
fresh laurels for his untiring promptitude upon all occasions, 
his affability, and his marked exactitude and accuracy. In 
December, 1847, ^^ ^■''* married to a daughter of Simon 
Toby, for many years President of the Insurance Company 
of the State of Pennsylvania. He has three children living ; 
one son and two daughters. His son is connected with the 
Pennsylvania Central Railroad, and one of his daughters 
is married to the Rev. Ellis N. Kremer, of Bedford, 
Pennsylvania. 



'AUNDERS, WILLIAM, Superintendent of the 
Experimental Gardens at Washington, District 
of Columbia, and father of the Order of Patrons 
\f<w^ of Husbandry, was born at St. Andrews, Fifeshire, 
Scotland, in December, 1S22, and received his 
education in one of the well-known institutions 
of that city of universities. While in his sixteenth year, he 
was articled as an apprentice to a capable and efficient 
horticulturist, and early became an ardent gardener. In 1S4S, 
he left England for this country, making his home first in 
New York, afterward in Maryland, and subsequently in 
Gemiantown, Pennsylvania. Shortly after the battle of 
Gettysburg, he was appointed to Iry out and arrange the 
Soldier's National Cemetery at that place, and this commis- 
sion he effected in a highly creditable manner. When the 
organization of the Department of Agriculture, at Washing- 
ton, was completed, he undertook, temporarily, the entire 
superintendence of the gardens of this dep.Trlment. In that 
trust he evinced such energy and ability, that in the autumn 
of 1862, he received a permanent appointment as Superin- 
tendent, a position which he has held to the present time. 
He has also devoted considerable time and attention to 
literary pursuits, and in 1850, was a contributor to Hovey's 
Magazine. In this magazine, he published an article illus- 
trating the principles governing plant-growth in propagating 
from cuttings ; that of keeping the bottoms of the cuttings 
from thirty to forty degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 
buds exposed above the surface, in this manner exciting the 
root-forming process, while bud-growth was retarded. This 
essay was widely copied in European horticultural journals. 
For several years he edited the Farmer and Ganiener, of 
Philadelphia, and fulfilled the numerous duties of its editor 
in the most satisfactory manner. He was the writer of the 
Pre.imble to the Constitution of the National Grange, and 
forcibly enunciated the principles upon which the organiza- 
tion is based. 




ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 

OWNSEND, WASHINGTON, Lawyer and Con- 
gressman, was born in Westchester, Pennsyl- 
vania, January 20th, 1813. He received a 
thorough academic education, and in 1832 ac- 
cepted a position as Teller in the Bank of Chester 
County. While employed in that capacity, he 
also studied law under the direction of William Darlington, 
of Westchester, and was admitted to the bar in 1844, 
when he commenced practice. He served as Deputy 
Attorney-Cieneral under the administration of Attorneys- 
General Darragh and Cooper. In 1S49, lie was elected 
Cashier of the Bank of Chester County, and filled that 
office with great acceptability and efficiency until 1857, 
when he resigned and resumed the practice of the law, in 
which he h.is since continued. He was a Delegate to the 
National Whig Conveiition at Baltimore, in 1852, and to 
the National Republican Convention at Chicago, in 1S60. 
In 1868, he received the Republican nomination for the 
Forty-first Congress, in the Seventh District, and, having 
been elected, served with such zeal and ability that he hns 
been successively returned to the Forty-second and Forty- 
third Congresses by large and overwhelming majorities. In 
addition to his general activity in all the leading measures 
in Congress, he is the Chairman of the Committee on Public 
Lands, and a member of the Committee on Frecdmen's 
.Affairs. In the Forty-first and Forty-second Congresses, he 
was also a member of the Committee on Education. He 
has taken a most active part in the improvement of the 
Homestead Law. 

ilLER.GEORGEXrand Engineer, was born 
in Somersetshire, England, August 5th, 1821. 
He was one of a fahiily of ten, whose parents 
were George and Ann Filer, of the same town. 
His father dying while George was very young, 
the lad was enabled to acquire but a slender 
share of education. In 1846, he came to the United States, 
and having been engaged in coal mining in his native 
country, he entered into the same business on his arrival 
here, obtaining employment in the Schuylkill coal regions. 
A year later, he removed to Tuscaiora, and was employed 
in the mines of the Reading Railroad Company at that 
place. At the expiration of two years and more, he settled 
in Scranton, and in 1S49, engaged with the Pennsylvania 
Coal Company, at that time the largest coal operators in the 
Lackawanna valley. His position with this company 
entailed upon him ('uties that were onerous and import.-.nl — 
consisting chiefly in the sinking of shafts, the driving of 
tunnels, and in the general development of the mines. In 
1854, he left the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, 
and, leasing from S. Spencer and others some coal lands, 
began to mine for himself, a pursuit in which he was highly 
successful. His lease expiring in 1862, he renewed it and 
associated with him J. R. Davis and J. F. Hunt; this 




lUCHlRAl'IlU AL KNCVCLOr.KDIA. 



4S. 



partnership continued until 1S67, when he solil out his in- 
terest in the mine — known as the " Roaring Broolt Mine." 
His next essay was at Green Ridge, wliere he operated for 
more than five years the " Oak Hill Colliery ; " and, in 1870, 
he also sunk a shaft at Carbon Hill, a colliery which, in 
July, 1S72, was sold to the Erie Railroad Company. In 
i87i,he superintended the building of the Spring Brook 
Colliery, now owned also by the Erie Railroad Company, 
and known as the " Moosic Colliery." In the fall of 1S73, 
he opened in Blakely township, about eight miles from 
Scranton, one of the largest collieries in this section of the 
State; this he is now operating; it is known as the " Win- 
ton Colliery," and is considered the largest "breaker" in 
this region ; its capacity is 200,000 tons per annum. In 
connection with the Winton Mine, he has constructed and 
is at present completing another enterprise, to be called the 
" Filer Mine." From these two last-named collieries he 
and his partner, Thomas Levey, have contracts to deliver 
300,000 tons per annum, with rights and privileges en ad- 
joining tracts which enable them to increase the volume to 
a half million within the next five years. As a developer 
of coal lands, he has no superiors and few equals ; his un- 
equaled judgment, displayed so often in locating happily 
numerous veins of coal, has won him unbounded admiration 
and esteem; while his advice and services are anxiously 
sought after by parties developing land in this section of 
our State. Repeatedly, when various mining enterprises 
h.ive been abandoned as hopelessly unprofitable, he has 
turned his attention to them, and in many cases has trans- 
formed apparently profitless mines into the most jiroductive 
collieries in the county. In fact, the greater portion of the 
developments mentioned herein, and attributed to him, are 
on tracts ivhich had been abandoned by others as worthless; 
and throughout the county there are many operators who 
are greatly indebted to his benevolent shrewdness in assist- 
ing them in the hour of need, in directing them where to 
strike their veins, and in proffering useful and valuable 
counsel. Forty-five years of his life have Ijeen spent in 
mining, and during this time his wisdom, energy and per- 
severance have benefited in an incalculable degree his 
adopted State and country. In 1S44, he was married to 
Martha Alsby, of England. 



|E VAN, JOHN P., Master Mechanic, was born 
in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, November 
17th, 1834. His ancestors emigrated to this 
country in 1699, and consisted of three brolhers, 
who being embroiled politically with the Hugue- 
nots, and French Huguenots themselves, came 
to the United States to seek safety, tranquillity and fortune. 
His father, John Le Van, was born in Kutztown, Berks 
county ; his mother, Johan Stonsh, was the daughter of 
worthy parents, and was born in Lebanon county. He 
61 



himself was through humble circumstances debarred from 
the educational privileges in these days accorded to all so 
freely and fully. His father being a stationary engineer 
receiving but a meagre salary, he was at an early date com- 
pelled to take part in the struggle for life. During nine 
months, however, he was a constant attendant at a free 
school ; and for two years was a pupil in a night-school 
situated near his home. When but ten years of age, he 
was engaged in bottling root beer and setting up nine pins, 
and while busied with these humble occupations managed 
to save a trifling sum of money. Thrce.years later, he was 
hired to work in a brick-yard near Harrisburg, where he 
remained until he had attained his seventeenth year. He 
was then indentured as an apprentice to the Pennsylvania 
Railroad Compajiy to learn car-building in the works at 
Altoona, Pennsylvania. And it is noteworthy that he was 
the first boy taken as an apprentice by this company. After 
serving in this capacity for six years he was employed as a 
journeyman, when his remarkable mechanical ability, his 
industiy, and his reliability procured him rapid advance- 
ment. At the present time, he is general foreman of the 
Car Department of the Pennsylvania Raihoad Company at 
Altoona. It was not until he attained his majority that he 
applied himself to study with any earnestness or persistence ; 
when, by diligent perseverance and commendable industry, 
he rapidly acquired a general knowledge of those things 
most useful to mechanics and artisans. In 1S64, he was 
drafted to serve three years in the United Slates Army ; 
but his employers, who valued him highly as a capable and 
eflicient workman, held a consultation, and freed him by 
paying the "redemption." In 1857, he was married to 
Isabella, daughter of Joshua and Christiana Reifsneider, 
who were among, the first settlers in Altoona, and wdiose 
household effects were conveyed thither over the canal. 
In appearance, he exhibits the traits of a thoughtful and 
earnest character, and is modest and courteous in his mien 
and actions. He has never participated in the political dis- 
putes and movements of his time, and is known as a quiet 
and moral citizen. When but nine years of age, his career 
was veiy nearly cut short by an accident that precipitated 
him into a deep canal ; from this perilous situation he was 
rescued only after great exertion, 

/ "^^^ 

PEER, HON. ROBERT MILTON, Lawyer and 
Congressman, was born in Cassville, Huntingdon 
county, Peinsylvania, September 8th, 1838. 
He is of Irish descent; his parents, Robert and 
Agnes Speer, having emigrated from near Bel- 
fast, Ireland, to America, and settled in Hunting- 
don county, Pennsylvania, about 1820. He was the 
youngest child, and was left an orphan when quite young, 
his mother having died in 1851, and his father in 1852. 
He received his education in the Cassville Seminary, and 




482 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.IiDIA. 




afterwards engaged in the study of the law in the oflRce of 
Wilson & Petrikin of Huntingdon. He was admitted to 
the bar in November, 1859, and forthwith commenced the 
practice of his profession in Huntingdon, where he has 
since continued it. He was Assistant Clerk of the House 
in the Pennsylvania Legislature during the session of 1S63, 
and, in 1S72, was a Delegate to the Democratic National 
Convention at liahimore. He received the nomination for 
the 42(1 Congress from the Democrats of the 17th Con- 
gressional District, in 1870, was duly elected, and, having 
acquitted himself lo the complete satisfaction of his consti- 
tuents, w.as re-elected lo the 43d Congress. He ha-s taken, 
an active jiart in all the proceedings of the I IouseJ^»nd fgii-' 
dered acceptable and valuable service in the "Committees 
on Elections, and on Expenditures in the J3e]){irtmcnt of 
Justice. On both occasions of his election it was from a. 
Republican district, and he ran from lOod tb 1500 ahead 
of his ticket. 

"^ ■.•■,•:.-» :'- 

- ITCHELL, nOX. JOHN H., Lawyer, aife^ Wiif^dj 
States Senator, was born in Washingtoi^cbunty,' 
Pennsylvania, June 22d, 1S35. -Sfter accjuirmg. 
the rudiments of an EnglislT^4Scair6ri at the"fiiib-| 
lie schools of his native couritv,'fi<si(i(iendcdfoi:< 
some time the Washiri^toi^ 'In^t^ltte "of Kiftl^j 
and finished his scholastic coufteuntftr aTprMbj^r Instructor.' 
He then entered the law offite-fcf'Jh.i'ii. 'S.tmuel' A.- Piirvi- 
ance (of the firm of Purvia'ncif-'iSf ■^IrrompsunV iH^utler, 
Pennsylvania, under whose inSfriiciriiiiis h#remaiifeilifor two 
years. After passing a most satisfactory exarfffrtation, he 
was admitted to the bar of Butler coiihty, in 1S58. -jfere 
he immediately commenced the practice of his profession, 
but remained only for a short time. The love of adventure 
and the inducements which California seemed to offer to 
young and energetic men decided him upon venturing into 
a new Held. He removed to San Francisco, and from 
thence to San Luis Obisper, California. Soon, however, he 
returned lo San Francisco, and, in July, i860, journeyed 
to Portland, Oregon. Finding here the haven which he 
had so long been seeking, he brought his " undeterminetl 
roving" to a close. He at ofite tunM:cljlii_^atl«aitr»n.tb tlje, 
building up of a legal practice^ an'tl at the same time en- 
gaged actively in local politics. So quickly did he make 
his influence felt that in the following year, I SO I, he was 
elected Corporation Attorney of Portland. The succeed- 
ing year, 1S62, he was nominated and elected by the Re- 
publican party to the Oregon State .Senate, in which body 
he served most faithfully and efficiently four years. During 
the fu-st two years of his term he was Chairman of the 
Committee of the Judiciary, and the last two years he held 
the honor.ible position of President of the Senate. At the 
close of the first era of his official life so satisfactory was 
his record to his constituents, that they earnestly desired 
to further honor him with still higher proofs of their esteem 



and confidence. In 1866, strenuous efforts were made by 
his political friends to secure him a seat in the Senate of 
the United States. They only failed to elevate him to this 
proud position through lack of one vote in the caucus. In 
1865, he was commissioned, by the Governor of the State, 
Lieutenant-Colonel in the .State Militia. In 1867, he w.as 
elected Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in VVilliamite 
University, at Salem, Oregon, and occupied that Chair for 
nearly four years. In 1S72, he gained the prize which si,x 
years before had so narrowly escaped his grasp. He was 
elected to the United States Senate, and took his seat as 
the successor of the Hon. Henry \V. Corbett, on March 
4lh, 1S73. In this body he is an active member of the 
Committee on Privileges, Elections and Claims, and is one 
of the Select Committee on Transportation Routes to the 
Sea-board. As in the Senate of the State of his ado])tion, 
he occupies a prominent and influential position in the great 
Ujiper House of the Nation. He is possessed of remark- 
able energy and rare abilities, with the peculiar faculty of 
(?xerting the one and asserting the other, traits which caused 
'Hiiirso q\iickly to be recognized as a natural leader by the 
'citljeus'pf Portland. From the year 1868 until January 
1st 1873J when he resigned all other engagements to enter 
upcijti-his dutie?a.s Uiiited St.ates Senator, he was constantly 
fifi^i.)!)iieU 'iEfpositions of high trust and honor. For fi\ c 
yfeire-ljeVas the attorney for " The Oregon and California 
'Rjit*lro!fiI*Cii|jipaffi'y,''''ot- Oregon, and " The North Pacific 
SteanrsW^p^Transiiortalion Company," of .San Francisco, 
CallfcKViay^lff 'an^atTnual'salary of ten thousand dollars, in 
gold &)\n'. Throughout his public career he has been dis- 
lingufc^ed-bJS enlarged views of statesmanship, unswerving 
adherence to the principles of the Republican party, to which 
he is devoted, and untiring energy in advancing any pro- 
ject to which he has pledged his sup|iort. A quick per- 
ception and sound judgment, united with business tact, have 
secured to him rapid and great success, and he carries with 
him an influence rarely in the possession of a man so young 
in years. 



%RIFI'iiJJi( HENRY, Merchant and Agriculturist, 
• was born in Ancram, Columbia county, Penn- 
I sylvania'', May 231I, 181 1. He was the son of 
V ,, Joseph GrjQin and Elizabeth (Hoyradt) Griffin, 
^^'-'^ and was of Welsh and German descent. His 
father was a native of Westchester county, New 
York, but emigrated to what was then called Providence 
township, now known as Hyde Park. This occurred when 
Henry was in his fifth year, and thereafter during many 
years his parent was familiarly known throughout an ex- 
tensive circuit of the region as "Old Uncle Joe." His 
education was necessarily meagre and limited, and when 
not in the school-room he was busily engaged in laboring 
on a farm. During the greater portion of his life, in fact, 
agricultural pursuits have engrossed his attention almost ex- 




.' 1 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



483 



clusivcly. Ill 1S56, he participated actively in the specu- 
lative agitation then possessing this region, and invested 
very largely in coal lauds, which he leased to corporations 
fir mining purposes. By this means, he rapidly acquired 
an immense amount of property and vast wealth. During 
his lifetime he held many prominent positions, and in each 
and every one discharged the functions of his office in a 
satisfactory and honorable jnanner. lie was President of 
the Poor Board during many years, and held this office up 
to the date of his decease; an influential Director in the 
Second N.ilional Bank of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and one 
of its largest stockholders ; President of the Providence and 
Ahington Turnpike Company ; a Director in the Lacka- 
wanna Hospital, where liis indefatigable efforts won him 
high encomiums in all quarters; one of the foremost stock- 
holders of the Trust Company and Savings Bank of Scran- 
ton ; Assessor of the Third Ward of Scranton, and Presi- 
dent of the School Board in the same place. In addition 
to these, he held numerous other jrasitions of note and im- 
portance, and at all times was commended for his exacti- 
tude, his energy, and his shrewd and unerring judgment. 
He was alio one of the charter members of the Hyde Park 
Lodge Free and Associated Masons, an institution in which 
he ever look a lively and generous interest. His religious 
inclinations led him to join the Society of Friends, while 
the Griffin family in general was likewise inclined from an 
early period to the present lime. His lii-st wife was separated 
from him by death ; his second wife, and present widow, 
was, at the time of her marriage to him, in April, 1S55, 
Mrs. Allis, then a resident of this vicinity, and formerly a 
Miss Briggs, of Dutchess county. New York. He died June 
26th, 1874, and was buried with Masonic honors in Forest 
Cemetery, near Dunmore, on the outskirts of Scranton, 
Pennsylvania. As a man, he was beloved by all, and the 
citizens generally paid him the greatest respect, not only 
during his lifetime, but also at the time of his death, an 
event which called forth many eulogies from the press of 
this region. Though blunt in speech, he sympathized 
strongly with the failings and misfortunes of all, and was 
ever a prime mover in benevolent and charitable efforts. 



/ 

ETZ, HON. J. LAURENCE, Journalist, and ex- 
Congressman, was born at Reading, Pennsylva- 
nia, September 14th, 1821. His father was an 
officer in the navy, and fought under Captain 
Laurence in the War of 1812. His grandfather, 
on the maternal side, was a soldier of the Revo- 
After receiving a thorough academic education, he 
pursued a course of law studies in the office of the Hon. 
William Strong, of the Supreme Bench, and, in 1846, was 
admitted to practice. Subsequently he became connected 
with the press, and, from 1S46 until December 5th, 1S68, 
edited the Kcaiiing GazctU' and Democrat, the English 




organ of the Democracy of Berks county. During 1856- 
'57, he was a member of the State Legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania. In the first year, he was appointed Chairman of 
the Committee on Education, and Secretary to the Com- 
mittee of Ways and Means ; in the last he was made 
Speaker of the House, and as such was noted for his strict 
impartiality, his quickness of perception, and his readiness 
in rendering decisions. From March 4th, 1867, until March 
4th, 1S73, he served in Congress, and during that period 
was a member of the Committees on Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Bounties, Public Expenditures, Public Buildings and 
Grounds, and the Mississippi Levees. Upon being re- 
elected to the Forty-second Congress as a Democrat, he re- 
ceived 10,41 1 votes against 5045 votes for N. Hunter, Re- 
publican. While acting as a Congressman, he delivered 
few speeches, but these stamped him beyond question or 
doubt as a fluent and able orator ; one was in opposition to 
the impeachment of Andrew Johnson ; another in favor of 
the Repeal of the Income Tax and a general reduction of 
Internal Taxation ; another was a Eulogy upon the late Hon. 
John Covode, which was commended for the rare merit, in 
funeral oratory, of truth. Since his retirement from public 
life, he has contributed many articles of a political and 
literary nature to various newspapers and magazines; while 
at present he is meditating an early resumption of his former 
profession as a legal practitioner. As an upholder and de- 
fender of the sentiments of his constituents, and the brave 
and faithful chief of an influential party organ, he has 
merited and won high encomiums in every quarter ; exhi- 
biting uirder all circumstances energy, loyalty, learning and 
perseverance. As a lawyer, he is highly esteemed by those 
sufficiently familiar with him to discern his merits, for his 
powers of analysis and judgment, his thorough course of 
reading, and his quick appreciation of the flaws, points and 
difficulties of an involved and vexatious case. He was 
married, in October, 1S47, to Anna, eldest daughter of Rev. 
R. U. Morgan, D. D., a presbyter of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church. She died in March, 1873, leaving two chil- 
dren, a son and a daughter. 



LEXANDER, MILTON, Lawyer, was born in 
Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, and his parents 
were Robert and Mary Alexander. His education 
he obtained first at Jefferson College, Cannons- 
burg, and finally at the University of Albany, 
New York. In 1867, he pursued a course of 
legal studies in Clarion, Pennsylvania, making himself ac- 
quainted with the preliminary formalities in law, in order 
to fit himself for more thorough study at a later period. 
Subsequently, he entered the Law Department of the Uni- 
versity of Albany, and graduated in April, 1S69. May 
5th, 1869, he was admitted to the Supreme Court at Al- 
bany. June 26th, 1869, he removed to Altoona, Pennsyl- 




484 



inOGRArillCAL KNCYCLOP/EDIA. 




vauia, where he soon became noted as a learned and able 
l)ractitioncr. In October, 1871, he was elected District 
Attorney of Blair count)-, Pennsylvania, and in this posi- 
tion won high praises and encomiums for his judgment and 
sagacity. In Kebruar>', 1S74, he was elected City Solicitor 
of Altoona, under the firm name of Alexander & Ilerr. lie 
was married, September lolh, iS74,to Katy F. Morton, of 
'Lancaster. 



^VCOE, RALPH DUPUY, Merchant, was born 
in Pittston, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, No- 
vember 14th, 1S24. His father, Anthony D. 
Lacoe, was born near Havre, France, in 17S0, 
and at the lime of the French Revolution was 
sent out of the country by his parents, and came 
to the United States, landing at Philadelphia, in charge of 
a friend of the family who was engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits. His mother was Amelia M. Dupuy, of Hayti, whose 
father was one of the few refugees that escaped from that 
island at the time of the insurrection. His elder brothers 
served actively in the French Republican army of that 
eventful period. Finally, his father, after passing through 
the yellow fever scourge in Philadelphia, and l.ising every 
friend and acquaintance he possessed in the country, left 
this city, and settling near Pittston became one of the early 
pioneers of the valley. Here Ralph was born, and, after 
receiving the crude education obtainable in a country school 
of those days, learned under his father the trade of car- 
penter and builder. This business he followed for a few 
years, then engaged in the lumber trade, which was in turn 
abandoned for the purpose of entering into real estate trans- 
actions. To this business he has since devoted the greater 
portion of his time and attention. In 1S60, he was chosen 
Cashier of the Pittston Bank, and continued to sen-e in this 
capacity until the consolidation of the institution, in 1864, 
into the First National B.ank of Pittston. Previous to the 
consolidation, and at the organization of the First National 
Bank, he was chosen Vice-President, and continued to dis- 
charge the duties connected with both banks. This oc- 
curred during the war times, when the values of bonds and 
colkiteials were constantly fluctuating, and when the posi- 
tion of tinancial manager was one beset with jierils and 
endless difficulties ; imder his administration these institu- 
tions invariably lent their hearty support to the Govern- 
ment, and invested in all the bonds they were alile to man- 
age. These arduous duties undermined his health, and he 
was obliged to sever his official connection with the bank, 
and travel in the South in order to re-invigorate his shat- 
tered system. Returning to Pittston at the expiration of 
three years, he resumed his operations in real estate, and 
was soon actively and successfully occupied. The Gas 
Works of Pittston were built by him in connection with an- 
other enterprising capit.ilist, and he was one of the origi- 
nators of the Pittston Water Company, being at the present 



time one of its most influential directors. Also, he is one of 
the organizers and incorporators of the Wyoming Insurance 
Company, a relial>le and successful instifulion whose main 
office is at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania. In 1856, at the 
solicitation of numerous friends, he was nominated Sheriff 
on the Republican ticket, but the county being largely 
Democratic he failed to secure an election. He was the 
first agent of the celebrated Dupont Powder Comjiany in 
this section of the State, and worked successfully to insure 
its introduction and use here for mining and other purposes. 
In lS5o, he was married to a member of the Clary family 
of Pittston. His success in life he attributes to his industr)-, 
economy and perseverance; he is enterprising but cautious, 
and averse to entering into wild speculations. 



^^ 




ITNER, JOHN R., Capitalist, was born in Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania, August 7th, 1826. His 
father, ASjraham Bitner, was a well known and 
influential citizen of this place, and was of Ger- 
man extraction, his ancestors being among the 
very earliest settlers in the State of Pennsylv.ania. 
His mother, a member of the Porter family, was also of 
German descent. Until in his thirteenth year, John at- 
tended the common schools of his native city, obtaining an 
ordinary English education. He was then placed in a shop 
to learn the trade of cabinet maker, continuing here until 
he was twenty years of age, when he entered the employ 
of the State Railroad, since purchased and managed by the 
P. C. R. R. Company. In 1848, in connection with his 
brother, C. A. Bitner, he purchased a few freight cars, and 
commenced the transportation business over the different 
railroads of the State, but principally on that upon which 
he had been employed. At this time, the major portion of 
their business lay on the line running between Philadelphia 
and Lancaster. There were then several individuals and 
firms engaged in the same business, but owing to the su- 
perior tact and energy of the Brothers Bitner, theirs soon 
became the leading firm, and, since 1857, they have been 
the only parties engaged in that branch of business. At the 
same date, 1848, they also became eng.aged, in connection 
with their freighting business, in grain operations, and in 
the shipping of cereals to different points in" the East. This 
has since developed itself into a prosperous and extensive 
trade. In 1854, they, with other interested parties, built 
up the Eden Paper Mills, and were half o^vners in the 
same. Soon after the establishment of this enterprise, and 
while it was in successful operation, they disposed of their 
interest in it, and, in 1855, built a steam flouring mill in 
Lancaster, which had a working capacity of one hundred 
and fifty barrels of flour per diem. This mill they continued 
to operate until 1863, when, owing to the pressure attend- 
ant upon furnishing large supplies to the Union Army, they 
took down the mill to make room for an extensive ware- 



lilOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



4S5 



house, vvliich tliey l)uilt on ils site. Tliey were among the 
heaviest continctgrs with the Government for furnishing 
army supplies during the war, and su satisfactorily was 
their business conducted that, at the close of tlie conflict, 
the Government applied to them for supplies for the old 
army stock until it could be disposed of. In 1865, they 
were members of the firm which built the Fulton Cotton 
Mills, but sold their interest in it, in 1S69. They were 
also members of the firm which, in the same year, built the 
Printers' Paper Mills; and J. R. Piitncr h.aving purchased 
his brother's interest, is now one of the managers, and 
owns one-third interest in the business, which is being 
prosecuted very successfully. He is a stockholder and 
director in an association which purchased a tract of land 
upon the coast of New Jersey, and founded Ocean Beach, 
a village fast growing into public favor as a summer resort 
and watering place. He is also a director of the New 
Egypt, F.armingdale & Long Branch Railroad, of New Jer- 
sey. In 1S65, he, in connection with others, founded a 
forwarding and commission house, at Si I Market street, 
Philadelphia, and in this establishment remained a partner 
until 1870. He has been a member of both branches of 
the Lancaster City Councils for several terms. Recently, he 
has purchased his brother's entire interest in. the transporta- 
tion and grain business, and is now sole- proprietor. He 
was married, April 25th, 1852, to a daughter of David 
Wiedler, a w-ell-known and wealthy farmer of Lancaster 
county ; and he has seven promising children, one of whom, 
the eldest son, is with him as Superintendent of his large 
warehouse. 



'MITH, PERSIFOR FRAZER, Lawyer, and Re- 
porter of the Supreme Court, was born in Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania, January 3d, 1808. His 
ancestry is Scotch-Irish. His paternal grand- 
father, Robert Smith, was Lieutenant, or Sheriff, 
of Chester county during the Revolutionary 
War, while his maternal grandfather, Persifor Frazer, was 
a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Continental Army. He en- 
joyed the advantages of a classical education at the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, and pursued a course of law 
studies under the tuition of William H. Dillingham, of 
Westchester. In November, 1 829, he was admitted to the 
bar, and immediately engaged in active practice. A quick 
intellect, and a close attention to the pursuit of his choice, 
soon assured him a leading position at the bar of his 
county, and an extensive and remunerative clientage. In 
I S62, he was elected to the State Legislature; in Novem- 
ber, i866, was appointed, by Governor Curtin, State Re- 
porter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; 
and, July 1st, 1870, was re-appointed by Governor Geaiy. 
This position he still occupies, having fulfilled the duties 
of his office to the entire satisfaction of the court and the 
general public. He is an active and zealous member of 




the Presbyterian Church, and on the loth of January, 1S34, 
was elected a ruling elder of that religious body. He was 
one of the original promoters of the First Presbyterian 
Church of Westchester, and has been a member of the 
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States up"on three different occasions, viz.: at Philadelphia, 
in 1838; at Detroit, in 1S50; and at Pittsburgh, in 186S. 
Of the lower judicatories of the church (the Synod and the 
Presbytery), he has frequently been an influential member. 
He has served upon several important committees, and, 
owing to his perfect knowledge of both church and state 
jurisprudence, has rendered most valuable aid in the set- 
tlement of vexed and perplexing questions. He is a man 
of commanding presence and dignified bearing, and is 
widely esteemed for his firmness and probity. 



/ 
lERY, HON. JAMES S., Lawyer, and Congress- 
man, was born in Venango county, Pennsyl- 
vania, March 2d, 1839. He received a liberal 
education, and was afterwards eng.iged for seve- 
ral years in teaching. In 1861, he removed to 
AUentown, Pennsylvania, and commenced the 
study of theology, which he continued during two years 
and a half. Subsequently he engaged in the study of the 
law, in the office of Edwin Albright, of AUentown, and 
was admftted to the bar, September Sth, 186S. He then 
began to practise the profession in AUentown, which he 
has since continued. He was the Republican candidate 
of Lehigh county for the State Legislature in i86g, and ran 
235 votes ahead of his ticket. In 1872, he became the 
nominee of the Republican party for Congress from the 
Sixth District, and was'elected to the Forty-third Congress. 
He has given zealous and able service to his constituents 
and the country, and has been a member of the Committees 
on Manufactures and Mileage. 



f'-i^'ORNEY, DANIEL CARPENTER, Journalist, 
v/as born in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, De- 





cember 23d, 1827. His ancestors were Swiss 
Hir*;uenots, who were among the number of those 
who fled to this country in order to escape reli- 
gious and political persecution. His education 
he acquired at Lancaster, in the common schools, then the 
first ones in the State, and adapted to afford but few edu- 
cational privileges. Very early in life he was compelled 
to depend upon his own resources, and, in the year 1836, 
he started in life as a vender of newspapers. He served 
the first copy of the Philadelphia Public Ledger in Lancas- 
ter, and was its first agent. He was also agent for the then 
noted publication, DusoNe's Daily Times, of Philadelphia. 
At an early date, he formed an .attachment for journalism. 



4S6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



and, during the jouinalislic experience of Colonel John \V. 
Forney in Lancaster, was often connected with him. His 
acquaintance with this distinguished journalist soon brought 
him into contact with the foremost politicians of the day, 
and he gained the good will and esteem of James Bu- 
chanan and many other public men, famous then or at a 
subsequent period. After serving an apprenticeship in the 
iron business, he went to Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, 
and, in his eighteenth year, was engaged as book-keeper at 
tlie Coleman Iron Works, one of the oldest and most suc- 
cessful iron manufactories in the State. He remained with 
the family of his employer for more than twelve years, and 
to this patron he is largely indebted for the foundation of 
his education and business knowledge. Subsequently, he 
was engaged in the anthracite coal region, and, at the 
breaking out of the war, moved to Washington, where he 
held for six months a remunerative position in the Land 
Office. Later, he became the publisher of the Daily and 
Sunday Morning Chronicle, under the ownership and edi- 
torial charge o; Colonel John W. Forney. This position 
he held until 1871, when the daily portion was sold, he 
retaining the ownership and control of the Sunday edition. 
This latter is still in his possession, and is very ably man- 
aged, being conducted upon an Independent Republican 
b.asis. During his journalistic career, he has enjoyed the 
entire confidence of all the leading actoi-s in .State matters, 
notably, Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet, and the prime 
movers in the great conflict. He took an active part as an 
advocate of Andrew Johnson's impeachment, and urged 
that a special session of Congress should be called for that 
purpose. He was highly esteemed as a friend and journal- 
ist by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, and their 
friendly relations were annulled only by death. During 
the term of President Grant, he h.is devoted his lime and 
attention to journalism, and has been bold and fearless in 
exposing and denouncing disloyalty and corruption of every 
kind. He has inherited a natural hatred for monopolies 
of eveiy description, and makes them the subject of the 
greater portion of his writings. His style is clear, crisp, 
and decided, and his handling of a subject terse, logical, 
and pointed. He was married, in 1S50, to Catharine 
Reinhart, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania. 



[•SHERRY, HON. WILLIAM, Lawyer, was born 
in Littlestown, Adams county, Pennsylvania, 
April 14th, 1S21. His father was Hon. James 
McSherry, of the same place, who for many 
years represented Adams county in both branches 
of the Slate Legislature, was a member of the 
Convention to Revise the Constitution of Pennsylvania, in 
1S3S, and also reyiresented his Congressional district in the 
House of Representatives in Congress. He died, Febru- 




ary 3d, 1849, honored, loved, and regretted by all who 
knew him, leaving two sons: James McSherry, a member 
of the bar of Frederick county, Maryland, favorably known 
as the author of McSherr/s History of Maryland, and 
William McSherry, who was educated at St. Mary's Col- 
lege, in Maryland, where he graduated in June, 1840. In 
the following fall, he commenced his law studies in the 
office of General James M. Conla, of r'rederick City, Mary- 
land, and in October, 1S42, was admitted to the bar. 
Entering immediately upon the active practice of law in 
Gettysburg, .'Vdams county, he met with fair success. In 
1S44, he entered into law partnership with Hon. James 
Cooper, who subsequently was nominated and elected 
United States Senator from Pennsylvania. This partner- 
ship continued for two years, when he returned to his 
birthplace, a step to which he was prompted by the declin- 
ing health of his father. For a few years he continued the 
pursuit of his profession, but finally abandoned it, in a 
great measure, and bestowed his time and attention upon 
agriculture. Since that period he has continued to reside 
on his farm, near Littlestown, Adams county, Pennsylvania. 
In the fall of 1S47, he was elected by the Whig party to 
the House of Representatives; and, in 1849, his former 
partner, Hon. James Cooper, having, upon being elected to 
the Senate of the United Stales, resigned his seat as a mem- 
ber of the Legislature, he w.as elected without opposition 
to fill the vacancy caused by his resign.ation. In the fall 
of 1850, he was also elected to the House of Representa- 
tives; and, in 1S56, was elected President of the Littles- 
town Railroad Company, completed the road in July, 1S57, 
and for many years managed the affairs of this company in 
the most satisfactory manner. During the ten years elapsing 
between 1S51 and 1S61, though frequently importuned by 
both parties of those times to become a can<lidate for the 
Legislature, he pereistently declined. In the fall of 1S62, 
however, the Democrats of Adams county placed him in 
nomination as a candidate for State Senator, and this nomi- 
nation was concurred in by the Conferences of Franklin 
and Fulton counties, which, with Adams county, formed 
the Senatorial District. He was elected by a district 
majority of 780, while in Adams county he received a 
majority of 540. In April, 1S67, he was appointed by the 
President of the United Slates, Assessor of Internal Reve- 
nues for the Sixteenth District of Pennsylvania, composed 
of the counties of Adams, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, and 
Somerset; this position he resigned in May, 1869. In Ihe 
fall of 1 87 1, he was elected to the St.ate Senate from the 
District composed of the counties of York and Adams, for 
three years. At the close of the session of the Senate of 
1S73, he was honored by receiving the votes of the Demo- 
cratic Senators for Speaker; and at the opening of the 
session of 1874, he was again honored in the same man- 
ner. Caring little for political life, and with little am- 
bition for public preferment, it is more than prob.iblc lh.it 
the session of the Pennsylvania Legislature of 1874 will 




'^.. 



/^A.A. /^^^ 




lUOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



4S7 



close his politicil life. lie was married, October 15th, 
1S44, to Eliza T. McSherry, daughter of Dr. Richard Mc- 
Sherry, of Marlinsburg, Virginia. 



a^/ 




cutter. This work brought him into close intercourse with 
the Government officials, and when Secretary of the Navy 
Bancroft, in 1844, reorganized the Engineer Corps of the 
Navy, he was invited to appear for competitive examina- 
tion, which resulted in his being commissioned Chief Engi- 
neer, to date March 15th, 1S45 ■ ^^'^ being the only instance 
where such high rank was attained by a civilian on enter- 
ing the service. His first duty was at the Pensacola Navy 
Yard, and during tlie Mexican War lie served on board the 
frigate " Mississippi " (dag-ship), under Commodores Con- 
nor and Perry, participating in the capture of Tobasco, and 
bthucminor ports along the Gulf of Mexico. Returning to 
the United States r.t the close of the war, he was ordered 
to Boston,' superintending the building of engines for the 
frigate "[Saranac," ca boird of which, after its completion, 
he satved'unlil 1G53, in the West India and Brazil Squad- 
rons? ■ In*i;854-'57, he was ct tlie Tredegar Iron Works, 
R^cfimond, Virginia, superintending the engines building 
for the frigates " Roanoke " and " Colorado." Before the 
-latter was completed, he served temporarily on board the 
"■RoJfti'oke," when that vessel was sent, under command 
of* Capfain (after-wards Admiral) Montgomery, to Nicara- 
gita,' to-' bring home the survivors of Walker's ill-fated 
e'x'pet^lioH.' ■ In ■l85S-'59, he superintended the construc- 
■fi.on of , the eiiQjies of the frigate " Lancaster," at Phila- 
■dtjliihia, jmel seTiiEd on board of that vessel from 1859 to 
l86», in'llie-Tscifte Squadron. He was ordered to return 
libmAat the oirthreaJ-c of the Rebellion, and again stationed 
The boy early • saw the"' ne'cessity of "aj at Philndelphia,%h'ere he superintended the building of the 
iah'ches of mdtlft-' 'fon-cl'ad .frigtitS " New Ironsides," which was completed 
.iri-'the spring of ;l863. During this period, he was also 
•Emploj^ed on part of the fleet known as the " Thirty-d.ay 
■Guiiboats," they having been built in thirty days from the 
time the keels were laid. In 1863, he was ordered to duty 
at .New York, as Inspector of Machinery Afloat, which 
duty embraced the supervision of all machinery under con- 
tract, changing captured blockade-runners into gunboats, 
and the completion of the Monitors at that point. While 
here, he suggested the employment and use of torpedoes, 
and made an extensive series of experiments, demonstrating 
the practicability of using them from the bows of launches, 
and designed and supervised the construction of the torpedo 
vessel " Spuyten Duyvel." One of his torpedo .shells de- 
sfroyiiv^ a .,J«essel at the Chatham Dockyard, England, 
resulted. in their adoption by the British Navy. After the 
'war, hS*\v?is ortlS-ad to the Naval Academy, as a member 
of the .\cademic Board, and was placed in charge of, and 
organized the branch of instruction in Steam Engineering 
at that institution, which gives all midshipmen a course of 
instruction in the theory and practice of managing marine 
engines. During his service in this capacity, he visited 
Europe, where he inspected the most prominent polytechnic 
institutions, naval dockyards, and the great ship-building 
establishments, foundries, and iron works. From July, 
1 868, when he was relieved from the Naval Academy, until 



lOOD, WILLIAM WILLIS WVLIE, Englneer- 
in-Chief, United States Navy, ranking as Com- 
modore, was born near Raleigh, Wake county, 
North Carolina, May 30th, 1818, and is of 
English descent. His father was a large planter, 
and his mother was the daughter of Michael 
Rogers, one of the early settlers of Central North Carolina, 
who was prominent in public affairs during Colcmi^l times. 
He was instructed by a private tutor, an English gerttleman 
named Wolstenholme, until twelve years of tfg^ when, 3*7 
the death of his father, he was sent by his gua^iSn to the 
college at Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, which was conducted 
I)y an ex-officer of the British Army. The BaJflnfore & 
Oliio Railroad was then in course of construction, and'-h^i'e 
young Wood first saw a locomotive, and it was -this 'that, 
developed his natural love for mechanics, ani ftiduced 
him, when nearly fifteen (after completing. his'coflegfete 
course), to proceed to Baltimore, where, IhrSugH 'the -kind 
offices of Charles Carroll, of CarrolitQn,'son of. the^-signer 
of the Declaration, and of William'ijGwhih,-*f1ie<,fanipus 
editor of the Baltimore Cazei/e^hs^ios ^i*i1itted''t6-eiiter 
the great establishment of Charles Reede<-^machmei shops 
and foundries, 

thorough knowledge of the higher br 
matics, and, during his stay of little more than two y^jys at-i 
B.altimore, he mastered the science in all its branchts. 
With the view of further improvement in the tracle'lie'had 
selected, he left Baltimore in 1835, and went to New 
York, where he entered the West Point Foundry, at that 
date the most extensive works in the United States. Com- 
pleting his apprenticeship here, he became wholly identified 
\\ith the works, and was placed in charge of the most im- 
portant labor. He superintended the erection and fitting 
of the engines for the steam frigate " Missouri," the first 
naval vessel, having sea-going qualities, on which machin- 
ery was really successfully employed, and previous to that 
time had worked on the machinery of the naval vessel 
known as the " Fulton," No. 2, the first which ever aT;liU- 
ally left port and went to sea. In l84L,Ji£ went lo'Ala- 
bama, bought a large plantation on the Warrior Tiver,-rC-' 
moved thither the slaves inherited from his father, and 
settled down as a planter. In a couple of years, however, 
he fell a victim to malaria, and, acting under the advice of 
his physicians, sold his property and went to Pennsylvania, 
which State he has ever since claimed as his residence. 
He had charge, first, of the steamers "Spitfire" and 
" Vixen." building for the Mexican navy; and was next 
sent to the West Point Foundry, by Secretary of the Treas- 
ury .Spencer, to superintend building the first iron revenue 



4SS 



inOGKAl'lIKAL i:.\CVCL01'.EI)IA. 



March, 1S73, he was on special duty at New York, as 
Inspector of Machinery Afloat, and Chief Engineer of the 
Navy Yard. April ist, 1873, he was ajipointed by Presi- 
dent Grant to be Chief of the Engineering Bureau, Navy 
Department, and succeeded Commodore J. W. King, 
whose term of office had expired. During his service in 
the navy, he has been actively employed for over twenty- 
six years. Mis wife was formerly Miss Gillespie, of Ala- 
bama, and was the adopted daughter of General Crabb, a 
former Representative in Congress. They have several 
children, one of whom entered the navy ,as Cadet Midship- 
m.in, in 1S71, and two daughters, the wives of Lieutenants 
Arnold and Ilcald, United .States Navy. 



OUNG, COE F., General Superintendent of the 
Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, was born 
near Mount Hope, Orange county. New York, 
May 15th, 1824. His parents, natives of the 
vicinity, are lineal descendants of an honorable 
family who, at an early date, emigrated from 
England and settled in this country. Upon losing his 
parents, while in his sixth year, he was sent to live under 
tlie guardianship of a brother residing in Monroe county, 
reniisylvania. IJy this relative he was employed to drive 
the liorse attached to his boat, running to and fro on a 
neigldioring canal. After being thus engaged for four 
years, during wliich tiiv.e he had acquired a slight and su- 
perficial education, he became engaged as a clerk in 
Orange county. .Subsequently, he abandoned this position, 
and, removing to Ulster county, connected himself there 
wi.h an establishment as clerk and general assistant. After 
securing an extensive practical mercantile knowledge, and 
an insight into the workings of commerce and traffic, he 
entered into business for himself at Perryville. His venture 
proving unexpectedly successful, he determined to extend 
his sphere of operations, and launch himself lioldly into 
more extensive specul.ations. Removing to Honesdale, 
Pennsylvania, he purch.ased an interest in the freighting 
line running out from th.it place. L.ater, the entire control 
of this establishment passed into his hands, and he became 
sole and entire owner and director. In this position he 
gained much of that valuable and technical knowledge 
which fitted him so admiralily for the important post to 
which he was afterward assigned. In 1854, he entered the 
service of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, as 
Superintendent of the Canal Department. It was here that 
his recently acquired experience became eminently useful 
to him, enabling him. to accomplish satisfactorily the various 
duties connected with the situation. At the expiration of 
five years, he was promoted to the position of General 
Superintendent, one which he still holds, and whose duties 
he fulfils with profit and honor to himself and his em- 
ployers. He is of a genial and benevolent nature ; pos- 




sesses an appreciative and well-stocked mind, and is noted 
for his ability in reading chaiMCter at a glance, for his 
courteous deportment, and his energy. He may justly be 
ranked with those representative men who, starting in life 
poorly and obscurely, have, by their shrewdness, energy-, 
and application, become wealthy and honored citizens, and 
models meet for imitation by the rising generation. 



LBRIGHT, JOSEPH J., Banker, Machinist, and 
Merchant, was born at \\'arwick, Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania, September 23d, iSll. 
His ancestors were of German origin, while his 
parents were in humble but comfortable circum- 
stances. In his fifth year, he was placed in the 
educational cstal)lishment known as Nazareth Hall, in 
Nazareth, Northampton county, and, upon the expiration 
of his course of studies, learned the trade of tinsmith. 
Three months later, he engaged in business in this Mora- 
vian village, and in a short time secured a remunerative 
and thriving trade. He continued to carry on this business 
until he had attained his mcjorily, when he became con- 
nected with the Oxford Furnace, in New Jersey, as assist- 
ant manager, with Henry Jordan & Co. Subsequently, he 
was appointed by several of his Moravian brethren to su- 
perintend the entire management of an extensive manufac- 
turing establishment known as the Catharine Furnace and 
Forge, situated near Nazareth. At this date it was in great 
financial embarrassment, and to him must be given the 
credit of restoring it to a prosperous and flourishing con- 
dition. At this period, and in this institution, he introduced 
the first hot blast applied to the manufacture of iron in the 
United States, and brought the first magnetic ore from New 
Jersey to Pennsylvania. This ore, purchased from Gover- 
nor Mahlon Dickinson, was obtained from the Succasunna 
mines, and sent through the Morris canal. Three years 
later, he purchased at sheriff's sale the Clarissa Iron 
Works, Heinbock's Forge and Furnaces, all on Acquin- 
chicola creek, near the Lehigh Water Gap, Carl)on county, 
Pennsylvania. He then engaged actively in the manufac- 
ture of iron, but in 1S41, when the flood of the Lehigh and 
its tributaries destroyed the works of the Lehigh Coal & 
Navigation Company, his works al: o were completely shat- 
tered and devastated. A year subsequently, however, the 
forge was entirely re-established, and he again resumed 
business. A second time his works were demolished, on 
this occasion by fire, and a second time were rel>uilt. 
When these were completed, he named them the Ashland 
Iron Works. In 1S44, in connection with Samuel Sherrard 
and Hon. H. D. Maxwell, he purchased an extensive tract 
of lan<l and furnaces situated near the Natural Bridge, 
Virginia. The oppressive tariff then in vogue preventing 
him from a*ealizing any profit on iron, and having been 
obliged to sell pig-iron at ten dolKirs per ton, he abandoned 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



489 



(he Virginia business, and, in 1849, relumed lo the Ash- 
hnd Iron Works. In 1851, he was soliciled by the Scran- 
loiis 111 nccept an important position in the service of the 
Delaware, Lackawanna & W. Raihoad Company. Ac- 
ceding to their olTcr, he removed to Scranlon, and as- 
sumed the entire control of this company's coal mines and 
sales of coal. In this capacity he continued to act for 
I'lfteen years, and ably fulfilled the arduous duties of his 
office. In 1866, he became connected with the Delaware 
& Hudson Canal Company, and since that time has been 
regarded by his employers as a trusty and invaluable agent 
and assistant. The Dickson Manufacturing Company, of 
Scranton, established by Thomas Dickson, President of the 
Canal Company, owes its existence to the pressing sugges- 
tions made l)y J. J. Alljright, in 1S56, to the man whose 
name it bears. While in Scranton, be has assisted 
materially in the furtherance of public improvements and 
developments, and at the present time is President of the 
First National Bank, and also President of the .Scranton 
Gas and Water Company. As a religious man, he is con- 
nected with the Presbyterian Church, of which he is" a 
zealous and influential member. He had four brothers, 
one only of whom is living, the Hon. Thomas J. Albright, 
of St. Louis, Missouri. While connected with the' €atha-r 
rine Furnace, he met with David Thomas, of Catasaiiqua, 
who may be called the first successful manufacturer of. pig; , 
iron made with antlvacite coal in the United States. 




■ YER, E. REED, Representative in the State Legis- 
lature from Bradford county, was born at Myers- 
burg, in the same county, Pennsylvania, July 
25th, 181S. He is a son of William Myer, a 
promin.nt citizen of that section, who, with his 
father, Jacob Myer, left Massachusetts in 179S, and 
two years later settled on the spot where his son still resides. 
I le was one of the earliest to locate in the county, and, at the 
lime of its organization, in 1S12, became one of its first 
Commissioners. At a subsequent period he served in the 
Legislature for one term, and was a man widely known for 
his pulilic spiritedness and intrinsic worth. The son was 
educated primarily in the common school of the district, 
but when sixteen years of age was sent to the academy at 
Harford, in Susquehanna county, and he completed his 
studies at .Armenia Seminary, Dutchess county. New York, 
in 1840, and then returned home. In iS42,his father died, 
and he thereupon became administrator of the estate, and 
suliseciuenlly owner of the homestead which still continues 
in his jjoisession. He has always manifested a deep in- 
terest in the political questions of the day, and was from 
the first a warm advocate of the doctrines of the old Whig 
party, as enunciated by Henry Clay. In both 1845 and 
1S46, he was the candidate of that party fir tlie State Legis- 
l.uure; but .although he ran far ahead of his ticket, yet 
62 



owing to tlie preponderance of Democratic votes in that 
district, he lailed to be elected. In 1S55, he was Chairman 
of the Whig County Committee, which passed resolutions 
of such a character as foreshadowed the formation of the 
Republican party. He was a delegate to the First National 
Republican Convention, which assembled in Pittsburgh, 
February 22d, I '^$6, and ha^ ever since steadfastly adhered 
to the principles of that political organization. In the 
same year, he was elected to the Senate of the State, and 
served for the three years' term ending in 1859. His re- 
cord shows him to have been a faithful and devoted public 
servant, always attentive both to the interests of his consti- 
tuents and to the Commonwealth. During the V/ar of the 
Rebellion he was an ardent supporter of the Union, and 
contributed much by his example and influence to further 
the cause of the National Government. He was appointed 
Surveyor of the Customs for the Port and District of 
Philadelphia, April 19th, 1861, by President Lincoln, con- 
tinuing therein throughout the whole of his administration. 
He was re-commissioned by President Johnson, and served 
in that office until 1867, when disapproving of the policy of 
the President, he resigned the position, and thereafter lived 
in retirement until 1S72, when he was elected a Represen- 
tative ill the- lower branch of the .State Le^Jislature, and 
lookhisseaf therein", in January, 1873. He served as amem- 
ber 'of 'the "Comntrttee ■ on \V ays and Means, Counties and 
Townships; ^Corporations, Banks, and on Manufactures. 
He-frag^pe'el^teaamemberof the House in the fall of 1873; 
■he sefvfi'd'durmg. tKe session of 1874 as Chairman of the 
feommittee of Ways artd Means, besides being a member of 
Various oth'er iftiportant committees. He proved himself an 
efficient and industrious legislator, taking part in the various 
debates in the House during the session, that he deemed 
were important; not for the mere purpose of display, but 
where he thought a word in season would benefit the pub- 
lic weal. He opposed, with much force, the Bill to ".Re- 
peal the Usury Laws and to increase the Legal Rate of 
Interest," and his remarks on that question, delivered Feb- 
ruary I Ith, 1874, which contributed not a little to defeat the 
measure, have been printed in pamphlet form for circulation. 
Hewas married, June 9th, 1S47, to Mary Frances, daughter 
of Richard E. Cochran, M. D., of Columbia, Pennsylvania. 




OLLE, AUGUSTUS, Merchant, was born at 
Nazareth, Pennsylvania, .September Sth, 1821. 
His ancestors for two generations have been 
conspicuously associated with the history of the 
Moraviai Society at Bethlehem. I'eler Wolle, 
born November 6th, 1745, was a Moravian mis- 
sionai-y from Herrnhut, .Saxony, in Germany, who was 
stationed at the Islands of St. Thomas, .St. John's, and St. 
Croix, in the West Indies. His surviving children, who 
all ultimately emigrated to the United States and settled in 



490 



BIOGRAnilCAL EN'CYCLOPv^DIA. 



Bethlehem, are men of prominence. The Ri^ht Rev. Peter 
Wolle was for a long time senior Bishop of the society in 
.America; Jacob wa^s for many years Justice of the Peace, 
Chief Burgess, and a leading member of the Philharmonic 
Society ; John Frederick became a merchant, and for twenty 
years conducted the business of the society store at the 
corner of Main and Market streets, Bethlehem. , The last 
named married Sabina, daughter of Judge William Ileniy, 
of Northampton county, and was the father of .Sylvester 
Wolle, Treasurer of the Moravian Society of the Northern 
Diocese ; the Rev. Francis Wolle, Principal of the Young 
Ladies' Seminary ; Elizabeth, wife of Bishop H. A. Shultz, 
and Augustus Wolle, who with his brothers received a 
thorou.h education at the schools of the society. In 1835, 
Augustus entereil the cooperative store, superintended by 
his father, and continued therein as a clerk for ten years. 
In J 845, he purchased the establishment from the society, 
and remained its sole proprietor until 1853. Me then asso- 
ciated in partnership with Robert P. Krause, since deceased, 
and James H. Wolle, subsequently admitting also Ambrose 
J. Erwin. The business was conducted under the name of 
A. Wolle & Co. until 1S63, when the nam^ of the firm was 
changed to Wolle, Krause & Erwin. Under this title the 
trade of the» house was continued up to 1S70, when the 
senior partner retired. During the thirty five years of his 
active management, the business of the store increased with 
gre.it rapidity, and its ancient rank as one of the principal 
trading houses of that region was fully sustained. In the 
midst of his Inisy career as a merchant, Augustus Wolle 
found time to conceive and develop other enterprises of 
magnitude. His ventures in the field of what might be 
called speculation, were attended with unusual success. 
As early as 1837, Francis Wolle, when a clerk with his 
fither, invented a machine for the manufacture of paper 
bags, which was secured by letters patent in 1852. To 
properly place this invention in the channels which would 
render it pecuniarily profitable, a vast deal of energy and a 
Lavish expenditure of money were required. The necessary 
means .'Xugustus Wolle supplied ; and after an outlay of 
$75,000 in money, much of it being spent in litigaiing in- 
fringemints on the patent, the right was disposed of for 
alx)ut $200,000. Eighteen years of labor and anxiety, the 
visiting of Paris and other European cities for the puq^ose 
of introducing the invention, were needed to effect this 
result. S. E. Petit, the inventor of the most important im-. 
provement on the machine, contributed equally, in his 
sphere, with the brothers Wolle, to its ultiinate practical 
utilization and satisfactory success. Freed from the vexa- 
ti ms .attendant upon the patent business, the retired mer- 
chant next interested himself in the manufacture of iron. 
1 Living been a stockholder in the Thomas Iron Company 
of Ilockendaugua, he had conceived certain original ideas 
upon the subject. These he proceeded, in 1857, to practi- 
cally work out. In i860, he, in co-operation with Charles 
B. Daniel and others, founded and organized an iron com- 



pany, locating it on the south side of the Lehigh, at Bethle- 
hem. He iKJuglu land in what is now known as South 
Bethlehem, and by his individual efforts, succeeded in pro- 
curing capital in Philadelphia and at home. The money 
was raised with great difficulty, and seemingly dangerous 
risks were taken in venturing upon the enterprise with com- 
paratively insufficient capital. He was finally enabled, in 
i860, to establish the Bethlehem Iron Company, already the 
largest works of the kind in America, and promising to 
become the most extensive and complete in the world. The 
consummation of his plans in regard to the iron company 
attained, his enterprising spirit prompted him to other great 
operations. In 1864, his attention was attracted to the 
slate interests of Northamploii county. Ilis first move in 
this new field was the organization of the Chapman Slate 
Company, this proved a decided financial success. The 
same year, he founded the Penn Slate Company, pledging 
his personal responsibility for its success. This venture 
nearly proved his Waterloo; the coitipany encountered such 
severe financial difficulties and losses, that it was obliged to 
succumb. Unwilling, however, to acknowledge defeat, its 
captain rallied his forces, reorganized his company, and 
it is now in full and successful operation. In 1S45, he was 
married to C. E. Leinbach, of S.ilem, North Carolina. He 
has ten children living, of wdiom two, Clarence A. and 
Francis L., are in their father's office. He is a man worthy 
to be called remarkable. W'ith a wonderfully shrewd power 
to anticipate the wants and developments of the future, he 
unites a sanguine temperament which makes him seemingly 
blind to difficulties that would dishearten the majority of 
men. With all this, he possesses a tenacity of purpose that 
is confident, however often baffled on the way, of ultimately 
reaching the position desired. In person he is tall, slender, 
and of active nervous manner ; a true type of the enter- 
prising, indomitable American. 



^OUGAL, JAMES S., M. D., Physici.an, was born 
in Cookstown, Ireland, October 5lh, 1794. W'hile 
this country w.as a colony of England, his grand- 
father settled here, and invested largely in lands; 
owing to disturbances created by the Revolution, 
he shortly after returned to the mother countiy. 
His .son, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, and a 
physician — the father of the present Dr. James S. Douga! — 
sailed for America to recover possession of the lands 
referred to above; but during a violent storm at sea the 
titles and papers were lost, and thereby the object of the 
journey was frustrated, and he returned to his native 
country. Again returning to America, the reputation of 
Dr. Priestley, who had fled from persecution in England, 
and settled in Northumberland county, attracted him 
thither; and, through the influence of this eminent man, he 
was induced to reside in a neighboring region. His w ife 



BIOGRAI'IIICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



49' 



and two children, including James S., soon after came from 
Ireland and joined liim at that place. James was, for a 
lime, placed under the tuition of Rev. Thomas Hood, of 
I!ufr.\lo Valley, Peimsylvania. He studied also in the 
Preparatory Department of the University of Pennsylvania, 
and, in 1817, received from this institution the degree of 
Doctor of Medicine. While pursuing his studies, the war 
of 1S12 occurred. The British had already conquered and 
burnt Washington, and made an attack upon Baltimore, 
and it was believed that they purposed a descent upon 
Philadelphia. At this juncture, he abandoned his books' 
and experiments, and joined a volunteer company enlisted 
for the service of the United States. At the expiitition of 
three months, the energency was past, and he returned to 
the University. He then began the practice of medicine in 
connection with his father, at Milton, Pennsylvania; and. 
with the exception of the retirement forced upon him by 
the growing infirmities of age, has been actively engaged in 
it from that time forward to the present year. At the 
beginning of his professional life the country, in comparison 
with what it is now, was wild, uncultured, and but thinly 
settled and populated. No railroads then traversed the 
country; and, when large, a physician's practice brought 
with it arduous labor and great responsibility. His was 
one of the most extensive in that part of the State, and em- 
braced a circuit of more than fifty miles ; while within that 
area he was placed by all in the foremost rank of his pro- 
fession. Frequent applications came to him for consulta- 
tion with other physicians, and he became the preceptor to 
a large number of students of medicine. Among the latter 
may be mentioned Dr. Pollock, of W'illiamsport, Dr. 
Priestley, of Northumberland, and Dr. Thomas Lyon, of 
Williamsport. He was married, July 3d, 1818, to Sarah 
Pollock, a sister of Governor Pollock, and has a family 
consisting of eight children. One of his sons is a member 
of the firm of Murray, Dougal & Company, extensive car 
manufacturers at Milton ; another is a physician in success- 
ful practice, and is everywhere admired and esteemed as a 
learned and honorable practitioner. 



"L'RRV, REV. J. WILSON, was born in Hunting- 
don, Pennsylvania, September 25th, 1831. His 
grandfather was a participator in the siege of the 
city of Londonderry, Ireland; his mother was 
from Scotland, and emigrated to this countiy 
when in her eighteenth year, and, in Boston, 
Massachusetts, became acquainted with William Cur.-y, to 
whom she was subsequently married in that place. His 
father arrived in the United States in 1818, and, after a 
short residence in Boston, removed to Huntingdon, Penn- 
sylvania. Being in comparatively poor circumstances, he 
was unable to afford to his son that thorough education to 
which he had aspired. However, the youth became, when 



nineteen, an inmate of the Pine Grove Academy, whence 
he entered Casseville Seminary in order to study for the 
church. Subsequently he taught school at Trcught Creek 
Valley, and while thus occupied, was licensed as an cx- 
horter in the Methodist Church by Dr. Clark ; later, he was 
appointed to the Shellsburg circuit, under Rev. John A. 
Collins, presiding elder. ' Entering the theological school, 
ihrough which all young ministers of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church must pass, he entered upon a four years' course, 
graduating finally in theology. He had, during ten years, 
travelled as Itinerant, when the Rebellion broke out, where- 
upon he enlisted as the first Volunteer Chaplain in the 
United States; assisted in raising a regiment, and partici- 
pated in the first battle on Briar Mountain. June 2Sth, 
1S61, he was commissioned by Governor Pierpont, Chaplain 
of the 3d Virginia Regiment. Later, he hehl the rank of 
Captain of Cavalry; participated in the battles of Cross 
Keys, Brandy Station, Culpepper Court House, Antietam, 
and Mine Run ; and, for meritorious conduct, was presented 
by the Legislature of West Virginia with a superb medal 
representing on the obverse the West Virginia Coat-of-arms, 
and on the reverse, " Presented by the State of West Vir- 
ginia." On the entablature is engraved, " Honoralily Dis- 
charged." After three years' active service, he returned to 
his home, but so seriously had his health been impaired by 
exposure while battling for the L'nion, that he w.as unable 
to pursue his regular calling. Accordingly, he engaged in 
mercantile pursuits, but soon after was elected to the Con- 
stitutional Convention of Pennsylvania to revise the organic 
law. He was afterward elected to represent the counties 
of Blair, Somerset, Fultham, and Bedford. Januaiy i6th, 
1873, he was elected, by unanimous vote of the Convention, 
to the Chaplaincy ; he has also served two years in the City 
Council at Altoona, Pennsylvania ; and, while in the Con- 
vention, was a member of the Committees on Legislation, 
Agriculture, Mining, Manufactures, and Commerce. He 
came lo Altoona, April 1st, 1S64, and has continued to 
reside there up to the present time. He was married, 
March 19th, 1857, to Elizabeth Barndollar, daughter of 
James W. Barndollar, of Bedford, a well-known and worthy 
merchant. 



LSNER, RENSSELAER J., Macli+nist, was born 
in Warwick, Orange county. New York, March 
2d, i860. Up to his twenty-third year, he was 
engaged on a farm in his birthplace, attending 
school in winter, and in summer employed as a 
farm hand. He then removed to Troy, New 
York, and entered the diy goods business, a pursuit in 
which he continued until 1848; during this time, he was 
three years in Troy and two years in Binghampton. Re- 
moving to Pittston, then a small place containing less than 
four hundred inhabitants, he occupied himself in the gene- 
ral mercantile and forwarding trade until 1S57. At this 




492 



KIOGRAI'IIICAI, ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



date he |)urchase<l llie foundry ami machine shop of W. 
Stevens, in Piltston, and carried on that business until 1S64, 
when his establishment was entirely destroyed by fire. At 
once he erected another establishment in West I'ittston, 
which lies on the opposite side of the river from his former 
location. This building is 240 by 50 feet, with a wing 50 
by 50 feet, and all necessary outbuildings requisite to carry 
on a business employing about sixty hands, and engaged 
principally in the manufacture of mining machinery. In 
1853, he, in connection with other capitalists, purchased a 
tract of 160 acres on the west bank of the Susquehanna 
directly opposite Piitston, and here laid out the town of 
West Pittston ; a place which now numbers over two thou- 
sand inhabitants, and of which he may be called the pro- 
jector and founder. This site is a charming spot, occupied 
almost entirely by the handsome residences of the leading 
business men of Pittston, the only exception being the 
machine works of its originator; and there are two substan- 
tial bridge connections joining the old town and the new. 
The streets are regularly laid out, and are wide, with spa- 
cious sidewalks, while abundant gaslights, and an unfailing 
supply of water are not among the least important of the 
comforts attached to this new site. The building up and 
successful establishment of West Pittston is due chiefly to 
his exertions and perseverance, and it is an enterprise which 
reflects upon him the greatest credit. He has been Burgess 
of the town, a position to which he was appointed without 
any solicitation on his part, as he is noted for his aversion 
to participate in political movements, or to render himself 
prominent before the public. In 1853, he was married to 
Anna L. Johnson, daughter of Sylvester Johnson, of Dun- 
daff, Pennsylvania. She dying in 1862, he was again 
married, in 1863, to Margaret Falls, daughter of W. A. 
Falls, of New York city. To men of this stamp our country 
is largely indebted for its thriving industries and marvellous 
developments; for its countless able mechanics who, in- 
duced ;o emigrate from the old world by the prospects of 
steady employment and remunerative wages, form eminently 
useful and desirable portions of our active and working 
population. 



Strong, TIIEODORE, Machinist and Banker, 
was born in Somers, Connecticut, January 25th, 
1820. Ilis father was Rev. \V. L. Strong, a 
Congreg.itional clergyman of Connecticut. He 
received a general and thorough education in the 
Bacon Academy, and in the Geneva Lyceum of 
New York State. Subsequently, he acted in the capacity 
of teacher in Lyme Academy, opposite Saybrooke, Con- 
necticut; and in the Quaker Boarding School of Burlington, 
New Jersey. In 1843, he removed to Pittston, and en- 
gaging in mercantile pursuits, connected himself with the 
Butler Coal Company, the only coal company then in opera- 
tion at the place. He afterward became Superintendent 




of the mercantile department of this establishment, and held 
that position for nearly five years. After an absence of one 
year from Pittston, he returned in 1850, and occupied him- 
self with land and coal operations. In connection with 
others, he was at one time the owner of 2000 acres of coal 
lands, the whole of West Pittston, Pleasant Valley, and 
various other points. In 1856, he built a large steam flour 
mill, which he managed personally during six yeai-s, then 
leased it to others for a term of three year«. In 1867, he 
went abroad, and remained in Europe for a time. At the 
first election of Grant, he was the Republican candid.ate on 
the ticket of the Twelfth Congressional District, composed 
of Luzerne and .Susquehanna counties. His ojiponent was 
Judge Woodward; and though not elected, he reduced 
greatly the average Democratic majority. He was one of 
the organizers of the First National Bank, and as President 
of that institution, has, during the past five years, given to 
it his entire time and attention. In 1872, he w.is a member 
of the Electoral College, and throughout his public life h.is 
always been an active and determined ally of the Repub- 
lican party. At present, he is connected with the foundry 
and machine shop in West Pittston, as the partner of R. J. 
Wisner ; is President of the Pittston Depot Bridge Company, 
connecting Pittston with West Pittston ; and has been for 
several years a Director of the Lackawanna & Bloomsburg 
Railroad, now owned by the Delaware, Lackawanna & 
Western Railroad Company. In 1854, he was married to 
Mary Benedict Hudson, of New York ; and later was mar- 
ried for the second time to Elizabeth D. Wilson, of Pine 
Plains, Dutchess county, New York. His brother is Judge 
Strong, well known for his varied attainments, his learning, 
and his ability. As a developer of the resources of Pennsyl- 
vania, great credit must be awarded to him. It is through 
the agency of men of his nature and energ)-, that the 
mineral and agricultural interests of our country are for- 
warded and expanded. 



7 

OSTER, WILLIAM EMILE, Soldier and Law- 
yer, seventh son of Lewis and Pauline Doster, 
was born at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, January 
Sth, 1837. His father was a native cf Nieder- 
hofen, near Heilbroner, in Wurtemberg, Ger- 
many, and emigrated to America in 1817, and 
settled in Bethlehem; here he married, in 1826, Pau'ine, 
daughter of Matthew and Maria Eggert, leading Moravians. 
In 1S37, he leased from the Moravian Society their co- 
operative woollen mill, and five years later purch.ised the 
est.-iblishment. In 1857, he built the extensive Moravian 
Woollen Mills, which were totally destroyed by fire in 
1862. He also dealt largely in lumber, and acquired con- 
siderable foi-tune. He died May 30th, i860, aged sixty-four 
yeai-s; his wife, Pauline, still survives. William received 
his preliminary education at the schools of the Moravian 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



49j 



Church in his native town, completed his preparatory course 
under the preceptorship of Professor B. Vankirk, and grad- 
uated at Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut, in the 
class of 1857. In his Junior year he took the Latin prize 
for prose composition, and in his Senior year the Livonian 
Valedictory. Deciding upon the adoption of the legal 
profession, he pursued his studies with that view at the Law 
School at Vale, and afterwards under the tuition of Gover- 
nor A. H. Reeder, of Easton, Pennsylvania. In 1859, he 
graduated at the Harvard Law School, when he was chosen 
to deliver the class oration. The same year he sailed for 
Europe, visited his relatives in Germany, and continued 
the study of civil law at the Universities of Meidelburg and 
Paris. Returning to this country upon the death of his/ather, 
he was professionally engaged in Philadelphia when the 
commencement of the Civil War changed, for a tiftie,'the 
current of his life. Responding with alacrity to his country's 
call for aid, he recruited a company at Bethlehem, and, on 
August 15th, 1861, was mustered into the United States 
service as Captain of Company " A," 4th* Pennsylvania 
Cavalry. On October iSth of the same year, he was pro- 
moted to the Majority of his regiment, and the Decepiber 
following was assigned to an independant command of the 
cavalry attached to Keys' Division of the Army of: the Po- 
tomac. In February, 1862, he was placed in cornijoaHd of 
the mounted Provost Guard of Washington -City ,-and, after 
the departure of the army under General McCIellaij, was* 
appointed Provost- Marshal of the Capital. an4''6£the.^tvli- 
lary District of Washington. In this pp|ittion: his. duties 
were most important and of the highest responsibility;. his 
lines extending from Washington City to the motitb of 
Chesapeake Bay. He was necessarily invested with-almost 
unlimited power, which, however, he exercised with n>ode- 
ration and to the satisfaction of the citizens of Washington 
and Georgetown, as well as Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary 
of War, to whom he was directly responsible. After one 
year of this arduous, thankless and really unpleasant duty, 
he requested permission to rejoin his regiment, which was 
granted. In October, 1862, he was promoted to the rank 
of Lieutenant-Colonel, and, in March, 1S63, he assumed 
command of the 4th Cavalry, then attached to the 2d Bri- 
gade, 2d Division, Cavaliy Corps, Army of the Potomac. 
Following the fortunes of that army, he sei:^'ed successively 
under Generals Averil!, Kilpalrjck, Dnffie, Gregg and 
Pleasanton. He participated in .Stoneman^s raijj, during 
which he commanded the 2d Brigade, land, in the cavalry 
actions of Kelly's Ford, Beverly Ford, Be.alton, Rapidan, 
Rappahannock Station, Brandy Station, Chancellorsville, 
Aldie, Middleburg, Snicker's Gap, Shepperclstown, Gettys- 
burg and many others; at Middleburg he was taken and 
held for a short time a prisoner, but succeeded in escaping 
and rejoined his command. Prior to the battle of Gettys- 
burg his regiment was for a week daily in action, and, on 
July 5th, it was the first to enter Gettysburg, tear down the 
barricades and pursue the retreating enemy. On this march 



the 4th Cavahy captured alxjut 500 prisoners, and was it- 
self reduced from 500 to 27 mounted men. On the return 
of the army to the Rappahannock, Colonel Doster was pros- 
trated with malarious fever, and while in the hospital re- 
ceived "orders transferring him to the 5lh Pennsylvania 
Cavalry, but his health continuing critxal, he requested 
leave of absence, and resigned in December, 1863. In 
March, 1865, he was brevetted Brigadier-General United 
States Volunteers, for "gallant and meritorious services 
during the war." In May, 1865, he was appointed by the 
Government counsel for the prisoners Payne and Atzerodt 
at the." Conspiracy Trial." In .September of the same 
year, he returned to his native county and began the prac- 
tice of law at Easton, where he still resides. At the same 
time he associated himself with D. I. Godshalk in founding 
the Bethlehem Times, of which he continued one of the 
editors until' J867. He took a most active part in the or- 
ganization' of the New Street Bridge Company of Bethle- 
hem, Riid to his influence it is greatly indebted for its success. 
In June, J867, he was appointed Register in Bankruptcy 
of the Eleventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania, 
which pQsition he still holds. In August of the "same year, 
he ,was marritd^^to Evelyn A., daughter of E. A. Depew 
of Ea.ston. In 1S70, he built a residence on land adjoining 
his fallver's-homestead, and there resides. He has one son 
living to inherit the honors which he has so nobly earned. 



■•[N;.\0I^ ,WILLIAM W., Merchant and Banker, 
?^was born at Butternuts, Otsego county. New 

• '••Y'ork, January 2gth, 1815. Plis parents were 
Andrew Winton and Fannie (Glover) Winton, 
of Connecticut. When sixteen years of age, his 
family removed to Scranton, then known as Pro- 
vidence. Here, during three years, he was engaged in 
teaching school, and subsequently was employed in the 
same capacity at Danville, Pennsylvania. In 1842, he en- 
tered into business, and opened a general store for produce 
and merchandise of all kinds in Abington, Luzerne county, 
Pennsylvania. During eight years he carried on a thriving 
and prosperous trade; but deeming the area of his pursuits 
too limited, he removed to New York, and, in 1850, in 
connection with Mr. RockwelJ^ engaged in the hat, cap and 
stijiw goods^business, in'Gortlamlt street, opposite the old 
Merchants' Hotel. ^vln" the beginning his trade was natu- 
rally very small and limited," but later it assumed the pro- 
portion of a half million per annum. At the expiration of 
five years, in 1856, just previous to the great panic, the 
partners decided to retire from this business, and the af- 
fairs of the establishment were brought to a satisfactory 
close. William Winton then returned to Scranton, and oc- 
cupied himself principally in canal operations, with several 
of which he is extensively connected at the present time, 
and from which he is constantly realizing large profits. In 




'',9+ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



1864, lie became one of the organizers of the Second Na- 
tional Bank or Scranton. Of this now well-known institu- 
tion he was chosen President, and still occupies that im- 
portant and honorable position. In 1870, he obtained a 
charier and organized the Scranton Savings and Trust Com- 
pany, which is the largest institution of its kind in this sec- 
lion of the State, having deposits that run annually con- 
siderably over one million of dollars. In 1S73, s^'^'' >"<le- 
fatigaWe, he organized the Miners' Savings Bank and Trust 
Company, at Providence, which is on the outskirts of 
Scranton, and where he resides. Oflhis bank he is Director, 
and works constantly and arduously to further its interests, 
and benefit all therein interested. Finally, he is one of 
the most important and heaviest coal operators in the valley ; 
or, in other words, he is the largest owner of c6al lands, 
and leases them to parties for mining purposes. One of 
these leases alone pays him a royalty of seventy-five thou- 
sand (75,000) dollars per annum, and many others yield 
approximately large retunis. In lS35,hevvas married to 
Catherine Heermans, whose family was originally from 
Connecticut. lie is a man of indomitable energy and per- 
sistency of purpose; is, after mature deliberation, prompt 
and decided, and has never devoted his time and attention 
to any business, investment, or speculation which has not, 
sooner or later, been cnduringly successful. 



j|OLPII, EDWARD, Merchant, was born in the 
township of Blakely, Luzerne county, Pennsyl- 
vania, about five miles from Scranton, December 
l6th, 1814. His father, Alexander Dolph, was 
one of the early pioneers of the valley, and was 
highly esteemed by his friends and neighbors. 
His mother, Susanna London, belonged to an old English 
family who, when arrived in this country, settled originally 
in the vicinity of Cape May, New Jersey. In early life, 
few opportunities vyere presented 10 him for acquiring that 
thorough education for which he had ever nourished an ar- 
dent desire. Owing to surrounding circumstances he was 
able to attend school but a few months during each winter, 
while the rest of his time was fully occupied in laboring 
on a farm. Agricultural life engaged his attention solely 
until he had attained his twenty seventh year, when his ser- 
vices were sought for by the County Commissioners, and 
he abandoned farm work to take a po.sition as clerk in their 
office at Wilkesbarre. In this capacity he served creditably 
for three years, and was then engaged as a clerk for one 
year in the office of the Recorder. After leaving this posi- 
tion, he engaged in the lumbei" trade. As the r.ailroad was 
then in process of construction through this section of the 
State, he shrewdly judged that ultimately there would arise 
a demand for timber. Acting promptly on this thought, he 
invested largely in lumber, and eventually supplied the 
road with great quantities of joists, sleepers and miscel- 




laneous timber. On that occasion he realized handsome 
returns, and thereafter continued to carry on this trade for 
more than twenty years. At the ex|)iration of this lengthy 
period, he leased his timber lands, and since has been 
actively engaged in mining operations, real estate, and com- 
mission business. In connection with other capitalists, he 
is interested in the copper and silver ore districts of the 
Lake Superior country ; and has formed a company known 
as the " Scranton Silver Mining Company," whose lands 
lie about one mile and a half from the lake shore. Though 
not as yet thoroughly developed, these regions give abun- 
dant evidence and promise of future large returns in cop- 
per and silver ores. He is also largely interested in ex- 
tensive tracts of lumber land situated in Randolph county, 
Virginia, in which it is confidently believed there are large 
and rich coal de]3osits, and considerable iron and marble. 
In 1845, ^'^ ^^^^ married to Elizabeth Wadhams, whose 
family was among the early settlers of Ply.vouth, Pennsyl- 
vania, and is now surrounded by a pleasant and thriving 
progeny. In manners, he is unaffected and retiring, cour- 
teous in his demeanor to rich and poor, and generous 
to the needy and deserving. 



LY, THEODORE N., Engineer, was born in 
AVatertown, New Y'ork, June 23d, 1 846. His 
father w.as Adine Ely, who was born in Lyme, 
Connecticut, whence he removed to Watertown, 
New York, where he resided until his decease. 
His education he received at Rensselaer Poly- 
technic Institute, of Troy, New York, and, in 1866, he 
graduated as Civil Engineer. During one year he was em- 
ployed at the Fort Pitt Foundry in Pittsburgh, also one 
year assisted in mining coal in the neighborhood of the 
Monongahela river. From June, 1868, to July, 1869, he 
was Assi-tant Engineer of the Philadelphia and Erie Rail- 
road Company, residing meanwhile at Erie, Pennsylvania. 
From July, 1869, to June, 1870, he was appointed Super- 
intendent of the Middle Division of this road, residing 
meanwhile at Renovo, Pennsylvania. From June, 1870, to 
March, 1873, he acted as Assistant Superintendent under 
the same employ, residing meanwhile v' Erie, Pennsyl- 
vania. From March, 1S73, to July, 1874, he filled the jwst of 
Superintendent of the Motive Power, having his residence 
at Erie until October, 1873, and afterwards at Williams- 
port, Pennsylvania, until July, 1874. This latter position 
he still holds, supervising the arrangements of the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad between Pittsburgh and New York, and on 
.all its branches. He was married. May iglh, 1874, at 
Erie, Pennsylvania, to Henrietta Brandos, daughter of 
Charles Brandes, M. D. He is a man possessed of a 
vigorous and enterprising nature, and is highly esteemed 
for his ability, his sagacity, and a deportment which is at 
once pleasing and determined. 




Il 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



495 




Prussia. 



C<3) 

c,'»4^ENUES, CHARLES, Lawyer, .was born in 
.Slirewslniry, VoHv county, Pennsylvania, August 
2Sth, 1S23. His fiither, Charles Denues, was a 
well-known farmer and practical gunsmith of 
that township. His mother was the daughter 
of a prominent organist and music teacher in 
Both of his parents weie of German descent, 
having come from one of the provinces bordering on the 
Rhine. His early education was limited, consisting in 
what he could acquire by means of a term of less than nine 
months passed in the common schools of his birthplace. 
^\■hen in his thirteenth year, he removed to Lancaster, and 
was employed in the manufacture of powder-horns. For- 
saking this trade, three years later, he went to York, York 
county, Pennsylvania, where he entered the cabinet shop 
of Captain Hay. At the expiration of one year, he re- 
moved thence, and, returning to Lancaster, engaged in 
general employments. While here, he connected himself 
with a volunteer artillery company, and upon one occasion, 
while exercising the guns, lost his right hand by the pre- 
mature explosion of the piece of which he was gunner. 
Turning his attention to study, he applied himself diligently 
for three years to the pursuit of the particular branches^in 
which he desired to become proficient. In 1843, ^'^ 
entered the law office of the late Thaddeus Stevens, and, 
after a rigid course of study and reading, was admitted to 
the bar in 1845. Immediately beginning (he practice of 
his profession in Lancaster, he soon acquired a promising 
clientage; later, he removed to York, and, in 1S46, was 
admitted to tho bar of York county, on motion of Thaddeus 
Stevens. A year later, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
wliere he soon obtained a large and lucrative practice; but, 
being attacked there by cliills and fever, he was obliged to 
return to the East, and took up his residence in Lancaster, 
May 1st, 1848. In the following October, he occupied 
himself in teaching school at Soudersburg, near Lancaster, 
\\'here be remained for one year, then taking charge of a 
school at Mabel Grove, near New Holland. Three years 
later, he was appointed Principal of the New Holland 
High School, and subsequently, Principal of the Central 
Graded School, at Millersville, Lancaster. Here he re- 
mained nine yeai^s, and met with great success. While 
teaching in this latter place, he was elected Justice of the 
Peace; resigning this position after a short but creditable 
cxperieuLe, he commenced the study of divinity under the 
tutorship of Rev. Dr. Harbaugh, and completed his course 
under Rev. Dr. E. B. Gerhart. He was then examined, 
and licensed to preach at Hummelstown, Dauphin county, 
where he delivered his first sermon while still acting as a 
teacher. During six months he occupied the pulpit of the 
Reformed Church, at Columbia. In 1S62, he organized a 
company of soldiers, and on the I2lh of August of that 
year was mustered into service as Captain of Company E, 
of the 135th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He 
served in this capacity until the expiration of the term for 




which the company had been enlisted. During that time 
he was appointed Justice of Georgetown, District of Co- 
lumbia, and was also selected to serve on the Court Martial 
at the headquarters of General Doubleday. He partici- 
pated in several skirmishes, and in the battle of Chancel- 
lorsville, where he lost twenty-five men. May 24th, 1863, 
he was mustered out at Harrisburg, and returned to Lan- 
caster, in order to resume his professional life. In 1864, 
he was elected on the Republican ticket to the Lower 
House of the State Legislature, and re-elected in 1865. In 
1867, he was appointed by Governor Curtin, Notary Public, 
and has since held that position, while continuing the prac- 
tice of his profession. He is Treasurer and Solicitor for 
the Manor Turnpike Company, and Solicitor for the Mil- 
lersville S: Lancaster Passenger Railway. He is also 
Treasurer of the Arsinaus Union, and was for many years 
Trustee of the Normal School at Millersville. He was 
married, August 20th, 1859, to Miss Haines, one of the 
teachers of the school at Millersville. 



IIEXK, RUDOLPH WARFEL, Lawyer and 
Banker, was born in Conestoga township, Lan- 
caster county, Pennsylvania, October 4th, 1S34. 
His father. Christian Shenk, was a wealthy and 
prominent farmer and politician, and one of the 
leading men of the township ; he was, moreover, 
noted for his many philanthropic acts, and his constant 
willingness to aid in any scheme promising to benefit his 
county or fellow citizens. His paternal grandfather, 
Rudy Shenk, moved from Lancaster county to that of Erie, 
in 1828, and became one of its most influential settlers and 
leading citizens. His mother was a daughter of Abraham 
Warfel, a well-known agriculturist in Conestoga township. 
Rudolph began his education at Litiz, Lancaster county, 
under the tutorship of Professor John Beck. Subsequently, 
he entered the Erie Academy, at Erie, Pennsylvania, and 
thence went to Randolph Academy, in Cattaraugus county. 
New York. In 1S54, he entered Dartmouth College, from 
which he graduated with hig'i honors in 185S. Later, he 
entered the law office of W. S. Lane, in Erie, Pennsylvania, 
where he remained for a few months, then moved to Lan- 
caster, and entered the office of the late Thaddeus Stevens. 
As, during his college course, he had been constantly read- 
ing law, he soon prepared himself for the bar, to which he 
was admitted in November, 1S59. Immediately com- 
mencing the practice of his profession, he rapidly acquired 
an extensive business, and since that time h.as been actively 
engaged in legal pursuits. In 1865 and 1866, he was 
elected to the Lower House of the State Legislature, where 
he served with credit to himself, and to the entire satisfac- 
tion of his constituents. As a politician, he has been an 
active .and esteemed member of the Republican party since 
his admission to the bar. Prior to this, in April, 1S61, he 



496 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



entered as a private in Company F, of the ist Regiment 
of Pennsylvania Volunteers, where he served until the 
expiration of the term for which the regiment was enlisted. 
In August, 1S62, he again entered the service of the United 
Stites, and was appointed Major in the 135th Regiment of 
Pennsylvania Volunteers. On this occasion he served 
until the regiment was mustered out, and during the 
greater portion of the term was intrusted with its command. 
He participated in the first battle of Fredericksburg, and 
also took an active part in the battle of Chancellorsville. 
For several months he was on the James river, making 
arrangements for the exchange of prisoners, and in this 
capacity exhibited much coolness, sagacity, and determi- 
nation. Subsequently, he was appointed Deputy Provost- 
Marshal for the Ninth District of Pennsylvania, which ap- 
pointment he held until he resigned to take his seat in the 
Legislature. He was for seven years Solicitor for the 
Board of Directors of the Poor of Lancaster county. He 
has been the President of the Lancaster & Reading Narrow 
Gauge Railroad Company since its organization ; and also 
President of the Lancaster & Quarryville, and Lancaster & 
Millersville Railroads, which are being constructed under 
the same charter as the Lancaster & Reading Narrow 
Gauge Railroad. At present, he is a member of the 
banking firm of Bair & Shenk. He was married, Novem- 
ber 3d, 1S63, to an adopted daughter of David Bair, one 
of the oldest and wealthiest merchants in Lancaster. 



^ RANGE, ROBERT LEE, Engineer, was born in 
Washington, District of Columbia, July 7th, 1839. 
His father was Colonel Richard France, of Balti- 
more, who took an active part in the prevalent 
politics of the day, and was noted for his bravery, 
jierseverance, and indomitable energ)'. Robert was 
the recipient of private tuition until 1856, when he entered 
St. Timothy's Co'legiate School, situated near Baltimore. 
At the conclusion of his course of studies, he engaged in 
business in connection with his father, in Baltimore and 
New York. Upon the breaking out of the war, he entered 
the Southern army, under the command of General Long- 
s'reet; at first, private, his energy and coolness won him 
fivorable notice, and he was ]iromoted to the rank of 
Ordnance .Sergeant. Whilst doing duty as a scout during 
the last year of the contest, he was surprised and taken 
prisoner. A week prior to the fall of Richmond, and the 
close of the war, he was sent South again. Subsequently, 
he was engaged in farming and agricultural pursuits for 
about two years, and became connected with the Pittsburgh 
& Connellsville Railroad Company, as Assistant Engineer. 
Wliile acting in this capacity, he was actively eng.aged in 
the construction of the Land Patch Tunnel. He afterward 
was appointed Paymaster and Special Agent of this Com- 
pany, which position he still fills with credit to himself and 





profit to his employers. In 1873, he received the appoint- 
ment of Notary Public for Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. 
On the Ist of September, 1S74, he will take charge of the 
Keystone Coal Manufacturing Company, Somerset county, 
Pennsylvania. In 1866, he was married to Susan Coffman, 
daughter of William Coffman, of Page county, Virginia. 



LLET, COLONEL CHARLES, Jr., Civil En- 
gineer, was born at Penn's Manor, Bucks county, 
Pennsylvania, January Ist, l8lo. His name 
has become celebrated in connection with a 
great number of important public works, either 
as the prime projector of them, or as being inti- 
mately concerned in their execution. The famous " wire 
bridge" at Fairmount (which was the first of the kind 
built in the United States) was constructed by him, in 
1841. He also built bridges of the same kind at Ni.agara 
Falls, and at Wheeling, West Virginia. He w.as employed 
for a considerable time, in his capacity of Engineer, on the 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and in many other great 
engineering enterprises ; among which the remarkable tem- 
porary track of the Virginia Central Railroad, across the" 
Blue Ridge, is deserving of special mention. In 1861, 
while residing in Washington, he conceived a plan, which 
he submitted to the War Department, for cutting off the 
Confederate army at Manassas; his scheme was rejected, 
and thereupon he drew public attention to the matter by 
the publication of two pamphlets, in which he vindicated 
his idea, and severely censured the conduct of General Mc- 
Clellan. After this, he projected the construction of a fleet 
of "rams" on the Mississippi river, which was finally 
realized and put into operation, and for which he received 
a Colonel's commission in the army. By means of these 
" rams " he succeeded in destroying several Confederate 
gunboats, off Memphis, and, in consequence, effected the 
capture of the place. In the action on this occasion, he 
was mortally wounded by a musket ball. He ]iublished 
several scientific works and essays on subjects connected 
with his special department. 



bWER, CHARLEMAGNE, Lawyer, was born 
April 18th, 1809, in the then township of Paris 
(named from a benevolent man in the early his- 
tory of that section), and now Marshall (after the 
'-t.^ Chief Justice), Oneida county, New York, about 
'^ twelve miles south of Utica. He is the son of 
Reuben Tower, a native of Rutland, Worcester county, 
Massachusetts, who was the fifth in descent from John 
Tower, who left Old Hingham, England (where his father, 
Robert Tower, is buried), and came to Massachusetts in 
1637, giving the name of Hingham to the locality where 







(lx/t^JK2-^^Z-r.^ .<2), 



BIOGRArHICAL EN'CYCLOPyEDIA. 



497 



he settled. His early education was ol)tained in the com- 
mon schools of the southern part of Oneida county, New 
York; and to these succeeded studies, pursued at Oxford 
Academy, Chenango county, Clinton Academy, Oneida 
county, and the Utica Academy. During a part of this time 
he taught school in his native county, and, in 1S25, was an 
assistant teacher in the Uiica Academy. These years of study 
were not gained without a struggle; for, while a mere lad, 
he worked on a farm, and a little later had a clerkship in a 
store, thus learning industry .and frugality. In 1826, he 
placed himself under a private tutor in Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, and studied hard, in order to gain admission to 
college." In February, 1S27, he entered the Freshmafi 
class of Harvard University, being less than eighteen years 
of age, and graduated in August, 1S30. He was a cla.ss- 
niate and intimate friend of the late Charles Sumner, the 
intimacy continuing to increase as years rolled on, the 
latter visiting him at his house in Pottsville. He stood the 
third in his class at graduation, thus rivalling the great 
Senator. On commencement day, it fell to his lot to intro- 
duce Charles Sumner to the audience, when the latter 
remarked that he " never surpassed him in anything but 
alphabetical precedence." Immediately after graduation, 
he commenced the study of law with Hermanu^i BicecUer, in 
Albany, New York, who was at one time .a member of 
Congress, and subsequently United States Minister to the 
Hague, during Van Buren's administration ; he was a man 
of high standing, enlarged views, profound /edncation, and' 
of the strictest integrity. His readings weje; however, in- 
termitted for a period, as he accompanied his father — who 
was in failing health — to Florida, in the autumn of '1831, 
and who died there after a sojourn of six months. On his 
return Norlh, he resumed his legal studies in the office of 
John L. & James L. Graham, of New York city, and was 
admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court, Utica, October, 
1835. He commenced to practice his profession in the 
office of Graham & Sanford, New York city, where he re- 
mained one year, and then removed to Waterville, Oneida 
county, where he became engaged in commercial and 
manufacturing pursuits; but he finally returned to his pro- 
fession, which he followed assiduously and successfully for 
six years. In 184S, he removed to Orwigsburg, then the 
shire town of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvaiiia-;- and when 
the county seat was removed to Pottsville, in 1C51, he also 
changed his domicile, and ever since has made Pottsville 
his residence. In 1S53, he was elected Prosecuting Attor- 
ney of the county, and served for the term of three years in 
that capacity. His legal career in Pennsylvania was, in 
the highest degree, honorable and successful: his schol.aslic 
acquirements placed him in the front rank of a bar second 
to none in the State, and he has never yet seen the occasion 
when he was unable to hold his position and perform 
every duty required of him. As a business man, he has 
been equally fortunate, and no one living to-day can look 
back upon a career of a quarter of a ccntni-y, passed in this 
6j 



Commonwealth, with prouder feelings of satisfactiitn. 
When the great war of the Rebellion broke out, in i86r, 
though he had passed the age which would render him 
liable to be called upon to perform military duty, he was 
among the first men in Schuylkill county to move to the 
support of the Government. He raised, in Pottsville, a 
company of 270 men for the three months' service, and 
proceeded with them to Harrisburg. His company, being 
too large, was divided, forming two perfect companies, and 
part of a third. The company remaining under his com- 
mand:was' H, of the 6th Regiment Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers, a'ndof this he was commissioned Captain, April 21st, 
1861. His regiment joined General Robert Patterson's 
command, which proceeded, by the way of Chambersburg 
and Hagerstown, to Virginia, crossing the Potomac river at 
Williainsport, June 21st, and participating in the skirmish 
at, F.alling 'Wlater^s, lieing one of the first engagements, if 
not the \-ery fii-ft, of the war. The movements of Patter- 
son's command are now a part of history; and in all, Cap- 
tain Tower' took his share, enduring with his men the 
many fatigues and privations through which they passed, 
and .-performing -meritorious services. After the three 
n^onths' term of service was over, the regiment returned 
homc,-wVd wa^. mustered out of service, July 26lh, i<S6i. 
After ihe'first battle of ■ Bull Run, there were dark days 
thrpughout the North, and great efforts were made by the 
State and National Governraenls to stem the tide of rebel 
success. lit this fltiergcncy', he displayed great patriotism 
and lilTefiality. ■ He jiaid a bounty of five dollars per man 
jjbr a'_fivll. coijipany, raised in Pottsville, which was com- 
nianded-'^by Captain Pleasants, who afterwards rose to 
Brig.adier-Ge'neral. The company was C, of the 48th 
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, recruited for three 
years; it distinguished itself in many battles, and gained 
honor on numerous hard-fought fields. In 1863, he was 
appointed Provost-Marshal of the Tenth Congressional 
District, composed of the counties of Schuylkill and Leba- 
non, and served in this capacity more than a year, perform- 
ing duties of a most onerous and trying character, and 
giving general satisfaction by his firmness and fairness. 
He has been closely identified with the Republican party 
ever since its fomiation, and has ever been active and zeal- 
ous in the support of its candidates. His name w.as brought 
forward, at the close of 1872, as a candidate for the United 
States Senate. 



ICKSON, JOHN, Physician, was born in Cecil 
county, Maryland, May 24lh, 1812. His parents, 
John and Mary Dickson, were of .Scotch-Irish 
descent, and were noted as possessing the pecu- 
liarly sterling traits of that blood. It w.as his 
privilege to receive a full measure of the excel- 
lent qualities of both his fnther and mother. Early dis- 
jilaying a remarkable fondness for study, he was afforded 




498 



UIOGRAI'IIICAL ICiNCVCLUl'.EDIA. 



every ail vantage of his day and locality in obtaining an 
education. After the completion of his preparatory course, 
he entered the academy in Clinton, Pennsylvania, and so 
rapid was his progress in the higher branches that he was 
graduated therefrom at the age of sixteen years, and imme- 
diately assumed the post of Preceptor of the District School 
of Allegheny county. In his seventeenth year, he began 
the study of medicine under the tuition of Dr. Letherman, 
of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. The same energy and 
natural power for the absorption of knowledge which 
characterized him as an academician, marked his couree as 
a student of the profession of his choice. Attending lectures 
for two years in the city of New York, he graduated from 
the medical university of that State, and in his nineteenth 
year began the practice of n edicine. He located, at first, 
in Sewickley, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, where he 
was well known ; and so marked was the favorable impres- 
sion which his early life and attainments had made upon 
the entire community, that in spite of the gieat drawback 
of youth, he at once entered upon a large and most respect- 
able connection. After ten years spent directly in the 
midst of his earliest friends, he removed to Pittsburgh, still, 
however, retaining his practice in his original home. In 
Pittsburgh he remained for ten years, busily engaged in 
meeting the demands of an extensive and ever-increasing 
practice ; then, without resigning his professional connection 
in Pittsburgh, he returned to Sewickley. He is now (1874) 
in the sixty-third year of his age, and for forty-three years 
of his life has been actively engaged in practice. There 
are no signs of mental or physical disability to mark that 
nearly half a century of a most laborious life has passed 
over him. Amid the cares and hourly demands of his large 
practice, he finds time to take a warm and active interest in 
every matter relating to the general welfare of his profes- 
sion, and pays the most diligent every-day attention to all 
new discoveries in his own and kindred sciences. With 
such diligence, joined to a mind discursive, yet perpetually 
observant, it is not wonderful that he should have acquired 
a vast store of varied information. The fields of knowledge 
which his intellect has traversed, and to which his memory 
can recur — especially in ancient literature, in history, 
and the many formi of philosophy — are immense. He was 
married, in 1840, to Mary Way; and eight children, six 
daughters and two sons, have been bom to bless their 
union. The two sons, John S. and Joseph H., have both 
inherited the mental vigor and jirofessional tastes of their 
parent, and are, as practising physicians, in business connec- 
tion with hini. John S. was born April nth, 1844, 
received his medical education under the tuition of his 
father, and graduated at Jefferson College, in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, in 186S. Joseph H., the youngest son, was 
born April 8th, 1846, and he also, after enjoying the 
advantages of his father's preceptorial care in his elementary 
studies, graduated at the Jefferson Medical School, and 
began the practice of his profession in the twenty-third year 




of his age. A better school for young physicians could not 
be desired than that enjoyed by the softs of Dr. Dickson. 
The experience, attainments, and every-day occurrences 
of their father's life were admirably adapted to nurture and 
bring into vigorous and comprehensive <levelopment all the 
desirable ([ualities of mind calculated to fit them as suc- 
cessors to their senior's reputation and business. Their 
abilities are held in high repute, and they bid fair to eventu- 
ally become prominent men in their profession. Dr. Dick- 
son enjoys, in a remarkable degree, the affectionate regard 
of all who know him. Both socially or profe.ssionnlly, he 
is venerated for his extensive knowledge, his eminent abili- 
ties, his long and valuable services, his earnest integrity, 
and the spotless purity of his moral character. 



1 J 

cCLINTOCK, JOHN, D. D., Clergyman, was born 
in Philadelphia, in 1814, and graduated from the 
University of Pennsylvania in 1S35. In the fol- 
lowing year, he entered the Methodist ministry, 
\^ ^ shortly afterwards was elected Professor of Mathe- 
matics in Dickinson College, and retained the 
chair until 184S. From 1S48 until 1856, he was editor of 
the UTelhodtsl Qiuirlcrly Rcvico, and in the lattir year 
%vent as Delegate to the Methodist Conference in Murope. 
During lS57-'58, he was pastor of St. Paul's Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in Philadelphia, and, in 1S59 and i860. 
President of the Troy University. In 1S60, he went to 
Paris to assume the care of the American Chapel there, 
and remained until 1S66. He was subsequently President 
of the Drew Theological Seminary. He was the translator 
(in connection with Professor Blumenthal) of Ncandcr's 
L'fc of Christ, and, together with Professor Cook, wrote a 
series of Greek and Latin text-books. He was also asso- 
ciated with Dr. Strong, in the production of The Biblical 
ami Theological Dictionary, and was the author of several 
other valuable historical and theological works. He died 
at Madison, New Jersey, on the 4th of March, 1S70. 



NGERSOLL, CHARLES JARED, Lawyer and 
Diplomatist, was born in Philadelphia, October 
3d, 1782, and was the son of Jared Ingersoll, a 
distinguished jurist of that city. He followed 
his father's profession, and studied law; but 
eventually became interested in politics, and was 
attached to the United States Embassy in Paris. While in 
the French Legation, he took the opportunity of travelling 
through Europe, and of making himself thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the people and customs of the old world. 
Having returned to America, he became a member of 
Congress in 1S12; was th > United States District Attorney 
for Pennsylvania, from 1815 to 1829; then served in the 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.tDIA. 



499 



Slate Legislature, and again in Congress from 1841 to 
1847. Subsequently, he was nominated by President Polk 
as Minister to France, but the nomination was not con- 
firmed by the Senate. He was a member of the Conven- 
tion for Internal Improvements of Pennsylvania, which 
met at Harrisbnrg in 1825 ; of the Slate Convention, in 
1827 ; of the National Assembly for the Encouragement 
of Domestic Manufactures, in 1S29, and of the State Con- 
stitutional Convention, in lS37-'38, in which he wrote 
reports on currency, the judiciary, etc. He was the author 
of several important literary and historical works, one of 
which — A History of the War of 1812,4 vols., 8vo. — is 
highly valued. He associated himself jiolitically with the 
Democratic party, and was the only one of his family who 
espoused thai cause. His death took pl.ace in Philadelphia, 
January 14th, 1862, at the advanced age of eighty years. 



jEED, GEORGE K., Banker, was born in Lan- 
ca.ster, Pennsylvania, December 22d, 1826. His 
father, Ileni-y R. Reed, was formerly Cashier of 
the Branch Bank of Pennsylvania, and subse- 
quently, of the F.armers' Bank of Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania. His mother was a daughter of 
John Hoff, a prominent and influential citizen of Lancaster. 
His paternal ancestors were of Irish descent, his maternal 
of German. When in his eighteenth year, George foreook 
school life, and, January 8th, 1844, hired himself as an 
errand boy in the dry goods and grocery hoivse of C. Hager, 
and was gradually promoted until he w,as appointed to take 
charge of the books of the establishment. In 1847, he 
became the book-keeper for the County Treasurer. While 
thus employed, he manufactured, during spare hours, shoe 
blacking, and also traflicked in lime, and roofing slate for 
the Peach Bottom Slate Quarries. In 1849, ''i^ \.^rm. for 
which the County Treasurer had been elected having 
expired, he started a private banking-house, there being at 
that time no institution of that nature in the city or county. 
Possessing a general knowledge of book-keeping, he went 
to Philadelphia, and while there, spent three weeks in a 
prominent house on Third street, in order to obtain a clearer 
insight into the workings and details connected with bank- 
ing. In January, 1850, he opened his establishment under 
the name of J. F. Shroder & Company. This venture 
proved perfectly successful, and was rapidly increasing in 
prestige and in its general capacities until 1856, when two 
of the oldest banking institutions in the country failed 
utterly. Loss of public confidence naturally ensued, the 
general suspensions ot' 1857 weakened still further public 
confidence, his partner was compelled to suspend payments, 
and he was reluctantly forced to relinquish all hope of again 
restoring to his business its former esteem and popularity. 
Within a year's time the affairs of the b.ank were satisfac- 
torily settled, and eveiy claim fully paid. In 185S, he 



formed a new partnership under the name of Reed, McGrann 
& Company, a firm which is still in existence, and doing a 
large and prosperous business. He has represented his 
district for a small term in the City Council, and, for one 
year, acted as President of the lower branch of the Common 
Council. Although a warmly-interested Republican, he 
has never participated as an active politician in any of the 
prevalent political campaigns, and is averse to the troubles 
and vexations attending a public career. Each position 
held by him has been accepted only after persistent solicita- 
tions that would take no refusal. On one occasion, he was 
nominated by the Republican party for Mayor, but was 
defeated by a small majority. Since 1850, he has been 
intrusted with the management of the Lancaster Gas Com- 
pany, acting as their Treasurer ; and has also filled many 
other positions of trust and honor in various associations 
and corporations with which he has been connected as 
director, treasurer, or trustee ; finally, he was one of the 
most respected and able Directors of the National Railroad 
Company. He was married, June 8th, 1852, to a daughter 
of John G. Fetter, an enterprising and honored citizen of 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 



UTTING, LYMAN, Mine Oper.-tjr, was born in 
Maine, May 24lh, 1824. His father was Lyman 
Nutting, a p[ominent and influential farmer and 
citizen in his locality. He was educated in 
Maine, at the Bridgeton, and North Yarmouth 
Academies. After completing his course of 
studies, he engaged in school teaching in Maine, and 
subsequently, in Pennsylvania and Ohio. When in his 
twenty-fifth year, he turned his attention to the study of 
law, but, upon the breaking out of the " California Fever," 
he abandoned this pursuit, and moved to the Western gold 
fields. Here he met with good average success in mining 
and trading. In 1859, he returned to Maine, whence he 
soon removed to Pennsylvania, and engaged in the coal 
business at Pine Grove. In this enterprise he succeeded 
in amassing a considerable sum of money, and is still 
interested in it to a large extent. In 1864, he connected 
himself with the iron business, at Middletown, Dauphin 
county, and purchased an interest in the two furnaces 
located there. In 1867, he became interested as part 
owner in the furnace at Lebanon, and in 1S70, removed 
to this locality in order to overlook- its management and 
progress. To the financiering department his attention 
is particularly directed, and as a counsellor and manager, 
he has often evinced unusual shrewdness, foresight, and 
ability. He is also the proprietor of several large farms, 
whose leases yield him a handsome income, and owns an 
interest in the Lebanon Manufacturing Company. He 
was married, in 1861, to Louisa Kalter, of Pine Grove, 
Pennsylvania, and has four children. 





BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



que, 



'^ILLER, GEORGE F., Lawyer, ex-Congressman, 
and President of the Lewisburg and Tyrone Rail- 
ill I '"■^'' Company. The exact date of his birth is 
/Wvv not certainly known, its record having been sub- 
'' ' sequently destroyed ; it is supposed, however, to 
be May 9th, 1809. His birthplace is Chillisqua- 

Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. His parents 
were John and Sarah .Miller, and their family being large 
while their income was small, he was compelled to depend 
chiefly upon his own exertions. His early life he passed 
alternately upon a farm as an assistant and in the town 
common schools as an industrious student. For a time, he 
was tutored by Mr. Kirkpatrick in the academy at Milton, 
an institution enjoying a superior reputation as an educa- 
tional centre. Among its former scholars were ex-Gover- 
nors Pollock and Curtin, Joshua W. Comly, S. I Comly, 
Colonel David Taggart, and others who have since risen 
to distinction. Before entering upon the preparatory study 
for his profession an interval of a few years succeeded; 
(luring which time he was engaged in school teaching. He 
studied law in the office of James F. Linn, of Lewisburg, 
and, in 1836, was admitted to the bar of Union county. 
At this time the legal profession in central Pennsylvania 
was noticeable for the number of persons of reputation and 
consjiicuous ability to be found in its ranks. Yet despite 
a formidable rivalry he soon received an extensive practice 
throughout the neighboring counties ; and repeatedly was 
proffered pulilic stations and nominations, which were, how- 
ever, invariably declined. Later, in 1864, he was nomi- 
nated by the Republican party to represent the Fourteenth 
District of Pennsylvania in Congress, being elected by a 
majority of five hundred and seventeen votes over his Demo- 
cratic opponent, who was a member of the Thirty-sixth 
Congress. In 1866, he was re-elected by a majority three 
times greater than that gained at his former election. In 
the Thirty-ninth Congress, he was a member of the Com- 
mittee on Railways and Canals and Public Expenditures. 
In the Fortieth Congress, he was a member of the Com- 
mittee on Railways and Can.als, the Pension Committee, 
and Revolutionary Claims and Pensions. He took an 
active part in the establishment of the University at Lewis- 
burg, Pennsylvania, now one of the leading colleges of the 
country; elected Secretary of its Board of Trustees, he 
served in that capacity for sixteen years. At present, he is 
President of the Lewisburg & Tyrone Railroad Company. 
Owing to a temporaiy derangement of its affairs, the work 
upon this road was suspended for a lime; when, at the 
urgent solicitation of its stockholders and various interested 
capitalists, he endeavored to restore its former prestige and 
success. At once he devoted himself to the work with his 
accustomed energy, practical judgment, and shrewd fore- 
sight. Since, a large measure of success has attended his 
persevering efforts. Eleven miles of the road are already 
completed, while its entire length will be eighty-seven 
miles. He was one of the Stockholders and Directors of 




the Northumberland Bank — now the First National Bank 
of Sunbury. He was married, September 27th, 1S36, to 
Amanda Bright, daughter of Daniel P. Bright, deceased ; 
a former merchant of the borough of Milton, Pennsylvania. 
He has two sons, both of whom are members of the bar, 
and actively engaged in the practice of their profession. 



OVODE, JOHN, Member of Congress, was born 
in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, March 
lyth, 180S. He received only a limited and 
imperfect education, but, notwithstanding this 
drawback, succeeded by dint of energy and na- 
tive good sense in raising himself to a position 
of both affluence and political eminence. He was brought 
up on a farm, and afterwards learned the trade of a woollen 
manufacturer. He was connected with many important 
public works and enterprises; especially the State Canal, 
the establishment of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the 
Westmoreland Coal Company, of wliich latter company he 
was the President. He first became a candidate for poli- 
tical office in 1845, when Ije was the Whig nominee for 
the State Senate. In 1854, he was the Whig candidate for 
the Thirty- fourth Congress, for the then igih Congressional 
District, and was elected by a large majority. He was also re- 
elected on several subsequent occasions. He held many 
highly responsible political positions, among many others, 
being member of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the 
War. His name became particularly well known in coa^ 
nection with the Kansas-Lecompton controversy during the 
administration of President Buchanan, in his early service 
in Congress. In politicil circles he was particularly noted 
for his sturdy honesty and straightforwardness, which earned 
for him the sobriquet of " Honest John Covode." lie 
died suddenly of heart disease, at Harrisburg, January 
nth, 1S71. 

GLE, WILLIAM HENRY, M. D., Historian, 
was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Septem- 
ber 17th, 1830. His parents were John and 
Elizabeth Egle, and his descent on the p.iturnal 
side is F"rench, on the maternal side German. 
His early education he received in the public 
school near his birthplace, whence he was transferred to 
the Harrisburg Military Academy. When in his seven- 
teenth year, he entered the printing office of the Telegraph, 
and remained connected with that journal until he had at- 
tained his majority. Subsequently, he was for several years 
a student in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 
and graduated in 1859. He then commenced the active 
pursuit of his profession in Harrisburg, continuing thus 
until 1S62, when, at the time of the second battle of 
Bull Run, he w.as telegraphed for to assist in the field. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



501 



Upon his return, he was commissioned Assistant Surgeon, 
and afterward Surgeon, and served actively in 1866. Re- 
turning to Hariisburg subsequently, he partially resumed 
his former practice, and met wi;h much success. Being 
warmly attached to literature and literary pursuits, he early 
produced many essays and slcetches which were published 
in Graham's Magazine, and in the Knickerbocker, of New 
York. Several of these articles attracted considerable at- 
tention upon their appearance, and were highly commended 
by the press and the public. At present, his time is given 
who'Iy to historical researches. Noticeable, among others, 
are his sketches of Parson Elder and Colonel Timothy 
Green of the Revolution. He is now editing the Revolu- 
tloiinry War Records of Pennsylvania, a task which was 
assigned him by the last Legislature. He is engaged also 
on a History of Dauphin County, and the Paxstang Boys. 
During many years he has been actively connected with 
many of the most important enterprises emanating from 
Ilarrisburg, and is ranked among the most influential and 
honorable citizens of the State capital. He is a member 
of the Agricultural Society, and also of the State Historical 
Society. In this latter institution his unusual store of his- 
torical knowledge, his familiarity with bygone details and 
data, and his cheerful readiness at all times in Laboring 
upon vexatious and little-known questions concerning his- 
tory and historical research, have won him the affection and 
esteem of all. He was married, in 1S60, to a member of 
the Beatty family, uf Harrisburg. 

/ '~~ 

?HIRAS, ALEXANDER EAKIN, MajorGeneral 
United States Army, was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, August loth, 1S12. His father, 
a prominent merchant, resided in this city, and 
traded with the West Indies and the .South Ameri- 
can countries. At an early date his parents moved 
to Mount Holly, Burlington county, New Jersey, where 
his rudimentaiy education was conducted under the excel- 
lent tutorehip of John Gumerie, A. M., Principal of the 
Burlington Academy. Subsequently, he was appointed 
from New Jersey to the Cadet Military Academy — from 
July 1st, 1829, to July 1st, 1833. In this latter year he 
was graduated, and promoted in the army to Brevet Second 
Lieutenant in the 4th Artillery. During the greater por- 
tion of this year he served in garrison at Fortress Monroe, 
Virginia, in the Artillery School for Practice. Later, he 
served in the Creek Nation, and, during a portion of 1834- 
'35, was again in garrison at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. In 
1835, he served at Fort Washington, Mai-yland, .and, from 
iS35-'37, was at Fort Columbus, New York. In iS37-'38, 
he was on commissary duty at New York harbor. Mean- 
while, May 1st, 1837, he had been promoted to the First 
Lieutenancy in his detachment. While emigrating the In- 
dians to the \Vest, in 1838, he was stationed in the Cherokee 




nation. From 1839-43, he served in the Military Academy, 
and from August 13th, 1839, to January 4th, 1S40, was As- 
sistant Professor of Mathematics, and from this date until 
August 29th, 1843, served as Principal Assistant Professor 
of Mathematics. In 1843-44, he was in garrison at For- 
tress Monroe, Virginia, and, in 1844-45, was engaged on 
the recruiting service. In 1 845-' 46, he was again in gar- 
rison at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and in the latter year 
was sent to the West in charge of subsistence for the volun- 
teers engaged in the Mexican War. From October 13th 
to April 27th, 1847, he was on commissary duty at New 
York city; having, March 3d, 1847, 1's^" promoted to the 
rank of Captain. The position he retained until Septem- 
ber 27th, 1850. From April 27th, 1847, to April I2lh, 
1861, he served as Assistant to the Commissary-General 
of Subsistence in the Bureau at Washin:;ton, District of Co- 
lumbia. During this time he was, for a short time, on tem- 
porary duty at St. Louis, in 1857. During the Rebellion, 
he served in the .Subsistence Bureau at W.ashington, Dis- 
trict of Columbia, from April 12th, 1861, to February 9th, 
1863, and since the latter date has served as Assistant 
Commissary-General of Subsistence ; and also, from June 
13th, 1S61, has been a member of the United States Sani- 
tary Commission. September 6th, 1S74, he was appointed 
Brevet Brigadier-General United States Army for meri- 
torious and distinguished services in the Subsistence De- 
partment, and in supplying the armies during the war. 
March 13th, 1865, he was appointed Brevet Major-Geiieral 
United States Army, for " faithful, meritorious and dis- 
tinguished services during the Rebellion." May ist, 1874, 
he was appointed Brigadier-General and Commissary- 
General of Subsistence. He is unmarried. 



ITER, JOHN, Merchant, w.as born August 6th, 
1 791, in the township of Radnor, Delaware 
county, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Wil- 
liam and Mary Siter. His early education was 
limited to the schools of his native place. At an 
early age he removed to Philadelphia and en- 
tered the dry goods, importing and jobbing house of Cook 
& Cresson, in iSio. In 1S17, he became a partner in the 
Finn of Cresson, Wistar & Co (Elliott Cresson, Bartholo- 
mew Wistar, John Siter and Richard Price). He w.as also 
a member of the successive firms of Wistar, Siter & Price, 
and Siter, Price & Co. ; these copartnerships being the 
successors, in direct line, of others dating back over one 
hundred and twenty-five years. He was always greatly 
interested in all movements tending to the advancement of 
the prosperity of Philadelphia. He w.as mainly instrumental 
in the establishment of the " Phil.adelphia Merchants' Ex- 
change," and through life continued an active and influen- 
tial member of that organization. He died December 5lh, 
1S62. The style of the firm (Siter, Price & Co.) is still 




502 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



continued, ami the immense business which they transact 
is, in a great measure, the result of the honest dealing and 
wonderful ability of him whose name siiil remains at the 
head of the house. He was a perfect type of a Philadelphia 
merchant, a man whose whole life was stainless ; a hard and 
earnest worker in whatever he attempted, he forced success. 



[RICE, RICHARD, Merchant, was bom May loth, 
1795, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and wxs the 
son of Joseph and Ann Price. After receiving a 
fair education in the schools of his native city, at 
the age of sixteen he entered the business house 
of Cook & Cresson, afterwards Cresson & Wistar. 
With these firms he remained until he became a partner 
in the house of Cresson, Wistar & Co., composed of El- 
liott Cresson, Bartholomew W'istar, John Siter and Richard 
Price. He afierwards was a member of the successive finns 
of Wistar, Siter & Price, and Siter, Price & Co. He was 
actively en;.;agcd in business during his entire life. He also 
filled many honorable and important positions in politics, 
as well as in charitable and commercial institutions. For 
many years he was a Director of the Bank of the United 
States ; was a member of the City Councils prior to the con- 
solidation of the city and districts, and was called upon to 
serve the pulilic in numerous other ways. Always an active 
and prominent member of the " HicUsite " branch of the 
Society of Friends, both in his commercial and private life 
he filled the entire duty of a member of th.at body. He 
died in July, 1S65. Over fifty years of active labor in a 
constantly enlarging business field only enhanced his repu- 
tation as a man and a merchant, and his memory is held 
in loving reverence by thousands whom his kind encourage- 
ment and generous assistance advanceil in the world. 




[ICKSON, THOMAS, Farmer, Contractor, and 
Merchant, was born in the County of Tyrone, 
Ireland, in the year 1790. He received such 
education as was afforded by the village school 
of his native place, and then turned his attention 
to farming. With the exception of an occasional 
venture in commercial enterprises, he continued his agri- 
cultural pursuits until the date of his emigration to the 
United States. The death of both his parents, shortly after 
he had attained his twentieth year, placed him in possession 
of the homestead, and also imposed upon him the care of 
a younger brother and two sisters. About this time he was 
married to Mary Brown, who shared with him the joys and 
sorrows of his life for over fifty years. It was not until he 
had reached the age of forty years that he conceived the 
idea of emigrating to the United States, with the view of 
bettering his condition and th.it of his family, which then 



consisted of five sons and four daughters ; the success of 
his former commercial ventures warranting him in the be- 
lief that in a new field his t.alcnt for trade would bring him 
material prosperity. In 1830, he started upon a tour of 
observation, leaving the home farm in the care of his wife 
and sons. Landed on the shores of the United States, he 
made his way from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, visiting also 
the western portion of Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. The 
next year he returned to Europe, taking with him a cargo 
of flaxseed, the profit upon which was sufficient to pay all 
his expenses and leave a handsome margin. Disposing of 
all his possessions in Ireland, in the spring of 1S32, he re- 
turned to this countiy with his entire family and settled in 
Pittsburgh. Anxious to engage in a business in which the 
services of his sons, now grown to manhood, could be made 
.available, he turned his attention to contracting for public 
work, opening new streets, etc., and also for building the 
can.il then being constructed by the State. In undertakmgs 
of this nature he remained engaged, with considerable suc- 
cess, until the "panic year of '37" caused the suspension 
of all public improvements. He suffered heavy loss, but, 
engaging in merchandising, gradually recovered his capital, 
and, in 1S52, was anxious for new investments. At that 
time he conceived the idea of transporting coal to market 
via the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, then just finished. 
At that time all the coal carried to the cities was transported 
either by wagons or canal boats. Purchasing coal lands 
within twelve miles of the city of Pittsburgh, he proceeded 
to open mines, and, in January, 1853, tbe first coal carried 
over the rail was shipped from his mines. This first invoice 
consisted of six dump-cars, containing about 150 bushels 
each, and in six months, contraiy to the predictions of many, 
the train had increased to twenty-eight cars, with a capa- 
city of 4200 bushels per day. The business steadily ad- 
vancing, he associated with him his sons, John Robert, 
omas C, and Joseph C. Dickson, and his son-in-law, J. 
S. Stewart ; with them he continued prosperously until his 
death, which occurred February 1st, 1865. His surviving 
partners are still engaged in the coal trade. During his 
connection with the coal interests eight different coal works 
were erected and carried into successful operation under 
his supervision, employing from 800 to loco hands, and 
producing about 5000 bushels daily. He was a cool, clear- 
headed, far-seeing man, strictly temperate and of great de- 
termination of purpose, modest and retiring in manner. 

;^.\HLGREN, JOHN A., Rear Admiral, was born 

in Philadelphia, and entered the navy in 1826. 

He was the inventor of the ponderous shell guns 

known as the " Dahlgrens," and also of a bronze 

*^^s-^ howitzer, of light calibre, for throwing shrapnel, 

^ shells, and canister shot. He was the author of 

several works, principally on the practice of artillery. On 

the breaking out of the War of the Union, Commander 



«I.Th- 




DIOGRAPMICAL ENCYCLOP.^iDIA. 



503 



Dalilgren was placed in charge of tlie Washington Navy 
Yard, and in July, 1S62, received a Captain's commission 
and the responsible post of Chief of the lUireau of Ord- 
nance. In 1863, in recognition of his valuable services to 
the nation, he was made Rear Admiral, and in the same 
year was put in command of the South Atlantic Squadron. 
In 1S64, he rendered important service in protecting the 
city of Jacksonville, Florida, whither the United States 
army had retired after the defeat of Olustee. In 1868, he 
was again assigned to his old post of Chief of the Bureau 
of Ordnance, and, in the autumn of 1869, the Washington 
Navy Yard was once more placed nnder his control as Com- 
mandant. He died suddenly, at Washington, July 12th, 
1870. 



/ 



kORTER, JAMES MADISON, Lawyer and States- 
man, was born in the year 1792. He was a son 
of General Andrew Porter, a famous officer in the 
Continental Army, and a brother of David R. 
Porter, for six years Governor of Pennsylvania. 
Like the latter, he was educated for the bar, and 
opened his office in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he resided 
for nearly a half century. During the War of 1812, he 
served in the field, having volunteered as a private, though 
he was subsequently a commissioned officer. His practice 
was a large one, not only in Northampton, but in many of 
the adjoining counties both of his native State and New 
Jersey. lie was a member of the Convention of 1838, 
which revised the Constitution of the Commonwealth, and 
in which he took a prominent part. In 1843, he was ap- 
pointed by President Tyler to a seat in the Cabinet, having 
charge of the Portfolio of the Secretary of War, and subse- 
quent to his retirement from that station, in 1845, held 
many prominent positions of trust and profit. lie was one 
of the founders of Lafayette College (Easton, Pennsyl- 
vania), and occupied the chair of President of the Board 
of Trustees of that institution for over twenty-five years. 
He was also a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, 
and for many years held an official position in the Grand 
Lodge of the State. He died November nth, 1S62. 



(.JW,Ij,jQHM.\N, HOWARD, Merchant, w.is born in 
1817, in Gloucester county. New Jersey, where 




he received his education. When in his sixteenth 
year, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
and entered as a clerk the grocery store of Jona- 
than Mulford, situated at the northeast corner 
of Front and Market streets. There he gained a thorough 
knowledge of the business, and, in 1S40, commenced a 
partnership with George F. Reeves, doing business at the 
corner of Front and Callowhill streets. This connection 
lasted for three years, when he began business alone, at 



the northeast corner of Eighth and Market streets. In 
1845, he formed a co-partnership with R, W. Steele, to 
engage in the flour, seed and grain business, at 423 Market 
street, . the site subsequently occupied by the Farmers' 
Market. In 1S51, he entered into partnership with Walter 
C. Livingstone, at Si 2 Market street, and continued this 
relation for several years. He then associated himself with 
David T. Peacock, formerly one of the firm of James Steele 
& Co., and Thomas M. Tell, at 808 and 810 Market street, 
in the buildings erected by them. David T. Peacock dying 
in 1859, and Thomas M. Tell in 1865, the business came 
under his sole supervision and control. In 1869, he asso- 
ciated with him his son, Harvey K. Hinchman, under the 
firm-name of Howard Hinchman & Son. Being completely 
absorbed in business, and warmly interested in eveiy enter- 
prise affecting the commercial interests of Philadelphia, he 
has repeatedly declined, and most positively, to accept any 
political office or public trust, involving connectinn with 
political parties or partisans. He has held nearly every 
important position in the Commercial Exchange : has been 
Director, Secretary and President, and has taken an active 
part in all movements of importance. He was the last 
President of the Corn Exchange, before its change of title. 
In April, 1869, he became President of the Chamber of 
Commerce, and at present holds the position of Director 
in the same institution. He is also a Director of the 
National Bank of the Republic, and Trustee of the Penn 
Life Insurance Company. As a business man, he is noted 
for his energy, sagacity and indomitable perseverance; as a 
citizen, for his incorruptible honesty, his stern aversion to 
political caballing, and his shrewd enterprise. 



YSART, JAMES H., Coal Miner and Shipper, 
was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, 
January 7th, 1S32. His father was a native 
of Mifflin county, but removed to Huntingdon 
in 1 81 2, where he purchased property and pur- 
sued the occupation of farming. Anxious to 
afford to his son every advantage for the acquirement of a 
thorough education, he placed him, at an early age, under 
the care of the Rev. J. Y. McGuinness, at Millwood 
Academy. Here James remained for three years, when he 
entered college, at Cannonsburg, and there conti'nicd his 
studies in the higher branches for the four years following. 
At the age of twenty-four, he entered the service of the 
Pennsylvania Radroad Company, as freight and ticket 
agent, at Altoona. This jiosition he retained for eight 
years, giving entire satisfaction to the corporation employ- 
inu him and to all parties with whom he came in business 
contact. Resit^ning his post after that period of service, he 
engaged in the coal trade, purchasing, in connection with 
William C. Keller, the business of Cooper & Co., at 
Lilley's Station, Cambria county, Pennsylvania. The 




504 



BIOGRAPHICAL !• NCVCLOP/EDIA. 



pirtnership thus formed continued for five years, the firm 
doing, during that time, a safe and steadily-increasing 
business. Upon the retirement of William C. Keller from 
the connection, a new co-partnership was entered into with 
Daniel Laughman, and this firm still prosperously prose- 
cutes the business. During his life, he has always been 
noted for his strict attention to business; in common with 
other merchants, he has suflfered the vicissitudes of trade, 
but he has never succumbed in any degree to them ; diffi- 
culties he has bravely met, and, by careful consideration, 
sturdy effort and prompt action, surmounted. These ster- 
ling qualities, in connection with close attention to his 
business, have brought him wealth (invested in the mining 
interests of Cambria county) belore he has more than at- 
tained the meridian of life. lie was married, in 1S56, to 
Martha A., the daughter of Aaron Beyers, a prominent 
merchant of Blair county. He has never taken any promi- 
nent part in politics, contenting himself with the manage- 
ment of his business, and satisfied that, with the intelligent 
discharge of his duties as a citizen, he gains honor suf- 
ficient for his ambition. 




7 



' HARP, ALEXANDER, M. D., United States 
Marshal, District of Columbia, was born near 
Newville, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, 
July 29th, 1825. His father. Rev. Alexander 
Sharp, who died in 1S57, was a son of Captain 
Alexander Sh.arp, who served during the Revo- 
lutionaiy War, and soon after its close settled in Indiana 
county, Pennsylvania, which was then the western frontier. 
Being harassed by Indians, he removed, before 1790, to 
Cumberland county, and built the homestead where Alex- 
ander and his father were born. Alexander's early educa- 
tion was obtained at various academic institutions until 
1843, when he was so far advanced in his studies that he 
entered the Soiihoniore class at Jefferson College, Cannons- 
burg, from which he graduated, in 1846, with the degree 
of A. B. His father also graduated from the same college, 
in 1S19. He next studied medicine,, attending lectures at 
Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, and graduated 
in 1849, receiving his degree of M D. During his studies 
here, the celebrated surgeon. Dr. Joseph Pahcoast, was the 
Professor of Anatomy. After nearly a year spent in travel, 
he attended another course of lectures, to perfect himself in 
his profession, and, in 1850, settled at St. Louis, Missouri, 
for practice. He remained in that city nearly six years, 
during which time he married Ellen, the second daughter 
of Frederick Dent, a resident of the same county, and a 
sister of the wife of President Grant. Leaving St. Louis, 
he resided for nearly two years at Frederick Dent's farm, 
about nine miles southwest of the city, when he removed 
to Lincoln county, Missouri, where he practised in that and 
the adjoining county of Pike, with a brief interval, until 
1864. Upon the breaking out of the war, he enrolled him- 



self, with other Union men, in a local home-guard, when, 
in June, l85i, he was appointed Surgeon in the service, 
and proceeded to Cairo, Illinois, where he served in the 
hospitals until the close of the year, when he returned 
home. In 1864, his health failing, so that he was forced 
to relinquish the practice of his profession, he went to Car- 
roll Parish, Louisiana, where he look charge of, and man- 
aged, several large cotton plantations belonging to his 
brother-in-law. Judge Dent, near Lake Providence, and 
remained until the close of the year. In April, 1S65, im- 
mediately after Lee's surrender, he was appointed a .Special 
Agent of the Post-Office Department, and was sent to Rich- 
mond, Virginia, to re-establish and take charge of the post- 
office there. He did so, and continued in charge until he 
was appointed Postmaster, in December, 1865, and served 
in that capacity until March, 1S69, at which date he had 
fully regained his health. While serving in this capacity. 
he was elected a Director of the Virginia Central Railroad 
(now known as the Chesapeake & Ohio), and, during his 
term of office, arrangements were effected with certain 
bankers in New York which enabled the road to be com- 
pleted to the Ohio river. He was appointed, in 186S, by 
General Schofield, commanding the District, a member of 
the Richmond City Council, and during his term of service 
he inaugurated the effort to establish a system of free 
schools, to succeed those established and supported by vari- 
ous Northern educational societies. In 186S and 1869, he 
was Treasurer of the State Central Republican Committee. 
In 1S68, he was tendered the nomination of the Republi- 
cans for Representative in Congress, but declined, and, in 
1S69, received the Republican vote in the State Legislature 
for United States Senator, but was defeated by Senator 
Johnston, the Conservative candidate. In 1868 he was a 
delegate to the Republican National Convention, which 
nominated General Grant, at Chicago, but did not take his 
seat. Upon the accession of General Grant to the Presi- 
dency, he was appointed Marshal of the United States 
Courts for the District of Columbia, and w.as re-appointed 
in March, 1S73. He has a family of eight children living, 
the eldest of whom is a Midshipman in the United States 
Navy. 



'ONTOOTH, EDWARD A., Lawyer, was born in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September l8th, 1837. 
After enjoying the educational advantages af- 
forded by the schools of his native city, he began 
, (j the study of the law, under the direction of A. M. 
"^ Walson, on February 26th, 1856, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar, December 7th, 1S61. He engaged in 
the practice of his profession in Pittsburgh, but, having 
raised a company of volunteers, in 1862, was commissioned 
First Lieutenant and Adjutant of Company A, iSSlh Regi- 
ment Pennsylvania Volunteers, September 2d, 1862, and 
entered at once upon active military service. He took a 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



505 



dislinguished part in ihe battles of South Mountain, Antie- 
t.im, Ficdevicksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and all 
the minor engagements in which his regiment participated. 
In August, 1864, he was assigned to duty as Adjutant upon 
the stnff of J. V. Bumford, Acting Assistant Provost-Mar- 
shal of the Western Division of Pennsylvania. This posi- 
tion he filled until he returned to his regiment and was 
commissioned Captain of Company A, 155th Regiment, 
May I5lh, 1865. He was brevetted Major for " meritorious 
conduct at Gettysburg," and served with credit until mustered 
out, June 2d, 1865. He then resumed the practice of his 
profession in his native city, where he has .since continued, 
and has won honorable distinction. In October, 1 87 1, he 
was elected to the Select Council of the city of Pittsburgh, 
and as a member of that body made a pure and enviable 
record. He was also Junior Vice-Commander Grand Army 
of the Republic for Pennsylvania. He entered early into 
the political arena, and having identified himself with the 
Republican party, has taken an active interest in all its im- 
portant struggles. During the Presidential campaigns of 
1S68 and 1872, he was especially active as the Chairman 
of prominent Republican County Committees. This year 
{1S74) he received the nomination of the Republican party 
for the office of District Attorney of Allegheny county, and 
his peculiar fitness for the position, in addition to the great 
numerical strength of his party in the county, indicate for 
him a signal triumph. He was commissioned by Governor 
llartranft, Lieutenant-Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-Gene- 
ral of the Sixth Military Division of Pennsylvania, August 
1st, 1873. 



'VANS, DAVID, Merchant, Broker and Lawyer, 
was born in Manheim township, Lancaster county, 
Pennsylvania, February 21st, 1S27. He is of 
Welsh and German descent, his father, John 
Evans, having been a wealthy and influential 
citizen of L.ancaster county. He enjoyed every 
educational advantage which the cultivated intelligence and 
ample means of his father could afford him. He graduated 
with high honors, from Franklin & Marshall College, Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania, in the class of 1S5S. He had been 
engaged in teaching for several years prior to his matricula- 
tion in that institution, and after graduating, he returned to 
his preceptorial pursuits and continued therein for one year. 
Hjs acknowledged abilities, united with the great interest 
he had always exhibited in regard to all matters pertaining 
to public education, caused him to be, in February, 1S59, 
appointed General Superintendent of the Public Schools of 
Lancaster county. In this highly responsible position he 
served with general satisfaction for thirteen years. Origin- 
ally appointed to fill an unexpired term, he w.as elected and 
re-elected during the period above mentioned. His retire- 
ment from the post which he had so long and acceptably 
f.'led, was solely the result of political combinations, and 
64 




from no desire on the part of the people to dispense with 
his services, or wish of his to abandon his good work. 
During his official career, he labored incessantly to improve 
and elevate to the highest attainable point the school system 
of his native county. The character of the teachers, pupils, 
and of the school-buildings was all greatly advanced during 
his judicious administration ; and to his wisdom and 
industry, mainly, is Lancaster county indebted for the high 
reputation sustained by her public schools. He devoted 
much of his attention to the improvement of the teachers, 
and was active in his encouragement of the annual teachers' 
meetings, using every effort to elevate their tone, and being 
the first Superintendent to publish the proceedings of these 
meetings as an addition to the educational history of the 
.State. In politics he has always been strongly attached to 
the principles of the Republican party ; was an earnest sup- 
porter of Fremont, in 1S56, and took an active part in that 
presidential campaign. After his retirement from official 
station, he was offered unusually high remuneration to re- 
engage in the profession of teaching, but he preferred to 
become a student, and accordingly entered upon a course 
of legal reading. He is the senior member of the firm of 
Evans & Metzler, real estate and insurance brokers, and his 
business reputation is fully equal to that sustained by him 
as an accomplished gentleman and an honest, industrious, 
and most efficient public servant. He was married, in 
October, 1858, to a daughter of Jacob Zook, a well-known 
farmer of LamiJietre township, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 
vania. 




/ 



COFIELD, HON. GLENNI W., Lawyer and 
Legislator, was born in Dewittvillc, Chautauqua 
county, New York, March nth, 1S17. Having 
enjoyed such educational advantages as were 
afforded by the common schools of that period 
and section, until his fourteenth year, he entered 
an establishment for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge 
of the art of printing. After serving three years of his 
apprenticeship to this trade, he resumed his studies, and, 
first pui-suing a course in the higher branches, entercil 
Plamilton College, New York, in 1S36. Graduating from 
this institution in 1S40, he immediately accepted a position 
as tutor in a private family, residing in Farquier county, 
Virginia. Here he remained for one year, when he returned 
North, and for twelve months held a like post in McKean 
county, Pennsylvania. During these years, his leisure time 
had been industriously and profitably employed in the 
acquisition of legal knowledge. He completed the study 
of the law under the tuition of Hon. C. B. Curtis, of War- 
ren, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar, at Warren, 
in 1842. His industry and ability quickly gaining him a 
prominent position, he built up an extensive and lucrative 
practice, in the prosecution of w-hich he is still as actively 
engaged as when he first entered the profession to strive for 



5o6 



BKKiRArmCAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



fame ami fortune. From early manhood he manifested an 
honorable and patriotic interest in political questions, and 
soon became a recognized leader in the Democratic party. 
By the members of that parly, he was, in 1850, elected a 
member of the Legislature of Pennsylvania. Here he made 
his influence felt, and gained enviable and honorable dis- 
tinction. He was Cliairman of the Committee on the Judi- 
ciary, and his speech in advocacy of an Elective Judiciary 
was a inost elaborate and able effort, adding greatly to his 
reiHitation, and attaining a wide circulation and most favor- 
able reception throughout the State. Although a strong 
Democrat, and a believer in the principles of that party at 
the lime, yet he was always an Anti-Slavery advocate, and 
even in his college days was a prominent member of an 
Abolilicm society. Holding such views, he naturally became 
the ch.impion of the " Wilmot Proviso," the uncompromis- 
ing opponent of the " Fugitive Slave Law," and an earnest 
worker to effect the repeal of the " Missouri Compromise." 
This opposition to some of its most favored doctrines served 
to alienate him from the Democratic party, with which he 
had been so long connected. Upon the formation oP the 
Republican organization, in 1856, he publicly severed his 
old political connections, and gave his willing adherence to 
the new power which represented so well and fully his life- 
long convictions and openly-avowed principles. Soon .an 
acknowledged leader in the ranks of his new associates, he 
was, in 1S56, nominated for State Senator, and being elected 
(from a district previously strongly Democratic) by a 
majority of I200, he served in that capacity until 1S60. 
The advanced position to which he h.ad attained in the 
Lower House, as an effective speaker and logical reasoner, 
was fully sustained by him during his senatorial career. 
While thus serving, he introduced and ably advocated the 
bills to exempt the homestead from sale for debt, and 
abrogating all laws excluding the testimony of witnesses on 
account of religious belief. The opponents of these meas- 
ures, although unable to answer his arguments in favor of 
them, finally succeeded in defeating the bills. He also 
introduced and succeeded in carrying the bill for the grant- 
ing of aid by the State to the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, 
which has been productive of such beneficial results by the 
development of the natural resources of the formerly wild 
section of the State in which he resides, and where the 
interests of his constituents, as well as his own, are directly 
centred. He was temporarily appointed, by Governor 
Andrew G. Curlin, in 1S61, President Judge of the 
Eighteenth Judici.al District of Pennsylvania. In 1862, 
desiring to testify still further their appreciation of his worth 
and valuable services, no less than to secure well-known 
influence, his constituents nominated and elected him a 
Member of the Thirty-eighth Congress, and he has been re- 
elected to each succeeding Congress. He was elected, in 
1S72, by the Republican party, one of the three Congress- 
men at large fiom Pennsylvania, and as such has served, 
with his usual ability, in the Forty-third Congress, being 




Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affiirs, and fully 
sustaining the high character for statesmanship and rare 
business (jualifications which gained him honor and reputa- 
tion in the Legislature of his State. 



ORDAN, FRANCIS, Lawyer, cx-Sccretary of the 
Commonwealth, is of Scotch-Irish extraction, and 
was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, Feb- 
ruary 5th, 1820. He was educated at Marshall 
College, Mercei-sburg, Pennsylvania; Augusta 
College, Kentucky, and subsequently at the 
Franklin & Marshall College in this State. Upon the 
completion of his collegiate course, he returned to Bedford 
and commenced the study of the law, teaching school 
meanwhile, in order to meet the expenses attendant upon 
his legal education. After a three years' course of careful 
reading under the tuition of S. M. Barclay and \V. C. 
Logan, he was admitted to the Bedford bar, and continued 
in practice until the breaking out of the Civil War. Prior to 
his engagement in the Union military sen ice, he practised 
his profession in partnership with the late Judge King. 
Shortly after his admission to the bar, he was appointed 
District Attorney for Bedford county. At that time this 
.appointment was in the gift of the Attorney-General of the 
State, and when the law w,as changed, making the office 
of District Attorney elective, he was chosen for the term of 
three years, at the close of which he declined a re-election. 
While officiating in this position, his indictments were, in 
eveiy instance, so accurately and skilfully drawn, that not 
one of them w;vs ever " quashed " for informality. In 1S55, 
he was elected to the .State Senate for the districts composed 
of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton counties, and was the 
champion of the bill for the sale of the Public Works; also 
Chairman of the Conmiittee on the Apportionment of the 
.State for Members of the General Assembly; upon this 
occasion, he was chiefly instrumental in obtaining for the 
old Whig party a fairer distribution than had ever been 
made previously. While in the Senate, he was Chairman 
of the Judiciary Committee at the time when such celebrities 
as Judge Wilkins, Hon."D. A. Finney, G. W. Scofield, 
and Charles B. Penrose were members, an honor worthy 
of mention. Subsequently, he was a member of a commis- 
sion of three, appointed to revise the Civil Code of the 
State. At the close of his senatorial term, he declined the 
offer of a second nomination, desiring to devote his atten- 
tion to legal pursuits. At the outbreak of the war, he was 
appointed Assistant Quartermaster, and later, Paymaster in 
the army. After serving in this capacity for two years and 
six months, he was appointed by Governor Curtin, Military 
Agent at Washington, District of Columbia. The duties 
of this position required both legal and military knowledge, 
and an unwavering integrity and loyalty, and in every par- 
ticular he conducted himself to the entire satisfaction of all 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



SC7 



concerned. In grateful acknowledgment of his services, 
the Legislature passed an act conferring on him the rank 
and fay of a Colonel of infantry. In 1867, he was appointed 
Secretary of the Commonwealth, and discharged the duties 
of this office with ability and integrity, serving during both 
terms of Governor Geary. While before the public he wrote 
and spoke continually on matters concerning Con.stitutional 
Reform, and did much to educate public sentiment in favor 
of the new Constitution. In a letter written at the request 
of Hon. Morton McMichael, Richard Vaux, George W. 
Riddle and others, he suggested thirteen amendments to the 
Constitution, and of these the Convcntitm adopted twelve. 
In February, 1 872, at the invitation of the Social Science 
Organization of Philadelphia, he delivered his famous lec- 
ture on Constitutional Reform, since widely copied and 
commented upon. Of this address the Hon. Jei-emiah S. 
Rlack said that it was " the best, the bravest, and the most 
effective blow that legislative corruption had received at 
the hands of any man in the Commonwealth ; " and that 
" his analysis of the Statute-Book of Pennsylvania, with his 
exposure of its absurdities, was masterly in the best sense 
of the word." Speaking on the same subject, the Hon. 
Charles I. Faulkner, of Virginia, says : " I have read it 
with great profit, and consider your argument on the subject 
of special legislation overwhelming." 

EAUMONT, JOHN COLT, Captain United States 
Navy, was born at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, 
August 27th, 1821, and is a son of Hon. Andrew 
Beaumont, who held many local offices in Luzerne 
county, was a member of the Legislature, Repre- 
sentative in Congress, and Commissioner of Public 
Buildings and Grounds at Washington. His mother was 
a relative of Colonel Colt, of Hartford, Connecticut, the 
inventor of the revolving pistol. He received an academic 
education at the Wilkesbarre Academy, and at the age of 
sixteen was appointed Midshipman in the navy, to date 
March 1st, 1838. Reporting at New York, he sailed on 
the United .States sloop-of-war " Erie " for the West India 
Squadron, where he served on board the sloop " Ontario " 
until 1840, when he returned to Boston in the same vessel 
in which he left the United States. In December, 1840, 
he was ordered on board the frigate " Constellation," and 
served in the East India Squadron until 1844, when he re- 
turned home, passed the requisite examination and was pro- 
moted Passed Midshipman. He served on board the 
" Jamestown," on the coast of Africa, during 1S45, ^"'^ until 
the breaking out of the Mexican War, when he was ordered, 
in 1846, to the ship-of-the-line "Ohio," and was present 
on board that vessel at the siege and capture of Vera Cruz 
and the capture of Tuxpan. After the Mexican War his 
vessel was ordered to proceed to the Pacific Squadron, but 
young Beaumont was detached from the ship at Rio Janeiro 




and returned home in the frigate " Columbia" as her acting 
Lieutenant. His next duty was at the Naval Observatory, 
in 1S4S ; at which, and on coast survey, he was engaged with 
Lieutenant Porter, now Admiral, in making a survey of the 
Hell Gate channel, East river, until the spring of 1849, 
when he was ordered to the frigate " Independence," bound 
for the European or Mediterranean Squadron. As Master, 
and as acting Lieutenant, he served on board this vessel 
until the summer of 1852, when he was again ordered to 
the Observatory, where he remained until May, 1S54. lie 
had in the meantime been promoted Master, August 30lh, 
1851, and Lieutenant, August 2gth, 1852. His next ser- 
vice was in the " San Jacinto," tmder Captain Stribling, 
on special service for ten months, in 1855, and, in 1856, he 
was detached and ordered on board the frigate " Potomac," 
flag-ship to Commodore Paulding, commanding the Home 
Squadron. When Paulding, in 1857, transferred his flag 
to the " Wabash," Beaumont accompanied him, and re- 
mained ou board until the sjiring of 1S58, when he was or- 
dered to the receiving-ship " North Carolina," at New 
Y^ork, where he remained until 1859. In 1S59, he was 
ordered to the " Hartford," East India Squadron, and re- 
mained until 1861, having been transferred, in i860, to the 
sloop " John Adams," in which vessel he came home as 
Executive Officer. Arriving home after the breaking out 
of the Rebellion, he was soon assigned to the command of 
the gunboat " Aroostook," North Atlantic Blockading 
Squadron, and which was the first wooden vessel which 
served in the James river. He was actively engaged in the 
battles at Fort Darling, under Captain Rodgers, in May 
and June, 1862, and was the first to open fire on the rebel 
lines at the battle of Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1862. July 
I4lh, 1S62, he was promoted Commander, and in the latter 
part of the same month was taken ill and received sick 
leave for four months. He was next placed in command 
of the " SebaTO," a Funboat attached to the South Atlantic 
Squadron, and was stationed off Port Royal and neigh- 
boring ports of South Carolina until the spring of 1863, 
when he was placed in command of the monitor " Nan- 
tucket ; " in which vessel he participated in most of the en- 
gagements at Morris Island and the reduction of Forts 
Wagner and Sumter, in Charleston harbor, in 1S63. In 
the spring of 1S64, he was placed in command of the steamer 
" Mackinaw," of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 
and remained until the close of the war, taking part in both 
attacks on Fort Fisher, under Admiral Porter, and in the 
subsequent fighting along Cape Fear river. Much of the 
time he was on this station he was engaged in torpedo 
hunting in James river ; and in the last fight at Fort Fisher 
one of his boilers exploded, wounding and killing one officer 
and seventeen men. In 1S66, he wxs selected to command 
the double-turreted monitor " INIiantonomah," which carried 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox to Russia to present 
to the Czar the congratulations of this Government at his 
escape from an attempt at assassination. The voyage at. 



So8 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



traded the attention of naval officers throughout the world, 
as the sea-going qualities of the monitors had never yet 
been tested by an ocean voyage. After leaving St. Peters- 
burg the vessel cruised along the European coast to the 
Mediterranean, .ind returned safely to the United States in 
1867, after an al)sence of fourteen months. He was retired 
from active service in April, 1S68, but was restored in 
1873, ))romoted Captain, to date June loth, 1872, and placed 
on duty as Executive Officer at the Washington N.avy Yard, 
where he remained until June, 1S73. From July, 1873, 
until July, 1874, he commanded the " Powhatlan," which 
was serving on special <luty under the orders of the Navy 
Department along the Atlantic co.ist. During the antici- 
pated troubles with Spain, in i873-'74, he was actively en- 
gaged in cruising from the United States to Cuba and back, 
and on two occasions towed monitors to Key West. He 
married, in 1852, a daughter of Rev. John Dorrance, of 
Wilkesbarre, who died in 1855, leaving one son, who is 
now living. He was remarried, in 1873, to a daughter 
of Hon. Charles Kirby King, who was long connected with 
the Navy Department. Jle inherits an inventive genius, and 
invented and introduced a roller hand-spike, which is used 
by the army and navy, a hawse-plug and the ventilator now 
used on board naval vessels. During his service in the 
n.-ivy he has been at sea twenty-two years, on shore duty 
four and one-h.alf years, and unemployed ten years, of which 
five years were passed on the retired list. 



^5 



n/ 

VERS, LEONARD, Lawyer and Congressman, 
was born near Attleborough, 
Pennsylvania, November I3lh, 






Bucks county, 
[827. When he 
f^^^ w.-is about ten years of age his parents removed to 
Philadelphia, where he received his education, 
on the completion of which he entered upon the 
study of the law, and in due course was admitted a member 
of the Philadelphia bar. He soon acquired a con.-.idei-abIe 
practice, especially in the courts of the United States, and 
became the Solicitor of two of the municipal districts of 
the city. Upon the consolidation of the several districts, 
in 1854, he digested the ordinances for the city of Phila- 
delphia by authority of Councils. In October, 1862, 
he was elected to the Thirty-eighth Congress from the 
Third District as a Republican, and has since been re-elected 
to the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty-second and 
Forty-third Congresses successively by large majorities. In 
his action in Congress and in all his public service his zeal 
and aliility, and his disinterested public spirit, have won 
for him a deservedly high and enviable reputation among 
his colleagues, and the esteem and perfect confidence of 
his constituents. He has served on several important com- 
mittees, and has always taken a most active part in all the 
measures brought before the House. In particular, his 
influence was exerted in securing to the Government League 



Island as a naval station, and in obtaining the selection of 
Philadelphia as the place in which to hold the Centennial 
Internalion.al Exhibition under Government auspices.- At 
present he is a member of the Committees on Foreign Af- 
fairs and on Naval Affairs. His written productions com- 
prise many valuable papers contributed to the magazines, 
and some translations from the French, which are very 
happily done. A most eloquent and able speech of his may 
also be here mentioned, which w.is delivered in the House 
on March 24th, iS65, the sulyect being the " Acceptance 
of the Results of the Warthe True Basisof Reconstruction," 
as may also his Memorial Address upon the Death of Presi- 
dent Lincoln, one of the best of the many admirable speeches 
called forth by this sad occasion. As a member, and some 
time Chairman, of the Committee on Patents, he has inte- 
rested himself greatly in the inventors of the countrj' and 
in the amendment of the patent laws. He is the author 
of the section by which photo-lithographic copies of the 
drawings of each invention are given weekly to the public 
as the patents are issued. Upon the Naval Committee his 
efiforts to strengthen the Navy have been frequent and con- 
spicuous, and his bill to allow sailors a free outfit of cloth- 
mg has met general commendation. Upon the Committee 
of Foreign Affairs he has been no less active. He spoke in 
favor of the Alaska purchase, and in the Forty-second 
Congress he was authorized to report the French Spoliation 
Bill, a measure of long-delayed justice presented .and urged 
by him, but again postponed by Congress as it had been 
for many years before. On several occasions he aided the 
legislation in favor of protection to American citizens, most 
fervently and practically asserting their rights in the debate 
upon the celebrated case of Dr. Ilouard, a native of Phila- 
delphia, condemned to death by the mockery of a military 
court in Cuba, whose life was no doubt saved by the action 
of the House of Representatives. 



ATTS, FREDERICK, Jr., Civil Engineer, was 
born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, January glh, 
1843. H'^ father was Frederick Watts, of 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, formerly President Judge 
of the Ninth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, 
and now Commissioner of Agriculture, a man 
of culture, talent and ability. He was educated at Dick- 
inson College, Pennsylvania, Agricultural College, Pennsyl- 
vania, and Eastman College, New York. In May, 1864, 
he joined the 195th Pennsylvania Volunteers, attached to 
the Army of the Shenandoah, where he was engaged in 
arduous and dangerous service until November, 1864. 
In 1866, he engaged in the grain and commission business 
at Newville, Pennsylvania, and continued these pursuits 
until 1869. He then followed the prnfe^ion of civil en- 
gineering until December, 1871, when he was appointed as 
a fourth-class clerk in the Department of Agriculture at 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



509 




Washington. January 8th, 1S73, he was appointed Chief 
Clerk of that department, a position which lie .still holds, 
and whose numerous duties he fulfils with admirable exacti- 
tude and ability. He has proved himself to be a capable 
and efficient second to the Commissioner, and has assisted 
very materially in carrying out the many important reforms 
of that department. He was married, November 29th, 1872, 
to Miss Bayly, of Cambridge, Maryland. 



/ 

'TEVENS, HON. TIIADDEUS, Lawyer and 
Statesman, was born at Danville, Caledonia 
county, Vermont, on the 4th of April, 1792. 
His parents being in indigent circumstances, he 
was, in consequence, thrown early in life upon 
his own resources, and thus acquired a habit of 
self-reliance which in after life proved invaluable both to 
himself and to the country. He obtained his preliminary 
education in the common schools of the neighborhood, and 
then entered the Academy of Peacham, where, by teaching 
during the vacations of school, he procured the means by 
which he was enabled to pursue subsequently a collegiate 
course of study. He first entered the University of Ver- 
mont, and remained there about two years, but the college 
suspending operations on account of the War of 1S12, he 
proceeded to Dartmouth College, and graduated with dis- 
tinction at that institution in 1814. After reading law at 
Peacham, in the office of Judge Mattocks, for some months, 
he left his native State and settled in Pennsylvania in 1S15, 
first in the town of York, where he taught an academy and 
at the same time pursued his legal studies. lie then went 
to Belair, Harford county, Maryland, and was admitted to 
practice there in August, 1816. Immediately after this he 
returned to Pennsylvania and opened a law office at Gettys- 
burg, in Adams county. He soon obtained an extensive 
and lucrative business, to which he gave his entire atten- 
tion for some sixteen years, and acquired a reputation in 
the State as one of its ablest lawyers. He became first 
actively engaged in politics with the rise of the Anti-Masonic 
party in 1828, which party he joined in their opposition to 
secret societies. He was elected to the popular branch of 
the Legislature of his State in 1S33, as a Representative 
from the county of Adams, and continued to serve in that 
body almost without interruption until 1840. During this 
service he championed many measures of improvement, 
among others, the common school system of Pennsylvania, 
which at a critical moment he saved from overthrow by a 
speech which he always asserted to have been the most 
effective he ever made. In l837-'38, he was a member of 
the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania. This Con- 
vention, notwithstanding the strenuous opposition of a strong 
minority, led by him, inserted the word " white " as a quali- 
fication for suffi-age, thus disfranchising a whole race. On 
this account he refused to append his name to the com- 



pleted instrument, and opposed, though unsuccessfully, its 
ratification by the people. In 1S42, he removed to Lan- 
caster county, and resumed the practice of the law there. 
His reputation had preceded him, and his practice in this 
county soon became one of the largest. In 1848 and 1850, 
he was elected to Congress from Lancaster county, after 
which he declined to be again a candidate, and returned 
to his profession until 1858, when he was again elected, 
and continued to hold the seat without interruption until 
his death, which event occurred in Washington, at mid- 
night, on the nth of August, 1S6S. His name has become 
pre-eminent among the statesmen of America, and his pub- 
lic life has passed into history. He was especially the lead- 
ing figure in two most important national measures : the 
abolition of slavery, of which he was from his earliest days 
the most fearless advocate, and the establishment of the 
system of common schools, particularly in his adopted 
.State of Pennsylvania. His death drew forth numerous 
memorial addresses from the members of the House, and 
the greatest tributes of respect were paid to his memoiy by 
Congress. 



^^ERN, HENRY CLAY, Journalist, was born in 
Carroll county, Maryland, March 9th, 1830. His 
father, Isaac Dern, was born in the same section 
of Maryland, was a prominent citizen, and died 
in the neighborhood of his birth, March 9th, 
1864. He received his education in the schools 
of his native county, and, in 1846, at the early age of sixteen, 
was apprenticed to learn the business of printing, at West- 
minster, Maryland. In 1850, at the expiration of his ap- 
prenticeship, he located at New Bloomfield, Peri-y county, 
Pennsylvania, as a journeyman printer. In this capacity he 
remained in Bloomfield for some time, but being active and 
energetic in his disposition, and this field of operations being 
too circumscribed for him, he subsequently became em- 
ployed in difTerent first-class printing establishments through- 
out the country, and thus soon acquired the reputation of 
being an excellent work.ran. In 1858, he became asso- 
ciated in copartnership with E. B. McCrum in the publica- 
tion of the IVee/ify Tribune, at Altoona, Pennsylvania, 
which they continued until April, 1873, when they estab- 
lished the Daily Tribune in connection with the weekly. 
These papers have a widely-extended circulation through- 
out the coal, iron and lumber districts, and have much in- 
fluence therein, being good authority on all points apper- 
taining to these interests. In addition to the pulilication 
of these two papers, they have made the job printing de- 
partment a specialty, of which Mr. Dern is the principal 
manager. Through his, management it has become known 
as a first-class jobbing establishment, and hence it now^ has 
a large run of patron.age. He was a member of the first 
City Council, and for several years a School Director. His 
attention, however, is almost wholly given to his business, 



5'o 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




and for this reason he has fretiuently declined lo hold pub- 
lic position. lie is a steady, active, energetic citizen, and 
has done much lo advance the material interests of his 
adopted city, hut does not aspire to office or identify him- 
self especially as a participant in politics. 



; EXNEDY, JOSEPH CAMP GRIFFITH, Super- 
intendi-nt of the Census of 1S50 and of looo, 
w.as bom at Meadville, Pennsylvania, April 1st, 
1S13. His father. Dr. Thomas R. Kennedy, was 
a surgeon in the army, and was himself a son of 
Dr. Samuel Kennedy, who was a surgeon on the 
staff of General Washington during the RevoluUonaiy War. 
His mother was a daughter of the eminent engineer An- 
drew Ellicott, who laid out the City of Washington, and 
who was the founder of the city of EUicott's Mills, Mary- 
land. He was educated at the Meadville Academy and at 
Allegheny College, from which lie graduated with the de- 
gree of A. B., and which in later years conferred upon him 
the degree of Doctor of Laws. Before he was of age he 
edited the Crawford Messenger, and soon afterward estab- 
lished the Venango Intelligencer, at Franklin, Pennsylvania, 
both of which papers he owned. He early identified him- 
self strongly with the Whig party, but becoming wearied 
of politics after several years, left his papers and retired 
to a farm near Meadville. In 1S49, he was appointed by 
President Taylor Secretary of a Board to prepare a plan for 
taking the seventh and future censuses, and drafted the 
law which was adopted. In 1850, he was appointed by 
General Taylor Superintendent of the Seventh Census, and 
retained that position until the accession of President Pierce, 
when he was removed for political reasons. In 1857, he 
w.as reappointed by President Buchanan 'to complete the 
volume on manufactures, and, in 1S59, he was made Super- 
intendent of the Eighth Census, and continued the work 
until the failure of the appropriations in 1865. In 1S65 
and 1 866, he was engaged, under direction of the Comp- 
troller of the Currency, in examining all the national banks 
in the Slate of Pennsylvania. After his retirement from 
this position he became the Agent at Washington for a 
large number of banks, and now represents over two hun- 
dred. In the winter of 1866, he was nominated by President 
Johnson as Commissioner of Agriculture, but was not con- 
firmed by the Senate. Since that time he has held no 
official position. In 1850, he visited Europe on business 
connected with the census, and became an active promoter, 
with Guizot, M. Michael Chevalier, Dr. Farr and Quitelet, 
the late Prussian Astronomer Royal, of the first Statistical 
Congress, which met at Berlin in 1853. In 1856, he was 
Secretary to the United States Commissioners to the World's 
Fair at London ; was a member of the Statistical Congress 
at P.aris in 1855, and at London in i860; and was a Com- 
missioner to the London Exposition of i860. He was for 




some years Corresponding Secretary of the N.itional Insti- 
tute (now merged into the Smithsonian Institution) ; was 
Corresponding Secretary of the United States Agricultural 
Society, and edited the quarterly journal of that society ; is 
a Corresponding Member of the American Geographical 
and Statistical Society, and of several European geogra- 
phical societies ; and is a member of the Pennsylvania 
Historical Society. He has also received a medal from 
King Christian IX. of Denmark in appreciation of his census 
labors. He is a fine classical scholar, and is the author of 
a translation of the Pythagoras Attrca Sacra. He h.as long 
been known as a public writer, and is one of the contribu- 
tors for the American Encyclopedia. He still retains his 
residence at Meadville, but remains most of the time at 
Washington, District of Columbia. During the late Rebel- 
lion, he endowed four perpetual scholarships at Allegheny 
College for the benefit of disabled young soldiers, or the 
orphans of soldiers. 

/ ~^^ 

OLLISTER, HORACE, M. D., Physician and 
Author, was born in Salem, Wayne county, 
Pennsylvania, in November, 1822. His father, 
a well-to-do farmer, gave him a fair common 
school and academic education before he had 
attained his majority. He read medicine suc- 
cessively with Dr. Burr of his native village. Dr. Loscy of 
llonesdale, and the well-known Dr. B. H. Throop, then of 
Providence (now Scranton), and graduated at the University 
of the City of New York, in March, 1846. He began profes- 
sional life in Providence the following April, where he has 
remained ever since, enjoying a wide field of practice and 
achieving great reputation, especially in the treatment of 
lung and female diseases. Eschewing politics and specu- 
lations as foreign to a profession he has wrought faithfully 
to elevate, he has turned much attention to archa:ological 
and literary matters, and he is now recognized as the his- 
torian of the Lackawanna Valley. His long residence in 
the valley naturally made him familiar with its local and 
traditional history, its wonderful development, and threw 
him in contact with its representative men. His familiarity 
with the subject and his fine literary qualifications eminently 
fitted him to write the History of the Lackawanna Valley, 
of which two editions have already appeared, while a third 
one is being prepared by his fertile pen. While he is not 
ranked among the masters of historical composition, he has 
given such an attractive and even elegant description of a 
valley famed for its rich mountains of anthracite coal as to 
make it an invaluable historical work. He is also the 
author of Coal Azotes, and Recollections of our Physicians ; 
is also a constant contributor of the Scranton Daily Repiib. 
lican, of which he forms one of the staff. For the last 
quarter of a century he has been engaged in gathering the 
stone relics of the departed red men from the Lackawanna 
Valley, until to-day he has the largest collection of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



5" 




kind lo be found in the world, emljiacing over twenty 
thousand pieces. They have been galheied, not as a mere 
collection, but to represent the customs, the habits and the 
religion of the Aborigines with as much truthfulness as if 
the idiom of the wild men still came from the forest. Hu- 
morous, shrewd, eccentric and blunt in speech, he is acknow- 
ledged to be a gentleman of talent and culture. 



ILES, COLONEL DAVID, Soldier and ex- 
Register of Wills, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, 
was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Novem- 
ber 26th, 1831. On the paternal side, he is of 
Irish, and on the maternal, of German descent. 
He commenced his education in the common 
schools of his native city, Imt, owing to his' parents being in 
humble circumstances, he was unable to pursue a regular and 
systematic course of studies. When but thirteen years of 
age, he was hired out as a farm hand, and two years later, 
was apprenticed to learn the tinsmithing trade. When in 
his nineteenth year, he removed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 
and worked at his trade as a journeyman, continuing this 
business until the outbreak of the war. In 1S61, he entered 
the United States service as Orderly Sergeant in the 1st 
Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served out the 
term for which this regiment had been enlisted. Subse- 
quently, he re-entered the service as Captain of Company 
B, of the 79lh Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and 
participated actively in various fights and skirmishes. Oc- 
tober 8th, 1862, at the battle of Perryville, he was promoted, 
for gallant and meritorious service on the field, to the posi- 
tion of Lieutenant-Colonel. He took an active part in the 
battles of Stone River and Chickamauga, and at the latter, 
was captured and incarcerated in Libby Prison at Richmond. 
He was one of the one hundred and ten who escaped thence 
by tunneling for a distance of fifty-seven feet under ground, 
but owing to his crippled condition — resulting from a fall 
of his horse previous to the battle in which he was captured 
— he was re-captured and taken back to prison. After- 
ward, he was transferred to Macon, Georgia, and thence to 
the jail in Charleston, South Carolina. From this place he 
was exchanged, and at once returned to his regiment. 
Through the entire campaign of General Sherman, he was 
constantly engaged in perilous and important military duty ; 
and until the close of the war, participated actively in all 
the operations of his regiment. At the battle of Bentonville, 
South Carolina, he was severely wounded, and, on this 
occasion, was highly commended for his energy and valor. 
Previous to the termination of the Rebellion, he was brevetted 
Colonel of his regiment. In July, 1S65, he was mustered 
out of the service, and returned to work at his trade in 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1866, he was elected Register 
of Wills for Lancaster county, and held this position for 
three years, during which time he entered into business as 



a tinsmith, and since has continued to meet with much- 
deserved success. He has been a member of the Common 
Branch of the Lancaster Councils, and in this position 
evinced commendable probity and ability. While incar- 
cerated in Libby Prison, he endured many hardships and 
much suffering, but, possessing a robust constitution and a 
dauntless spirit, he preserved his health intact through the 
ten months passed in a jail notorious for its enfeebling site 
and regime. He is one of three brothers, all of whom 
served through the war, and are worthy of commendation 
for their courage and patriotism. Even when a lad, he Avas 
strongly inclined to lead a soldier's life, and, during the 
Mexican war, ran away from home to enlist in the army ; 
upon reaching Pittsburgh, however, prompted by filial 
motives, he returned and again applied himself to his trade. 
He is a member of the Odd Fellows' Association, of the 
American Mechanics' Association, and Knights of Pythias 
of Lancaster. He was married, November 25th, 185 1, to a 
daughter of George Huffnagic, a well-known citizen of 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 




/ 



TEV.^\RT, CHARLES, Rear Admiral United 
States Navy, one of the most celebrated of 
American Admirals, was born in Philadelphia, 
July 2Sth, 177S. He entered the navy as Lieu- 
tenant, March 17th, 1798. In 1800, he was in 
command of the schooner " Experiment," twelve 
guns, on the West India Station, and captured the two 
French schooners " Deux Amis," eight guns, and " Diane," 
fourteen guns. In iSoi, he was First Lieutenant of the 
" Constitutio 1 " in the blockade of Tripoli, and afterwards 
commanded the brig " Siren " in the operations against the 
same place. In 1806, he received his commission as Cap- 
tain ; and in 1812, was in command of the frigate " Con- 
stellation," from which he was transferred, in 1S13, to the 
frigate " Constitution," which was captured by the war 
schooner " Picton," fourteen guns. On February 2o;h, 
1814, he fought the two British ships " Cyane," commanded 
by Captain Falcon, of thirty-four guns and 1S5 men, and 
the " Levant," commanded by Captain Douglass, of twenty- 
one guns and 156 men, and captured both vessels, the loss 
on the American side being but three killed and twelve 
wounded. The prizes were taken to Port Praya, Cape de 
Verde Islands. While there, being refitted, a British 
squadron appeared, composed of two ships of the line and 
a heavy frigate. Captain .Stewart determined to try the 
chances of flight, cut his cable and put to sea with his 
prizes. Fie was forced, however, into an engagement in 
which, though the " Levant " was re-captured, the " Con- 
stitution " succeeded in making good her escape and 
reached home safely, attended by her prize, the " Cyane." 
For his gallant action in this affair, he was honored by the 
public thanks of Congress and a gold medal ; his native 



512 



bio(;rapiiical encvclop/Edia. 



Stale of Pennsylvania also acknowledged the success of her 
sailor son by presenting him with a sword of honor. He 
subsequently received his commission as Admiral ; from 
1816 to 1S20 commanded the Mediterran.-an Squadron, and 
from 1820 to 1824 the Paci6c Squadron, after which he 
became ?«a\y Commissioner. His next appointment was to 
the command of the home squadron, and lastly to that of 
the United States Navy Yard, Philadelphia. In 1S57, he 
W"as placeil on the reserve list; but in March, 1S59, was 
again restored to active service as Senior Flag Officer, which 
position he retained until his death, whic!i occurred at 
Cordentown, New Jersey, November 6th, 1067, he being 
then in his ninety-second year. He was buried at Ronal^j 
son's Cemetery in Philadelphia, his obsequies being the 
most splendid and imposing ever given to a citizen of the 
United States ; a'.I the Government troops from New York; 
IJaltimore and \Vashington being massed with tffi5^e oT" 
Philadelphia, and wiih the five brigades of the volimteers 
of Phil.idelphia, to do hi.nor to the memory cf PertifS^'t- 
vania's veteran Adinii".;!. ' ' - 



JeIPvCE, CYRUS NEWLIN, B7t>ys., Deji^stj 
was born in Philadelphia (BybeiTV), jJlarclv>5ti5 
1S29, his parents being Cyrus PtfW^, foiiricrly' 
of Chester county, and Ruth .'^. 'fPi-'TCelffiice, 
of Portsmouth, New Ham[)shir<;.',^-Th# fiwiily'i,-. 
descended from the Percys of : Eiigt^d, and 
noted for great longevity, including more than^pe centena- 
rian among its members. He received his iirelUninary elvi-; 
cation at the common school of Eyberry, and on lea+ing' 
school worked on his father's farm until attaining his 
majority. At this lime, being now at liberty to shape his 
own course, he determined to put in practice his intention, 
long before formed, of obtaining a more liberal education. 
To this end, he entered the New York Central College, in 
Cortland county, New York, which was one of the first 
experiments in the manual labor .school system, by which 
an opportunity was affordctL.10 poor .students to acquire a 
collegiate education, while at the some' time givtng ihenr 
the means of supporting themselves' by Ihcir own labor, a 
farm being attached to the institution for the purpose. Here 
he continued to study and work for about fourteen months, 
when a severe attack of typhoid fever prevented for a time 
the pursuance of his studies. He returned to his parents in 
Philadelphia, and, on becoming convalescent, commenced 
the study of dentistry, associating with it that 0/ medicine. 
He entered the office of F. M. Dixon as a student, and con- 
tinued as his assistant for two years, during which time he 
also attended lectures at the Pennsylvania Dental College, 
graduating thence in 1S54, when he f.irthwith began the 
independent practice of his ])rofession. His career has been 
most successful, and he now occupies an eminent position 
as one of the foreinost dentists of the city of Philadelphia. 



He was elected, in 185S, to the chair of Operative Dentistry 
and Dental Physiology in the Pennsylvania College of 
Dental Surgery, and performed the duties of the professor- 
ship until 1S65. He was also elected to the position of 
Dean of the college in i860, and retained the office until 
his resignation in 1865, when his connection with the 
college entirely ceased, since which time he has held no 
official position, with the exception of that of lecturer on 
Dental Physiology at the Woman's Medical College of 
Pennsylvania, the lectures having been established as a part 
of the general medical course of the institution. He was 
married, in 1S57, to Charlotte, daughter of \Villiam iVood- 
.ward,' of" Auburn, New York, to whose kind care and 
watchful help he attributes no little share of his success in 
lifc.*<.> • 



«^j/[>-_EAR.i<S, \VILLIAM DICKEY, A.M., M. D., 
''^'T^ ' Physician, was born on Coal Mill, Allegheny 
I V*"' ^unty. Pen isylvania, January Sth, 1S31. His 
fniber was born at the same place, and his mother 
s of Irish parentage. In early y :uth he pur- 
sued a course of studies at the Academy on the 
j,HiIl^ Jiirt gra'ikiated at Jefferson College in the class o! 1S51 
,.^oc.ii(tm|iomry with Se'cVetary Eristow and Dr. McClaren. 
•.Sifescqueiitly, hi re'rnoved to Kentucky, and at the age of 
'rnt}eti?e\i, 'taught >in an -aefidemy at Yersailles, Woodford 
d^^itity ; al/lhis time he was engaged as a tutor for the son 
^f*Major Gray, with wliose family he resided. He was then 
'educated for the ministry, but feeling no strong inclination 
';i)r^lii?'c'alling, he decided to enter uppn a course of medical 
.stndi'cs. -i In ■ lS54,'therefore, he commenced the study of 
medicine under the tuition of William Dickson, of Pitts- 
burgh. Upon the completion of his course, he graduated 
at the University of New York in the class of i856-'57. 
During the ensuing six months, he practised in New York, 
then moved to Pittsburgh, where he has since chitfly resided. 
During the war, he was appointed Contract Surgeon in 
McClellan's army befue Richmond, and also officiated as a 
Volunteer Surgeon' when calls were made from Pittsburgh. 
He- ha"s since, for atime,',helrl ihf position of Physician to 
the Pennsylvania Railroad, and fulfilled its duties in a most 
satisfactory manner. At present, he is actively engaged in 
the ]nirsuit of his profession, and is noted for his ability and 
courteous demeanor. 



IN' 




HRISTY, HON. BUTLER CASE, Lawyer, was 
born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Sep- 
tember 15th, 1S42. His family were among the 
earliest settlers of his native county. While pur- 
suing his education at Mount Union College in 
Ohio, he entered the Union Army, August 7th, 
1S62, as a private of the 123d Regiment Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers, and served with them until he was severely 




/^ ,p- /fd^o^^(7h ,n), 



X 



1 1 



inoC.RAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/F.niA. 



5 '3 



wounded in the battle of Chancellorsville, May 3d, 1863, 
and was disabled from further active service As soon as 
he had sufficiently recovered, he was discharged, July 7th, 
1863, and returned home, lie engaged in the study of the 
law with C. Ilasbrouck, of Pitlsburgh, Pennsylvania, Octo- 
ber 1st, 1863, and aftei pursuing the regular course, was 
admilled to the bar, March 3(1, 1866. He then began 
practice in Pillshurgh, where he has been since actively 
occupied in his profession, save during the periods of absence 
upon official duty. He entered early into the political arena, 
and has taken a leading part in all the movements of the 
Republican party. He was for three years Secretary of the 
Republican County Executive Committee, and having been 
nominated for the Legislature by the Republicans of the 
district of Allegheny county, in 1S73, was triumphantly 
elected in October following. Having taken his seat r.t tlie 
beginning of the session, he was appointed a member of the 
Judiciary General, Constitutional Reform and other com- 
mittees ; and so acceptably did he represent his constituency, 
tliat in 1874 he was re-nominated by both the Republican 
and Temperance parties. He was one of the projectors of 
the Allegheny County Prison Association, of which he is an 
active member and solicitor. 



?TORM, HON. JOHN B., Lawyer and Congress- 
man, was born in Monroe county, Pennsylvania, 
September 19th, 1S3S. After the completion of 
his preliminary education at the Delaware Water 
Gap classical school, he entered the Junior class 
at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and 
graduated with honor from that institution in July, 1S61. 
He immediately began the study of law in the office of Hon. 
S. S. Dreher, and having pureued the prescribed course, 
pASsed a highly creditable examination and was admitted to 
the bar of Monroe county, at Stroudsburg, iu 1863. Having 
always evinced a warm interest in all questions of local and 
national importance, more particularly those relating to the 
cause of general education, he was, in 1S62, appointed 
County Superintendent of Public .Schools. In discharging 
the requiremenls of this responsible position, he gave such 
general satisfaction, and displayed so much energy and 
ability, that he was twice honored with re-election. In 
1870, he was nominated by the Democratic party of the 
Eleventh District of Pennsylvania, as their candidate for 
Congress. Having been elected, he pursued a course so 
marked by integrity and thorough efficiency that in 1872, he 
was, by the same constituency, re-elected, gaining his seat 
in the Forty-third Congress by a majority of over 6000. 
He is a member of the Coniniiltee on the Militia, and on 
Education and Labor, as well as one of the Select Commit- 
tee on the National Washington Monument. He has taken 
a prominent part in all questions of importance brou-'ht 
liefore the Hnuse, and the influence he exerts is far in 
65 



advance of that generally attained by men of his youthful 
years. In all measures tending to advance the welfare of 
his State and section, his i>art is ever that of a most watchful 
guardian of the interests committed to his care. 




/ 



0~K£iAIR^L\N, GEORGE W., Postmaster of the city 
of Philadelphia, was born October ist, 1839, in 
Philadelphia. He is the son of George W. Fair- 
man, who was well known in connection with 
the United States Banic, and Ellen (Gardiner) 
Fairman, of Connecticut. The family is of 
English descent on both sides. He received his education 
in the public schools of his n.ative city, and, on leaving 
them, entered the establishment of the prominent firm 
of Abbott, Johnes & Co., silk merchants, on Market 
street. lie then was for some time in the dry goods house 
of Wood, Bacon & Co., and afterwards followed a sea- 
faring life, visiting China, the East Indies and California. 
On his return to America, he became cashier to a firm of 
stock-brokers in the city of New York, and subsequently 
occupied the same position with a tobacco house in Brook- 
lyn. On leaving the latter firm, he came back to Philadel- 
phia and entered into a partnership with E. L. Tevis, under 
the style of E. L. Tevis & Co., stock-brokers, which part- 
nership ceased in 1865 by limitation, the agreement having 
been made for one year only. In 1867, he accepted a posi- 
tion in the Philadelphia Post-office, under General Bingham, 
on whose retirement he was selected by President Grant for 
chief of that department, being appointed Postmaster in 
December, 1872. He was married, in 1865, to Florida, 
daughter of the Hon. Jesse R. Burden, some time Speaker 
of the Slate Senate. During the war in 1862-63, ^^ served 
in the army, in the Keystone Battery, an independent mili- 
tary organization, which was honorably discharged at the 
end of its term of enlistment. 



REACY, JOHN PATRICK, M. D., Physician, 
was born in Mallon county, Cork, Ireland. His 
parents were John and Bridget Treacy, both of 
Ireland. His early education he received in a 
private school in his native place. In 1855, he 
came with his parents to this country, and was 
placed in the National School, and St. Francis College of 
Cambria county, Pennsylvania. Upon the completion of his 
studies, he entered, in 1S57,, the office of Dr. George 
McCook, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Under the tuition 
of this able practitioner, he rapidly acquired a thorough 
acquaintance with the requirements of the medical profes- 
sion, and, meanwhile, attended a cour.se of lectures in the 
same city. Subsequently, he attended lectures at the Medi- 
cal Univei-sity of New York, and graduated in March, 1S61. 




5«4 



KIOGRAriUCAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 




Upon this occasion he received an honoiaiy diploma, nol 
often conferred upon graduates. In the fall of 1861, he 
was appointed Surgecn of the Dupont Powder Works, at 
Wilmington, Delaware, in which position he remained 
until the fall of 1S63. He was then appointed Surgeon of 
the Tilton Hospilal, in Wilmington, Delaware. Suhse- 
qaently, he abandoned his position as Surgeon and re- 
sumed his practice as a private physician. Upon leaving 
Wilmington, in 1869, he moved to Pittsburgh, and since 
then has resided in that city, attending to the needs of a 
large and remunerative practice. He is connected with 
the Hibernian newspaper, and is noted for his ability, his 
energy and his many valuable attainments. . ." ' 



[AYNE, COLONEL THOMAS McKEE, Law- 
yer and District Attorney of Allegheny county; 
Pennsylvania, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- 
vania, June 14th, 1836. His father was Hon. 
Andrew Bayne, member of th-e Constitutional 
Convention of 1837-38, and Who was 'subse- 
quently elected Sheriff of Allegheny county in i838,""in the 
memorable campaign which undermined the power of the 
Democratic party in Allegheny county. His'mother was 
Mary Anne Matthews, whose family was -among the earliest 
of those which peopled this section of the 'country. His 
more remote ancestry were of -Scot-ch-Iilsh extraction. His 
early education he acquired in the common schools of his 
native place, where he remained "until 1853; when he was 
placed in W^estminster College, in ' Lawrence county. 
Western Pennsylvania. But, at the e.vpirition of two 
years, his failing health rendered it necessary to abandon 
his studies for a time, and, in 1S55, he devoted himself en- 
tirely to a course of physical education. Upon recovering 
his health, he pursued a systematic and comprehensive 
course of scientific reading, acquiring thereby a thorough 
knowledge of one of the branches of study in which a solid 
efficiency is not one of the most common attainments. In 
1859, he engaged in the study of the law, under the direc- 
tion of Hon. Thomas M. Marshall, of Pittsburgh, with 
whom he was reading at the outbreak of the war. An 
ardent patriot, he immediately suspended his studies and 
raised and organized a company of volunteers for three 
years' service. With this force he moved to Harrisburg in. 
August, but was refused admission to the Pennsylvania 
Reserve Corps. After several fruitless" attempts of this 
nature, he returned home, and the company was disbanded. 
Again, in July, 1862, he raised another company of volun- 
teers for nine months' service, and in this attempt met 
with more success. The company was mustered in at 
Camp Curtin, August 23d, 1862, as Company H, 136th 
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and by the officers of 
that regiment he was elected Colonel, receiving his com- 
mission, to date from August 23d, 1862. In this capacity 



he acted until his regiment was mustered out. During this 
time he was in command in all its operations, and partici- 
pated actively in the memorable battles of Chancellorsville 
and Fredericksburg. His command belonged to the First 
Army Corps, and when they advanced upon the Southern 
works his regiment became isolated and surrounded ; and, 
after its ammunition was exhausted, forced its way out 
with distinguishing and fearless gallantry. It also suffered 
heavily at Chancellorsville, and, being detailed for picket 
duty, was among the last to leave the field. This regiment 
being ir.ustered out May 29lh, 1863, he returned to his 
home and resumed his former studies ; upon the completion 
.of his course, he was admitted to the bar in April, 1866. 
He then engaged in active practice in his native city, and 
rapidly .acquired a large and remunerative clientage, to 
which he still devotes his time and attention. In Oclober, 
1871, he was elected District Attorney for three years, and 
at the expiration of his term, having performed the arduous 
duties of that important office to the entire satisfaction of 
the people, he was nominated by the Republican party of 
the Twenty-third Congressional District for Congress, in 
1874. At an early date he had entered the political arena, 
and in the campaign of 1856 was noted for his power as a 
sliimp speaker. Since that time he has taken an active 
and .leading part in every campaign, evincing repeatedly 
great energy and shrewdness. He was for two years a 
member of the Re|>ublican State Central Committee, and 
Tias been delegate to many State conventions. As a 
speaker, lie is logical and effective ; and as a debater, terse 
and acute. He was married. May 13th, 1873, to Ella R. 
Smith, daiighter'of George W. Smith, of Pittsburgh, for- 
merly of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. 



V 

EAUMONT, HON. ANDREW, Congressman, 
was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1791. 
His father, Isaiah Beaumont, was a soldier of the 
Revolution, fighting with Washington at Trenton 
and at Princeton. In the latter battle he was 
severely wounded and was discharged the ser- 
vice on a pension. His father removed, in 1791, to the 
nci'^hborhood of Wyalusing creek, in Susquehanna county, 
Pennsylvania. Andrew. l!eaumont, at the age of seventeen, 
went to Wilkesba'rre, Pennsylvania, determined to obtain 
an education, and attended school for several terms, paying 
for his tuition by the product of his labor. He was after- 
ward engaged in teaching — and at the same time com- 
pleting his studies — in his home neighborhood and at the 
Wilkesbarre Academy ; when, having thoroughly mastered 
a classical course, he entered the office of Judge Malleiy, 
at Wilkesbarre, for the study of law. At the termination 
of the usual period of study, he passed the examination re- 
quired, but was denied admission to [he bar by Judge 
Scott, the Presiding Judge, on the ground that he (Beau- 





' ■'^ fij,^ S IKOuMpUo^- 




^^/y^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



5'S 



mont) had not read the necessary time. This was a mere 
pretext, but it had the effect of driving the candidate from 
the profession. About this time he was appointed by 
President Madison, Commissioner for the Collection of Di- 
rect Taxes for his district, and held that office for several 
years so efficiently that the Government paid him compli- 
mentary and unusual compensation for his services. During 
his study of the law, he occupied a clerical position in one 
of the county offices, and, having early connected himself 
with the Democratic party in politics, became Prothonotary, 
and afterwards Clerk of the Courts of Luzerne county, to 
which he was appointed by his intimate friend, Governor 
Snyder. He was elected Representative in the State 
Legislature in 1821, and re-elected the following year. In 
1824, he was appointed Postmaster of Wilkesbarre, and 
held that position until 1S31. In 1S32, he was elected 
Representative in Congi-ess from his district, over two com- 
petitors — one of whom was also a Democrat — and was re- 
elected in 1834. During his service in Congress, the 
celebrated contest of President Jackson against the United 
States Bank occurred, and he took strong grounds with 
General Jackson, as opposed to private institutions sup- 
ported by the Government. His course in this contest was 
sustained by his constituents by his re-ele?tion. He op- 
posed and steadily voted against the bill which distributed 
the surplus revenue among the States. He enjoyed the 
close confidence and intimacy of Presidents Jackson, Van 
Buren,and Polk, Vice-President King, General Lewis Cass, 
and others of his political party. In 1840, he was tendered 
by President Van Buren the appointment of Treasurer of 
the United States Mint at Philadelphia, which, however, 
he declined, believing that he could be of better service at 
his home. In 1S47, he was tendered the appointment by 
President Polk of Commissioner of Public Buildings and 
Grounds for the District of Columbia, at that time an office 
of great responsibility, and requiring great executive ability 
in the incumbent. He accepted the office, and continued 
therein until his nomination w.is rejected by the United 
States .Senate, through the influence of Senator Benton of 
Missouri, who opposed him on personal grounds. During 
1849, he suffered from protracted illness, and, when par- 
tially recovered, exposed himself endeavoring to extinguish 
a fire in his town, thus sowing the seeds of the disease 
which finally carried him off. During his illness, in 1849, 
he was elected Representative to the Legislature, and 
served the term. During this service he urged the neces- 
sity of direct relations between the State and the General 
Government, and through his exertions and speeches the 
first Committee on Federal Relations was created, of which 
he was Chairman ; he made the first report on that subject 
ever presented to the Pennsylvania Legislature. A con- 
temporary, writing of him, says: "With a friend who could 
appreciate the force and depth of his remarks, the corrus- 
c.ations of wit, fancy, eloquence and pathos, adorned with 
the wealth which a tenacious memory had extracted from 




classical and contemporary literature, would pour from his 
lips apparently unconscious of hours. In figure of speech, 
ready, trite and apposite comparisons, we never knew his 
equal." He was well known for a period of forty years in 
Pennsylvania as a political writer, and his writings on 
subjects of political economy would fill volumes. For many 
years before his death he was the Democratic leader in 
Northern Pennsylvania. He died at Wilkesbarre, Luzerne 
county, Pennsylvania, September 30th, 1853. One of his 
sons became a Midshipman in 1838, and is now a Captain, 
United States Navy; a younger son entered the army in 
1861, and is now Captain, 4th United States Cavaliy, and 
Lieutenant-Colonel by brevet ; he also served as an Adju- 
tant-General during the Rebellion, being brevetted Colonel 
of Volunteers. 



OHRER, BENJAMIN, M. D., Physician and 
Surgeon, was born in Lancaster county, Penn- 
sylvania, June l8th, 1825. His parents were Abra- 
ham Rohrer and Elizabeth (Ely) Rohrer, whose 
ancestors emigrated to America from Switzerland 
in the year 1740. He received a thorough pre- 
paratoi-y education, and, that being completed, he com- 
menced, when about seventeen years of age, the study of 
medicine under the tutorship of the celebrated surgeon, 
Dr. Washington L. Atlee, with whom he remained until 
1846, in which year he graduated at the Pennsylvania 
Medical College. Immediately after graduation, he entered 
upon the duties of his profession in Columbia, Pennsyl- 
vania, and continued there until the breaking out of the 
Rebellion, in 1861. He was at this time in the enjoyment 
of a remunerative practice, and, in addition, held the office 
of Not.ary Public for Columbia, to which he had been ap- 
pointed by Governor Curtin ; but, on Fort Sumter being 
fired upon, he relinquished his position and offered his 
services to the Governor of the State. He received, in 
June, 1861, a commission as Surgeon, and joined the Penn- 
sylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps, which corps was trans- 
ferred from the State to the General Government after the 
battle of Bull Run. He remained in the service for three 
years, during which time he took part in all the campaigns 
of the Army of the Potomac, being present at every en- 
gagement. During his military career, his skill and ability 
as a surgeon, and the success with which he performed 
many of the most critical and delicate operations, obtained 
for him a deservedly high reputation. A case in which he 
performed the rare and dangerous operation of amputation 
at the hip-joint, after the battle of Gettysburg, deserves 
especi,al mention. He was promoted to Chief Surgeon of 
Brigade, and Chief Surgeon of Division, and also brevetted 
Lieutenant-Colonel by President Johnson for meritorious 
service in the battle of the Wilderness. In 1864, after 
having given three years of zealous service to his country, 
he resigned his commission and decided to return to 



Si6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



private practice. He selected Germantown as his field 
of labor, and located himself there, where he still (1874) 
continues to actively perform the duties of his profession 
and has a large and important list of patients. In his pri- 
vate practice he has several times performed the operation 
of ovariotomy, which is so closely connected with the name 
of his instructor, Dr. Atlee. In this difficult operation he 
has equalled the success of his eminent friend and precep- 
tor, seventy-five per cent, of his cases of this kind having 
been successful. He was married, in 1S49, to Margaret 
F., daughter of Samuel R. Bockius. 



f E WITT, WILLIAM RADCLIFFE, A. M., M. D., 
Physician and Surgeon, was bom in Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania, December 5th, 1826. He is the 
son of the Rev. William R. De Witt, D. D., and 
(o\S 0" 'Ii^ paternal side his extraction is Dutch ; on 
the maternal, Scotch. He acquired a thorough 
education under the direction of his father and the Rev. B. 
I. Wallace, both men of rare scholarly attainments. Upon 
the completion of an exhaustive course of studies, he re- 
ceived from Princeton College the degree of A. M. ; and 
subsequently, in 1852, graduated in medicine at Phila- 
delphia, lie wa< then immediately appointed Assistant 
Physician of the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Asylum and 
Hospital. While serving in this capacity he visited, in 
1S55, the various hospitals of England, France, Germany 
and Belgium, acquiring in his travels a great store of useful 
medical, administrative and general information. In 1859, 
he resigned his position in the State Lunatic Hospital, and 
was appointed by President Buchanan, Physician and .Sur- 
geon in the LTnited States Hospital at Honolulu, Sandwich 
Islands. Leaving these islands in the summer of 1862, he 
returned to this country and at once proffered his services 
to the General Government. These being promptly ac- 
cepted, he was placed on duty as Acting Assistant Surgeon 
at the Georgetown College Hospital. He served in this 
capacity until the spring of 1S63, when he was ordered to 
Washington, in charge of the Hospital for Sick and 
Wounded Officers and .Soldiers. Subsequently, in the 
•spritig of 1864, he was apjiointed, by President Lincoln, 
.Surgenn-inCliief of the First Division, Fifth Corps of the 
Army of the Potomac. While filling this honorable post, 
he participated bravely in all the operations of that army, 
and took an active and perilous part in the battles of the 
Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna, Tol- 
lopotang. Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and also in the many 
fights in the trenches before Petersburg; atWeldon Railroad; 
Six-Vile House, Weldon Railroad; capture of Fort Hell, 
Trable Farm, Poplar Spring Church, Yellow Tavern, Weldon 
Railroad; Hatche's Run, Fort Sedgwick, Weldon Railroad 
Expedition ; Dabney's Mill, Hatche's Run, Fort Steadman, 
Quaker Run, Grablcy Run, Boydton, White Oak Road, 



Five Forks, and at Appomattox Court- House, where Gene- 
ral Lee surrendered. During the whole of this eventful 
period, he was noted for his coolness and heroism, and 
afterward, for bravery and efficiency, was brevetted Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel. After the surrender of the famous General 
Lee, he was assigned to duty in the Bureau of Refugees, 
Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, as Surgei nin-Chief in 
the Departments of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. 
Subsequently, he acted also as Surgeon-in-Chief in the De- 
partments of Maryland, West Virginia and Delaware ; and 
later in Kentucky. In November, 1867, he was honorably 
mustered out of the United States service, after which he 
returned to Harrisburg and resumed the active practice of 
his profession, which has become lucrative and very exten- 
sive. Since his return he has been offered sevenil positions 
by the General Government ; but, preferring to lead a tran- 
quil and retired life, he has invariably refused each and 
every position tendered him. He was married, November 
4th, 1865, to Susan Elizabeth Spangler, daughter of the 
late General Jacob Spangler, an able and prominent man, 
who was for many years Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania. 



RAY, JOSEPH H., Register of Wills for Alle- 
gheny county, Pennsylvania, was born in \''er- 
sailles township, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, 
August 1st, 1837. He is of Scotch descent, and 
his parents were among the earliest settlers in his 
native county. He was brought up to agricul- 
tural pursuits, enjoying such educational advantages as the 
neighboring schools and those of the city of Pittsburgh 
could afford, and continued his avocation of farming until 
August 29th, 1861. At this date he enlisted as First Ser- 
geant in Company E, of the I05ih Regiment Pennsylvania 
Volunteers. He then accompanied his regiment to Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia, where it was assigned to the 
Third Army Corps — then Heintzelman's, and afterward 
Kearney's. After passing through the winter at Camp 
Lynn, on the defences of Washington, he embarked for the 
Peninsula, and took an active part in all the spirited opera- 
tions of that command, including the engagements at York- 
town, Williamsburg and Fair Oaks. In the latter engage- 
ment, at about 4 P. M., on Saturday, May 31st, he was 
terribly wounded, and fell, pierced by three balls. The 
Union troops having been repulsed, he, with other wounded 
oflScers and soldiers, was left lying upon the field nntil the 
Monday following, at noon. Finally, he was taken to the 
hospital at New Haven, Connecticut, where, for an entire 
year, he was confined to his bed by the total disability 
arising from his m.any wounds. While still convalescent, 
although permanently disabled, he was honorably dis- 
charged, October 26th, 1863, and returned to his home. 
In April, 1864, he accepted an appointment in the War 
Department at W^ashington, District of Columbia, where he 




BIOGRAI'IIICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



S'7 



remaineel until May, iS66, wlicii he returned to Allegheny 
county, I'ennsylvania. In June of the same year, lie was 
nominated for his present position by the RepubMcan party, 
and, having been elected by a large majority, in the follow- 
ing October he was appointed by Governor Curtin to fill the 
office for the unexpired term of his predecessor — who had 
died upon the day of the election. Having been re-elected 
in 1869, and again in 1S72, he continues to exercise the 
functions of his office with acceptability and thorough effi- 
ciency. He has ever taken a warm interest in all matters 
involving the good of the general community, and was one 
of the originators of the Weekly Savings' Bank of Pittsburgh. 
From its organization he has been a trusted and influential 
Director of this institution, and since April, 1874, has been 
its President. He was elected Major of the 14th Regiment 
National Guard of Pennsylvania, August 13th, 1874. 




/ 



liENTHALL, JOHN, Chief Naval Constructor 
U. S. Navy (retired), was born at Washington, 
District of Columbia, September i6th, 1807. 
His parents came from Yorkshire, England, to 
Washington, where his father was Assistant 
Architect of the United States Capitol, under 
Mr. Latrobe, and was killed, in 180S, by the falling of the 
arch of the Supreme Court Room. He attended the com- 
mon schools in Washington until 1S23, when he went to 
Philadelphia and became an apprentice to Mr. ' Samuel 
Humphreys, in the navy yard at that place, and remained 
until he was of age. He next worked for a year or more 
at the Washington Navy Yard, superintending laying down 
of ships, and having moulds made for cutting live-oak tim- 
ber. In 1832, he went to Europe, and visited the navy 
yards of Russia, Denmark, England and France, re- 
maining abroad nearly three years, and during that period 
obtaining drawings and plans of nearly three hundred of the 
best vessels of the English, French, Dutch and Spanish 
navies. On his return he was employed by the Board of 
Commissioners of the Navy in preparing plans of ships, and, 
in 1835, was sent to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for duty, 
receiving an appointment as Naval Constructor, May 1st, 
1835, and remained at that yard fourteen years. During 
that period he completed the " Pennsylvania," ship-of-the- 
line, and built and launched a number of vessels of w,ar. 
In 1849, he was ordered to the Washington Navy Yard as 
Chief Naval Constructor, and, in 1S53, was made Chief of 
the Bureau of Construction and Repair in the Navy Depart- 
ment ; a position which he retained for eighteen years ; 
when, in 187 1, under the operation of the retiring law, he 
was placed on the list of officers of the navy with the re- 
lative rank of Commodore. From 1835 until the expira- 
tion of his term of active service, few, if any, vessels were 
built for the navy in the construction of which he did not 
take a large, if not the principal, p.irt of the responsibility. 



The steam frigates " Franklin," " Minnesota," " Wabash," 
and " Lancaster," were built from his plans. During his 
apprenticeship he educated himself by hard study, and 
having largely benefited by the Franklin Institute of 
Philadelphia — of which he has for many years been a mem- 
ber — he has expressed his intention to donate his entire 
libraiy of books, ship plans and designs to that institution, 
together with the various papers and memoranda accumu- 
lated during his long service. He was married, in Phila- 
delphia, in 1846, to a Miss Esk, who died in 1872, at 
Washington. He has no children living. 



RENSHAW, EDMUND AUSTIN, Chemist, was 
born in Richmond, Virginia, February 4th, 1827. 
His parents were Nathaniel Chapman Crenshaw 
and Mary Y. (Couch) Crenshaw. The family is 
descended in a direct line from a brother of Sir 
Francis Bacon, commonly called Lord Bacon, 
the celebrated English Chancellor, who emigrated to Vir- 
ginia early in the seventeenth century, and there founded 
the family of Bacon, which has been prominent throughout 
the history of the State. He graduated at Haverford Col- 
lege, Pennsylvania, in Delaware county, in 1845, and in 
the following year entered the establishment of Smith & 
Hodgson, a well-known firm of chemists, to learn the busi- 
ness. Here he remained until 1849, when the old firm re- 
tired and E. A. Crenshaw entered into partnership with 
Charles Bullock, the two succeeding to the firm of Smith & 
Hodgson, with the style of Bullock & Crenshaw, under 
which the business is still (1874) continued. He was 
married, in 1852, to Maiy C, daughter of Anthony and 
Rebecca Robinson, of Richmond, Virginia, which family 
is, like his own, of English descent. He is a member of 
the Protestant Episco])al Church, in which, and its affairs, 
he has always taken great interest. 





y 



DENHEIMER, WILLIAM HENRY, D. D., 
Bishop of New Jersey, was born in Philadelphia, 
August nth, 1817. He graduated at the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania in 1835, and at the 
General Theological .Seminary of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, in New York, in 1838. In 
the same year he entered Holy Orders, being ordained 
deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church. In 1841, he 
received Priest's orders, and was elected Rector of St. 
Peter's Church, Philadelphia. He subsequently became, 
in 1859, Bishop of New Jersey. He is the author of nu- 
merous works, of which the following are chief: The Origin 
ami Compilation of the Prayer- Book, 1841 ; The Devout 
Churehman's Companion, 184I ; The True Catholic no 
Romanist, 1842; Thoughts on Immersion, 1843; 7 he 



5iS 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/^EDIA. 




Voting Churchman's Catechism, 1844; Kingelburgius on 
Simly ; Bishop While's Opinions, 1846; Essay on Canon 
Law, 1847 ; The Clergyman's Assistant in Heading the 
Liturgy, 1847; The Private Prayer-Booh, 1851 ; Jerusa- 
lem am/ its Vicinity ; a series of Familiar Lectures (eight) 
on the Sacred Localities connected with the Week before 
the Resurrection, 1S55. In this last work he gives the re- 
sults of his meditations among the holy p'.aces during a 
visit to Jerusalem in 1851-52. It is a most valuable book, 
and deeply interesting to the devout Christian. Bishop 
Odcnhcimer has confirmed, during the fourteen years since 
his consecration, 15,828 persons, of whom 14,870 were in 
the Diocese of New Jersey. 

'KSSNA, HON. JOHN, Lawyer and Congressman, 
was born in Bedford county, June 29th, 1 82 1. 
After receiving a preparatory education in the 
common schools of his native county, where his 
father followed the occupation of a farmer, he 
for two years attended the Military Academy of 
Rev. B. K. Hall, in Bedford. February ist, 1839, he en- 
tered the Freshman class of Marshall College, and graduated 
from that institution, September 28th, 1S42. lie then en- 
g.aged in teaching, at first in a public school and afterwards 
in a private academy, devoting all his leisure to the study 
of law, his name having been entered with Hon. Samuel M. 
B.irclay, of Bedford, Pennsylvania. He also filled the post 
of Tutor of Latin in Marshall College, from 1843 to the 
fall of 1S44, at which time he married a daughter of Daniel 
.Shaffer, of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. Entering the office 
of Mr. Barclay for the purpose of completing his legal stu- 
dies, he was examined and admitted to the bar of Bedford 
county, in June, 1845, where he immediately began practice 
and still resides. The vigor and ability displayed by him 
in the prosecution of all matters intrusted to his professional 
care quickly g.iined him prominence, and an extended and 
lucr.ative practice in his native and adjoining counties. 
He has always taken an active part in political questions. 
He was in early life a Democrat, and his usual energy, 
exerted in behalf of his party, soon caused him to be re- 
cognized as a leader therein, and he was elected to many 
honorable positions. In 1849, he was sent as a Represen- 
tative to the State Legislature, and so highly were his ser- 
vices appreciated that, in 1850, he was re-elected by the 
same constituency and was also raised to the honorable 
position of Speaker of the House. He was a most prompt, 
capable and impartial presiding officer. In 1856, he was a 
Delegate to the Cincinnati National Convention, which 
nominated James Buchanan for President. Again, in i860, 
he was a Delegate to the National Convention at Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, and, as Chairman of the Committee on 
Organization, w.is the author of the Anti Unit Rule for the 
l)enefit of minorities. He was elected and served in the 



State Legislature during the sessions of iS62-'63, being 
Speaker of th.at body during the latter year. But the action 
of the political party with which he had heretofore affiliated 
not meeting his views in connection with the questions 
raised by the Civil War, he severed his connection there- 
with and joined the Republican organization. His exer- 
tions in behalf of the party with which he had enlisted were 
soon rewarded. In 1865, he was a member of the Repub- 
lican State Convention, and Chairman of the State Central 
Committee. In 1868, he was elected a member of the 
Forty-first Congress from the Sixteenth District of Pennsyl- 
vania. In 1870, he was again nominated and claimed the 
election, but his seat was awarded to his opponent ; how- 
ever, in 1S72, he was once more nominated in the same 
district and returned by a majority of over 1300 against his 
former successful competitor. He has served with great 
credit on the Committees on the Judiciary, on Expenditures 
and Public Buildings, and on Elections, and has earned a 
well-deserved reputation as an efficient, industrious and 
patriotic member of Congres!*. In 1865, he was chosen 
President of the Board of Directors of Franklin and Mar- 
shall College, to succeed Hon. James Buchanan, and still 
fills the position. In August, 1870, at the organization of 
the Bedford & Bridgeport Railroad Company, he was elected 
its President, and has been unanimously re-elected every 
year since. He is a man of marked ability, and a hard 
worker. Though strongly partisan in his feelings and preju- 
dices, he never allows his judgment to be unduly influenced 
by any motives of political policy. He is connected, reli- 
giously, with the Germ.an Reformed Church, and has al- 
ways been a most active member of that denomination and 
a liberal contributor to its support. 



ALFRED C, Merchant and Congress- 
man, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, 
August 8th, 1S25. He is one of the great army 
of self-made men, and, like all who belong to that 
most worthy and honorable class, has carved his 
own way to fortune and eminence by the force 
of the old-fashioned virtues of industry and self-reliance, 
indomitable perseverance and energy. Before attaining the 
age of twenty years he commenced business on his own ac- 
count, and within a few years had established a flourishing 
wholesale shoe trade in Philadelphia. In his twenty-first 
year he became a_Director of the public schools of Phila- 
deljiliia, and, after a short term of service in that oflice, was 
elected by a popular vote to the Councils of the borough of 
Germantown, then but just incorporated. In 1855, the city 
and county of Philadelphia were consolidated, and in the 
year following he was selected to represent, in the City 
Councils, the Twenty-second Ward, which was his birth- 
place. In the discussion of the important questions brought 
before the Councils as the result of consolidation, he ap- 




peared an alile and faithful champion of the interests of 
this large municipality, and his energy, tact, penetration, 
and superior judgment, the result of his business experience, 
eminently qualified him for the consideration of these 
weighty matters. As a member of the Councils he took an 
active interest in the development of the city passenger 
railway system, and for three years occupied the position 
of President of the Thirteenth & Fifteenth Streets Road. 
He was thrice elected by the Councils a Director of the 
North Pennsylvania Railroad Company, to represent in that 
corporation the interests of the city, which amounts in value 
to $1,400,000. In i860, during a period of great political 
excitement, and with three sets of candidates in the field, 
he was nominated by the People's party (including some 
of all the broken political organizations, but being princi- 
pally composed of the elements of the old Whig party) for 
Recorder of Deeds for the City and County of Philadelpliia, 
and was triumphantly elected by a m.ajority of 27S3 over 
both competitors, although the Democratic St.ate ticket re- 
ceived in the city a majority of 1 886. He discharged the 
duties of this office with great fidelity, and used the power 
thus conferred upon him for the highest good of his country. 
About this time he was appointed by the general com- 
mittee of the city to collect funds in his own ward for the 
purpose of raising troops for the army. For this end he 
organized a special committee, and contributed most libe- 
rally to the fund of his own means and influence. He was 
also sent as a Delegate to the last National Republican 
Convention which assembled at Chicago. His official term 
being closed, he returned to private life, and devoted his 
time and energies to the interests of his own business, un- 
til, in the summer of 1S70, he was called to become the 
standard-bearer of the Republican party in the Congressional 
struggle in the Fifth Pennsylvania Di:;trict. In the Con- 
vention of sixty-nine deleg.ntes he received sixty-one votes 
on the first ballot, and his nomination having been made 
with such rare unanimity, he entered upon the spirited cam- 
paign which followed. Although his defeat had been most 
confidently predicted on account of the closeness of the di- 
vision of the two parlies and the local dissensions in his 
own party, he carried the district by a larger majority than 
had been accorded to any of his predecessors for many 
years, thus proving his personal popularity, especially among 
the laboring classes. He was unanimously re-nominated 
in 1872, and re-elected by an increased majority. He was 
known as a hard-working member, and completely devoted 
to the interests of his constituents and of the country at 
large. His kindness and courtesy towards all with whom 
he has to do, whether opponents or Yriends, are marked 
traits in his character, and evidences of the worthy animus 
by which his life is governed. He has been twice married; 
firstly, in 1S45, ^° Emily Jane, daughter of George H. Wil- 
son, of Germantown; and, secondly, in 1S54, to Sarah E., 
daughter of Conrad Miller, of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. 
He has a family of nine sons and two daughters. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 5:9 

TTO, CHARLES WITMAN, Ca.shier of the 
National Bank of Germanto«'n, was born in 



Reading, Pennsylvania, on the 27th of Februaiy, 
1823, his parents being Daniel H. Oitoand Sarah 
(Witman) Olto. His grandfather, John A. Otto, 
a physician, emigrated from Germany to America 
about the year 1765, and settled in Reading, and served as 
a surgeon in the War of Independence. Charles W'itman 
Otto received his education at the common schools of Potts- 
ville, Pennsylvania, and when about sixteen years of age 
entered a dry goods establishment in that town, where he 
remained but a few months. On leaving this employment 
he removed to Philadelphia, and was engaged by Bing- 
ham, Kintzle & Co., dry goods merchants of that city, with 
whom he continued until 1847, when he began business in 
the dry goods trade on his own account, in Market street, 
Philadelphia, an undertaking he relinquished in 1S50, in 
order. to accept a position as Bookkeeper in the Bank of 
Germantown, which was reorganized, in 1S64, as the Na- 
tional Bank of Germantown, Philadelphia. Having passed 
through the subordinate positions of Bookkeeper and Teller, 
he became the Cashier of the bank in i860, a position he 
at present occupies. He is intimately connected with all 
the more important local associations and institutions. He 
was married, in 1S56, to Mary, daughter of Louis Leete, 
of Hartford, Connecticut. 



UMMA, HON. DAVID, Lawyer and Banker, was 
bom in Dauphin county, near Harrisburg, July 
28th, 1S16. His parents were David and Esther 
Mumma, of German descent. His early educa- 
tion he secured in the county school of his native 
place, and when but thirteen years of age was set 
to work upon his father's farm. In this occupation he was 
engaged until his twenty-sixth year, when he pursued the 
business of farming and general agriculture on his own ac- 
count. After a successful trial of this occupation, he turned 
his attention to the lumber business, occupying himself in 
this manner with energy and profit until 1853. In this year 
he removed to Harrisburg and began the study of the law. 
Upon the completion of his legal course, he was admitted 
to the bar of that city, and immediately engaged in the 
active practice of his profession, in which he has since ac- 
quired such creditable renown. In 1840, he was Demo- 
cratic candidate for the Legislature, but met with failure, 
this political party being then greatly in the minority. From 
1840 to 1846, he was a Delegate to nearly eveiy State 
Democratic Convention, and, upon all occasions, was noted 
for his enterprise, sagacity and shrewd counsel. In 1846, 
he separated from the Democratic party and took sides with 
the Whigs on the tariff" question, and, in lS56-'57, was 
elected to the Legislature of this Slate as Whig candidate. 
Until i860, he was identified with the American party, 
when he connected himself with the Republican party, to 




520 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYGLOP.I^UIA. 




whose principles he has since firmly held. In the latter 
year, he wa-s appointed a Delegate to the State Republican 
Convention, and in this capacity has since served repeatedly, 
and with profit and honor to his party and himself. In 
1867, he was elected to the State Senate, and served for 
three years. In addition to his professional and legal pur- 
suits, he has been identified with many important enterprises 
of a financial nature, and in all such has evinced unusual 
administrative qualities and acute foresight. He was 
actively interested in the affairs of the State Capitol Bank, 
and also the Slate Bank ; while, at the present time, he is 
President of the Real Estate B ink, and also President of the 
Harrisburg Market Company, the duties of which position 
require close attention and shrewd management. He was 
married, in 1S41, to I.ydia Delweiler, of Middletown, 
Pennsylvania. 

v/ — -— 

^"i-^.rWSON, MORDECAI LEWIS, Brewer and 
Philanthropist, was born in Philadelphia, Penn- 
sylvania, April 3d, 1799. He lost his father 
when quite young, and was principally brought 
up under the care of his paternal grandfather, to 
whose business he succeeded. By his intelli- 
gence, his enterprise, industry, and integrity, he soon won 
the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens, which he 
continued to enjoy during his entire life. Having acquired 
a considerable fortune, he retired from business, and the 
balance of his prolonged life was devoted to philanthropic 
pursuits and the management of the charitable and benevo- 
lent institutions of his native city, with nearly all of which 
he was, at some time connected, and most of which he 
benefited by pecuniaiy aid. For upw'ards of thirty years 
he was a manager of the Magdalen Society ; for twenty- 
eight years he devoted his time and talents to the further- 
ing of the benevolent objects of the Pennsylvania Hospital ; 
and for sixteen years occupied the position of President 
of the Board of Managers of that institution. In 1838, 
he was elected a member of the Philadelphia Society for 
Alleviating the Miseries of Pul>lic Prisons, and was sub- 
sequently appointed a member of the Acting Committee, 
and a Secretary of the Society. In 1842, he was chosen 
a Director "of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and 
Dumb; and, in 1S69, a. Vice-President of the same. He 
became a Director of the Public Schools in 1833, and 
devoted much of his time to them. In 1846, he resigned 
his Directorship on his appointment as a Trustee of Girard 
College and a Manager of the House of Refuge. In 
these fields he labored with his accustomed energy and 
usefulness for over ten years. As a Manager of the 
Friends' Asylum for the Insane, near Frankford, and other 
benevolent institutions, his services were most valuable and 
highly appreciated. His bounty to public charities was very 
large, but his private beneficence was as great ; the deserving 
poor, and many others not known as such, ever found in him 



a warm-hearted friend to whom they coidd C(uifidc their 
troubles, in time of need, with the surety that their wants 
would be liberally supplied. In connection with William 
Biddle, he purchased a lot in the Moiniment Cemeteiy, for 
the interment of teachei-s dying in limited circumstances, 
thus extending his charity, even lo the de.ad. December 
9th, 1872, he died. A member of the Society of Friends, he 
was entirely catholic in spirit and e'vut willing to cooperate 
with men of every sect in doing good. He is entitled to a 
conspicuous place in the ranks of philanthropists. 

EPPER, WILLIAM, Physician, was born Januai7 
2lst, iSlo. He received a classical education 
in Princeton College, after leaving which he 
became the private pupil of Dr. Thomas Hewson 
of Philadelphia, then an eminent ]iractitioner. 
He graduated in medicine in the University of 
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1S32, and shortly after- 
I wards visited Europe, in order to prosecute his studies 
still further. On his return, in 1834, he commenced to 
practice in his own native city, where one of the divisions 
of the Philadelphia Dispensary was placed under his care. 
In 1839, he was chosen one of the Physicians of Wills' 
Hospital, and two years later, one of the Physicians to the 
Pennsylvania Institute for the Instructiun of the Blind. 
The year subsequent, he was elected one of the Visiting 
Physicians to the Pennsylvania Hospital ; which jiosition 
he held for nearly seventeen years, with great advantage to 
the institution and honor to himself. In June, 1S60, he 
succeeded the eminent Professor Wood, as Professor of the 
Theory and Practice of Medicine, in the Univei-sity of 
Pennsylvania. This chair he filled with rare ability, till 
the spring of 1866, when increasing feebleness of health 
obliged him to tender his resignation. A tendency to 
disease of the lungs, from which he had long suffered, in- 
creased visibly at this period, and in spite of every care, 
led to his death, on October 15th, 1S66. He married 
.Sarah Piatt, of Philadelphia, in 1S40. The large practice 
he enjoyed prevented him from becoming a voluminous 
author. He contributed, however, numerous short articles 
to medical journals, which were distinguished by their 
clearness of expression and practical character. Among 
these may be mentioned. Reports f Cases iw/ed in the 
Pennsylvania Hospital, On C/iionie ' Hydrocephalus, On 
Scrofulous Inflammation of the Lungs and Pulmonary 
Consumption, On Hepatic Abscess, The Use of the Spir- 
ometer in Diseases of the Lungs, Cases of Diseased Gall 
Bladder, all in various issues of the American jfournal 
of the Medical Sciences ; On Tubercle of the Brain, on 
the Treatment of Intermittent Fener by Quinoidine, on 
certain Poisottous Effects Produced by Pork, in different 
numbers of The Aledical Pxaminer ; besides numerous 
contriliutions jniblished in the Tran let'ons of the College 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



521 



of Phyncicitis and in the Proceedings of the Pathological 
Socic/y, of Pliiladelphia. His private character was most 
esMnial)le. An intimate friend, himself a medical prac- 
titioner of distinguished eminence — Dr. Thomas S. Kirk- 
bride — has said of him in a Alemoir published in 1866: 
" Without the privilege of personal friendship and con- 
fidential professional intercourse, no one could thoroughly 
appreciate all his exc llent traits of character as a Chris- 
tian man, a good citizen, an able physician, a devoted 
husband and father, and a true friend ; nor understand 
what tended to raise him highest in the estimation of those 
who knew him best, as one of the justly honored and 
deservedly successful in the ranks of his profession, and 
who, in passing away, left a void which to many can 
never be filled, and feelings of sorrow that can find no 
■fitting expre-sion in words." 



ITCAIRN, HUGH, Superintendent of the Pitts- 
burgh, Cincinn.iti & St. Louis Railway Company, 
was born in Johnstone, Scotland, in August, 1845. 
While in his infancy, his parents came to the 
United Slates and settled in Allegheny City, Penn- 
sylvania. His early education was acquired in 
the common schools of that city, where he evinced unusual 
sagacity and perseverance. Upon the completion of his 
studies, in 1859, he entered the office of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, in Pittsburgh, to learn telegraphy. In this essay 
he manifested such insight and ability, that, in less than six 
months, he was appointed to take charge of the telegraph 
office situated at the end of the double track, at Mill Creek, 
Huntingdon county. In this employment he continued for 
one year, and was then appointed to operate in the general 
office at Altoona. In this place he fulfilled the duties of 
clerk and operator until 1S65, when he was called to 
Harrisburg as Assistant Train-M.aster of the Northern 
Pacific Railroad. Subsequently, he was promoted to the 
position of Train-Master, and two months later, owing to 
the decease of the Assistant Superintendent, William D. 
•Hayes, received the appointment of Acting Assistant Super- 
intendent, and Superintendent of the Susquehanna Division. 
Appreciating fully his talents and administrative ability, the 
director)', at the ensuing meeting, confirmed him as Assis- 
tant Superintendent md in this capacity he served credit- 
ably for two years. At the ex)iiration of this time, he was 
offered the position of .Superintendent of the Lehigh Coal 
& Navigation Company Railroad, with the office at Mauch 
Chunk, Carbon county, Pennsylvania, now known as the 
Lehigh & Susquehanna Railroad, leased Iiy the Central 
Railroad of New Jersey. Later, he was sent by the late 
John Edgar Thomson, and also Colonel Scott, to Kentucky, 
for the purpose of completing and taking charge of the 
Evansville, Henderson & Nashville Railroad. After the 
comjiletion of the road, he was appointed General Superin- 

66 




tendent, and assisted in the purchase of the Edgefield & 
Kentucky Railroad, thus making a through line from Nash- 
ville, Tennessee, to Evansville, Florida. He continued in 
charge of this road until its sale to the St. Louis & South- 
eastern Railroad, when, being harassed by failing health, he 
moved to the sea-shore, remaining there for nearly a year. 
In July, 1S62, he left Kentucky, and in January, 1S73, ac- 
cepted the proffered position of Superintendent of the Pitts- 
burgh Division of the Pan Handle Line, and since that 
time has been connected with that company. He is the 
youngest of three brothel's who fill prominent positions in 
various railway comi^anies, and is noted for many admirable 
qualities of mind and heart. He was married, in 1S66, to 
Frances Sherfy, daughter of Solomon Sherfy, of Altoona, 
Pennsylvania. 



ARDING, HON. GARRICK MALLERY, Presi- 
dent Judge of the Eleventh Judicial District, Penn- 
sylvania, was born at Exeter, in Luzerne county, 
on the I2th day of July, 1S30. He is of that strong 
New England stock, which, in the early days of 
the Republic, was transplanted from the rugged 
shores of Massachusetts Bay to the more congenial soil of 
Penn.sylvania. Exeter bears the same relation to Wyoming 
that Concord, in Massachusetts, bears to Bunker's Hill. 
Bunker's Hill became classical ground through the early 
struggles of the colonists, which began- at Concord; and 
Wyoming's classical history dates from the massacre which 
had its beginning at Exeter, wherein two of Mr. Harding's 
ancestors were slaughtered, and whereof John Harding, 
the grandfather of Garrick M. Harding, was the only 
survivor. The latter graduated at Dickinson College, at 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1848, in the class with John A. J. 
Creswell, now Postmaster-General. He was admitted to 
the bar in Wilkesliarre, in 1850, when the bar of Luzerne 
county was conspicuous for the strength and ability of its 
members, among whom were the Hon. George W. Wood- 
ward, Hon. Luther Kidder, and Hon. Oristus Collins, ex- 
Judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Common 
Pleas, and Hon. Hendrick B. Wright, Hon. Henry M. 
Fuller, Harrison Wright, and H. W. Nicholson, men of 
great acquirements and marked ability. His tastes and 
temjierament naturally led him into the active practice of 
the courts; he speedily attained great success in jury trials, 
and as an advocate soon came to be without an equal at the 
Luzerne bar. In 1858, he was elected District Attorney 
of Luzerne county, on the Republican ticket, by more than 
1700 majority, though the county was largely Democratic. 
On the I2lh of July, 1870, at the exact age of forty years, 
he was appointed by Governor Geai')', President Judge of 
the Eleventh Judicial District (excepting Philadelphia and 
Allegheny, the largest in the .State), to fill a vacancy caused 
by the resignation of the Hon. John N. Conyngham. In the 
fall of 1870, he was unanimously nominated by the Repub- 



522 



BIOGRAPHICAL EXCVCLOP.EDIA. 



licans of Luzerne for the same position ; and the election 
which followed fully demonstrated his strength and popu- 
larity. His compelitor was the Hon. George \V. Wood- 
ward, e,\-Chief-Justiee of the .Supreme Court, who had been 
elected to Congress, iii 1868, by a majority in Luzerne 
county of more than 3000. Yet notwithstanding there was 
a large Uemocr.itic m.ijority in the District, and despite 
Judge Woodward's pre-eminent ability, and pure and spot- 
less character, Judge Harding was elected by a majority of 
2365 to the position he now fdls. On the bench, he is dis- 
tinguished for liis great dispatch of business, for his industry, 
his legal acquirements, his devotion to the public weal, his 
strong and even handed dispensation of justice, and for that 
fearless, earnest, and undeviating judicial course which 
comes from a clear mind, a vigorous body, and an honest 
purpose. In private life he is generous and charit.able, de- 
voted to his family and his books, a faithful friend and an 
out-speaking opponent, In fine, he is a worthy representa- 
tive of those men whose stout hearts and arms made the 
valley of Wyoming classical ground, and whose vigor of 
body and mind, force of character, and native integrity, 
still bloom and flourish among their children. 



'USELTON, W. S., M. D., Physician, was born in 
Wilkesbarre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, Au- 
gust 20th, 1840. His father, a well-known 
farmer and agriculturist, was born in the State of 
New Jersey, his mother, in Pennsylvania. On 
the paternal side, he is of Scotch, and on the 
, of Dutch extraction. When in his fourteenth 
year, his parents moved to Butler county, Pennsylvania, and 
in the common schools of this place, and also in the Wither- 
spoon Institute, he acquired a thorough elementary educa- 
tion. After teaching school for more than a year, he 
commenced the study of medicine under the tuition of the 
late W. G. Lowmen, M.' D., in the town of Butler. Later, 
he studied in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, 
and in the Medical Department of Georgetown College, 
Washington city. District of Columbia. Upon the comple- 
tion of his medical education, he graduated at the latter 
college. In the early part of the war, August, 1862, he 
entered the Union army as Surgeon. He was then assigned 
to duty in the Department of Washington, in hospital 
service. As surgeon, he held several prominent and im- 
portant positions, and remained in the service until the 
termination of the conflict, .'\fter returning to his home, he 
resolved to enter the United .States Regular Service for life ; 
but, owing to the representations of his parents and friends, 
he was induced to relinquish his intention of leading a 
military existence. Establishing himself as a civil practi- 
tioner, he resided for one year and six months in the town 
of Butler, where a large jiortion of his practice was located 
in the country districts. In the spring of 186?, he removed 





thence, and settled in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, whc:c 
he has since practised with great success, and attained a 
prominent and honorable position among his fellow-praeti- 
tioners. He is a member of .several medical association*, 
of the Society of Natural Sciences, and is Medical Director 
of the Iron City Life Insurance Company of Pennsylvania. 
He is noted for his extensive knowledge of medicine and 
surgery, and is honored and admired by a large circle of 
acquaintances and friends. 



ANGFITT, WILLIAM J., M. D., Physician, was 
born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, January 
23d, 1S38; of this county, also, his father and 
mother were natives. His grandfathers, both on 
the paternal and maternal sides, were soldiers in 
the war of the American Revolution. Until six- 
teen years of age, he remained on the farm with his parents, 
receiving, meanwhile, a common school education. Subse- 
quently, he became a pupil in Mount Union College, in 
Stark county, Ohio, then under the direction of President 
O. N. Hartshorn. .A.fter the completion of his collegiate 
course, he taught school during one term in his native place, 
and was the recipient of many encomiums for his energy 
and ability. He then commenced the stud^ of medicine in 
the office of Dr. John McCarrell, at Frankfort Springs, 
Beaver county, Pennsylvania; attended medical lectures, 
and, finally, received his medical diploma from the Rush 
Medical College, of Chicago, Illinois. Immediately, in 
1S61, he began the practice of his profession in his nitive 
county, in the village of New Scottsville, where he soon 
acquired an extensive and remunerative practice. In 1867, 
he removed to Allegheny City, where he is at present, and 
engaged in the active and successful pursuit of his profes- 
sion. He is a prominent and influential member of the 
Beaver County Medical Society, also a member of the State 
Medical Society of Pennsylvania, and of the American 
Medical Association. He is, moreover, connected with the 
Society of Natural Sciences of Western Pennsylvania ; holils 
several positions of trust and honor in various other societies 
and organizations, and is President of the Woods Run 
Savings Bank. 



ARKER, T. S., was born near Carlisle, Pennsyl- 
vania, April 2d, 1S40. He is the .son of the late 
Rev. Joseph Parker, of the Methodl.st Episcopal 
Church. His ancestors settled, on or about the 
year 1775, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. 
Rev. Joseph Parker died, in the prime of his life 
and usefulness, in the summer of 1842, in the thirty-first 
year of his age. He left two children, T. S. and J. B. 
Parker. The latter is now a surgeon in the United .States 
Navy. On his mother's side, T. .S. Parker is a Virginian. 




IJIOGRAPinCAL ENCYCLOP.KDIA. 



523 



Her mnideii name was Slieeier, and her ancestors were 
among the early English settlers of Virginia. After the 
decease of his father, his mother moved to Carlisle. He 
there attended the common school, and in 1855 entered 
Dickinson College. At this time-honored institution he 
graduated in 1859. He soon afterwards commenced the 
study of law in Carlisle, and finished his studies with an 
attorney in Virginia. Shortly after the battle of Antietam, 
he was taken prisoner in the Valley of Virginia, and after 
several weeks' imprisonment he made his escape, with 
several others, to the Union lines. He was chosen Prin- 
cipal of Fairview Academy, which position he held with 
credit for some time, and then resumed the practice of the 
law in Erie county, Pennsylvania. He married the eldest 
daughter of Samuel R. Brick, of Philadelphia. In 1869, 
he removed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and opened an 
oflice, and by his industry and energj', his studious habits 
and devotion to business, has acquired a large and lucra- 
tive practice. He seems to possess all the qualities essen- 
tial to a highly successful professional career in the future. 



(HITE, GEORGE R., Merchant, was born in 
Ireland, December 22d, 1802. Originally, his 
father's family came from England, having 
crossed to Ireland with the Prince of Orange. 
His mother's family, Aston by name, came from 
Scotland, and settled subsequently in the north 
of Ireland. After receiving a liberal education in his 
native counti7, he emigrated to the United States in Sep- 
tember, 1821. Arriving in Philadelphia, he secured em- 
ployment in a groceiy store, owned and comlucted by John 
Manderson, in Kensington. At the expiration of four 
months, he left this place and entered the store of Samuel 
& William Chesnut, wholesale grocers, located at Eighth 
and Market streets. After a short experience in this em- 
ployment, he removed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 
16th, 1S22, where he connected himself with William Mc- 
Knight, for the purpose of acquiring an insight into the 
workings of the dry goods business. With this firm he 
served for two years as an apprentice, and later as a clerk 
and salesman, until January isl, 1S28. At this date his 
former employer formed with him a partnership, under the 
• firm-name of George R. White & Co. Subsequently, a 
branch store was opened by the firm at Diamond and Mar- 
ket streets, which was placed under his care. Here he 
continued until 1833, at which date the business was re- 
moved to Market street, between Fourth and Diamond 
streets, where he remained until the dissolution of the 
partnership, this event occurring January ist, 1837. He 
then purchased the entire business, and removed it to Mar- 
ket street below Fourth, continuing to prosecute it alone 
until the admission into the firm of his brother, Thomas 
While, when the firm n.ime of George K. White & Co. was 




again adopted. This brother dying shortly afterward, he 
associated with him as partners another brother, Jnnies 
White, and also John F. l.oy. .Subsequently, owing to the 
purchase of his interest in the business by William W. 
Ward, the last-named partner retired, and the firm remained 
so constituted until January Ist, 1861. At this time George 
R. White disposed of his interest in the establishment, the 
purchasers being his brother, James W'hite, William W. 
Ward and Robert Orr, and the name of the house became 
White, Orr & Co. But the real estate connected with the 
business he retained in his own hands, and of this he is still 
the sole and entire owner. For many years he was a Director 
of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Bank, and continued 
to fulfil the duties of that position until 1861. He was for 
several years a Director of the Pittsburgh Gas Company, 
and for a time President of that institution. This respon- 
sible position he subsequently resigned, preferring to remain 
on the Board simply as a working member. For two years 
he was Inspector of the Western Penitentiary, and at the 
expiration of his term, in 1866, was solicited to undertake 
the superintendence of the Allegheny County Workhouse 
and Inebri.ite Asylum. Since, he has been the President 
of the Board of Managers of this establishment, and is dis- 
tinguished for his close attention to the manifold duties 
attached to that position and for his able executive abilities. 
He interests himself warmly in all local improvements, and 
in many public movements has been one of the foremost 
and most energetic movers. He is the Senior Warden of 
Calvary Church, at East Liberty, and in 1822 was im- 
portantly connected with the management of Trinity 
Church, being for many years one of its representative 
members. He has been the Treasurer of the Board of 
Missions for the Diocese of Pittsburgh since its organiza- 
tion, and is deeply interested in all charitable and benevo- 
lent enterprises. His great success in life is attributed by 
him to his undeviating integrity and unswerving truthful- 
ness, especially in his capacity as salesman. He has trained 
many young men for business life, and has ever striven to 
impress upon their minds the value of those sterling quali- 
ties whose importance his own career has so strongly 
demonstrated. 



^EMPLE, JOHN, M. D., Physician, was born in 
Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, February l6lh, 
1823. His parents were Robert and Mary 
Semple ; the former — being born in East Liberty, 
Pennsylvania, December 14th, 1793 — was one 
of the earliest of those native American pioneers 
who redeemed from savage wildness this section of the 
country. The lad received a regular and systematic edu- 
cation in Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, W'ashington 
county, and upon the completion of his course of studies, 
in 1S46, he began the study of medicine under the tuition 
of Drs. Speer and Books. With these able practitioners he 




524 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




remained for one year, and sulMcquenlly finished hh medi- 
cal education in Philadeljihia, graduating at Jefferson 
College. In the spring of 1848, he removed to Evansburg, 
TUitler county, Pennsylvania. Thence, after a short stay, 
he moved to WilUinsburg, where he has since remained in 
the constant practice of medicin'e. As a medical practi- 
tioner, he stands in the foremost rank of his profession, and 
his incessant and tireless researches and investigations con- 
cerning the intricacies and vexatious problems of his 
calling entitle him to high praise. As a public man, he 
has ever been warmly interested in all local and general 
movements having for an end the welfare and happiness 
of his fellow-citizens or the advancement of Pennsylvania's 
interests. 



AVISON, LUKE B., Merchant, was born in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 29th, 1819. 
His parents were Thomas and Mary Ann Davi- 
son, both of Irish extraction. He was educated 
in the Western University, a well-known institu- 
tion of his native city. When in his fifteenth 
year, he became engaged in the grocery business, and in 
this continued for more than twenty-five years, meeting 
with great success. In the spring of 1858, he moved to 
Wilkinsburg, where he has since chiefly resided. In the 
commencement of 1862, he was elected Justice of the 
Peace, Vas re-elected in 1867, and in 1S72 was again 
chosen to fill this honorable position. lie is one of the 
most prominent and influential citizens of Wiikinsburg, 
and in all matters concerning its welfare and improvement 
has ever been a prime and energetic mover. As a business 
man, he has, by his shrewdness and enterprise, largely and 
beneficially influenced the commercial interests of the 
places where he has resided, and, upon many occasions, 
has manifested a laudable willingness to assist, by shrewd 
counsel and pecuniai7 help, those less fortunate than him- 
self. As a public officer, his conduct has always been 
distinguished for its uprightness and unblemished integrity. 



Yljr|EWMYER, HON. JOHN C, Lawyer, was born 
'...■III in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, June 
14th, 1848. The family, which were of Swiss 
descent, were among the early settlers of Penn- 
sylvania, where they lived prior to the Revolu- 
tionary War. About 1853, John C. Newmyer 
removed from his native county to the county of Allegheny, 
where he received his preliminary education, and was, in 
1863, admitted to the Freshman class in the Western Uni- 
versity. Having graduated in 1867, he engaged at once in 
the study of the law, under the direction of Kirkpatrick & 
Mellon, and, after having completed his course with S. 
Schoyer, Jr., was admitted to the bar November 14th, 



1S69. He then engaged in the practice of his profession 
in Pittsburgh, where he continues, except when absent in 
the discharge of official duties. He entered the field of 
politics early in life, and in 1872 was nominated and 
elected by the Republicans of Allegheny county to the 
Pennsylvania Legislature, where he at once took high rank 
and won flattering recognitions of his rare abilities. Hav- 
ing been re-elected by a large majority, in- 1873, he became 
an influential member of the House during the session of 
1874. A fitting testimonial to the faithfulness and efliiciency 
of his services to his constituency was his nomination, in 
1S74, by the Republicans of the Forty-fourth Senatorial 
District for the State Senate. His great personal popu- 
larity, coujiled with the large numerical strength of his 
party, indicate for him a signal victory in the coming con- 
test, in November, 1874. Few men so early in life have 
so much honor thrust upon them, or bear the burdens of 
weighty and perplexing cares with a greater grace and 
equanimity. In 1874, he was elected a Trustee of the 
Western University of Pennsylvania for three years. 



LAKELY, WILLIAM, Lawyer and Soldier, was 
born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, March 
loth, 1S33, and is of Scotch-Irish extraction. 
His early education was acquired in the common 
schools of his birth-place; and a course of aca- 
demical studies was pursued and completed at 
Wilherspoon University, under the able administration of 
the Rev. Loyal Young, D. D., distinguished for his energy 
and scholarship. When in his twenty-first year, he entered 
the office of his brother, Archibald Blakely, then practising 
law in Butler county, and prepared himself for the legal 
profession under his efficient guidance. Subsequently, he 
was admitted to the bar, and removing to Kittanning, Arm- 
strong county, Pennsylvania, practised his vocation there in 
1856. In 1858, he was elected District Attorney in Arm- 
strong county, serving the full term and winning high 
praise for his talents and integrity. At the outbreak of the 
war, he raised and organized a baltalion of cavalry, and 
was appointed Major. Later, this detachment was assigned 
to the standing cavalry, and finally merged into the 14th 
Pennsylvania Cavalry; when the organization of the regi- 
ment was effijctcd, he was appointed Lieulcnant-Coloncl. 
While holding this command, he participated actively in 
several engagements, and upon various occasions was hon- 
orably noted for his valiant and efficient services in camp 
and on the field. At different times, and upon different 
occasions, he was severely wounded, and endured many 
privations and perilous exposures. He commanded a 
brigade at White Post during General Averill's raid into 
.Salem, West Virginia; and in the notable affair of the 
burning of the bridge over Jackson's river, in December, 
1863, he gleaned honor and many commendations for his 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



525 




s\ill and bravery. He acted under General Sheridan in 
the .Shenandoah Valley operations, and at other times par- 
ticipated in the movements and actions of Generals Hunter, 
.Siegel and Averill. After the surrender of General Lee, 
and at the close of the war, he resigned his position and 
moved to Philadelphia. .Since that period he has devoted 
his time and attention to his original vocation, and secured 
an extensive and remunerative clientage. Although his 
sympathies are with the Republican party, he has always 
declined to take an active or prominent part in the political 
movements and campaigns that continually agitate the 
country. As a soldier, he was skilful, valorous and enter- 
prising ; as a lawyer, he possesses a large fund of legal at- 
tainments and great natural ability. He was married, in 
May, 1856, to Esther Brown, daughter of Joseph Brown, 
of Butler county, Pennsylvania. 

'=°7^0NYNGHAM, HON. JOHN NESBITT, LL. D., 
Lawyer and Judge, was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, in December, 1798. There he 
received his education, graduating with high 
honor at the Univei-sity of Pennsylvania, in 1816. 
Selecting the law for his profession, he was 
entered as a student in the oflfice of the Hon. Joseph R. 
Ingersoll, whose second pupil he was, the late Judge Petit 
having been the first. Having completed his preliminaiy 
studies in a manner worthy of the highest commend.ition 
for the perseverance and talents constantly evinced, he was 
admitted to the bar, and at once began the active practice 
of his profession. In 1820, he left his native city and de- 
cided to establish himself in Wilkesbarre, where he was 
elevated to the bench and became its President. While 
travelling thither he came into contact with two persons, 
one of whom, Samuel Bowman, was a young law student, 
who, after his admission to the bar of Luzerne, abandoned 
legal pursuits for the ministry, and ultimately became the 
Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania ; the other was a grand- 
daughter of the old Revolutionaiy patriot and hero. Colonel 
Zelnilon Butler, and who, a few years later, became his 
wife. Among his ancestry and connections were several 
prominent divines and prelates of the Church of England 
and Ireland. His grandfather, Redmond Conyngham, was 
connected with old Christ Church, Philadelphia, and he, 
with William Shippen, Charles Meredith, Elias Boudinot 
and others, aided this church substantially when it was 
deemed advisable to provide it with a steeple and a set of 
bells. Subsequently, he was elected Vestryman and Warden 
of Christ Church, and, in 1758, was one of the foremost to 
assist in the erection of .St. Peter's Church, at Third and 
Pine streets, Philadelphia. This church was first opened 
for divine service September 4th, 1761, and he was a mem- 
ber of the vestry of the united parishes of both this and 
Christ Church until his decease. The father of John Nes- 



bitt was David Hayfield Conyngham, who was also con- 
nected with the last-named church, and was ever prompt 
to serve its interests with pecuniary assistance or able 
counsel. In that parish the child was baptized and watched 
over in his days of infancy and boyhood. While residing 
in Wilkesbarre, he interested himself greatly in the welfare 
of St. Stephen's Church, and, in 1821, was elected a Ves- 
tryman. In October, 1826, a Special Convention, held in 
St. Peter's, Philadelphia, w.as called by Bishop White, to 
take into consideration the expediency of electing an As- 
sistant Bishop of the diocese; and it was upon tl.is occasion 
that he first took his seat in the Diocesan Convention as a 
member of that honorable body. In 1844, he was nomi- 
nated and elected by the convention to the position of 
Deputy to the General Convention ; in the following 
October, in company with his lay colleagues, George M. 
Wharton, Judge Stroud and Herman Cope, he took his 
seat in this body at Cincinnati ; subsequently, with but a 
single exception, he was returned to the General Conven- 
tion at every session. In the Diocesan Convention he was 
one of the most prominent and influential members; was 
placed on many important committees, and was highly re- 
spected for his earnestness and sterling talents. In the 
General Convention, a body composed of four clergymen 
and four laymen from each diocese, and meeting every 
third year in order to legislate on matters involving the in- 
terests of the whole church in the United States, he early 
attained an active and prominent position. In 1862, he 
was placed on the most important of all committees of the 
House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, that known as the 
Committee on Canons. On this occasion his lay colleagues 
were Murray Hoffman, of New York, Judge Chambers, of 
Maryland, and Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts. As 
a Deputy, he was never absent from his post, ever punctual 
to every appointment, and always ready to sacrifice all per- 
sonal considerjitions to his onerous duties. C.ibn, logical, 
and wilhal liberal in his views, he strongly deprecated 
extreme views and actions, and was never willing to com- 
promise, by any unwise alliances, the polity or the ritual of 
his church. In October, 1868, he was elected President 
of the American Church Missionai-y .Society. This is one 
of the most important organizations in the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, having its central ofhce in New York, and 
embracing, in its officers and membersr, clergymen and lay- 
men from ne.irly every diocese. " In this office," says the 
minute adopted by that society and prepared by the Rev. 
Dr. Tyng, " his presence has brought commanding dignity 
to the fulfilment of his duties, his eminent Christian charac- 
ter has added veneration end respect to his position, and 
his decided evangelical judgments and expressions have 
enhanced the confidence with which its operations have 
been regarded." In every public work or movement de- 
signed to benefit his brethren or country, he has always 
been an energetic actor; and in all the questions which 
have aiiit-itcd the Commonwealth ^ir the nation in general. 



526 



BIOGRAnilCAL EXCVCLOi'.EDIA. 



during ihe last fifty years, he has never failed to take a 
decided stand upon what he conscientiously believed to be 
the lijhtful and truthful side. In early life he was warmly 
interested in State and national politics, and, though inva- 
riably decided and inflexible in his attitude, was respected 
and admired even by his opponents. For nearly two years 
he was a member of the Slate Legislature, and his record 
there is wholly honoralile. It was while acting in this 
capacity that he won the regard and esteem of Judge 
Agnew, of the Supreme Bench. In all m.itters of social 
advancement and public improvement, and for the develop- 
ing of the resources of Pennsylvania in the wise utilization 
of its vast mineral wealth, he was an able and enterprising 
mover. During the war he was an earnest advocate for 
the Union; headed many subscription lists; addressed 
public meetings; encouraged enlistment; and, debarred 
from serving himself, gave to his country four sons, two 
of whom were severely wounded in battle. During the 
struggle he maintained nobly the reputation of the old 
mercantile firm of Conyngham & Nesbitt, which, during 
the sad days of 1780, when Washington could no longer 
keep the field without money, came forward to the assist- 
ance of Robert Morris, the financier. As a Judge, he was 
the recipient of countless encomiums ; and when lie resigned 
his President Judgeship, the whole bar of Luzerne county 
testified to his rare abilities and attainments, while sixteen 
judges gave in writing their deliberate judgments concern- 
ing his character and talents. For thirty years he was 
President Judge of Luzerne county, and for fifty years a 
Vestryman of St. Stephen's Church at Wilkesbarre, having 
since 1S26 been the representative of that church in the 
Diocesan Convention of Pennsylvania. At the time of his 
death lie was President of the Wilkesbirre Tr.ict Society, 
of the Luzerne County Bible Society, and of the American 
Church Missionaiy Society of New York. lie was also 
Vice-President of the American Sunday- .School Union 
and of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb of Phila- 
delphia. His death resulted from an accident. While on 
his way to Texas, to bring home an invalid son, he fell on 
the railroad track at Magnolia, Mississippi, and the wheels 
of a passenger car passing over both of his legs, they were 
so terribly crushed and mutilated that he died within two 
hours from the time of the accident. This occurred on 
the evening of February 23d, 1S71. 



ENER, GODLIEB, Lumber Merchant, was born 
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, April 23d, 1800. 
llis grandfather emigrated from Germany to the 
United Stales in the middle of the eighteenth 
century, and settled in the above-named section 
of Pennsylvania ; his father was John Sener, of 

German extraction on both the paternal and maternal side. 

His education was acquired between his seventh and four- 




] teenth year, John Gerlacher being his tutor for the major 
t portion of that time. An orphan at sixteen years of age, 
I he resolved to learn some useful trade, and le.aving his 
native place in Februajy, 1816, he walked to High .Spire, 
I Dauphin county, Pennsylvania; arriving there, he entered 
into an engagement with his cousin, John Sener, to serve 
with him four and a half years, in order to learn the busi- 
ness of cutlery manufacture. At this lime his salai-y was 
forty dollars per year, each day's labor averaging from 
fourteen to fifteen hours. In August, 1820, he returned to 
Lancaster; and in the following September, accompanied 
by Daniel Hoffman, likewise a cutler, removed to Frederick 
City, Maryland. Leaving this town shortly after, they 
moved to Ilagerstown, in the same State, where Ihcy leased 
a shop, procured all necessaiy utensils for the maiuifaclure 
of cutleiy, and commenced business on a limited scale. 
Meeting with little success, he went thence to Petersburg, 
Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, where his uncle, George 
Rung, then resided; while there, he was still unsuccessful 
in his designs, and finally returned to Hagerstown, Mary- 
land, whence ho travelled to Winchester, North Carolina. 
.Subsequently, he moved to Martinsburg, Virginia, vid 
Loudon, where he applied for employment at the house 
of Charles Gilgore, who was engaged in the cutlery busi- 
ness, p'inding no employment here, he started afoot up 
the valley for a distance of six miles, and crossed the Cave 
Mountains, returning ultimately to Petei-sburg, Huntingdon 
county, Pennsylvania. In this town he was employed by 
Jacob Eberly, in whose establishment he continued for two 
weeks, then returned to Lancaster vid Harrisburg. Sub- 
sequently, he worked at his trade at a salary of thirty-seven 
and a half cents per diem, and also at harvesting for fifty 
cents per diem. In October, he was employed !iy David 
Brady, for whom he worked for one year, his wages being 
fourteen dollars per month. Subsequently, upon receiving 
his share of the estate of his father, he moved to York, 
Pennsylvania, and, assisted by a younger brother, Frede- 
rick, commenced business in York borough. At the ex- 
piration of thirteen months, he returned to Lancaster, and 
there pursued the same occupation with moderate success. 
Until the spring of 1848, he was engaged in the manufac- 
ture of edge tools, when he purchased the lumber yard 
whose business had been in the hands of his brothers, 
Jacob and Frederick Sener, from 1832 to 1848. In this 
venture, by the exercise of constant economy and perse- 
verance, he soon met with great success. Later, he asso- 
ciated with him in partnership his two sons, under the firm- 
name of G. Sener & Sons, and also opened a branch 
establishment at Ephrata, which was managed by his son 
William, and known under the name of Sener Brothers' 
Yard. He was actively engaged in this business until 
December 21st, 1S70, when he retired, leaving his sons to 
develop to a still greater extent the trade which had grown 
so prosperously under his own management. During the 
late war, he was a firm supporter of the Govcrnnieiil, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



5-7 




did all in his power to sustain the Union cause. He has 
been repeatedly solicited to acce|)t various positions of trust 
and honor, Init invariably has declined. He was married, 
August 13th, 1S26, to Rebecca Zahn, daughter of Godfried 
Zahn, of Winchester, and has had seven children, four 
boys and three girls. One of his sons, Will.am, learned 
the trade of watch-making, in Philadelphia, but was after- 
ward taken into partnership with his father. Another has 
been a bank director for many years, and is noted for his 
enterprise and ability. The house of G. Sener & Sons is 
the largest lumber firm in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. 



• ERR, MARTIN L., Surgeon and Physician, was 
born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, Septem- 
ber 13th, 1838. His father. Christian B. Herr, 
was a wealthy and well-known farmer of that 
county, and noted for his thorough knowledge 
and capability as an agriculturist. His mother 
was a daughter of Martin Light, one of the most prominent 
and influential politicians in this section of the State, and 
one distinguished by tlie energy and ability evinced in all 
his actions and operations. Martin L. Herr is of German 
extraction, and acquired his early education in the Penn- 
sylvania State Normal School, located at Millersville. 
Upon the completion of his course of elementary studies, 
he became a pui>il in the Medical University of Nashville, 
Tennessee. In his twenty-sixth year, he graduated with 
honors from this institution, and, being an ardent advocate 
of the Union, decided to connect himself with the Govern- 
ment forces and assist in supporting its honor and integrity. 
In 1S64, accordingly, he entered the United Slates Volun- 
teer Army as .Surgeon, and was immediately assigned to 
active hospital duties. While engaged in this manner, he 
fully appreciated the worth of the wide experience attendant 
upon such an occupation ; and, through close attention and 
studious perseverance, added greatly to his store of surgical 
and medical knowledge. He served in this capacity until 
the winter of i866, winning many encomiums in eveiy 
quarter for the able and conscientious manner in which he 
performed his allotted duties, and for his patient careful- 
ness and upright deportment. Returning subsequently to 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he entered upon the civil practice 
of his profession, and was soon the possessor of an exten- 
sive, lucrative and honorable business. In early boyhood 
he constantly evinced a strong liking for the professions of 
surgery and medicine, and up to the present lime this at- 
tachment has been always on the increase. One strongly 
biased toward an especial vocation, and endowed also with 
unusual talents and attainments, could scarcely fail to attain 
a prominent position in that vocation, if once adopted. Of 
the truth of this assertion he is a striking example, and, 
being still young and vigorous, he may justly look forward 
to reaching even a higher position than that occupied by 




him at present. He has been a member of the Lancaster 
City School Board, and is a member of the lower branch 
of the City Councils, serving in both of these offices with 
great credit to himself aiid entire satisfaction to all parties 
concerned. He is, moreover, a prominent and influential 
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of 
the St. James Episcopal Church, in whose movements and 
affairs he takes a warm and active interest. In all public 
enterprises he is a prompt and energetic mover, and is al- 
ways among the foremost of those who seek to ameliorate 
the condition of their fellow-citizens, and develo)) the 
resources of their State. He was married, September 6lh, 
1S70, to a daughter of the late John A. Hubley. 



/ 
RISBIN, JAMES SANKS, Soldier, is the son 
of Ezra D. Brisbin, of Boalsburg, Centre county, 
Pennsylvania, where he was born. May 23d, 
1S37. His early education he received in the 
Aaronsburg Institute, and subsequently in Jeffer- 
son College, Cannonsburg, leaving the latter 
institution, however, in 1857, before com'pleting the usual 
course. He then began the study of the law at Bellefonle, 
Pennsylvania, but soon after abandoned this pursuit, and 
in 1859 became Editor of the Centre Democrat, pulilished 
in his native county. In this cajiacity he served until the 
outbreak of the war. Enlisting as private in a company of 
volunteers, he was appointed by Senator Cameron, then 
Secretaiy of War, Second Lieutenant in the 1st United 
States Dragoons, now the 1st Cavalry. After reporting for 
duty at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, he remained there 
until July, 1861, when he was placed in command of a 
detachment of recruits, and proceeded to Washington, 
District of Columbia. Before his arrival there the army 
had moved toward Manassas; joining it immediately before 
the action at Bull Run, Virginia, he reported to General 
Blenker, and was ordered into action. During the engage- 
ment he was wounded in the side, but did not retire; and 
when the army retreated, he was ordered by General Meigs 
to take position in the road near Centreville, in order to 
check the flying troops. While performing this duty, he 
was severely wounded in the head by a sabre cut from one 
of the officers whose retreat he was endeavoring to protect. 
Subsequently, he was allotted three months' sick leave, 
and while at home was appointed First Lieutenant, August 
5th, 1861 ; on the same day he also received his commis- 
sion as Captain in the 6th United States Cavalry. In the 
following October, he joined his new regiment at Bladens- 
burg, Maryland, and was sent on recruiting service to 
Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained until May, 1862. 
While here, he was commissioned, by Governor Dennison, 
Major of the 3d Ohio Cavalry, and joined the regiment at 
Monroeville, in that State. But, under the orders of the 
War Dc^partmeut, forbidding Regular officers accepting 



S28 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



any volunteer commission below the rank of colonel, he 
relinquished this commission, and, in May, 1862, rejoined 
his regiment in General Tleasanton's command, at Harri- 
son's I,:inding, V'rginia. He participated in the second 
battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia, August 5th, 1862; and in 
the same month, was transferred with the Army of the Poto- 
mac to northern Virginia, to the relief of General Pope; 
during the ensiiin;i camjiaign he took part, under General 
Sigel, in the battle at Fall's Church. During the Maryland 
campaign of 1S62, he participated in the skirmishes and 
battles at Amosville, Barber's Cross Roads, and near Peters- 
ville, Maryland; and, after the battle of Antietam, was en- 
gaged with a detached command in scouting the country 
about Harper's Ferry, down the river to Sandy Hook and 
Berlin, also to Lovettsville, Virginia. In November, 1S62, 
he was with the advance of the Army of the Potomac, and 
during the march down along the Blue Ridge, was with 
General Pleasanton in the actions of Upperville, Union, and 
the series of skirmishes between the Potomac river and 
Warrenton. June 9th, 1863, he commanded a squadron at 
the battle of Beverly Ford, Virginia, and, for gallant and 
meritorious service in that action, was brevetted M.ijor in 
the United States Army. Detached in the same month, he 
reported, under orders, to General Couch, commanding the 
Department of the Susquehanna, and was made Chief of 
Cavalry. He then organized and commanded the cavalry 
militia of the State, lat Harrisburg, to resist Lee's invasion, 
and was engaged in the pursuit of Imboden from western 
Pennsylvania to western Virginia. Relieved in July, 1863, 
he rejoined his command at Falling Waters, Maryland ; was 
again with the advance guard in the march along the Blue 
Ridge Mountains, when he engaged in a number of 
skirmishes, and was present at the battle of Brandy Station, 
Virginia, October ist, 1863. He had early advocated the 
employment of colored troops, and July ist, 1864, was 
commissioned and mustered as Colonel of the Colored 
Volunteer Cavalry. Reporting to General Banks at New 
Orleans, he became Chief of Staff to the cavaliy com- 
mander. General A. L. Lee, and participated in the Red 
River campaign of March and .\pril, 1864. In the follow- 
ing November, he participated in a successful i-aid into 
southwestern Virginia, having for its object the destruction 
of the enemy's salt-works. Subsequently, he was engaged 
at Kingsport, Abington, Wytheville, and Marion. For dis- 
tinguished action in this last-named battle, he was brevetted 
Lieutenant-Colonel, United States Army, and Brigadier- 
General, United States Volunteers. March i :;ih, 1865, he 
was commissioned Colonel by brevet. United St.ates Army; 
M.iy 8th, of the same year, Brig.idier-Geuer.il of Volunteers ; 
and, in January, 1S66, Major-General by brevet. United 
States Volunteers. In May, 1S65, he commanded the Pro- 
visional Department of Kentucky; and, in the ensuing fall, 
was ordered to Arkansas. January 15th, 1866, he was 
mustered out as Brigadier and Brevet Major-General, but 
soon after re-commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 




6th United States Colored Cavalry, serving in Arkansas 
until he was mustered out in April, 1S66. Later, he was on 
duty at New Orleans ; and in Kentucky from November, 
1S66, until January 1st, 1S6S, when he was promoted to the 
rank of M.ajor in the 2d United States Cavalry. While in 
Kentucky, he acted for a while as Superintendent of Freed- 
men's affairs, and since that time has served on the plains 
in command of various posts. He was married in 1S61, 
and has a family of three children. 



y '/HETTERM.\N, N. p.. Lawyer, was born in the 
northwestern part of the State of Pennsylvania, 
February 4th, 1S04. While in his infancy, his 
mother and family removed to this country, where 
he resided and acquired his preliminaiy education 
until ready to commence the study of the law. 
His course of legal studies he pursued in the office of his 
elder brother, Washington W'. Fetterman, for many years 
an influential and leading member of the bar of western 
Pennsylvania ; .and, U]ion attaining his m.ijorily, was admitted 
to practice, August I4lh, 1825. Subsequently, he removed 
to Bedford, in this State, where, after a residence of several 
years, he represented Bedford county in the lower branch 
of the Legislature for three successive years, about the year 
1828. To him may be credited the origin of the present 
common-school system ; while, through his ability and per- 
severance, the first law inaugurating it in this State was 
passed through the Legislature. At the expiration of his 
third term, he was urged to become a candidate f(jr Congress 
from the Bedford district ; declining the proffered honor, 
however, he devoted his time and attention almost exclu- 
sively to the fulfilment of his professional duties. In 1830, 
he removed to Beaver, Pennsylvania; resided there until 
1849, and finally returned to Pittsburgh. He was the 
leading member of the bar in the region comprising the 
counties of Beaver, Butler, Mercer and Lawrence ; bis 
principal competitors at that time being the Hon. D.aniel 
.\gnew, now Chief-Justice of this State, and the Hon. John 
J. Pearson, now Judge of the Harrisburg District Court. 
To these three eminent practitioners was chiefly allotted the 
task of settling the many complicated questions of title, 
resulting from the peculiar system under which the lands 
west and north of the Allegheny river were held ; and in 
the numerous and highly important actions of ejectment 
continually arising, he constantly took an active and able 
part, his opponents invariably being one of the two above- 
named judges. In all such cases he evinced unusual attain- 
ments and valuable abilities. In 1849, '^^ returned to 
Pittsburgh and entered into partnership with his nephew, 
Gilbert L. B. Fetterman, under the firm-name of N. P. & 
G. L. B. Fetterman, this association continning for several 
vears. .Subsef|uently, he was a lending member of the 
Pittsburgh bar, and attended also the courts of the neigh- 



niOCRAPHICAI. KN'CVCLOP.EDIA. 



529 



boring counties, participating in almost every case of im- 
portance, l)otli civil and criminal. In the cclc'orated case 
of the Conimonweallli ts. Montgomery c/ al, for tlie murder 
of Dinsmore, in Washington county; and also in the case 
of the Commonwealth vs. Streets, for murder in Beaver 
county, he was retained by the Commonwealth, and dis- 
tinguished himself by his learning, patient research and 
shrewdness. Until the outbreak of the war, he was a promi- 
nent memljer of the Democratic party, and one of its leading 
orators in western Pennsylvania. During the Presidency 
of James Buchanan, he was repeatedly solicited to accept 
various positions of trust and honor, but invariably declined 
both public office and emolument. While the conflict was 
raging, he warmly advocated the Union cause ; acted as a 
War Democrat, and finally joined the Repulilican party, of 
which he afterward became an active and influential ally. 
He gave two sons to the United States Army, as members 
of the loist Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was bereft of a 
son-in-law, who was mortally wounded before Atlanta, 
Georgia He was also actively engaged in assisting enlist- 
ment, and aided more than one company in the purchase 
of its necessary equipments. lie served as Chairman of the 
Examining Committee of Pittsburgh, to pass judgment upon 
all applications for admission to practice; and, in this 
responsible position, acted with admirable judgment and 
impartial discretion. lie w.as constantly consulted, by 
attorneys from all parts of the .State, for his opinion on points 
of law ; and, upon such occasions, his decisions ever 
evidenced close research and the most thorough knowledge 
concerning the various complicated points at issue. He 
was married, December 28th, 1S28, to Anna M. Dillon, 
daughter of Humphrey Dillon, a well-known citizen of 
Bedford, Pennsylvania. He has left eight children surviv- 
ing him, among whom is S. C. Fetterman, a prominent 
member of the bar, and of the Select Council of Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania. 



MITII, WILLIAM HENRY, Delegate at Large 
to the Constitutional Convention, was born in 
New Madrid, Missouri, June 29th, 1814. His 
paternal ancestors were English Quakers (Friends) 
d were among the early settlers of this State, 




They settled at Darby, in Delaware county. His 
grandfather having taken up arras at the outlireak of the 
Revolution, and having fought throughout the war as a 
commissioned officer, forfeited his membershipi in the Society 
of Friends. The parents of William Henry emigrated to 
the Territory of Missouri about the year 1S06, and there 
remained till 1S16, when they returned to Beaver, in Penn- 
sylvania, where they resided until their decease. He 
received his school education at the Beaver Academy. In 
1S2C, he was apprenticed in a newspaper office in Pitts- 
67 



burgh, to the printing business. After a year's service in 
the printing office, he returned to school at the Beaver 
Academy. In 1S2S, he resumed the business of printing. 
In 1 8jo, he established the Alkgheny Republican, in the then 
borough of Allegheny, which he conducted for about a year, 
when the enterprise failed. In 1835, he became joint editor 
and proprietor of the Mercury, an old-established Demo- 
cratic paper, and in 1840, its sole owner and editor. In 
1841, he bought the AUcglte/iy Dcviocrat, and united the 
two establishments. In 1S42, in conjunction with the pro- 
prietor of the American Manufacturer, lie established the 
Piitsbiu'gh Daily Post, in which all the Democratic weeklies 
of the city were merged. He continued as editor and pro- 
prietor of the Post until 1845, when he was succeeded by 
John Bigler, afterwards Governor of California. The Post 
has always been a successful and influential newspaper, and 
is now the leading Democratic daily in the State. In 1S46, 
he embarked in the mercantile business as a wholesale 
grocer, and remained in that occupation until iS6g. In 
1866, he \va> elected President of the Artisans' Insurance 
Company, and in 1870, was chosen President of the Artisans' 
Deposit Bank — two distmct corjwration^ — of both of which 
he is still President. He has been a firm and earnest 
Democrat all his life, but has never sought office. He 
never held any not.ible political position, except his place in 
the late Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania. He 
has, however, filled many positions not of a political char- 
acter. He was President of the Board of Trade for several 
years, member and President of the Board of Inspectors of 
the Western Penitentiary for a considerable period, was a 
Director of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and other railroads, 
and several banking and insurance companies. 



♦•• ERNS, JAMES N., United States Marshal for the 
Eastern District of Pennsvlvania, was born in 




Philadelphia, at the corner of Sixth and Chestnut 
streets, in the shadow of Independence Hall, on 
December 2d, 1830. He was educated in the 
public schools of the city, passing into the highest 
class before liis seventeenth year. On leaving school, he 
entered the establishment of Nathans & Co., in the auction 



having landed from the " Welcome," at Chester,* *and commission business, whose office w.as at the well- 



known old coffee house auction building on Second street, 
which in those days served as the Exchange of Philadelphia. 
In 1S52, he began business on his own account, in the fur- 
niture trade, and sul^sequently was in the office of the 
Receiver of Taxes; after which he became a member of the 
State Legislature, serving for six years consecutively. In 
1870 and 1 87 1, he was the Deputy Collector of Internal 
Revenue, and in 1872, the Chief Deputy of Robert H. 
Beatty, Receiver of Taxes. In the latter part of 1S72, he 
was appointed the United States Marshal for the Eastern 



S30 



EIOGRAPIIICAL ENCVCLOPvEDIA. 




District uf Pennsylvania, lie has been prominently con- 
nected with the Repuljlican party for many years. He \v.as 
married, in 1S51, to Amanda, daughter of David French, 
merchant of Philadelphia. 



TELLWAGEN, DANIEL S., Captain United 
States Navy, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania, November 6th, 1774. The family is de- 
scended from the early German settlers of the 
State in the colonial days, and lost nearly all its 
male members and money during the War of the 
Revolution. He was educated in Philadelphia, and on 
leaving school, being of a bold and adventurous disposition, 
elected to follow a seafaring life. Accordingly he entered 
the merchant service, and r3Sfe in it rapidly, attaining at the 
early age of nineteen years the position of Captain, and be- 
coming afterwards owner of his vessel. He continued thus 
for several years, and on the breaking out of the second 
war with Great Britain, in 1812, was still following liis pro- 
fession. On March isth, 1813, being in command of the 
brig " Concord," returning to Philadelphia from Lisbon, 
he found the mouth of the Delaware blockaded by a British 
squadron. He attempted to run the blockade, but his vessel 
grounded on one of the sho.ils in Delaware bay, and so 
fell into the h.ands of the English. All the crew, except 
the cook and himself, were transferred to one of the British 
ships, and an officer, with a prize crew of seven men, was 
placed in charge of the " Concord." In this painful posi- 
tion, chafing under his adverse fortune and imprisonment, 
he conceived the bold and almost hopeless plan of recaptur- 
ing the ship. The vessel was lying at anchor, under the 
very guns of the British frigate " Poictiers," a seventy-four, 
and the rest of the squadron were close at hand. Still he 
determined to try the desperate scheme. On the iSth of 
March, with the assistance of the cook, a mulatto named 
Richard Douce, he made the attempt. They first secured 
the officer and seized the arms, drove the prize crew below, 
and Histened down the hatches. They then cut, or slipped, 
the cable, made sail, under the fire of the British fleet, 
effected their escape, and reached the city in safety. The 
English officer and his men were lodged in the old .\rch 
Street Jail, and were the first prisoners of this war brought 
to Philadelphia. On landing in his native city he found 
the patriotic spirit of the country aroused, and yielding to 
the exciting influences of the time, he followed the prece- 
dents set by the earlier members of his family, and entered 
the navy as a Sailing Master, lie took command of the 
third division of galleys, including the " Ludlow," " Wil- 
mer," " Alwyn," ancl " Ballard," under Commodore Mac- 
Donough, on Lake Champlain, and was in the engagement 
of September 6th, 1S14, against the English land forces, 
commanded by .Sir George Prevost, the Governor-General 
of Canada, and also in the memorable battle of September 



nth of the same year, a full account of which is given in 
Cooper's Naval History. For his gallant conduct on these 
occasions he was honored, together with six other officers, 
by a vote of thanks and a sword from Congress. The 
sword is a very handsome one; it is engraved with his 
name, the date of the battle, the motto, " Altius ibiint ijui 
ad sunima tii/un/tir" and appropriate devices ; the blade 
is equal in temper to the celebrated Damascus steel, and is 
surmounted by a massive gold hilt. It was accompanied 
by a complimentary letter from the Secretary of the Navy, 
written by order of the President. Both the sword and 
letter are in the possession of his grandson, Dr. T. C. 
Stellwagen, of Philadelphia. He was married to Maiy 
Perot Fisher, whose family had also given soldiers to the 
army of patriots, and numliered among its members five of 
the Governors of the State of Delaware. He died Novem- 
ber i6th, 1S28, in Philadelphia, at the age of fifty-four, 
leaving to his posterity and country an honorable name 
enrolled amon'T the worthies of his State. 



■J 
TELLWAGEN, HENRY S., Captain United 
States Navy, son of Captain Daniel S. Stell- 
wagen, was born Oc'.ober 13th, 1S09, in Phila- 
delphiLi. He received his education in the 
schools of Philadelphia, and, after a voyage to 
Calcutta in an East India merchantman, entereil 
the United States Navy as Midshipman, in April, 1S2S; 
was promoted, i:i 1S34, to Passed Mi<lshipman, and in 
1S40 to Lieutenant. His first active service was in Africa, 
where he took part in the attack upon, and capture of, some 
of the towns that were the headquarters of the slave Inade. 
He was next in Mexico, under Commodore Perry, at the 
fall of Vera Cruz, on March 29th, 1S47, during wdiich year, 
in command of a force of sailors, he landed and captured 
several forts and towns upon the Tobasco river. In 1S54, 
while in command of a fieet of surveying vessels, he dis- 
covered and accurately described a large submarine bank 
in Massachusetts b.ay. Its dimensions were seventeen and 
a half nautical miles in length and five in breadth. It was 
named, in honor of the discoverer, Stellwagen's Bank, by 
Professor Bache, Chief of the United States Coast Survey 
Department. In 1855, he was promoted to the rank of 
Commander, and was pLaced in charge of a district of light- 
houses upon the coasts of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, 
New Jersey, and the shores of the Delaware river. Upon 
the breaking out of the Civil War, in 1 861, he took part in 
the planning and execution of the attack on Forts Hatteras 
and Clark, at Hatteras Inlet, which resulted in the first 
naval victory of the war, and opened the sounds and in- 
land waters of North Carolina for the subsequent brilliant 
successes of Commodore Goldsborough and General Burn- 
side. In 1862, while in active duty on the block.tde, he 
fitted out and commanded an expedition against Apalachi- 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



531 



cola, Florida, which effected the capture of that place. In 
1862, he received his- commission as Captain, and about 
the middle of the following year took command of the 
Mediterr.anean Squadron, and remained there until late in 
1864, performing essential service in keeping that sea clear 
of privateers. In 1865, he was again employed upon the 
Souther:! coast of the United States, in which year Fort 
White, at Georgetown, South Carolina, was surrendered 
to him. He shortly afterwards returned home sick, while 
eng.a"ed upon an expedition up the rivers of South Caro- 
lina, endeavoring to open communication with General 
Sherman, who was then marching northward from Savan- 
nah to form a junction with the Army of the Potomac under 
General Grant. He died July 15th, 1S66, at Cape Island, 
New Jersey, and was buried in Philadelphia. While in 
the United Slates Coast Survey, he invented and patented 
a sounding apparatus, with a steel cup covered by leather 
valves, for bringing up specimens of the bottom of the sea, 
which invention is still in use by the United States Coast 
Survey. This invention obtained for him the Scott Premium 
Medal from the Franklin Institute, and complimentary let- 
ters from the British and French Governments. He also 
invented a syphon tide gauge, which, in the roughest 
weather, indicates the exact level of the sea. While cruis- 
ing in command of the United States steamer " Mercedita," 
he captured several famous blockade runners, of which 
the " Bermuda" was the most important. Ke received on 
two occasions letters of thanks from the British Govern- 
ment for services rendered to their vessels when in distress ; 
the first time, in 1S63, for the rescue of the British steamer 
" Ossian," in a terrible gale off Cape Hatteras, and the 
second time, in 1864, when in command of the frigate 
" Constelhition," for the saving of the brigantine " Mersey," 
and enabling her to reach St. Thomas, West Indies. On 
the latter occasion the English Government presented him 
with a sword of honor, which, together with the letters, is in 
possession cf his son, Henry E. Stellwagen, of Philadelphia. 



0^ TELL WAG EN, THOMAS COOK, M. A., 
?f'V? D. D.S., M.D., Professor of Operative Den- 
tisliy and Dental Pathology in the Philadelphia 
Dent.al College, was born in Philadelphia, July 
24th, 1841, and is the eldest child of the late 
Captain H. S. Stellwagen, of the United States 
He was educated at the Central High School of 
Philadelphia, whence he graduated in JS59, t.aking his B. A. 
degree and his M. A. degree in 1864. He entered upon 
the study of dcntistiy in 1S59, under the tutorship of his 
uncle. Dr. Dickey, of New Orleans, and gradua'ed at the 
Pennsylvania College of Dent.il Surgery, at Philadelphia, 
in 1861. He served in the United .St.ates Navy, under his 
father, from 1 861 to 1865, part of the time as Paymaster, 
and took p;rrt in several engagements. He has also Ira- 




Navy. 




veiled extensively in Northern Africa, Egypt, Greece and 
Palestine, as well as in France, Spain and Italy. In 1S65, 
he was ap'pointed Demonstrator of Operative Dentistry in 
the Philadelphia Dental College, and received (in 1866) an 
ad eitndem degree from that institution. In 1S6S, he re- 
ceived the degree of M. D. from the Medical Department 
of the University of Pennsylvania, and, in 1869, was elected 
to fill the Chair of Operative Dentistry in the Philadelphia 
Dental College. 



EGLEV, EDWARD C, Postmaster of the City 
of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was born in East 
Liberty, now forming a part of Pittsburgh, Feb- 
ruary 8th, 1842. His ancestors were among the 
earliest of those hardy pioneers who settled in 
this section of the country, when it was little more 
than a savage and dangerous tract of uninhabited field and 
forest. He is the son of Plon. Daniel Negley, of Swiss ex- 
traction, formerly a member of the Pennsylvania Legisla- 
ture, and noted as a prominent and influential citizen. His 
early education was acquired in the common schools of his 
native place, and, subsequently, at Cannonsburg, Pennsyl- 
vania. When eighteen years of age he abandoned school 
life, and secured a Clerkship in the office of the Prothono- 
tary of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. In this position 
he served for one year. In 1861, he engaged in the study 
of law, under the guidance of his brother, W. B. Negley, 
a well-known and able practitioner. He continued to pur- 
sue his course of legal studies until August, 1862, at which 
date he enlisted in Company G of the 136.11 Pennsylvania 
Regiment, a nine months' organization, forming a part of 
the brigade of General Peter Lyle. While acting in this 
capacity, he participated in all the operations of his regi- 
ment, including the battles of Fredericksburg and Chan- 
cellorsville. Upon the expiration of his term of service, he 
was mustered out, July 4th, 1863. During this time he had 
risen from the ranks to the position of First Sergeant, and 
was remarked for his bravery and shrewd intelligence. In 
September, 1S64, he re-enlisted in the Fifth Pennsylvania 
Heavy Artillery, which was assigned to General Gamble's 
Independent Brigade operating in the Valley, thence to 
Fairfax Court- House, where the detachment remained in 
the defence of the City of Washingtim until the close of 
the war. Subsequently, he became First Lieutenant of 
Company E, Fifth Pennsylvania Artillery. After being 
mustered out at the expiration of the contest, he returned 
to Pittsburgh, where he engaged in the grocery business. 
He continued in this occupation, as sole proprietor and 
manager, until 1867, when he was appointed to a Clerkship 
in the Pittsburgh Post-Office by James H. McClellan, then 
Postmaster in this city. Colonel J. H. Stewart becoming 
Postma-ster, in 1870, E. C. Negley was subsequently ap- 
pointed Stamp Clerk, which position he held until October 
1st, 1873. L.iter, he was appointed Postmaster, and has 



532 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




fulfilled the onerous duties of that responsible position with 
marked energy and ability. Also, in iS66-'67, he was 
Lieutenant-Colonel of the 14th Regiment Pennsylvania 
Militia for a period of over eighteen months ; and, in the 
spring of 1874, was appointed Major and Aide-de-camp 
under Major-General Pearson. Ilis noticeable characteristics 
are directing ability, shrewd perseverence, unwavering 
loyally and courage. 



j/\U.SM.\N, JACOB, Capitalist, was born at " Baus- 
man's Farm," located about one mile west of 
Lancaster city, Pennsylvania, on October*20tK; 
1812. He is of German extraction; his^father, 
John Bausman, emigrated to the United States 
in 1802, from a village on the west side, .of thi 
Rhine, in the Palatinate, Germany. His emigration w-as 
caused by his disgust at the enormities -iricident to .the 
French Revolution occurring; durintr the close of the last 
century. He purchased the gromid and settled upon the' 
farm, in Lancaster county, which bears his name.'' 1111805, 
he married Elizabeth Peters, sisterto Hon. Abrahara^Vteii!*' 

a wealthy landholder of thai county. Fi -'i*' ■ ■ '!■ ' 

fruit of this marriage, of which Jacob \\ 
was afforded ample opportunitiesTfor ul'laii ,. i 

lion in the schools of the neighborhood, -a , , , , Iut 

finishing his primary educ.ation,-^*sent tiivth?' Acadeiiiy at 
Litiz, where he renlained until the year -1829. ■^^A'^iepiSiar 
inclination and aptitude for comniercial pursuits wa.^.his 
most marked characteristic. In 1 83 r; he' became e^gtfged 
in the milling business, to which he added, in l83J"'la'rge 
operations in grain. Eminently successful in all his under- 
takings, he entirely suspended trade, in 1838, in order to 
make an extensive tour through the Western Stales of the 
Union. After several years spent in travel, he returned to 
his home and resumed business, and, between the years 
1841 and 1854, he was reputed one of the largest (lour, 
grain and lumber dealers in eastern Pennsylv.inia. In 
January, 1854, he was married to Mrs. Mary Baer. About 
the same date the Lancaster Cotton-Mills were built, and 
he became, and still remains, a large stockholder therein. 
He resides at Willow Dale, a large farm which he pur- 
chased in 1855, located on the 'Columbia turnpike; about 
three miles west of Lancaster. He was for many years a 
Director of the Farmers' National Bank of Lancaster, and, 
in 1S6S, was elected President of the institution, a position 
which he still holds. He has been for a long time deeply 
interested in coal operations in the Shamokin region. He 
is a Manager of the Lancaster Gas Company, and was one 
of the originators, and is now .1 Director, of the Lancaster 
Fire Insurance Company. He is an active and influential 
member of the American Reformed Church, and faithfully 
aids the work of that denomination. He is the Treasurer 
and a Trustee of Franklin and Marehall College, and also 
a Trustee of the Millersville State Normal School. He is 



considered the wealthiest man in Lancaster county. His 
wealth and influence have ever been exerted for the benefit 
of the entire community, and he enjoys in high degree the 
regard of his fellow-citizens. 



ARRISH, CHARLES, was born in Wilkesbarre, 
Pennsylvania, in the year 1S26. His father, the 
late Archippus Parrish, came from Windham, 
Connecticut, about the year 1810, and made the 
town of Wilkesbarre his permanent home. He 
• embarked in the mercantile business, and a few 
yeart^^tewards became the proprietor of the hotel on the 
east "side fef-the Public Square, where he remained principally 
Jill the time of his death, over thirty years ago. This house, 
'at the ti-itiS of its occupation by Mr. Parrish, was the prin- 
cip;ri hotel'of the town and the Wyoming Valley. It was 
,h'cre'-iliBt''lhe represent.itive men of the county, many of 
lliein'-Revolutionary veterans, sojourned when they visited 
^the county seat on business or pleasure. They came on 
jnorsebeckji for the day of what was called "Dearborn 
•AvagoiR" lKiti..not dawned. Ami it was at this place 
vli%r5rthi>s6Iid«1)Id ".gentlemen of the days that are gone 
reheJHjgutJi'lhf' thrilling -events of the early settlement of 
the vallty— rifs*'adveBt'ures "and its trials. He was a man 
of e.\cinj*ii'y'cliari<*cter, of the strictest integrity, and died 
laiift^lteS *bv alTwho knew him. Charles Parrish havine 
rgceft'ed- tile oWinar>- education of the boys of that day, 
itf^tllK .Wilkesbarre Grammar .School, at about sixteen 
years of age was placed in the store of Ziba Bennett, a 
well-known merchant of the town. He remained in this 
establishment, in the capacity of Clerk, and afterwards 
as Partner, till the year 1854. And now commenced a 
mental development which in subsequent years led to a 
most remarkable result. Unwilling to be confined to 
the cramped and limited business of a retail store, he 
boldly struck out into the broad field of speculation which 
l.iy before him. The quiet, unobtrusive man of but few 
words, but of constant thought and untiring energ)', as- 
tonished his friends and neighbors with the magnitude, as 
well "as the success, of his operations. The public mind 
at about this "tirrie had become aroused lo the inquiry into 
the prospective value of anthracite coal. It was the sub- 
ject of general conver.sation. The Wyoming Valley was 
the grand centre, and Charles Parrish had the capacity of 
brain, the breadth of enterprise, and energy of purpose, to 
turn the advantages presented to his own account. He 
accomplished his purpose. His means were limited, that 
is, for the accomplishment of large investments. But this 
did not deter him ; he went boldly into speculation. What 
he could not pay for he purchased on credit, and trusted to 
the future. Having entire confidence in himself, and rely- 
ing upon the conclusions which his own sound and discrim- 
inating mind had come to, he did not falter, nor did he 






wn^/J^^/^^^^rt^^^f^^^^^ 




'^ f*u6. Co. Pfu^UdtJf^ 




^ 



/H-^^-v-xX) 



^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



533 



commit errors. He bought largely, and every adventure 
terminated in a success. He made his objective point, 
and, possessing an extraordinary energy of character, 
marched through all difficulties and obstructions that beset 
his path. Impediments which would seem to be moun- 
tains in the eyes of others were but mole-hills to him. It 
is, therefore, not a matter of surprise, that in less than a 
half score of years, the man of the countiy store should 
be tlie acknowledged and accepted head of the coal opera- 
tions of the Wyoming Valley. His cap,icity was conceded, 
and his opinions of values were the standard which 
governed the actions of others. He was, for many yeai-s, 
the President and sole Manager of the Wilkesbarre Coal 
& Iron Company; and is now the President of the Lehigh 
& Wilkesbarre Coal Company — second to but one other 
coal and transportation company in the State, in the extent 
of its business operations. This company, with its twenty 
millions of capital and its thirteen thousand employes, is 
truly a power in' the land. The company mines, prepares, 
and transports to market, annually, over three millions of- 
tons of coal. He is the acknowledged head of this vast 
concern, and to its success he bends every energy. He is 
familiar with all its details. It may be called his own 
child. Every acre of the great domain of this company, 
west of the mountains, was selected and -puirchased- undej' 
his direction. The combination of the different companies, 
mines, railroads, and canals, was the conception of his 
brain, and mainly the work of his hands.",. And it. was the' 
persevering labor of years to bring it about. .There is now 
in the possession of a citizen of W'ilkesbarre,-,a -written 
programme, made out by Mr. Parrish, some sijc years ago, 
representing the same combinations of interest now /em- 
bodied in the charter of the Lehigh & Wilkesbarre Coal 
Company. It was submitted to that gentleman for his 
opinion, and, in reply to the remark that it was too gigantic 
a scheme to be carried out and made available, its author 
said, " I shall live to see it accomplished." He has been 
from the commencement, and is now the controlling spirit 
of the immense establishment. His fruitful mind and 
energy of purpose are in perfect accord. The conception 
of the plan, and its execution, never collide. lie is 
eminently a " broad-gauge " man, and has but little to do 
with small matters ; his mind soars above them. Some of 
the charities which he has incorporated into the mining 
system, are worthy of the highest praise, and the example 
should be pursued by all of the mining companies. One 
of them must be mentioned. While President of the 
Wilkesbarre Coal & Iron Company, he jirevailed upon 
his employ^-; to allow the entire wages of one day in each 
year, to be retained for the purpose of constituting a fund 
for the relief of disabled men of the mines and their 
families; upon the condition, that the company should set 
apart, for the same purpose, the proceeds of the mines, of 
one day in each year. The proposition was acceptt-d, and 
in this way a yearly charity is amassed of some fifteen 



thousand dollars, from which many wants have been pro- 
vided for and much suffering relieved. But it is not alune 
in mining operations that the influences of his views are 
discernible. During the seven years of his Presidency 
of the Borough, and afterwards City Councils, the well- 
paved and lighted streets, the fire apparatus, and an 
efficient police, all indicate his handiwork. In the way 
of edifices, too, the stately hotel on the bank of the Sus- 
quehanna, the First National Bank, owned by the corpora- 
lion of which he is President, and his own residence, dis- 
play the enlarged views of the man ; as do also the costly 
iron bridge, spanning canal and railroads, in the southern 
part of the city, and the broad avenues and private resi- 
dences oh the hill beyond. He took an active part in 
raising and equipping volunteers for the service during the 
late Rebellion. Probably no man in the city did more in 
this particular than he. In his efforts in this, he was not 
less energetic and untiring than in his present occupation. 
He is a man of rather more than medium stature, with a 
well-knit frame, comely in his presence, witli a good pro- 
portion of physical strength, and is in the enjoyment of 
robust health. He is a moral, upright man, honest and 
jure in his motives, and charitable in an eminent degree. 
Having commenced the world with no inheritance from 
his. ancesto'rs, and learning from experience the value of 
counsel, . aid, , and friendship from others, he has ever 
extended- 'a' helping hand to young men, in their struggle 
in the start ■ in life. And he is, to-day, surrounded by a 
class of-young and energetic men, whom he has schooled 
in the various departments of his business, and who also 
give success to his own masterly enterprises. No man 
possesses a better qualification to judge of the peculiar 
fitness of men for his subordinate positions, and there 
never was a more kind and indulgent employer. All the 
details of the immense field of industry, under his man- 
agement, show the guidance of a firm and steady hand, 
and a cool and masterly mind. He is in the prime of life, 
and the indications are, that long years of usefulness to 
the community in which he lives, and of personal pros- 
perity are before him. He married the eldest daughter of 
the late Judge Conyngham, of Wilkesbarre. 



"■UNCAN, WILLIAM, Brigadier-General, was 
born in that portion of York — since set off and 
called Adams — county, Pennsylvania, in the 
year 177', and was one of a large family of 
children. His father had been a soldier in the 
Revolutionary War, but had died shortly after- 
wards. His early education was carefully attended to, and, 
among other studies, he became a proficient in land survey- 
ing. When about nineteen years of age, he was engaged 
by his brother-in-law, John Nicholson, one of the projectoi-s 
of the American Land Company, to survey some of his 




534 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



lands lying near Pittsburgh. While en route for that des- 
tination, at lliat time almost a frontier town, he joined, as 
a volunteer, a detachment of United States troops, under 
the command of Colonel Zebnlon Pike, who were in 
search of hostile Indians. This officer gave him his first 
lesson in military tactics; he also made the acquaintance, 
and formed a friendship for his son, afterwards the brave 
General Pike, who fell at Little York, Canada. On his 
return to Philadelphia, he was engaged as Paymaster and 
Assistant Engineer on the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal, 
which, however, was never completed. Its excavations 
were lately visible within the limits of Fairmount Park, 
to the south of Lemon Hill. At the early period alluded 
to, this was the country residence of Robert Morris, the 
great financier of the Revolution, who owned a large 
amount of land in the vicinity, and oflTered to sell the 
present Fairmount — then called Morris' Hill — for less 
than 53000, saying at the same time that there was enough 
stone to build all the cellars which Philadelphia might 
need for a century to come. This offer was declined by 
William Duncan, much to his subsequent regret. He 
afterwards engaged in mercantile pursuits, but meeting with 
an accident, retired to Bustleton, where he resided for a 
number of yeare. During his sojourn there, he labored 
for the amelioration of the pauper population of the town- 
ship, and, by his own individual exertions at Ilarrisburg, 
secured a grant from the Legislature, with which a house 
and farm were purchased, and a permanent^ home estab- 
lished for the poor, with a steward and assistants to min- 
ister to their wants. The site so obtained had formerly been 
the birthplace of the celebrated philanthropist, Dr. Benja- 
min Rush. During the War of 1S12, General Duncan 
was made Superintendent of United .States Military Stores, 
at the Schuylkill Arsenal, and resided there. It was 
the principal depot of the arms and munitions of war in 
the country, and the magazine contained a veiy large 
quantity of powder. Owing to the fact that a portion of 
the British fleet were then lying in the bay, the Arsenal 
was in much danger of being surprised and destroyed. 
Feeling very anxious about the matter, he wrote to the 
.Secretary of War for orders ; but the answer gave none, 
leaving things to his own prudence and patriotism. For 
some time he had been General of the Second Brigade 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, and he now called upon his com- 
mand, who cheerfully responded ; and, for several weeks, 
the different companies, in their turn, guarded the ap- 
proaches to the Arsenal, placing a picket-guard reaching 
to the junction of the Schuylkill with the Delaware, and 
mounted videttes along the road, in case of a land attack. 
This was only at night; in the morning they returned to 
their daily avocations in the city. Thus the danger was 
averted ; for all the watchful movements on land, for the 
defence of the Arsenal, were known on board the enemy's 
fleet, which, in a short time, left the b.ay. He was after- 
wards appointed an Aide-de-camp to Governor Snyiler, 



and for some time held the post of Adjutant-General of 
Pennsylvania. For many years he represented the city 
of Philadelphia in the State Legislature. In 1829, he 
was commissioned l>y President Jackson, Surveyor of Cus- 
toms for the Port of Philadelphia, and was re-ap]iointed in 
1S33, thus serving, in that office, eight years consecutively. 
His political creed was of the straight Democratic school, 
as expounded by Jefferson. He was one of the founders 
and trustees of the Jefferson Medical College. For nearly 
half a century, he was a faithful and zealous member of 
the First Baptist Church, in which he filled the office of 
Deacon during a great portion of that time, and through- 
out his long and eventful life, he was conspicuous for his 
sterling integrity, jiiu^ity of character, and energy of pur- 
pose. He was thrice married; first, in I792, to Mary, 
daughter of William Moulder, and who died in 1818. 
Two years after this bereavement, he was united to her 
sister Sarah, who died in 1832. After remaining a widower 
for nine years, he was m.arried, in 1S41, to the widow of 
Rev. Dr. William Staughton, and daughter of James (the 
brother of Charles Wilson) Pe.ile, who yet survives him 
(1874). He died February i6th, 1864. 



AVIS, GREENLEAF PAGE, Soldier and Poli- 
tician, son of Amos and Elizabeth Davis, was 
born in Jefferson county, New York, Fcbruaiy 
8th, 1836. His primary education he acquired 
at the common schools of his native county. 
At the early age of fifteen, he undertook the 
then hazardous journey across the plains to California. 
He reached that State after one hundred days' hard travel, 
and engaged in mining operations until 1857, meeting with 
more than average success. After two years, employed in 
driving stock across the plains, he travelled through the 
States and Territories of the Union, until 1861. At that 
date he was in Bradford county, Pennsylvania. Upon the 
issuing of the proclamation, by President Lincoln, calling 
upon the people to furnish troops for the suppression of the 
Rebellion, he was among the first to enroll. He was .at once 
appointed as First Lieutenant, and placed upon duty as 
recruiting ofiicer. In the f.all of 1S61, he was commis- 
sioned as Captain, and marched with his company to Wash- 
ington,' District of Columbia. In the spring of 1862, as 
part of the First Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Coqjs, 
be moved to Newport News, and began the toilsome march 
to Richmond, in the campaign conducted by General 
McClellan. On M.ay 20lh, Gener.al Ncgley organized a 
company of .Sharp-shooters, consisting of one hundred 
men, and jilaced them under command of Captain Davis, 
who fully justified the confidence reposed in him. On 
May 31st, 1862, the battle of Fair O.aks was fought, and 
here the gallant Captain lost an arm, which compelled his 
retirement from active service for a time. Recovering 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



S3S 



from the effects of his wound, he rejoined his regiment in 
the field; and, in the fall of 1S62, was engaged in North 
and Sniuh Carolina. In 1863, he was commissioned as 
Lieutenant-Colonel, and assigned to the staff of General 
Henry N. Negley, and served in that capacity until 1864. 
He was then ordered to Washington for examination, and 
was appointed, on account of wounds received in action 
and g.illantry displayed in the field, a Captain in the 
Veteran Reserve Corps. He was immediately assigned to 
the command of the Monongahela District of Pennsylvania, 
with head-quarters at Pittsburgh. In September, 1S65, 
he resigned his commission in the army and engaged in 
the grocery business, in Erie, Pennsylvania, in which trade 
he continued until Februaiy, 1S69, when he sold out his 
interest in the establishment. In April, of the same year, 
he w.as appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, 
by H. C. Rogers, the then Collector. In March, 1S72, 
Mr. Rogers was called to Washington as Deputy Com- 
missioner of Internal Revenue, and C.iptain Davis re- 
ceived the appointment of Collector of Internal Revenue 
for the Nineteenth District of Pennsylvania, which position 
he now occupies. He was married, in 1S65, to Augusta 
Hewett, of Pittsburgh. His has been an eventful life, and 
throughout its many changes, the honor and integrity 
which now distinguish him have been its most marked 
characleriitics. 



[RIGHT, HON. IlENDRICK BRADLEY, Law- 
ver, was born at Plymouth, Luzerne county, 
Pennsylvania, April 24th, 180S. Ilis ancestors 
on the paternal side came to this countiy with 
William Penn, and settled at Wrightstown, near 
Burlington, New Jersey, where one of whom 
was Justice of the Peace under the royal commission, and 
was a warm supporter of the .Society of Friends. His 
mother's maiden name was Hendrick, and she was a descen- 
dant of one of the earliest Dutch colonists cf New York. In 
1795, his father removed to Plymouth, and soon became 
one of its leading citizens. Appreciating the advantages of 
education, he obtained for him the most thorough training 
that the locality afforded, and at the proper lime secured 
his entry into Dickinson College, of Carlisle. Upon the 
completion of his course of studies in that institution, he 
entered the law office of Judge Conyngham, of Wilkes- 
barre; and, under the guidance of this able and eminent 
man, progressed rapidly, and in 1S31 was admitted to the 
bar. For the next decade he was untiring in his devotion 
to his profession, and rose to eminence among the counsel- 
lors and practitioners of the Luzerne county bar. He was 
a gifted orator, and always commanded respectful atten- 
tion, and in alir.ost every case managed by him his efforts 
were crowned with entire success. In 1S41, at the solici- 
tation of numerous friends, he accepted a nomination for 
the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, and was 




elected ; and, upon taking his seat in that body, was at 
once recognized and accepted as one of its ablest leaders. 
In 1842, he was again elected, and during that session 
filled a number of important positions, among them that of 
Chairman of the Committee on Canals and Internal Im- 
provements. He was also a member of the Judiciaiy 
Committee under Judge Elwell, of Columbia District : in 
this capacity he labored incessaiuly for the repeal of the 
law which provided for the imprisonment of poor debtois, 
and ultimately achieved success. He also endeavored to 
procure the abolition of solitary confinement in prison dis- 
cipline, characterizing it as an inhuman and unnecessary 
measure. In 1843, he was tendered the nomination of 
State Senator, but declined that honor, preferring to act in 
the Lower Branch of the Legislature; accordingly, he was 
again elected to the House in that year, and at the open- 
ing of the session was chosen Speaker. In 1S44, he was one 
of the Delegates at Large from Pennsylvania to the Baltimore 
Convention, which nominated James K. Polk for President. 
Great excitement prevailed at this time, owing to the agi- 
tation resulting from the Texas Annexation Question ; and, 
as the convention was almost equally divided on this ques- 
tion, a serious and troublous dissension seemed imminent. 
Under the existing circumstances, the friends of annexation 
appreciated the vital importance of securing for the chair- 
manship of the convention one well versed in parliamentary 
rules, and possessing sufficient tact and courage to enforce 
their observance in every instance. To this important 
position he was electetl temporarily, and so fully did he 
satisfy all parties that he was subsequently unanimously 
elected Permanent Chairman; and on the adjournment of 
the convention, which had been in session for nearly a 
week, he bade the assembled delegates farewell in an ad- 
dress at once stirring and pathetic, terse and eloquent, 
filled with wise counsel and loyal appeals. Thenceforward, 
until 1S52, he devoted himself to his professional duties ; 
but in the latter year the public again demanded his ser- 
vices, and he was elected to Congress, sen-ing through his 
term with marked energy and ability. In 1854, he was 
re-nominated, but suffered defeat at the hands of the 
" Know Nothing" element, of wdiose policy he had always 
been an uncompromising opponent. Retiring from public 
life, he desired and determined to pass the remainder of his 
life in the discharge of his professional duties ; this privi- 
lege, however, was denied him, and in 1S61, at the open- 
ing of the Rebellion, he was again called into the public 
arena by both political parlies of his district, and elected to 
Congress. Although an ardent Democrat, and consequently 
attached by the strongest political ties to the State Rights 
doctrine, when the hour of peril was at hand, he threw 
aside all sectional feelings .and di tinguished h.imself as an 
eloquent and unceasing advocate of an undivided Republic. 
Though opposing all interference with domestic institu- 
tions, regarding such interference .as unadvisable, his influ- 
ence was ever on the side of the Government, and he gave 



5J6 



BIOGRAPIIICAI. ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



one of his sons to battle for the Union cause. Shortly after 
he had followed his eldest son lo a soldier's grave, the ex- 
ci'.ement regarding " Vallandigham's Peace Resolutions " 
ensued, and in a speech delivered by him, January 14th, 
1863, he replied lo these resolutions in eloquent language, 
filled with fci-vid loyalty, logical philippics and thrilling 
earnestness. On this occasion he was universally applauded 
for his fearless patriotism, and stamped himself as a brave 
and devoted advocate of right and justice. Retiring from 
the Thirty-seventh Congress, he again withdrew from poli- 
tical life, and also from the active duties of the legal pro- 
fession, desiring to enjoy the fruits of his toils and labors 
in privacy and strict retirement. Since that time he has 
given to the public an interesting work, entitled. Historical 
Skelches of Plymottth, Luzerne Couitly, Pennsylvania — a 
volume of nearly 500 pages, with twenty-five engravings, 
containing a biography of the old settlers of Plymouth, por- 
traying their hardships, their tireless endurance and their 
many conflicts with the hostile Indians. The book is one 
of peculiar interest and value, especi.illy to the inhabitants 
of the valley. lie has also published a Practical Treatise 
on Labcr^ a work embodying the thoughts and observations 
of a long and varied experience. He has ever been^n 
acknowledged friend and advocate of the laborer against 
the encroachments of capital and political ostracism. De- 
spile his extreme reluctance, he was chosen, in August, 
1S74, as the Congressional nominee of his parly. 

MMON, ROBERT ADAMS, Soldier and Ex- 
jilorer, was born in Malaga, Gloucester county, 
New Jersey, June 9th, 1852. He is the son 
of August and C. W. Amnion ; his great grand- 
father, Frederick A. Amnion, was at one time 
Minister lo the King of Germany, and his pic- 
ture, taken at that lime, is now in possession of the Ameri- 
can branch of the family. Robert A. Amnion was educated 
at the Western University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and 
the Capital University, at Columbus, Ohio. Of an energetic 
an'd roving disposition, he early in life made his way to the 
far West and joined the Regular army. Duiing his 
service he was engaged upon much severe duty, and whilst 
under General Sheridan he was badly wounded at the fight 
known as the Pieg.-in Massacre, January 23d, 1S69. lie 
was discharged by order of the War Department, after nine 
months' service as Chief liugler of the 2d United Stales 
Cavalry. After quitting the army, he filled for some time 
the position of Chief Clerk in Ihe Merchants' Exchange, in 
.San Francisco, California, and subsequently connected 
himself with the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. 
The propensity for roving being too strong to enable him 
to be content in one locality, he next served as Purser on 
the China mail steamer, and made a Irip to the Celestial 
Kingdom ; and upon his return he visited Arizona about 





the time of the " I!ig Diamond Swindle," he being at that 
lime in command of a parly of twenty-seven men, who 
were in the service of William S. Ralston, President of the 
Bank of California. He next visited South America, upon 
a pleasure trip, and on his return assumed charge of the 
Home Department of the Allemania Insurance Company. 
After continuing for a time in this connection, he removed 
to Chicago, Illinois, and associated himself with the Mer- 
cantile Insurance Company. Four months later, he was 
appointed to his present honorable and highly resjionsible 
position as General Agent for the States of Maryland and 
Pennsylvania. During his residence in California, he was 
one of five persons who started the Mercantile Director, Ihe 
largest commercial and mercantile paper upon the Pacific 
coast. 



OPPER, NATHANIEL ALEXANDER, son of 
William and Hannah Topper, was born in Mil- 
lersburg, Adams county, Pennsylvania. After 
receiving his education at the schools of Pitts-* 
burgh and Allegheny, he started in the business 
of life, and from 1S52 to 1856 was variously en- 
gaged : at one time as Superintendent of a hotel, next as 
Clerk in a store at Warren, Pennsylvania, and then as Con- 
tractor for the transportation of the United States Mail 
from Dubuque to Davenport, Iowa. He subsequently 
placed a line of coaches upon ihe mail roulc, and mel with 
most gratifying success. He next moved to New Orleans, 
Louisiana, where he engaged in numerous commercial 
speculations, and where good fortune continued to attend 
his every venture. Here he remained until the inaugura- 
tion of the Civil War, when he removed to California and 
interested himself in the many financial operations incident 
to that country, most of which resulted in his pecuniaiy 
benefit. After some time he returned to New York, and 
engaged successfully in business in that city; from thence 
he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and remained there four 
years. Finally, he reached his old home, Pittsburgh, and 
there settled down in his present business. He is proprie- 
tor of one of the finest club rooms in the countiy, and his 
honesty and high social qualities render him a general 
favorite wilh the large circle of friends whom he has made 
both at home and abroad. 

<5^^LARK, EDWARD, Architect of the United Stales 
Capitol, was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
October 20th, 1822. His father, James Clark, 
was a well-known architect of Philadelphia, who 
designed and built many of the large public 
buildings in that city. His mother was a Miss 
Cotlman, of the same city. He was educated partly at the 
public grammar schools of Philadelphia, and partly by his 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.'EDIA. 



S37 



uncle, Thomas Clark, the well-known editor of classical 
and nialhomatical works. He sUulied architecture and 
drawing under T. U. Walter, while that gentleman was 
constructing Girard College. He removed wilh Mr. Walter 
to Washington in 1S51, when he became Assistant Architect 
to the extension of the Capitol of the Uiiited States. He 
was soon afterward made Superintending Architect of the 
Patent-Office building extension; and in 1855, was made 
Superintendent of the extension of the General Post-Office 
building. He was continuously engaged on these works 
until 1865, when, after the resignation of Mr. Walter, he 
was appointed to succeed that gentleman as Architect of the 
Capitol, a position which he still holds. He was married, 
in 1S60, to a daughter of Hon. Watson Freeman, who was 
at that time United States Marshal of Massachusetts, and 
whose family were among the earliest settlers of Massachu- 
setts Bay; and has four children. 



I EASE, ABRAM PER SEE, M. D., Physician, was 
born at Massillon, Ohio, September lllh, 1S48. 
His father was born at Aurora, Portage county, 
Ohio ; and his mother at Poughkeepsie, Dutchess 
county. New York. On the paternal side, he is 
of Anglo-Saxon extraction; and, on the maternal, 
of French descent. His early education was acquired in 
the schools of his native place; at Cleveland, Ohio; and, 
later, in the Wooster University. At the outbre.ik of the 
Rebellion, although but sixteen years of age, he served 
creditably in the hundred days' service; and, but for his 
extreme youth, would have continued to serve his country 
in the Government forces. Subsequently, he was engaged 
for one year in the Clerk's office of Chenango county, New 
York, where he was occupied in recording mortgages, and 
in other incidental employments connected wi'.h his position 
in this department. Leaving that situation, he travelled for 
a period of twelve months; and, January 1st, 1S68, began 
to study medicine. His course of medical studies he pur- 
sued and completed under the able tutorship of Professor 
A. Metz, of Massillon. After attending the customary 
lectures, studying and reading meanwhile with great 
assiduity, he graduated at Cleveland, in the session of 
iS70-'7l. When he had received his degree, he became 
associated in practice and profession with his former pre- 
ceptor. Professor Metz, continuing with him for more titan 
a year. At the expiration of this time, he removed to 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he has since secured a 
large and lucrative practice. Although one of the youngest 
in the medical fraternity, speaking of him in connection 
with his ability and prominence as a practitioner, he is 
already noted for his acquaintance with the more difficult 
and complicated problems and questions of his vocation, 
and has won many encomiums from veteran associates by 
his skilful man.agement of trying and perplexing cases. 

63 




Apart from his jirofessional acquirements, he possesses an 
unusual knowledge of many branches of general literature ; 
is scholarly and courteous in his deportment; and always 
calm, reliant and .self-possessed in the chamber of the 
invalid. 



RR, ROBERT, Merchant, was born in the county 
of Derry, Ireland, January 20th, 1814. His 
ancestry on the paternal side was Scotch-Irish, 
and on the maternal, English. His education 
was acquired at the Academical Institute, in 
Belfast, Ireland. Upon the completion of his 
course of studies, he came to the United States in 1S31, 
and, in his seventeenth year, found occupation in the dry 
goods.business in Philadelphia. At the expiration of three 
years, he, in 1834, removed to Pittsburgh, where he entered 
the employ of George R. White. In this position he 
remained for about seven years. In 1841, he engaged in 
the straw and millinery business, and, under the firm-name 
of John Orr & Co., continued in that trade until Januaiy, 
1S61. He then became a member of the new firm of 
White, Orr & Co., successors to George R. White & Co., 
the oldest diy goods firm in Pittsburgh. In this connection 
he continued until his decease, August 2d, 1873. He was 
a member of the Prison Reform Association, and President 
of the Allegheny County Association for some time previous 
to his death, contributing both money and labor toward the 
advancement of that cause. For many years previous to 
his association with the firm of White, Orr & Co., he had 
been a Director of the Citizens' Bank of Pittsburgh. 
Throughout his life, he was honored and respected as an 
enterprising and loyal citizen, and an able business man. 



NOWDEN, REV. EBENEZER HAZARD, 
Clergyman, named after Ebenezer Plazard, the 
first Postmaster-General under the United States 
Government, was born at Princeton, New Jersey, 
Jun*27lh, 1799; and, when a child, removed to 
New Hartford, Oneida county. New York. His 
father was Samuel Finley .Snowden, who was Treasurer of 
the city and county of Philadelphia, and distinguished for 
his many talents and attainments. His family was inti- 
mately connected wilh the Second Presbyterian Church in 
Arch street, Philadelphia, of which the well-known Dr. 
Ashbel Green was at one time pastor and director. His 
father and four brothers were graduates of Princeton College, 
and were also prominent members of the Clio Society; his 
father, moreover, was the first pastor of the First Presby- 
terian congregation of Princeton, New Jersey. His mother 
was Susan Bayard Breese, daughter of Samuel S. Breese, 
of Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Her sisters were Mrs. Nancy 




53^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



Morse, wife of Dr. Jedediah Morse, the geographer, and 
molher of Professor S. F. B. Morse, the inventor of the 
magnetic telegrapk, and Mrs. Josiah Salisbury, whose 
daughter was the wife of President Woolsey, of Yale College. 
In 1814, Ebenezer Snowden entered upon a course of studies 
at Hamilton College ; and, upon graduating in the class of 
iSiS, delivered at the commencement an English oration 
whicli won him many encomiums. Subsequently, he engaged 
in the study of the law, and, upon the completion of his 
course, was licensed to practice during the session of the 
Supreme Court at Utica, New York. Previous to this lime, 
he was deeply exercised on the subject of religion; ex- 
perienced a material change in his thoughts and convictions, 
and finally connected himself with the Presbyterian Church 
of Sackelfs Harbor, his father being then the pastor of that 
organization. During that season he was strongly inclined 
to the Gospel ministry, but concluded to suspend his deci- 
sion, and leave the issue to the progress of his feelings and 
resolves. Removing to Nashville, Tennessee, he entered 
upon the active practice of the law ; but, believing himself 
called to the ministry, he repaired to the Princeton Seminary 
in order to pursue a course of theological studies. In due 
time he was licensed by the Presbytery of New Y'ork ; and 
a year later, was ordained by the same Presbyteiy. Subse- 
quently, he moved to St. Augustine, Florida, where he 
remained several years, and was installed pastor, being at 
that time the only Presbyterian minister in East Florida. 
During his ministiy the church edifice was built and occu- 
pied ; and, owing to his indefatigable and ardent exertions, 
a great revival of religious feeling was inaugurated. On 
his return from the South, he was installed over the Presby- 
terian Church of Brownsville, Jefferson county. New Y^ork ; 
here also his presence, admonitions and earnest appeals 
produced their jjroper effect, and the inclination toward a 
religious and moral condition was greatly developed in this 
section of the State. -AVhile a member of the Old School 
Presbyterian Convention of 1S37, in Philadelphia, he was 
invited by the Rev. John Darranse to visit the Presbyterian 
Church of Kingston, in the Wyoming Valley, Luzerne 
county, Pennsylvania. Later, he accepted a call from its 
congregation, and in the fail of 1037, was installed as its 
spiritual director. lie was a Commissioner, to the Grand 
Assembly of 1S3S, when the New School went out from the 
Church. A much-needed church edifice was built at Kings- 
ton, and a revival of religion greatly strengthened the con- 
gregation. His next place of settlement was \Varren, 
Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where the Church was 
divided, and where he soon effected a complete reconcilia- 
tion. Subsequently, he raised a considerable amount of 
money, to be used for the erection of a new church in 
Woodstown, New Jersey ; but, losing his property and 
residence by fire, he abandoned the work, leaving to others 
its erection and completion. Soon after his return to the 
valley of \Vyoming, he preached at Plymouth, where a con- 
gregation was speedily gathered, a church organized, and a 



house of worship built ; in the beginning the members were 
few in number, but in a short time their roll increased to a 
large and unexpected extent. At present, he is engaged in 
building up a Presbyterian congregation at Larksville, in the 
eastern part of Plymouth township, where a neat and con- 
venient sanctuary has been completed and paid for, on a 
superb site given for the purpose by the Delaware & Hudson 
Canal Company ; this church possesses also a large .Sabbath- 
school, and an excelleiit library. The corporation name is 
" The Snowden Memorial Presbyterian Church of Larkes- 
ville," this name being adopted as commemorative of the 
fact that it is the third Presbyterian Church erected by his 
instrumentality in the valley of Wyoming. He was married 
at St. Augustine, Florida, to Elizabeth Smith, daughter of 
Waters Smith, United States Marshal; and after her death, 
a second time to Caroline Adams, of Newburgh, New York, 
a distant relative on the paternal side of John Quincy 
Adams. 



^'"^i^ICE, ELLIOTT WARNER, Brigadier-General 
"' ' and Brevet Major-General, United States Volun- 
teers, was born at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, 
November 15th, 1S35. On his father's side he 
was descended from Deacon Edmund Rice, who 
settled in Connecticut about 1635, and on his 
mother's side, from the Chapman family, who were among 
the early settlers of New York State, being of mixed Scotch 
and Welsh descent. He removed with his parents to 
Martinsville, Ohio, in 1S36. His early education was 
received at an academy at Wheeling, Virginia, and at the 
age of eighteen, he entered Franklin College, at Athens, 
Ohio, where he remained one year. In the fall of 1855, he 
removed to Oskaloosa, Iowa, and studied law until 1857, 
with his brother, who was after\vard Attorney-General of 
Iowa, when he went to Albany, New York, and remained 
a year at the l.iw school of the Albany University ; he 
graduated in 1S58, and was admitted to the bar of the 
Supreme Court of New York ; he then returned to Iowa, 
and practised law with his brother until the breaking out 
of the Rebellion, when he enlisted, in July, 1S61, as a 
private in the 7th Iowa Infantry. From a Sergeant, he was 
promoted, in August, 1861, Major of the same regiment, 
and was engaged at the battle of Belmont, November 7th, 
1S61, where he was severely wounded in the right leg, 
while leading a charge on the lines. He rejoined his com- 
mand before his wound healed, and was engaged at the 
battle of Fort Henry, Tennessee, February 6th, 1862, and 
Fort Donelson, February 15th and l6th, 1S62. In the 
latter battle he was unable to walk, and participated in the 
charge of the 15th, on his crutches. Thence he proceeded 
with the Army of ihe Tennessee to Shiloh, where he was 
eng.igcd in the actions of April 6th and 7lh, 1862. In the 
meantime, he had been promoted Colonel of his regiment. 
He was engaged in the siege of Corinth, April 30th to May 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



539 



30lh, 1862, ami after the evacuation of the place pursued 
the rebels to Boonville, Mississippi. He then returned to 
Corinth, and was engaged in the action at luka, September 
19th and 20th, 1862, and in the fights at Corinth, October 
3d and 4th. During the winter of l862-'63, he remained 
at or near Corinth, and was then engaged in garrisoning 
the railroad from Lagrange to Memphis until September, 
1863. During this period he was at times commanding 
the brigade, and in July and August was commanding the 
sub-district, with head-quarters at Bethel, Tennessee. The 
command at this time was the First Brigade, Second Divi- 
sion of the .Sixteenth Army Corps, left wing, commanded by 
General Dodge. In the fall of 1863, the command moved, 
vid luka, to Pulaski, Tennessee, and thence to Chattanooga 
in November, arriving after the battles at that place. He 
was engaged in garrison at various points during the winter 
of 1863-64, and was actively employed in the Atlanta cam- 
paign in Georgia, from April 27tli to September 2d, 1864. 
During this campaign he was most of the time in com- 
mand of a lirigade, and was engaged at the actions of 
Resaca, Lay's Ferry, Oostanaula River, Rome Cross Roads, 
Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, and Nick.ajack Creek, Chat- 
tahoochie River, July 3d to 21st; before Atlanta, July 22d 
till September 2d; and Jonesboro, August 31st and Septem- 
ber 1st, 1864. During a portion of the campaign he was 
commanding a division, and just before the fall of Atlanta 
he was made a Brigadier-General of volunteers. During 
the famous "march to the sea" he was almost continuously 
engaged in skirmishing, until the arrival at, and capture of, 
Savannah. In the march from Savann.ah to North Caro- 
lina, until the surrender of the Rebel Army at Jonesboro', 
he participated in numerous actions, and at the battles of 
Lynch's Creek and Bentonville, North Carolina. After the 
grand review of the armies at Washington, in May, 1865, 
his command proceeded to Louisville, Kentucky, where 
the troops were mustered out in July and August of that 
year. In September, 1865, he was mustered out of sei-vice, 
with the additional brevet rank of Major-General, to dale 
from March 13th, 1S65, for gallant and distinguished ser- 
vices during the Rebellion. He returned to his home in 
Iowa, but soon afterward removed to Washington, District 
of Columbia, where his duties required his presence as a 
Director of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and as Attorney 
for the road ; and afterward he entered on the practice of 
the law in that city, where he now resides. He has never 
married. 

G'Tj(tl|,OODWARD, THOMAS CARRINGTON, Prin- 
cipal Examiner United States Patent Office, was 
born near Westchester, Chester county, Pennsyl- 
vania, September 30th, 1829. His early educa- 
tion was at common schools and academies ; sub- 
sequently, he entered Union College, New York, 
and, in July, 1854, graduated under the Rev. Eliphalet 
Nott, D. D., LL.D.j President, and received the degree of 



A. B. He also studied and practised mechanical and civil 
engineering, under Professor Foster and W. M. Gillespie, 
LL.D., both distinguished authors and engineers. Until 
1856, he was engaged in various business operations, when 
he became Associate Principal of Unionville Academy, in 
Chester county, and held the position until 1858. In that 
year he moved to Iowa, and established and was Principal 
of the Oltumwa Seminary, which he conducted until 1861, 
when his Al?na Mater conferred upon him the honorary de- 
gree of A. M. In the meantime he was repeatedly elected 
President of the Public School Board of the city. He also 
became interested in the mercantile business, which he con- 
tinued until 1862. Being identified with the Republican 
party, he became concerned in politics, and, in September, 
1862, was appointed by Governor Kirkwood Major of the 
36th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and joined the regiment in 
rendezvous at Keokuk. He was detailed on a Board of 
Court Martial, at St. Louis, Missouri, in October, 1862; 
served on garrison duty at Fort Pickering, Memphis, Ten- 
nessee, until January, 1863 ; also at Fort Curtis, Helena, 
Arkansas, until February, 1863, when he entered the Thir- 
teenth Army Corps, under Major-General McClernand, in 
General Grant's command. He was engaged on the Yazoo 
Pass expedition, and participated in the siege of Vicks- 
burg until the assault on Fort Pemberton, when he was so 
severely injured that he was forced to resign his commis- 
sion, in June, 1863. He then relumed to Oltumwa, and, 
from 1863 to 1S69, was occupied in speculation in Iowa, 
Pennsylvania and Kansas. In 1864, he was elected by the 
Iowa Legislature, in joint session, one of the Regents of 
the Iowa State University, and filled the trust until 1S67. 
He removed to W.ashington in 1S69, and was appointed, 
in December, Second Assistant Examiner in the United 
States Patent Office, and assigned to the Division of 
Hydraulics and Pneumatics. Having studied law from 
1858 to 1861, he graduated at the Columbian College Law 
School, in June, 1870, and was admitted, in October, 1870, 
to the bar of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. 
In J.anuaiy, 1S72, he was promoted to First Assistant Exam- 
iner, and assigned to the Division of Mechanical Engi- 
neering; in June, 1872, he became Principal Examiner, 
and was placed in charge of the Division of Railroad Roll- 
ing Stock, Traction Vehicles, and Locomotive Engineering. 



RANKLIN, JOHN, Colonel in the Revolutionary 
Army, one of the earliest settlers in Connecticut, 
was born in Canaan, Litchfield county, Con- 
necticut, in the middle of the last century. In 
1774, he removed to Plymouth, Luzerne county, 
Pennsylvania, bringing with him his wife and 
and, in all probability, accompanied by his 
brothers, one of whom, in the following year, was slain at 
the battle of Nanticoke. Removing thence in the spring 




S40 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



of 1775, lie peiietialed alone into the wilderness, and on 
the banks of Huntington creek, now embraced within the 
township of that name, erected his log cabin, cleared several 
acres of ground, and sowed them with grain. Later, he 
participated actively in Plunket's battle ; and, at the head 
of his company, under the famous Sullivan, fought valiantly 
!igainst those who had slain his friends and relatives on the 
Wyoming battle-field. Early in 1776, his wife and family 
removed to the hut which he had prepared for them ; and 
from that time until he was arrested by the Tories and im- 
prisoned at Philadelphia, he resided with them at Hunting- 
ton creek, surrounded by hostile Indians and Royalists. 
The following short extract from Miner's History presents 
a characteristic view of his mode of life during this momen- 
tous period : " Not long after his removal to Wyoming, his 
wife died, leaving three small children, one an infant of a 
week old. Having no person to take care of them, he de- 
termined to place them in charge of his kind friends in 
Canaan. Harnessing a horse to a little cart, he put in the 
three children, tied a cow by the horns to follow, and drove 
on, having a cup in which, as occasion required, he milked 
the cow and fed the babe. Thus he travelled the rough 
way, more than two hundred miles, in safety, exhibiting all 
the patience and tenderness that might be expected from a 
mother." He was opposed to accepting the confirming law 
of 1787 ; and, during a me-iiing held at Wilkesbarre, Jude 
IloUenback, wlio was an ardent partisan of this measure, 
angered by his persistent refusals to advocate the advisa- 
bility of the law, struck him with a loaded whip. Ulti- 
mately, however, his opinions prevailed and were accepted 
as correct and just by the majority of those interested in 
the application and operation of that law. When Patterson 
expelled the Connecticut people from the valley, in 1784, 
he was advancing in his canoe to meet Congress at Anna- 
polis ; upon the return of the patriots they encamped in 
Kingston, on the banks of Abraham's creek, where they 
erected four strong log structures for both occupation and 
defence. When Armstrong attacked this position he met 
with a strong resistance, and was compelled to retreat ; on 
this occasion, William Jackson, an intimate and valued 
friend of Franklin, was severely wounded ; seeing this, the 
latter, then Captain and Commander of the fortification, 
took upon himself an oath full of pathos and solemnity : 
" I will never lay down my arms until death shall arrest 
my hand, or Patterson and Armstrong be expelled from 
Wyoming, the people restored to their rights of possession, 
and a legal trial guaranteed to every citizen by the Consti- 
tution, by justice, and by law." Later, at " a parade on 
Shawnee," he was unanimously appointed Colonel of the 
regiment, and became one of the most admired and trusted 
leaders of the Revolutionary heroes. The general scope 
and tenor of the compromising law of 1799 owed their 
origin to his efforts ; and, as a member of ihe General As- 
sembly of that year, he evinced admirable qualities of mind 
and heart. For the four succeeding Assemblies, terminat- 



ing in 1S03, he was also one of the most active and fearless 
members. Throughout the eventful period elapsing be- 
tween 1774 and 1831, when he died at the age of eighty- 
two years, he was ever prominent as a gifted and dauntless 
exponent and defender of American liberties and rights ; 
possessing an amiable and generous heart, he was easily 
stirred to wrath by wrong and oppression ; and his chronicle 
as settler, soldier and official, is filled with deeds of noble- 
ness and loyalty and unfailing courage. His was an acute 
and capacious intellect, and in the exercise of its unerring 
faculties, when exposing the evil hidden in the fallacies of 
the Trenton Decree, dealt a death-blow to trickery and cor- 
ruption. Almost entirely a self-educated man, his natural 
abilities, developed by stirring experience and keen powers 
of observation daily exercised, made him more than a 
match for some of the shrewdest men of his time. In 
those memorable days, the Legislative body met at Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania, and along the dangerous and rugged 
route leading ihither from his home Colonel Franklin's tall 
and muscular figure was constantly looked for by the ad- 
miring inhabitants, who would greet him with smiles and 
cheers. Throughout Pennsylvania and Connecticut he was 
renowned as " the Great Yankee Hero," invincible on the 
field and in the Assembly. 



'^'""ONES, ISAAC, President of the Real Estate -Saving 
Bank of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Steel 
Manufacturer, was born in Cardigan Spire, South 
Wales, Januaiy 25th, 1S07. His parents were 
natives of South Wales, and possessed the affec- 
tion and admiration of a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. His earlier education was acquired 
abroad, and, in October, 1S30, while in his twenty-fourth 
year, he left his native country and came to the United 
States. Two years later, in August, 1S32, he visited Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania, and ultimately selected that city as a 
permanent abiding place. Here he began and completed 
a more thorough course of studies, and learned the trade 
of machinist. While occupied in this manner, he evinceil 
those powers of quick perception, the shrewd perseverance, 
and the technical ingenuity, by vi hose means he has since 
acquired such a large share of fame and fortune. In 1S40, 
being at this date thirty-three years of age, he began the 
manufacturing of steel ; and was engaged in this business 
in Pittsburgh until 1865. During this time he was emi- 
nently successful in the production of all gi'ades of the finest 
quality, and was indefatigable in his efforts to manufacture 
an article which should eclipse the merits of every other ; 
to achieve this desirable and important end, it was necessary 
to exercise the closest attention, the minutest research, and 
the most patient laboriousness ; in none of these required 
qualifications was he deficient, and in due time his com- 
mendable efforts met with a signal and deserved success. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



S4I 



The indirect, and also direct good, arising from such ope- 
rations is scarcely appreciable by those unacquainted with 
the more important generalities and details of the steel 
manufacturing industry ; but from those who are in a posi- 
tion which enables them to judge rightly concerning the 
value of his enterprise and experience, he will receive high 
praise and grateful commendation. For sixteen years he 
was a member of the City Council ; and of one branch was 
chosen President. While acting in this latter responsible 
capacity, his actions and deportment were marked by great 
ability and firmness. He was a member of the Pittsburgh 
Board for several years, also President of the Pittsburgh & 
Steubenville Railroad Company. For many years he was 
on the Board of Directors of the National Bank, and for the 
past twelve years has acted as the President of the Real 
Estate Savings Bank of Pittsburgh. In the discharge of 
the various functions and manifold duties attached to these 
positions, he has ever distinguished himself by his unde- 
viating integrity and efficient administration ; while in his 
relations with all, whether as business man, official, or 
citizen, his record is without stain or blemish. He is an 
able and active mover in matters conducive to improvement 
in affaire moral, educational and political ; and interests 
himself generously in the welfare of the poor and deserving. 



'OUSTON, GEORGE PORTER, Captain and 
Brevet Major of Marines, United States Navy, 
was born at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, September 
I2th, 1839. His father was Dr. Samuel A. 
Houston, who was for many years an Examiner 
in the .Auditor's Office for the Post-Office Depart- 
ment at Washington. His mother was a Miss Humes, of 
Lancaster, a niece of ex-Governor George Porter — after 
whom the Captain was named — and on both sides his family 
was descended from old families of the Scotch Covenanter 
immigration. He was educated at various private schools 
and seminaries until 1857, when, under orders of Secretary 
of the Navy, Toucy, he entered the Washington Navy Yard 
to study naval engineering. After one year of study, he 
passed his examination and was appointed Third Assistant 
Engineer in May, 1858. He was attached to the frigate 
" Minnesota," and made a cruise in that vessel in the East 
Indies, when, his health failing, he resigned and returned 
home in February, i860. October 23d, i860, he was ap- 
pointed by President Buchanan Second Lieutenant of Ma- 
rines, and was ordered to duty at head-quarters of the corps, 
at Washington. He remained at this point until April, 
1861, when he was sent ivith a detachment on the sloop 
" Pawnee," under Captain Rowan — now Vice- Admiral — to 
Norfolk, Virginia, and assisted in the destruction of the 
property and stores at that yard, to prevent their falling into 
the hands of the rebels. Returning, he commanded the 
guard at the Washington Navy Yard until May 30th, 1861, 




when he was ordered to the New York yard on the same 
duty. July 1st, 1S61, he was ordered on board the sloop- 
of-war "Jamestown," at Philadelphia; sailed thence to 
Charleston for orders, and after remaining off Savannah till 
August, was sent to Fernandina, Florida, where the ship 
remained until October, 1861. During this time he parti- 
cipated in a boat expedition which chased, captured and 
destroyed the barque " Alvarado " — a prize of the rebel 
cruiser "Jeff. Davis" — under the heavy fire of the rebel 
batteries. He returned North in the "Jamestown," and 
was thence ordered, in the same vessel, on blockade, off 
Wilmington, North Carolina. He remained on this station 
until May, 1862, when he returned North, and in June fol- 
lowing was detached and ordered to the head-quarters at 
Washington, to instruct the newly-appointed officers of his 
corps. In the meantime, September ist, 1861, he had been 
.promoted First Lieutenant. In September, 1S62, he was 
ordered to Admiral Wilkes' Flying Squadron, on board the 
flag-ship " Wachusett,' and was in the West Indies in 
chase of rebel cruisers until July, 1863. During this 
period, in December, 1S62, a slaver was discovered at Mu- 
heures, Mexico, which was about being sold to the rebels ; 
Admiral Wilkes sent Houston on board with fifteen ma- 
rines, and these obtained possession of the vessel and as- 
sisted the Lieutenant, who got the ship under weigh and 
out of port, when she was surrendered formally by Lieuten- 
ant Houston to the Admiral as a prize off the coast of Yu- 
catan. He was next, in August, 1863, sent to the Navy 
Yard at Pensacola, Florida; while there, he commanded in 
several expeditions up the Blackwater and the Escambia 
rivers, and destroyed the principal salt and other inijiortant 
works of the rebels. In December, 1863, he was invalided 
home to Philadelphia from the effects of yellow fever, and, 
in January, 1S64, was ordered to the sloop-of-war " Brook- 
lyn," Captain Alden. He was promoted Captain, February 
6th, 1S64. The " Brooklyn" was sent, in May, 1S64, to 
the blockading fleet off Mobile, and he participated in the 
fights with the rebel iron-clad ram "Tennessee," the 
" Selma," the bombardment and capture of Forts Morgan 
and Gaines, from August 5th to August 23d, 1864. During 
these fights the " Brooklyn " was struck fifty-six times, re- 
ducing her almost to a wreck, and she was sent North for 
repairs. In October, 1S64, the " Brooklyn " joined Admi-' 
ral Porter's fleet in Hampton Roads, and participated in 
the attacks on Fort Fisher, December 24th and 25th, 1864, 
and in the attack and capture, January 13th, 14th and isth, 
1865. He was detached February 1st, 1865, and ordered 
to the New York barracks, and in May following to the 
temporary command at the Philadelphia barracks. In 
August, lS65,hewas ordered to the head-quarters at Wash- 
ington, and in October, on recruiting duty at Philadelphia. 
From here, in June, 1867, he was ordered to the frigate 
" Minnesota," Commodore Alden commanding, on a spe- 
cial cruise to Europe, which lasted until February, 1868, 
when lie was detached and sent to the New York Navy 



542 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXVCLOP.-EDIA. 



Yard. December 30th, 1S69, he was ordered to command 
the marines on the Darien Canal Exploring Expedition, 
imder Commander T. O. Selfridge, to determine available 
canal routes, and was detached in October, 1870, and sent 
to the receiving ship " Vermont," at New York. In Sep- 
tember, 1 87 1, he was ordered to command the marines of 
the European Squadron, on board the frigate " Wal)ash," 
and returned to the United States in August, 1873. In the 
following November, he was ordered to the command of 
the Marine Guard at the Washington Navy Yard, where 
he was stationed in August, 1874. 



perfoiTnance of its onerous and important duties, evinced 
great ability, firmness and conscientious impartiality. He 
was an influential member of the first Examining Board 
organized by his predecessor, Surgeon-General Smith. 
Subsequently, his unequalled reports as Surgeon-General 
of the State were taken by the Surgeon-General of Ohio as 
a model for his reports, and their style and method were 
copied throughout. Not only did he accomplish faithfully 
the ordinary routine of duties attached to that position, but, 
in many and various ways, systematized 'and improved the 
scope of its management and regulation. After his return 
. to Pittsburgh, he at once entered upon a laborious and re- 
mmieralive practice, which has, up to the present time, been 
conStmitiy thriving and increasing in extent. While en- 
gaged^'in the field or hospital, he was distinguished for his 
erttfre abif^ation of self in the performance of trying and 
p^rikiVs 'dnlies, for his indefatigable endeavors to resusci- 
iSte life (Tying and restore to health and strength those 
^irickeivijliwh by disease or wounds, and for his exhaustless 
•If-bos^ession and heroism when environed by the most 
imiihiSent danger, arising from hostile foes or the subtle 
his scholarly attainments and able admini?tratroir: H'el poi?i)ip^ plague mid fever. On several occasions he 
subsequently studied medicine in Lexin_glotr,' Kentucky;! rl-ke^-lil to save ttie lives of others — suffering and 

. ,ind in no instance would he consent to 
If-frotn- his post at the hour of danger, or 




> ING, JAMES, M. D., Physician, was born in Bed-: 
ford county, Pennsylvania, Januaiy iSlh, 1816'. 
His father was John King, ironmaster-, a very, 
prominent and influential citizen and business 
man. His education was acquire'd aTTthie P.c-fl|', ,.,-1 
Classical and Mathematical Atadern^, tin 
sided over by the Rev. Boynard R. Hall, well kli<n\ 11 in 



under the guidance of Dr. Benjamin ^^K^Diidley'lfip Hi 
tinguished American Lithotomist antV Pftffessi 



iVstitution, I 

i-;' degree i 

liiclice of+i 

111 1S44 



and Surgery in the Pennsylvaiii."! f'rtn', 
completion of a course of sttidio^ 
graduated, and, March 14th,' 183^ 
medicine. He immediately c'ofn'mi 
profession in Ilollidaysburg, Peiinsyhn 
ever, he moved thence to Washini»ton, Pennsylvania, wlrffe 
he resided for about six years, securing a^'mrge ancT llitrrf- 
tive practice; during a portion of the time passed tTi'ere,' he 
was Lecturer, in the College of Washington, on Anatomy, 
Physiology and Hygiene. His health being undermined 
by a severe attack of fever, he resigned his chair in the 
institution, and in 1850 removed to Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- 
vania. Until the breaking out of the Civil War, he prac- 
tised his profession in that city; then, influenced by ardent 
patriotic motives, entered the service of the United St.ites 
as a Surgeon. He was successively Surgeon at Camp 
Curtin, Division Surgeon of the State, and Medical Director 
of the Pennsylvania Reserves, a position which he occupied 
during the major portion of the time elapsing between the 
date of their mustering in to co-operate with the Govern- 
ment forces and the occurrence of the battle of Antietam. 
He participated actively in all their battles and operations 
up to that time, when, at the request of Governor Curlin, 
he was mustered out of the United Slates service, in order 
to take the position of Surgeon-General of the State. This 
honor.able and responsible office he held until August 1st, 
1864, when he resigned, desiring to resume his private 
practice at Pittsburgh. As Surgeon-General, he was 
charged with the examination of the medical oflicers sent 
by the Slate into the field during that period, and, in the 



lisdbVcd 
T^ent -himsell 

'ire to a . ].»lace oC safety when his services were in any 
>.in'._ __In civU life, he is honored for his 
larship'And intimate knowledge of the surgi- 
I al al^sj; and for the innate and courteous 
nioiicsty \\ nich prevents many from fully appreciating the 
\t-ei^liV'and "worth of his natural talents and acquired 
aKtfties. " Apart from his acquaintance with professional 
sifbjects, he is well versed in the various departments of 
general literature ; is a keen and competent critic when 
pressed for his thoughts and opinions; and is endowed 
with unusual perceptive and discriminative powers. He is 
one of the most widely-known and venerated practitioners 
and citizens of Pittsburgh, and is ever willing to assist and 
forward, by his means and influence, all charitable and 
benevolent undertakings. Although always actuated by a 
fervid loyalty and love of country, he has never sought 
public ofiice or political preferment, and repeatedly has 
refused to altow himself to be drawn into prominence as a 
politician. 



PENCE R, S. SHELDON, Manufacturer, was 
born in Hartford county, Connecticut, Septem- 
ber 15th, 1825. His father, Simson Spencer, 
of English descent, was a well-known farmer of 
that section, who also interested himself largely 
in commercial transactions. Fully alive to the 
requirements of the age, the father afforded the son eveiy 
facility for the acquirement of a thorough education. After 
enjoying the advantages of the common schools and 





c:/a<i' . // /V ty ^-^/6.J^. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



543 



academies of his native counly, he entered, at the age of 
fouiteen, a cotton-mill in Chicopee, Massachusetts, as lap- 
boy. In this position he continued during the summer 
months of each year, attending school in the winter, until 
he attained his majority. Thoroughly versed in every 
detail of his business, he was offered at that time the post 
of Assistant Overseer of the Conestoga Colton-Mills, 
located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ■ He accepted the 
position, and fully met the requirements thereof until the 
year 1851, at which date he ranked as General Superin- 
tendent. About that time a second mill was built by the 
company, and he was appointed Jlesident Agent, General 
Superintendent and Treasurer of the entire works. These 
combined offices he still continues to hold, and so thor- 
oughly docs he understand and satisfactorily discharge the 
duties pertaining to his position, that the affairs of the entire 
interest are committed almost exclusively to his hands. 
His rule over the small army of employes under his charge 
is parental in its kindness, just consideration and firmness. 
He has erected upon the grounds of the company a large 
building, and established therein an evening school and a 
lecture and reading-room, all free to the working people 
under his supervision. While the establishment of this in- 
stitution would fully exhibit the character of his heart, his 
interest in public affairs renders him still more marked as 
an enterprising, patriotic and philanthropic citizen. He 
was a leading spirit in the construction of the Lancaster 
Agricultural Park ; is a Director in the Ocean Beach Asso- 
ciation of New Jersey and of the Lancaster Hotel Com- 
pany; and is also a Vice-President of the Pennsylvania 
State Agricultural Society. During the late Civil War, he 
aided by every means in his power to retain inviolate the 
supremacy of the Union. The conspicuous position which 
he occupies in society has frequently caused him to be 
urged to accept public office, but he has persistently 
declined. He was niarrietl, in 1851, to a daughter of 
Jacob Bertz, of Lancaster, and after her death, in 1863, he 
was united to a daughter of Jacob Foltz, of the same city. 



UTTON, RHODES STANSBURY, A.M., M. D., 
Physician, was born July Sth, 1S4I, at Indiana, 
Pennsylvania. His father, one of the most promi- 
nent business men of the State, was ambitious 
that his son should follow his footsteps in life. 
His mother, a woman of fine intellectual culture 
and Scottish ancestiy, designed him for a profession. At 
the age of fifteen he was placed in Tuscarora Academy, 
from whence he entered the Sophomore class of Jefferson 
College, at Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, and graduated at 
the Commencement, in July, 1862, receiving the degree 
of A, B. In October, 1862, he placed himself under the 
tutorage of Professor Agnew, and graduated from the 
L'niversity of Pennsylvania in the spring of 1S65, receiving 





the degree of M. D. Immediately he was chosen one cf 
the Resident Physicians of Blockley Hospital, West Phila- 
delphia, which position he filled for se.ven months, when 
he resigned and began the teaching of anatomy to medical 
students. He enjoyed tlie patronage of many students, 
lecturing in the Philadelphia School of Anatomy during 
the winter of 1865-66 and summer and fall of 1866. 
During the latter year Washington and Jefferson College 
bestowed upon him the degree of A. M. A severe attack of 
illness, the result of overwork, compelled him to relinquish 
his teaching, in which he was succeeded by Dr. William 
Keen. In the spring of the following year, having re- 
covered health and married the youngest daughter of James 
McCullough, of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, he began the 
practice of his profession in Pittsburgh, where he has since 
remained, and has attained a high position in his profession. 
He is a member of the Allegheny County Medical Society, 
State Medical Society, and American Medical Association. 



ERN, PETER, Merchant, was born in Gerniar.y, 
in 1830. His father dying when he was but 
four years of age, his mother emigrated to this 
counti-y the following year, and settled in Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania. Until he had attained his twelfth 
year, he regularly attended the day sessions of a German 
school in this city, learning, meanwhile, to speak English 
with a tolerable degree of fluency. For two weeks he at- 
tended also the day sessions of an English school, and was 
then apprenticed to learn the moulding trade. In this 
business he w.is occupied until iS56, and during that lime 
was noted for the neatness and elegance of his work. In 
this year he abandoned his original vocation, and became 
engaged on his own account in the tobacco business, in 
which he met with much success. In 1S68, he was elected . 
to the Common Council, acting creditably in this capacity 
for one year; he was afterward re-elected for three terms, 
and throughout this time was distinguished as a prominent, 
active and influential member, also as a wise and loyal 
ofiicial, who, while refusing to attach himself to any par- 
ticular party, opposed inflexibly every measure and move- 
ment which he deemed might be harmful or prejudicial to 
the interests and welfare of the general community. When 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company secured the passage 
of a bill giving to it the right of Grant and Washington 
streets, Pittsburgh, he inserted therein a clause reserving to 
the city the right to erect one or more inclined plane rail- 
road, for the convenience of citizens residing on the hill ; 
this clause, highly important in its scope and nature, was 
adopted, and for his foresight and .shrewdness in originating 
it he deserves great praise. He is an active and earnest 
mover in all matters pertaining to the commercial and 
political interests of his adopted city, and is invariably 
among the foremost of those whose aim is to ameliorate 
the condition of the poorer cl.isses, to improve the resources 



544 



BIOGRArillCAL EN'CVCLOP.EDIA. 




of the artisaii, niul to secure to all a fair share of educational 
ailvantasjcs. lii public, as in private life, his distinguish- 
ing qualities have been uprightness, undevialing integrity, 
close attention to the matter in hand, and indomitable 
perseverance in effecting the desired object. He was 
married, in 1853, to Agatha Zimmerman, daughter of the 
late Joseph Zimmerman, who participated actively in 
the Mexican War and was a prominent and influential 
citizen of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 



J^UNNING, ABRAM B., Merchant, was born in 
Sussex county, New Jersey, March 21st, 1821. 
His father was Gilbert Dunning, a well-known 
farmer and agriculturist ; his mother was Catha- 
rine Beemer. His primary education was gained 
in the common county schools of his native 
place; subsequently, he entered upon a more thorough 
course of studies at the Wyoming .Seminaiy, in Kingston, 
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, an institution presided over 
by Reuben Nelson, noted for his scholarly attainments, 
and who at present has charge of the Methodist Book Store 
in New York. He fii-st engaged in business in the above- 
named city with the diy goods firm of I. G. Phelps & Co., 
remaining with them for about eighteen months. At the 
expiration of this time, he returned to Luzerne county, and 
opened on his own account, in Providence, a dry goods 
and general country store, meeting with much success.' 
Two years later, he associated with him in partnership W. 
W. Winton, this association continuing in existence until 
1855. In the fall of 1S52, he was elected to the Legisla- 
ture on the Democratic ticket, ser\'ing a full term in the 
House. At that time the question of the division of Lu- 
zerne county occasioned in the Legislature a severe and 
prolonged struggle and great excitement. Being warmly 
interested in the question at issue, he became the champion 
of the new county people, and succeeded in passing the 
bill through the House ; but later, its design and scope 
were frustrated by Charles R. Buckalew in the Senate, 
and ultimately, through the exertions of this Senator, its 
adoption was prevented. In the .spring of 1858, he re- 
moved to Dunning, situated about ten miles below Scran- 
ton, the town being named in his honor. In that locality 
he has since been extensively engaged in lumbering, and 
also in general merchandising. During his term in the 
Legislature, he served on the Railroad Committee and on 
the Committee on New Counties. lie was a member 
of the Constitution.al Convention, in 1872, and while 
acting in this capacity evinted much ability, integrity and 
indefatigable perseverance. Lie is a widely-known and 
highly-respected citizen of Scranton, and warmly interested 
in the speedy and profitable development of the rich 
resources of the State ; in all public movements tending 




to promote the welfare of the general communily and 
the advancement of its interests he is an active and able 
worker. He was married, in 1848, to Mahola Heemans. 



CRANTON, HON. GEORGE W., Iron Manu- 
facturer, was born in Madison, Connecticut, May 
nth, 1811. He is descended from John Scran- 
ton, who was one of the colony which settled in 
New Haven in 1638. His family w,as distin- 
guished in the French and Revolutionaiy Wars, 
many of its members having been prominent commissioned 
officers. His early education was obtained in the common 
schools, and subsequently rendered more thorough by a 
two years' course of studies, begun and completed in Lee's 
Academy. In 1828, he moved to Belvidere, New Jersey, 
where he hired himself as a teamster, receiving for his ser- 
vices eight dollars per month. His perseverance, industiy 
and integrity soon brought him into notice, and he engaged 
as a clerk in the store of Judge Kinney, with whom he was 
ultimately associated as partner. In 1835, he became in- 
terested in agricultural pursuits, and followed this vocation 
until 1S39. At this date, and in partnership with his 
brother, .Selden Scranton, he purchased the lease and stock 
of Oxford Furnace, New Jersey ; and, notwithstanding the 
season of great embarrassment which followed the memo- 
rable financial crash of 1S37, they met with much success 
in this venture. In 1839, William Henry purchased a 
large tract of land in the Lackawanna Valley, including 
what was called Slocum Hollow, now the site of the city 
of Scranton. He was unable to comply with the conditions 
of the purchase, and the brothers Scranton, impressed with 
the evident natural advantages for the manufacture of iron 
possessed by this locality, entered, with other parlies, in 
May, 1840, into a contract for the properly. The ]iractica- 
bility of sinelting ore by means of anthrr.cite coal was still 
to be successfully proven, and George W. Scranton deter- 
mined to solve the problem with little delay. The first 
experiment, made in 1841, was a failure; the second was 
not more successful; but, in January, 1S42, a successful 
blast was accomplished. Subsequently, a fruitless effort 
to manufacture bar-iron, to be converted into nails, was suc- 
ceeded by the project of a rolling-mill for the manufacture 
of railroad iron. Being in an embarrassed financial con- 
dition .It this date, they contracted to furnish rails for the 
New York & Erie Railroad at a lower rate than they could 
be procured elsewhere, upon the condition that the road 
would advance funds to enable them to proceed wilh their 
manufacture. Eminent success crowned these indefati- 
gable efforts, and the enterprise originated by George W. 
Scranton soon developed itself into a firmly established 
and highly lucrative business. Later, his ulterior projects 
were more plainly e.\hibited ; and it became evident that 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.IiDIA. 



545 



he proposed to change and develop the entire business 
interests of this section of Pennsylvania, to concentrate out- 
side capital in the Lackawanna Valley, to create outlets by 
railway east with North and South, and to found a pros- 
perous and industrious city; in all these projects he has 
succeeded, and lives to behold the wonderful result of his 
labore and inexhaustible enterprise. Althouj^h an interested 
student of political economy, and, at one time, an Old-line 
Whig, he has never devoted much lime or attention to the 
manoeuvres of political factions. But he was an earnest 
advocate for protection to home industry, and on this issue 
was sent to Congress, in 185S, by a majority of 3700; this 
from a district polling ordinarily 2000 Democratic majority. 
Throughout that term, he constantly based his actions upon 
the principle which secured his election, and upon its expi- 
ration, was elected a second time. In breadth and persis- 
tency of purpose, in shrewd foresight and high capacity, in 
fertility of re-ource and in powers of al)Ie administration, 
his equal is rarely to be met with. From obscurity and 
comparative poverty, he has risen to be one of the wealthiest 
and most widely-known men in the countiy, while the city 
which he founded is famous for its vast manufacturing 
interests and the industrious character of its inhabitants. 
He was married, on the 2ist of January, 1S35, to Jane 
Hiles, of Belvidcre, New Jersey. 




/ 



^^VULINGTON, HON. WILLIAM, M. D., LL. D., 
was born in Binningham township, Chester county, 
April 2Sth, 1782. He was the eldest son of 
Edward and Hannah (Townsend) Darlington, 
and was descended from ancestors, each branch 
of w'lich, as far back as can be traced, was an 
unmixed race of English Quakers. In his early life he 
was engaged in agricultural pursuits ; but at tlie age of 
twenty he entered on the study of medicine, and graduated 
at the University of Pennsylvania, in 1S04. He then com- 
menced the practice of his profession in his native county, 
and soon took a leading position, which he maintained 
until he relinquished its duties. During his leisure hours 
he acquired a knowledge of the French language, and 
subsequently he became acquainted with the Latin, Span- 
ish, and German. In 1806— '7, as Surgeon to air East India 
merchantman, he made a voyage to Calcutta. A sketch 
of the observations made during this voyage was published 
in the form of familiar letters in the thirteenth and four- 
teenth volumes of the AnalectU Magazine. In iSoS, he 
married Catharine, a daughter of General John Lacey, of 
New Jersey, an officer, who had served with credit and abil- 
ity in the Revolutionary War. In the War of 1S12, he was 
Major of a B.att.ilion, and served in that position until the 
Corps was disbanded. He wai a member of the Fourteenth, 
Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Congress, and took an active 
part in the discussions to which the celebrated Missouri 
69 



question gave rise, ranking himself with those who were 
desirous of restricting slavery. He was a member of the 
first Board of Canal Commissioners, in Pennsylvania, and 
served two years, the last of which he was President of the 
Board, and he was Prothonotaiy of the Courts of Chester 
county three years. In 1826, he assisted in organizing the 
Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science, of which in- 
stitution he was President from its origin ; and he was also 
active in forming the Medical .Society of Chester County, 
over which he presided twenty-five years. In 1826, he 
published a work entitled, ]-lornla Cestrica, being a cata- 
logue of plants growing around West Chester, Pennsylvania. 
In 1830, lie was elected President of the Bank of Chester 
County — of which institution he had been a Director almost 
ever since its establishment, in 1814 — and held that position 
until his death, a period of thirty-three years. In 1S37, he 
published Flora Cestrica, a description of the flowering 
plants of Chester county, which was a new edition of his 
former work, much enlarged and improved. It was ar- 
ranged according to the Linnoean system. A third edition 
appeared in 1853, revised and reconstructed according to 
the natural method. This is regarded as one of the most 
complete local Floras extant. In 1843, he gave to the 
world a volume entitled, Reliqiiitc BaldiuiniaHic, containing 
selections from the correspondence, with notes and a bio- 
graphical sketch of the late Dr. William Baldwin, a native 
of Chester county, who had been passionately devoted to 
the science of Botany. In 1847, his Agricultural Botany, 
descriptive of weeds and useful plants, was published ; it 
has been enlarged in subsequent editions. In 1849, ''^ 
collected and published the correspondence of Humphrey 
Marshall, of Chester county, and John Bartram, of Phila- 
delphia, the pioneers of Botany in Pennsylvania, together 
with biographical sketches, under the title of Memorials 
of Bartram and Marshall. A History of West Chester, in- 
cluding an interesting and valuable paper on the famous 
Mason and Dixon's Z/«£', was written by him and pub- 
lished in the West Chester Directory for 1857. In 1853, 
he puljlished a volume, entitled, Cesqui-Centennial Gather- 
ing of the Clan Darlington, containing the proceedings 
of a meeting of the Darlington family at the old ancestral 
mansion, near West Cliester, and a genealogical account 
of the descendants of Abraham Darlington, the emigrant 
ancestor. The last work in which he engaged was, Nota: 
Ccstricnses, or notices of Chester county men and events — 
the joint production of himself and his friend, J. Smith 
Futhey, each contributing a ]5ortion thereof. It a]5peared in 
numbers, in a county newspaper, and has not yet been pub- 
lished in book form. He was also the author of numerous 
literary addresses and scientific dissertations, delivered be- 
fore bodies of that character, many of which were printed. 
His stylelwas easy, plain, and flowing, mingling wit and 
humor with knowledge and instruction. Besides the fore- 
going, in connection with others, he was engaged in the 
composition of a work descriptive of the objects of the 



546 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLnr.EDIA. 



Natural History of Chester County, in all its branches. His 
own portion of it is completetl and ready for the press. 
He was a man both of thought and action, of books and 
deeds, and he speftt a busy life in disseminating mforma- 
tion among the masses of the people. His constant desire 
was to educate the public mind to a love of literary and 
scientific pursuits; and he, therefore, lost no opportunity 
of communicating his own zeal to the young around him. 
He received the degree of Doctor of Laws, from Yale Col- 
lege, in 1S48, and that of Doctor of Thysical Science, 
from Dickinson College, in 1855; and he was a member 
of more than forty literary and scientific societies, among 
which may be mentioned the American Philosophical 
Society of Philadelphia, and Iho Botanical Society of the 
Netherlands, at Leyden. His death occurred April 23d, 
1863. He died as he lived, a Christian gentleman of great 
purity and simplicity of character, whose life was unstained 
by a single mean, ungenerous, or dishonorable action. He 
was a consistent member of the Episcopal Church. His 
extensive herbarium of plants, and his scientific works, he 
bequeathed to the Chester County Cabinet of Natural 
Science. The following is his epitaph, written by himself 
twenty years before his death : "Plan/a: Ceslrienses, qiias 
dilexit alijiie illustrainl, super ttimultim ejus semper Jlor- 
eanl!" (The plants of Chester, which he loved and 
described, may they blossom forever above his tomb.) 



»ORD, THOMAS, Merchant, was born in Yorkshire, 
England, July 20th, :826. His parents were W. 
Ford and Jane Ireland, both of unmixed English 
extraction, and well known and highly respected 
in their native place. July 4th, 1S29, he came to 
the United States, landing at New York, and 
subsequently remained for some time in Wilkesbarre, Penn- 
sylvania. Thence he moved to Jenkintown, Luzerne 
county, Pennsylvania, and rem.iiued in this place for 
several years; finally, he settled in Piltston, Pennsylvania, 
where he remained until 1849. In his earlier years, he was 
engaged in farm labor, acquiring, meanwhile, the elements 
of an ordinary education in neighboring counti'y schools. 
In 1846, he was employed as Superintendent for John A. 
Lloyd, a prominent coal miner of Pittston, and continued to 
act in this capacity until the spring of 1S48. At this date, 
he associated himself with E. Migh Everitt & Co., leasing 
the Lloyd mine,.nnd also the mercantile pursuits connected 
\\\(h that establishment. In this enterprise he was actively 
occupied until 1S49, when a ch.ange in the form and stand- 
ing of the firm was effected ; he remaining in his original 
position, however, until 1S54, and meeting with great 
success. Subsequently, he became interested in' other and 
different businesses until 1857, wlien he connected himself 
with L. D. Lacoe, who was an insurance agent, and had 
charge of the water-works and gas-works, and was occupied 





also in the conveyancing business; in 1 863, he became his 
successor by purchase, and since has continued to operate 
with much ability and success. At present, he is largely 
interested in the sale of Duponl's gunpowder, and in the 
disposition of that article throughout the neighboring 
counties has acquired extensive and lucrative business 
relations ; he is also interested in the sale of mining and 
illuminating oils. He was married, in 1853, to Ella Stark, 
'of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. He is a prominent and 
influential business man and citizen of Piltston, and is 
widely respected for his energy, his many sterling qualities, 
and uudeviating rectitude. 



ELLOWS, JOSEPH TURVEY, Coal Operator 
and Merchant, was born in Providence township, 
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1S14. His 
father was Benjamin Fellow-s, of England, who 
came to this country when in his infancy; his 
mother was Catharine Turvey. His education 
was acquired in the common schools of his native place, 
and, until 1855, he was engaged in farm labor. For many 
years he was actively occupied in coal operations, but subse- 
quently leased to others all of his coal lands, and devoted 
himself to mercantile pursuits. He is a Director of the 
Second National Bank of Scranton, fulfilling the various 
duties of this position with energy, integrity and ability; 
and, for nine years, was Burgess of Hyde Park, w-here he 
resides at present. On one occasion, he was nominated as 
a candidate for the Legislature, and though failing to secure 
an election, reduced the average Democratic majority from 
three thousand to fifty-six. He is one of the most promi- 
nent and infiuentinl men in this section of our State, and an 
active mover in all matters of jiublic, general and local im- 
portance. As a business man, he has evinced commendable 
enterprise, shrewdness and uprightness; as a public ofiicial, 
has won many commendations for his ability, and firm and 
loyal deportment under all circumstances. He was married, 
in 1835,10 Marietta Pettibone, of Wyoming, who died in 
1871. His present wife is Frances L. Barton, a former 
resident of Corning, New York. 



feAR.^, ISAAC B., Journalist and Postmaster of Erie, 
Pennsylvania, was born at Soudersburg, Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania, October 2Sth, 1S21. His 
parents, Patrick and Mary Gara, were respectively 
of Irish and German descent. His entire schol- 
astic education he received at the common schools 
of Lancaster county. At an early age, he entered the 
printing office of'the Examiner and Herald, jiublished I'V 
Hamersly & Richards, in Lancaster, and here remaineil for 
three years. The establishment being then sold, he became 




BIOCRArillCAL ENCVCLOP/^EDIA. 



547 



Tree, and, at the age of nineteen, started alone in the world 
to battle for fortune. Movinj; from city to city, he worked 
at his trade, first in Philadelphia, then in LocUhaven, and 
finally reached Galena, Illinois, where he remained for nine 
months, and where, though but twenty-two years of age — 
so highly did his employer estimate his talent and ability — 
he was made Assistant Editor of a semi- weekly paper, called 
the Galena Gazelle. R--turning to Lancaster, he pursued 
his profession for some time, but, in September, 1S46, re- 
moved to Erie, Pennsylvania. Here he became associated 
with the Hon. Joseph M. Sterrett in the publication of the 
Jirie Weclily Gazelle, of which he was the Editor-in-Chief 
until May, 1865. Originally an advocate of the principles 
of the Whig party, the paper, in 1S56, at the formation of 
the Republican organization, became its organ, and was 
recognized as such throughout the county. He warmly, 
through his paper, urged the claims of John C. Fremont, in 
1S60, and assisted materially in the campaign which made 
Abraham Lincoln President. He was an outspoken and 
energetic supporter of the Union during the late Civil War, 
and was appointed to various positions for the increase of 
the military forces. He served as Marshal for Erie county, 
previous to the draft, by appointment of the Governor. In 
January, 1S67, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, under Governor Gear)', 
and served in this capacity for two years and three months. 
He then resigned, in order to assume charge of the Erie 
Post-Office, which position was tendered him without soli- 
citation, in May, 1S69, and to which he was re-appointed 
in 1873. He was married, in October, 1853, to Calestea 
Ingersoll, of Erie, Pennsylvania, a lady of superior qualifi- 
cations and possessed of great artistic abili:y. He is a 
Trustee of the Erie Academy, one of the Gtate Trustees of 
the Normal School of Edinborou^h, and, by appointment 
of the Governor, a Trustee of the Marine Hospital. He is 
a patriotic, high-minded citizen and official, who possesses 
the confidence and respect of all who know him. 



;R0XT, WILLIAM L., Real E,tate Operator, 
was born in Washington, Washington county. Pa., 
May iSth, 1S3S. His parents were Henry and 
Mary Duront, of French extraction. His early 
education was acquired in his native jalace, and, 
upon the completion of his course of studies, he 
became engaged in school-teaching, and continued to oc- 
cupy himself in this vocation for seven consecutive years. 
During this time, he neglected no opportunity to add to his 
own store of knowledge, and through his perseverance and 
studiousness acquired a large fund of solid and scholarly 
attainments. June l8th, 1S62, he became engaged in the 
service of the L^nited States, enlisting in the II2th Regi- 
ment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. W'hile acting in this 
cajjacitv, he was noted for his calm judgment, his fearless 



loyally and his inflexible integrity. In 1 87 1, he entered 
into the real estate business, and since that time has been 
actively occupied in its development. Although devoted 
to the welfare and progress of his countiy, he has at all 
times, and under all cucumstances, manifested an undis- 
guised aversion to the tumults and agitations attending pub- 
lic and political life. Unwilling to enroll himself as a par- 
tisan or ally of any faction or party, he confines his atten- 
tion exclusively to the careful and able fulfilment of his or- 
dinary duties, and in this finds pleasure and contentment. 
In his operations in real estate, he evinces rare skill and 
intimate knowledge of the business in all its ramifications 
and minutiae, and not seldom has been cited as one of the 
most efficient and trustworthy men in Pittsburgh. He is 
warmly interested in movements, public and private, whose 
ultimate ends may secure the aggrandizement of his country, 
the rapid development of its resources, and the advance- 
ment of its people ; and wherever generous enterprise, or 
disinterested assistance, is needed, he is never backward or 
reluctant. As a business man, he has won the entire con- 
fidence and respect of an extensive circle of clients ; and as 
a citizen, apart from politics, is one of the most prominent 
and influential men in Pitl^burizh. 



JACOB R., Mechanic, Canker, etc., was 
born in Manheim, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 
vania, September 17th, 1S09. His ancestors 
were of German descent, and early settlers in the 
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, removing to 
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, about the time 
of the Revolutionary War. His educational advantages 
were of the most limited character, his knowledge being 
self-acquired. In his ninth year he began life as a work- 
boy on a farm, and continued thus to laijor until he arrived 
at the age of eighteen, when he was apprenticed to Heniy 
D. Huff', of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to learn the trade of a 
coppersmith. In 1S30, upon attaining his majority, he went 
to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and afterwards, in December 
of the same year, to Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, working as 
a journeyman at his trade until 1836. He then engaged 
in business upon his own account, and continued it until 
1S56, gaining thereby wealth and reputation. Having been 
the projector of the Mount Joy Savings Bank, in 1S56, he 
was elected its Cashier, and has occupied that position 
through all the various changes of the inslilution — first to 
a State Bank, and, in 1864, to the Union Mount Joy Na- 
tional Bank, its present title. Politically, he has ever been 
an active advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, 
and has represented his section in many of its conventions, 
including the State Convention which nominated Francis 
R. Shunk for Governoi, and th.it held in Pittsburgh, Penn- 
sylvania, August 26th, 1874. He has projected a number 
of the most valuable and )in)minenl imiirovcmenls of Mount 




548 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




Joy, among others, the Water-Works of the town, llis 
success in life is due entirely to his own efforts, and to the 
industry and integrity with which he has labored. 



'ARPEXTER, HENRY, M. D., Physician, was 
born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, December loth, 
1819, his father (Henry) being at that time a 
prominent surveyor and conveyancer, and, for a 
period, one of the commissioners of Lancaster 
county. His ancestors, of Swiss descent, were 
among the earliest settlers of that district, primarily residing 
on the French border of Switzerland, and emigrating to 
this country with the Huguenots shortly after the, Mas- 
sacre of St. Bartholomew. His mother, a lady, of rare re- 
finement and high mental endowments, was the daughter 
of David Cook, whose promising life was cut ofT in early 
manhood. Dr. Carpenter was early placed in one of the 
public schools of his native city, and was thus prepared for 
a comprehensive course of study in the Lancnster County 
Academy. Upon the completion of his academic cireer, 
he entered the office of Dr. Samuel Humes, and iihcjer tfiat 
able practitioner read medicine until his entrance iiilo^tlje 
Medical Department of the Universify, of 5-ennsylv«»i<l. 
Few matriculants of that venerable institution e\er en'teied 
with a more thorough preparation for tlie suidies'iip its-^i, 
haustive curriculum than he ditl. *Iri 1841," he.grSaiuireil 
with high honors, and immedi.-itely coni'menced the bi£^-tict 
of his profession in his native toVvn; setting 'up liis ^fifit* «} 
the very building in which he wis bo'rn,'_and \vhejq-4ie s^ll 
continues to reside. While very young he e.xpffsSeti^afle- 
sire to follow the profession which he has since^islipgaitUied, 
and as a student exhibited rare aptitude in the way of'f'amif- 
iarizing himself with the intricacies of medical science, of 
which, by great industry, constant attendance at lectures 
and clinics, .ind individual investigation, he soon obtained 
a profound knowledge. His success as a practitioner is 
perhaps due more to his inherent love for it than to any- 
thing else ; for this controlling impulse spurred application, 
and continuous research into a science »-hich is continually 
expanding. Five generations of his family have passed 
since his ancestors located in this country, and each gene- 
ration has produced one eminent physician? "He ji'as frqm 
the period of his graduation taken the liveliest 'iriterest in 
matters concerning the improvement of his profession, and 
has embodied in writing the henelicial results of his careful 
and laboriously conducted investigations, covering a period 
of many years. In 1844, he aided in the organization of 
the Lancaster County Medical Society, becoming its first 
Secretary, performing the duties of that office for a long 
period; and, in 1855, was elected its President. He has 
honorably filled the positions both of Vice-President and 
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and is now 
one of the Censors for the eastern district of the Stale. 
Being, as a citizen of Lancaster, prominent and enterpris- 



ing, enjoying popular esteem, he was frequently called upon 
to perform duties involving much responsibility. As a mem- 
ber of the City Councils, he served for nearly a quarter of a 
century, and the fact that he continuously served twenty 
years as President of the Select Branch, being for some 
time also the presiding officer of the Lower Branch, is a 
sufficient commentary upon the character of the reputation 
he has won. As a memlier of the School Board, he exerted 
a strong influence in securing many beneficial reforms. He 
has been also a Director of the Lancaster Gas and the Lan- 
caster Insurance Company. In all these various capacities 
he has labored with industry and no common degree af 
inteUigence, and has shown himself the possessor of a cha- 
racter for unblemished integrity. He h.xs engaged in many 
important business enterprises, having been formerly one 
of the Directors of the Conestoga Steam Mills Company, 
and Kitely'one of the principal owners ; was one of the finn 
which built the No. 4 Cotton-Mill, one of the originators 
tif the Conestoga Turnpike Company, and eventually its 
President. He has largely interested himself in railroad 
affairs, subscribing liberally to all practical schemes hav- 
ing-a tendency to confer advantages upon the citizens of 
his seetipn of the State. In this manner he became a Direc- 
tor.or-thfel,ancaster & Quarry ville Narrow Gauge Railroad, 
'©ire€fof.aIid»fieasurer of the Delaware River & Lancaster 
Railr(«id,"nio«'iii*cbni-se of construction, and Director and 
'Assistant "'Ereasurer 6f the National Railroad, since pur- 
ctiased by rte New Jersey Central & North Pennsylvania 
: raHioad CeiiRpffntes.'' The National is to be the new line 
from" philailel^)Iii.a.-to' JJew York. He is President and 
©liectbf of the^IIamiltoft Land Association ;:f New Jersey, 
ft-hich owns a large tract along the proposed route of the 
NSf tonal' R.a11road, and which is destined to furnish the 
Site of a flourishing town. Notwithstanding the difference 
of his political views from those of the National adminis- 
tration, at the time of the late Civil War he gave an imme- 
diate and hearty support to the efforts of the Government 
to preserve the Union. Twice during the war was he called 
into active service of the Volunteer Surgeons' Department 
by the Surgeon-General of the State, laboring zealously to 
alleviate the sufferings of the sick and wounded after the 
battles of Bftll Run (the second) and Antietam. In 1846, 
he was married to a daughter of the late John Mathiot, for 
many yf iini Mayor of the city of Lancaster, and has three 
daughters livina:. 



kACALESTER, CHARLES, Merchant and Banker, 
was born in Philadelphia, February 17th,' 1798. His 
parents, both of whom were Scotch, came to Amer- 
ica some years before, and settled in Philadelphia, 
where his father (also named Charles Macalester) 
became widely known as a prosperous merchant. 
He received a liberal education, firstly at Grey and Wylie's 
school, and afterwards at the University of Pennsylvania. 





biHLMMciu^ 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



549 



While at the latter institution, during the war time of l8l2, 
when fifteen years of age, he commanded a company of 
forty boys, who worked for two days assisting to make the 
fortifications upon the west side of the Schuylkill. Early 
in life he embarked in mercantile pursuits, and, in 1821, 
removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained until 
1S27, when he returned to Philadelphia, and commenced 
business there. His force of character, and especially his 
sterling integrity, soon made him prominent among the 
principal commercial men of the city, and his relations also 
became extensive and intimate with the leading statesmen 
of the country, by whom his advice on financial matters 
was often sought. He was a trusted friend of Presidents 
Jackson, Van Biiren, Polk, Pierce, Buchanan and Lincoln, 
and had various political offices of high importance ten- 
dered him at different times — among others, a Cabinet ap- 
. pointment — all of which he uniformly declined, preferring 
the independence of private life. The following nie.r.o- 
randa, found among his papers after his decease, may here 
be introduced, as telling, in his own words, the sloiy of 
the stirring scenes and times through which he passed, and 
especially as giving much interesting information about 
the famous United States B.ink, with which he was so con- 
spicuously identified : " The war between General Jackson 
and the bank had now (1832) commenced, and was brought 
on in this way : the country was divided, as it always has 
been, more or less, and the political parties were represented 
by the Whigs and the Democrats — the Whigs, a formidable 
party, headed by Clay, Webster and Calhoun. A number 
of leading Democrats in New Hampshire, headed by Levi 
Woodbury and others, complained to the Secretary of the 
Treasuiy that Jeremiah Mason, President of the branch at 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, w.is using that Branch Bank 
for political objects, proscribing Democrats, etc. Mr. Ing- 
ham, then Secretary of the Treasury, and Mr. Louis M. 
Lane were the only men in the Cabinet friendly to the bank. 
Upon the receipt of Woodbury's communication, Ingham 
enclosed a copy of it to Mr. Biddle in a private note, to 
give him an opportunity of quietly cirrecting the abuses 
complained of, if they existed. Mr. Biddle, probably mis- 
understanding Mr. Ingham's object, repliAl in an official 
letter, repelling any interference in the management of the 
internal aflairs of the bank. To this Mr. Ingham found it 
necessary to reply in another official letter, and the war be- 
gan. General Jackson had sent several nominations to the 
Senate for Government Directors, all of whom were re- 
jected. The General (who repeatedly said that he * never 
left his wounded upon the field '), supposing, probably, that 
politics had some influence in ejecting me from the Board 
of the bank, then nominated myself and Edward D. Ingra- 
ham to the Senate, who confirmed us, and we were the only 
Government Directors in the Board when the charter ex- 
pired. On my return to the Board I was received most 
kindly by the officers and directors, and every possible favor 
was lavished upon me while the bank continued in existence. 



The efforts made by the bank to obtain a re-charter were 
immense. Some of its best friends were opposed to moving 
for it during the Presidential campaign of 1832, and the 
late General Thomas Cadwalader (father of Judge Cad- 
walader) was sent to confer with the leading men at Wash- 
ington as to the expediency of applying for a recharter 
pending the canvass of that year. He was told by 'the 
triumvirate,' as Clay, Webster, aiid Calhoun were called, 
that if the bank expected their support it must throw its 
influence into the canvass, and assist in defeating General 
Jackson. The Legislature of Pennsylvania had passed 
resolutions, with singular unanimity, recommending the re- 
charter. Mr. Dallas was chosen to bring forward the bill 
for it in the Senate, and it passed both houses, but was ve- 
toed by General Jackson. The bank and the Whig party 
continued the battle, which was kept up during i833-'34 
with great fury on both sides. The Administration was 
supported by the Globe, a most powerful newspaper, then 
edited with great ability by Francis BUiir and Amos Ken- 
dall ; and in the Senate by Messrs. Benton and Forsyth, 
who urged upon the President the removal of the Govern- 
ment deposits from the bank, which was resolved upon. 
W. J. Duane was then Secretary of the Treasury, and he 
refused to remove them. He was displaced from office, 
and Roger B. Taney was appointed, who soon after carried 
out the President's wishes. Upon this the bank commenced 
a regular system of curtailment. Money became extremely 
scarce, business was prostrated, confidence greatly impaired, 
and failures were numerous. This was called the ' panic 
season.' The political excitement also was great. The 
most popular orators were sent to diffisrent parts of the 
country to rouse the people ; among them being Webster, 
Clay, Preston, and McDuffie. Horace Binney and Daniel 
Webster spoke in B.altimore, on a Sunday, the latter de- 
claring that ' there was no Sabbath in revolutionary times.' 
The great object of all this was to compel a restoration of 
the deposits, which, it was hoped, might lead to a re-charter 
of the bank. Soon after the apimintment of myself and 
Mr. Ingraham, we received. an autograph letter from Gene- 
ral Jackson requesting us to obtain from the bank a copy 
of its profit and loss account for a certain period. As our 
predecessore had been charged with acting as spies, I in- 
sisted upon notifying the Board of this letter, and that we 
should proceed to obtain the desired information. We did 
so, and had one meeting, when we were stopped by the 
refusal of the bank to allow us to inspect the books. In 
1835, I had changed my business and become a banker, 
and was employed extensively by the bank in a Variety of 
operations. After the first suspension, I collected, and had 
brought from the West and Southwest, in six months, three 
millions of dollars in specie. I was sent to Washington 
with a carte blanche to kill the first .Sub-Treasury Bill, 
which I did, at an expense of gSoo. It was done by the 
tact and influence of the Democrats. I negotiated with 
Levi Woodbury, then Secretary of the Treasury during Van 



550 



BIOGRAPHICAL EXCVCLOP.EDIA. 



Buren's term, $4,000,000 worth of bonds, which the 
bank had issued in payment of the stock originally 
subscribed. After the first suspension of the bank, some 
of the State banks were anxious to resume. Mr. Eiddle 
wished to wait for another cotton crop, in order to make 
it more difficult for tliem to do so. I was directed to 
deposit to my individual credit in several banks, here 
and in New York, as much as I conveniently could, with- 
out exciting suspicion. I had §600,000 in Philadelphia, 
and a like amount in New York banks, where it remained 
almost untouched, and several committees called on me to 
see what arrangement they could make in case it was con- 
cluded to resume. This money belonged to the bank, and 
for it no acknowledgment, even of the most simple kind, 
was given by me. In 1842, I went to London on a privaie 
mission, and on this visit became acquainted with George 
Pe.abody, with whom my relations became most intimate, 
he being always my guest when at Philadelphia or Torres- 
dale. I was also favored, when in London, with two invi- 
tations to breakfast from the poet Rogers, who told me of 
the meeting at his dinner-table of Byron, Moore and 
Campbell, and showed where each sat. Byron and Moore 
had quarrelled, and Rogers was anxious to effect a recon- 
ciliation. He invited Byron to come and dine with Moore. 
Byron accepted, saying he would dine or fi^lit with him, 
he did not care which. At the dinner, Byron was in a 
very bad humor. He would eat nothing but potatoes, with 
pepjier and a great deal of vinegar. I became acquainted 
with John C. Calhoun in 1830, when he was Vice-President. 
He was then in his prime, and wa.s the most fascinating 
man I have known. John Forsyth was the best debater I 
ever heard. During the panic of i833-'34, he fought the 
combined Whig phalanx in the Senate, almost single- 
handed, on the Bank question. The Administration was 
largely in the minority in the Senate. Benton sustained 
the President with his ponderous, battle-axe kind of 
speeches, which he sometimes kept going for three or four 
days at a time. But Forsyth was a semper paratits man, 
who would keep at bay half a dozen assailants while Ben- 
ton was preparing one of his big speeches. During the 
^bove-mentioned panic season, when the bank war was 
r.aging with fury, I dined one evening with President Jack- 
son, the company consisting of the President, Major Lewis, 
and Major and .Mrs. Donelson. After leaving the dining- 
room we went into one of the drawing-rooms, and soon 
after we were seated. Senators and members of Congre.ss 
began to come in and talk over the news of the day. All 
were excited except the President. He had received that 
morning a letter from General Irwin, saying that he had 
sent him a young filly of ' gentle blood,' and twice during 
the evening I heard (he President tell Major Donelson to 
' go and see if the fdly had come.' He had made up his 
mind on the Bank question, but wanted to see the filly. 
My life has been a most eventful one. I have lived to see 
Hie rise and fall of two Napoleons, the creation and disso- 



lution of the Bank of the United States, the introduction 
of steam navigation ; I have seen a public dinner given to 
Captain Shreeve, at Louisville, Kentucky, for bringing his 
boat up from New Orleans in twenty-three days, and have 
known it to be done repeatedly since in less than five ; 
have witnessed the introduction of railways and the tele- 
graph ; have seen the countiy engaged in three wars beside 
the great Rebellion; was a Democrat up to the firing upon 
Sumter, and since then have ceased to be a jjartisan, and 
tried to be a patriot." He retired from active business in 
1S49, occupying himself subsequently with his private 
affairs, and various trusts and executorships. He was one 
of the Trustees of the Peabody Education Fund from its 
first institution. He was also President of the Si. Andrew's 
.Society, and of the Orthopoedic Hospital ; a Director (from 
ihe time of its organization) of The Fidelity Insurance, 
Trust and Safe Deposit Company; of the Presbyterian Hos- 
pital, and of the Insurance Company of the Slate of Penn- 
sylvania, of which latter company his father had been 
President. In 1S73, he gave, for the establishment of a 
college in Minneapolis, a valuable property, consisting of a 
large building with extensive grounds attached, then named 
by the trustees the " Macalester College " ; and also con- 
firmed the same by his will. He was twice married ; 
firstly, in 1824, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Eliza A. Lytle, only 
daughter of General W. H. Lytle, and niece of the cele- 
brated Judge Rowan, the great rival of Heniy Clay, and 
sister of the noted orator, R. T. Lytle; and again, in 1841, 
to Susan, daughter of the late John Wallace, and niece of 
the Hon. Horace Binney. By his first marriage he had 
two children : a son, who died shortly before himself, and 
a daughter, still living. He died December glh, 1873, 
regretted by an unusually wide circle of friends and 
acquaintances. The event called forth high tributes of 
respect from the journals of the city and all the public 
bodies with which he had been connected. Eminently 
successful himself in all his undertakings, he was al- 
ways ready to aid by his advice, and by active assist- 
ance, those who were beginning life's battle or struggling 
with adversity. Unobtrusive in all he did, generous 
in eveiy sense of the word, he was universally beloved and 
honored. His private character was one of the greatest 
purity, unselfishness and loveliness; charitable in all his 
judgments .and indulgent to the weaknesses and faults of 
others, no harsh comments or unkind aspersions ever 
pa.ssed his lips ; and the one who knew and loved him best 
bears emphatic testimony to the fact, that never, even in 
the most unguarded moments of family intercourse, did .she 
hear from his lips one word or sentiment that did not indi- 
cate the true nobleness of his character, or that cannot now 
be remembered with pride and satisfaction. .Such a life is 
in itself a lesson. Such " footprints in the sands of time" 
tend to increase the faiih in human nature, and in the truth 
and efficacy of that religion which was always his bulwark 
and guide. 



BIOGRArillCAL E^•CVCLOP.EDIA. 



551 



'ENNINGS, COLONEL \V1LLL\M W., Soldier, 
Mechanic and Manufacturer, son of William and 
Elmira Jennings, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 
was born in that city, July 26th, 183S. His edu- 
nZ cation was acquired in the public schools of his 
native city, and here he diligently employed his 
early years. Arrivins; at a suitable age, he was taken, at 
his own solicitation, into his father's foundry to be taught 
thoroughly all that pertains to that trade. A steady and 
careful worl^er, a keen, close observer and student, he 
emerged from his apprenticeship an accomplished and 
skilful workman, with not only an excellent practical but 
also a scientific knowledge of his own branch of the busi- 
ness, together with all other matters connected with the 
foundry and mnchine-shop. The opening of the Civil War 
found him well established in business for himself in a 
foundry and machine-shop at South and Short streets, 
Harrisburg. Without hesitating to count the cost to him- 
self, he immediately entered the service as a private in 
Captain McCormick's Company (the " Lochiel Greys"). 
Always military in his tastes, and for a long lime a member 
of a cadet organization, his comrades acknowledged his 
fitness to command by electing him to the First Lieutenancy 
of the company, and in this capacity he served during the 
three months' campaign of 1S61, in the 25th Regimeiit 
Pennsylvania Volunteers. Instantly upon his return from 
the front he was tendered by the Governor the position of 
Post Adjutant and Drill-Master at Camp Curtin. Accept- 
ing the commission, he continued on duty until July, 1S62. 
Anxious to be actively engaged in the field, he applied for 
and obtained permission to raise a regiment, and the fol- 
lowing month found him at the head of the 127th Regi- 
ment Pennsylvania Volunteers, with a commission as Col- 
onel bearing date of August i5th, 1S62. Proceeding im- 
mediately to Washington, the regiment was brigaded and 
Colonel Jennings placed in command. The brigade re- 
mained in camp guarding the Chain Bridge, above Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia, until the beginning of Decem- 
ber, 1862. The regiment was then sent to join Burnside's 
command in front of Fredericksburg, and was attached, at 
Falmouth, to Hall's Brigade, Second Division, Second 
Corps, with which it remained during its term of service. 
In the many and severe battles in which, under Colonel 
Jennings, it was engaged, the services of his command and 
its heavy losses fully attest the soldierly reputation which 
history has accorded to the organization and its gallant 
head. The term of service of the regiment expiring on 
May 29th, 1863, it was mustered out of service at Harris- 
burg, and its commander returned to private life until 
called upon to again enter the field as commander of the 
26th "Emergency" Regiment, during Lee's invasion of 
Pennsylvania. How his fello\\'-citizens appreciated his ser- 
vices is shown by their subsequent action. In the fall of 
1S63, he w.as, by a large majority, elected .Sheriff" of Dauphin 
county, in which capacity he acted with so much fairness 



and judgment that he gained the favor of the entire public. 
Anxious to re-enter actively upon business pursuits, and to 
attend to his private interests, which he had neglected for 
public affairs, he abandoned official station and turned 
his attention to his foundry. Associating in partnership 
with J. M. Stover, he rapidly gained the business point 
which he had left, and pushing ever onward, spite of losses 
and reverses, he has firmly established the Franklin Ma- 
chine Works and Foundry of Harrisburg as a successful 
enterprise. In 1S70, at the request of the Republican 
party, he permitted the use of his name as a candidate for 
Mayor of his native town. Though he received a large 
vote, yet, the city being Democratic, he was defeated. In 
the present year (1874) he was a Delegate to the State 
Republican Convention, the first convention which nomi- 
nated a Lieutenant-Governor. He was married, December 
17th, i86l, to Emma J. Van Home. His is a bold and 
progressive spirit well balanced by sound judgment. He 
has shown himself competent and worthy in every station 
to which he has been called, making an hojiorable reputa- 
tion as a business man, a soldier, a politician, and a citizen. 



ALLACE, "WILLIAM M., M. D., Physician and 
Surgeon, was born, during a temporary residence 
of his parents, at Erie, Pennsylvania, August 
29th, 180S. His father, William Wallace, was a 
lawyer of prominence in his day, at Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania; his mother was the daughter of 
the Hon. William Maclay, the first United States Senator 
from Pennsylvania, and the granddaughter of John Harris, 
the founder of Harrisburg. Dr. Wallace received a 
thorough English and classical education at the best 
schools of the country ; pursued his medical studies at the 
University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, and graduated 
therefrom, with high honors, in 1830. After practising 
for about two years, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and its 
vicinity, in connection with Dr. Luther Reily, he removed 
to Erie in 1833. In this city, with the exception of an 
interval of five years, from 1848 to 1853, during which 
time he was engaged in the m.anufacture of flint glass in 
Pittsburgh, Penn.sylvania, he has since resided and been 
actively employed in attending to the large and ever-in- 
creasing demands of his extensive private practice. He 
has been for years recognized as one of the most eminent 
obstetricians in the country, and in his own section his 
fame is pre-eminent in this particular, while his success in 
general practice has added greatly to his reputation. In 
1869, he was elected one of the Vice-Presidents of the 
Pennsylvania State Medical Society, and, in 1S70, he was 
complimented with the high honor of being elected by his 
profession.il brethren to the Presidency of that body. His 
learning is great, his ambitions are honorable, and his life 
having been devoted to the service of others, his name is 
revered by a large circle of his fellow-citizens. 





BIOGRAPHICAL ENXVCLOP.KDIA. 



»OWELL, CHARLES MILLER, Marble-Worker, 
was l)i)rn in Philadelphia, April 24th, 1S14; his 
father, Amos Howell, being one of the most ex- 
tensive coach-builders of that city, carrjing on 
his business at the corner of Eighth and Arch 
streets. He was of Welsh extraction, and his 
wife, the mother of Charles, was of Scotch descent. Charles 
attended a private school until his twelfth year, receiving 
the usual rudimentary education, and was then sent to an 
excellent institution in Plainfield, Connecticut, where he 
remained two years, making very material progress in his 
various studies. Upon his return, he was apprenticed at 
the marble trade, under General Peter Fritz; and, under 
the fostering care of this gentleman, served from his four- 
teenth until his twenty-first year, having in this time 
acquired more than ordinary proficiency in the various 
branches of that business. He commenced then as a jour- 
neyman, still for a time remaining with his old mentor, 
acquiring meanwhile a clear insight into counting-house 
rules and customs. In 1838, he entered into the trade 
upon his own account, establishing himself at the corner 
of Fourth and Race streets, removing, after one year, to 
the corner of Ridge avenue and Eleventh street. Here 
he soon secured, by strict attention and prompt and fair 
dealing, a very large patronage, and continued for some 
years to prosecute a thriving business. Having occasion to 
visit Lancaster, he made the acquaintance of a lady of fine 
culture and pleasing address, who soon after became his 
wife. After his marriage, he removed to Lancaster, leas- 
ing a large property on East King street, and in .September, 
1841, re-commenced the marble business. His success 
here, assured from the first, was far beyond his anticipa- 
tions, and in 1S46 he bought a large lot on North Queen 
street, to which he removed his business, and where he 
still continues it, having greatly extended the original area 
of his yard by ijurchasing properties north and south of it. 
Being the oldest place of its kind in Lancaster, he has, by 
careful attention to all its necessities, made it the largest, 
with a constantly growing patronage which represents 
every section of that portion of the State. Much against 
his wishes, he was nominated, in 1856, as the Democratic 
candidate for County Treasurer; and, despite the fact that 
the Whig party in that section was greatly in the ascen- 
dancy, he was elected to that office by a very large 
majority. In this canvass he was supported by the better 
class of voters of both parties, who had learned from a long 
intercourse to init a true estimate upon his worth as an up- 
right, intelligent citizen. The duties of this office he 
fulfilled with wise discrimination, succeeding in placing 
the financial affairs of the county in a very satisfactory con- 
dition. Upon the expiration of his term in this capacity, 
he was earnestly solicited to accept membership in the 
City Councils, and was thereupon elected. He was suc- 
cessively chosen each year to a seat for a long period, and, 
as a member of both branches, discharged the functions of 



his office with a purpose single to the welfare of the com- 
munity. As a Director, he took an active part in increasing 
the efficiency of the common-school system, and suggested 
a number of amendments which were carried out with the 
most beneficial results. In 1S72, he was appointed by 
the Mayor Chief-Engineer of the Lancaster Fire Depart- 
ment; in 1873, was continued in the same office by the 
unanimous choice of the firemen themselves, and might 
have filled the position for an indefinite period if he had 
not refused a re-election. Many positions of private and 
public trust were pressed upon him, but in all these cases 
he felt himself called upon, by reason of his innate repug- 
nance to notoriety and the urgent claims of his own busi- 
ness, to decline. In 1835, he became a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, connecting himself with Mount Moriah 
Lodge, No. 155, of Philadelphia; but upon his removal to 
Lancaster, in 1841, transferred his membership to Lodge 
No. 43, of that city; was elected W. M. in 1852, re- 
elected in 1854, and in the same year was appointed D. D. 
G. M. for the First Masonic District of Pennsylvania, an 
appointment which he still retains. He h.as passed through 
all the chairs, in 1S71 being elected R. E. G. C. of the 
Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Pennsylvania, 
and re-elected in 1S72. He is also an Odd Fellow, having 
filled all the offices of the Subordinate Lodge and Encamp- 
ment, and having founded Monterey Lodge, No. 242, of 
Lancaster, of which he is still a member. He is a member 
of the Presbyterian Church, and has been a Trustee in it 
for upwards of thirty years. On December 28lh, 1841, he 
married a daughter of the late John Mich.iel, the proprietor 
of the Grape Hotel, Queen street, Lancaster, and has had 
five children, four of whom are living, the two sons being 
associated with their father in the marble business. His 
eldest daughter is the wife of Rev. William D. Le Fcvre, 
now engaged in pastoral duties in Bedford county. 



ALDWF.I.L, ROBERT BENTON, Banker, was 
born in Birmingham, Huntingdon county, Penn- 
sylvania, July l8th, 1S51. His father, Williaih 
Caldwell, a resident of the above-named county, 
was largely interested in the tanning business ; 
his mother, Mai-y (Lloyd) Caldwell, was origi- 
nally from Blair county, in the same State. His education 
was acquired in the common schools located in Sinking 
Valley, Blair county, and when in his thirteenth year he 
abandoned school life in order to take ch.irge of the tan- 
ning business of his father, the latter being then in a preca- 
rious stale of health. His father dying at the expiration 
of a year from that time, he retired from the business, and, 
leaving his home, obtained employment in a merc::nlile 
establishment at Ironsville, a neighboring town, under 
James McQuade, a prominent and enterprising merchant 
of that place. He remained there for six months, when. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



553 



ill 1S65, he entered the banking house of Lloyd, Caldwell 
& Co., in Tyrone, remaining here until 1S70, and acquiring 
meanwiiile a thorough insight into the management and 
operation of banking in all its details and i>rinciplcs. In 
the opening of 1S71, he removed to Renovo, Pennsylvania, 
and there opened a banking house under the firm-name of 
R. B. Caldwell & Co., conducting business in the same 
manner as an incorporated bank. Since the establishment 
of this institution it has been operated with marked success 
and ability, and unlimited confidence is reposed in its 
solidity and integrity by all acquainted with its existence 
and workings. His settlement in Renovo was due to the 
advice and encouragement of his uncle, AV. M. Lloyd, of 
the firm of Lloyd, Caldwell & Co., and it is needless to say 
that he has never regretted the step taken at the instance 
of that able and efficient business man. The town of 
Renovo contains about 2500 inhabitants; the main shops 
of the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad being located here, 
and no banking facilities for the merchants existing in the 
place, they were formerly compelled to bank at Lock 
Haven, which is about twenty-eight miles distant ; a due 
consideration of this fact enables a proper appreciation of 
the value of the convenience resulting from the enterprise 
of Robert B. Caldwell. In the fall of 1S73, he was a can- 
didate on the Republican ticket for the Legislature, but, 
owing to the great prevalence of Democratic principles in 
this region, he, though reducing greatly the average majority 
of the opposing party, did not secure an election. Al- 
though so young a man, he has already made a mark 
in the community where he resides, and has a future of 
greatly extended usefulness before him. lie was married, 
in the fall of 1872, to Emma G. Beebe, daughter of John 
C. Beebe, an influential and highly-respected citizen of 
Erie, Pennsylvania, and now deceased. 



% A Y L E Y, W I L L I A M C O W E L L, Merchant, 
Soldier and Manuf.icturer, was born in King's 
county, Ireland, April 30th, 1824. He was edu- 
cated at a private school in Dulilin, and in 1848 
emigrated to the United .States. Travelling through 
the country in search of employment, walking 
the greater part of the way, he finally reached Ilunlingdon 
county, Pennsylvania. Here chance threw him in the way 
of Edwiit Shoenberger, who employed him in the capacity 
of storekeeper at his Juniata Iron-Works. In a veiy short 
time, so soon did his superior capabilities become known, 
he was placed in a more responsible ]iosition at the Gap 
Forge and Furnace, in Blair county. Here he had charge 
of the establishment, and remained until the failure of his 
emjiloyer compelled the suspension of the works. Having 
made the actpiaintance of the father of his fiirnier employer, 
Peter Shoenberger, he was by him engaged as bookkeeper 
70 




and general accountant. After two years, the entire man- 
agement of the works was intrusted to him, and he filled 
this highly important post until Peter Shoenberger leased 
all his property to his sons-in-law. To these gentlemen 
the ability of William C. Bayley was so well known that he 
was retained in his capacity as manager, and so continued 
until 1S56. At that date he resigned his post and entered 
into a partnership with Robert M. Lemon, for the manu- 
facture of iron, at Bennington Furnace, Cambria county, 
Pennsylvania. This connection endured until the panic 
year of 1S5S, when business became so much prostrated 
that, ill order to save his commercial honor, he sold out his 
interest in the iron-works. The payment in full of all his 
debts left him almost without a dollar. But he had energy, 
youth, a good name and unlimited credit. With a small 
stock of goods he moved to Western Virginia and started 
business. Soon the Civil War commenced, and trade in the 
South, as in the North, suffered severely. He w-as in Ihe 
midst of the newly-formed Confederacy ; he had no sym- 
pathy with the movement, but remained where his interests 
lay. He did not want to stay, and he did not want to go. 
Even in those times of hot blood, fair dealing and courtesy 
brought their reward ; he stayed in that section of the South 
when eveiy other acknowledged Northern man had been 
obliged to leave, and was always well treated. Succeeding 
at last in disposing of his goods to a Dr. Wilson, he ex- 
changed the money received for Eastern drafts and made 
his way to the North. He immediately entered the army, 
enlisting in the 125th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
and, after a few weeks' service with his regiment, was ap- 
pointed Aide to General Thomas L. Kane, in the Second 
Division, Twelfth Army Corps, in which capacity he experi- 
enced much active service and participated in the battles 
of Antietani and Chancellorsville. His regiment being 
mustered out after nine months, he was commissioned, by 
the President, Captain and Assistant-Quartermaster, and 
returned to duty upon the staff of Gener.al Kane. His ap- 
pointment was subsequently cancelled by the Senate, upon 
political grounds. He was afterwards offered, and accepted, 
the position of Quartermaster of the 22d Pennsylvania Cav- 
aliy, and with that organization remained upon duty in the 
field until the i:lose of the war, at which time he was acting 
as Post Quartermaster at New Creek, in West Virginia. 
Returning to the North, he settled in HoUidaysburg, and 
eng.agcd in the lumber trade, entering into partnership 
with John A. Lemon, now State Senator. The firm bought 
an inerest in 400 acres of land in the Allegheny Moun- 
tains, from which, in three years, they cut over 6,000,000 
of feet of lumber. Some years since the co-partnership 
was dissolved, Ihe saw-mill and stock sold, and William 
C. Bayley became proprietor of a foundry and machine 
shop. He was married, in 1851, to Maria, daughter of 
Robert Fitzgerald, of Nancns Town, county Kildarc, 
Ireland. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



■^EWITT, HON. BENJAMIN L., Lawyer, was 
born in Pctcrshurg, Huntingdon county, Pennsyl- 
vania, June 4th, 1833. At an early age he was 
tutored and |)artially prepared for college at Tus- 
carora Academy, under the excellent guidance 
of Professor David Wilson, distinguished for his 
scholarly attainments and wise administration. After an 
additional course of preparatoiy studies, under the tutorship 
of Professor L. Williams, at Hollidaysburg, in which he 
evinced an unusual degree of steadfastness and penetration, 
he entered the So|)homore class at Princeton, in 1851. 
Here he labored diligently to perfect himself in the various 
branches allotted him, and made such satisfactory progress 
that, in 1854, he graduated, well up in point of scholarship 
in a large class, and jircpared to emerge into active jjrofes- 



sional life, or at least that portion of it consj^fiiig in fitting; usually fnioCjable investment, but lacking the capital neccs 
oneself to cope with the intricacies of the Jrf^. ' A course 
of legal studies, under the tuition of Hon.'S.'S: Blair, of. 
Hollidaysburg, secured his admittance to ihe'HiKr, in.Octo 
ber, ig56. Immediately after this he engaged in vigorous 
practice in the above-named town, and soon W(j^vm cxj«u' 
sive and remunerative clientage. In many o£jthe*lc;idiQg'; 
cases alTecting the interests of various jjrortijncjit .p|f»insj j 
resident at Hollidaysburg and in iU %'iciiiity,'lie- was'.'a, 
prime mover, and ever displaycil .praLsewofthy tal(;nt;'and 
capacity. Having inspired his.fi'iendSj^ainl ffllijsy-c^titdJS: 
with confidence in him as a Wise-and^honaial^diUiaij.-'jJiey! 
urged him to launch himself iiito poli^isiLlife^ bubj^catiug 
little for the troubles and vexatibijs'^ltendjjig-sucli-aicareer, 
he modestly preferred to live .pi'ivately -.SS^tUdahqi^iU^ 
Finally, however, he was elected liiistrict jUtoihfey{ in the 
fall of 1S57; and, in i860, was honored by a re-elecliftfl. 
During this lime he did not fail to realize the anticipations 
of his friends as an able and efiicient criminal lawyer, at all 
times demeaning himself as a conscientious public prose- 
cutor. During 1864-65, he was a Major of Volunteers, 
also Paymaster, positions which were filled with satisfac- 
tion to the Government and with honor to himself. From 
this time forward, until 1869, he devoted himself to his 
professional duties, and conducted successfully many im- 
portant and harassing cases. In the fall of 1870, he was 
elected to the Legislature, was reelected jn 1S71; and, 
during the session of 1872, was Chairman of tht Coii> 
mittee of Ways and Means, and leader of the House, 
displaying great parliamentary tact and political sagacity 
in the management of all questions affecting the policy 
of the party or public interests. In the preceding session 
(1871) he was also Chairman of the Committee on the Re- 
vision of the Civil Code, In May, 1S73, he w.as appointed 
by Governor Hartranft, one of the Fish Commissioners of 
the State, for a term of three years, having been selected 
for the position on account of his thorough acquaintance 
with the subject of artificial fish culture, now command- 
ing so much attention by other States of the Union and 
the National Government. 




ELLES, COLONEL CHARLES F., Jr., Mer- 
chant, Railway Constructor, etc., was a native of 
Bradford county, and was born about the year 
1S12. He received his education in the schools of 
his neighborhood, and early commenced business 
life in the pursuits of farming, lumbering, and 
merchandizing. His first ventures on his own account were 
in the lumber trade. He was in the habit, in the spring 
of the year, during the " freshet " season, of constructing 
" rafts," which he would float down the Susquehanna to 
Middletown, Columbia, or Port Deposit, where he would 
fiftd a market. Often, upon his passage down the river, he 
woilkl purchase other "rafts," thus accumulating large 
quanti^^es of lumber, and increasing greatly his profit. 
On on^occasion, meeting with an opportunity for an un- 



sary to neajlxark in the speculation, he concluded to and 
didaiiake" application to G. M. Hollenback, of Wilkesbarre, 
fo'r lasHistaniie. Being known to that gentleman as an 
indifctcious, eneigetic, honest young man, he received, 
,)v.ilh»ut security, for he had none to offer other than his 
.^0 ' 'I, r r, tlie required assistance. The. investment 
-sful, the borrowed money was duly returned, 
^icj ilu and lender, in this instance, became life- 

^.n'g-fr- "'V'l'g been uniformly prosperous in his 

itaHsacliv(^-iu>j4v^)))er, and having accumulated thereby 
s0m^-«8pitjl,.he,.,.}b8ul. the year 1S35, purcluased the stock 
JsJ a 3i\uU^QuiM:(7;i\fors, the building for which he erected, 
-{ij,-hji^:^tJ,vettuWnshJ4), between the time of his purchase 
\)f .the- Supjilif ? in, Philadelphia and their arrival at his 
hoftie,, ■ Good' fortune continuing to follow, him in his 
nj'ei'cantile venture, he established branch stores along the 
line of construction on the North Branch Canal, and con- 
tinued these commercial pursuits until the suspension of 
that public work. In 1843, he removed to Athens anil 
entered into business on a largely-extended scale, but 
finally relinquished all connection with trade, in order to 
devote his entire attention to large and lucrative operations 
in public works, and the construction of great improve- 
ments. Among the many railroad and other enterjirises 
in which he was engaged, the following are but a few : 
In i850^''Sl, he contracted to build a section of fourteen 
*iiiles on th^ New York & Erie Railroad, near Hornells- 
ville; in 1852, forty-five miles of the Bufl'alo & State Line 
Railroad; in 1854, forty-five miles of the second track 
of the Erie Road, from Ovvego to the junction west of 
Elmira ; also the second track of the same road from 
Deposit to Lanesboro; also the .second track on the same 
road, from Port Jervis to Otisville. One of the largest 
contracts into which he ever entered was the construction 
of that part of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 
Railroad east of Scranton. This was remarkably heavy 
work, much of it costing in the neighborhood of one 
hundred thousand dollars per mile to grade ; the supplies 
for which had to be transported from thirty to fifty miles 




^.^/fs^t 



BIOGRAIMIICAI, ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



555 



in wagons, over a mountainous road. In the com])letion 
of this undertaking he displayed great energy and untiring 
industry. Iijmediately after he undertooli the construction 
of a large part of the Warren Raih'oad in New Jersey, 
and the Lackawanna & Bloomsl^urg road, extending fiom 
Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Bloomsburg, through the coal 
regions of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys. For 
several years he was President of this road. In 1856, he 
constructed the Brunswick & Florida Railroad, and was 
its President for two years, when he resigned. The Gov- 
ernor of Pennsylvania refusing to sign an appropriation for 
the completion of the North Branch Canal, unless a north- 
ern connection were first secured with the canal system 
of New York, he, in 1854, induced several of his friends 
to join him in furnishing the capital to construct the junc- 
tion canal, extending from the Chemung Canal * Elmira, 
New York, to the State line near Waverly. The North 
Branch Canal being subsequently closed, he and his asso- 
ciates who joined in the enterprise lost the entire invest- 
ment. In 1856, he, in connection with his partner and 
cousin, Heniy S. Welles, contracted to erect the Brooklyn 
Water- Works. Previously to this they had undertaken to 
supply the city of Williamsburg with water from certain 
lakes and watercourses on Long Island ; and, during the 
progress of this work, the contract was entered into to 
construct the extensive reservoirs to supply the consolidated 
city. This important work was completed in the most 
satisfactory manner at a cost of about five millions of dol- 
lars. The energy and financial ability which were required 
to successfully accomplish this great undertaking in the 
midst of the money crisis of 1857, when many of the 
oldest and hitherto most reliable business houses in the 
country were prostrated, are especially worthy of notice. 
In 1857, he purchased a half interest in an extensive lum- 
ber establishment at Menominee river, on Green b.ay, 
which, after holding for about seven years, he disposed of 
on advantageous terms. In 1859, he bought the entire 
line of the North Branch Canal, and, having sold the por- 
tion extending from Wilkesbarre southward, he organized 
the North Branch Canal Company, and shipped the first 
Wyoming coal to Chicago and the West, thus inaugurating 
a trade which has since had a large expansion. His main 
object in securing this canal — a purchase he made known 
to only a few confidential friends — was to change it to a 
railway route. In pursuance of this project the " Penn- 
sylvania & New York Canal and Railroad Company " was 
subsequently formed, and its franchises sold, in 1865, to 
the ** Lehigh Valley Railroad Company." Under the 
auspices of the latter company, the railway, now known as 
the " Pennsylvania & New York," connecting the Lehigh 
Valley Railroad at Wilkesbarre, with the Erie at Waverly — 
one hundred and five miles — was constructed and opened 
for traffic in September, 1S69. He acted as President of 
this corporation until January, 1870. Securing the con- 
struction of the Ithaca & Athens Railroad, and of the ex- 



tension of the " Southern Central," from Owego to Athens, 
he completed both works, and accomplished the great 
ambition of his life, living to see a continuous line of rail- 
roads, in great part the result of his own labors, extending 
from the Susquehanna, at Wyoming, to the Great Lakes. 
These are some of his principal undertakings, and are 
evidences of a boldness, foresight, and confidence in the 
ability to achieve, not often possessed by any one man. 
Over-attention to business and continuous mental exertion 
finally impaired his health and shattered his constitution ; 
hence, for several years previous to his death, he was 
obliged to abstain from great mental exertion. He died 
suddenly, on October Qlh, 1872, while in convers,ation 
with his associates of the Southern Central Directory, at 
Auburn, New York, in the sixty-first year of his age. 
Thus closed the earthly career of a singularly energetic 
man, who died as he had lived, " with harness on his 
back." He w.as possessed of a marvellously quick per- 
ception, a thorough knowledge of finance and industrial 
subjects, great faculty for organization and control, and an 
uncommon power of impressing his convictions on others. 
In 1843, he married a daughter of Hon. John Laporte, 
who, with seven children, survives him. 



cCLINTOCK, ANDREW TODD, Lawyer, was 
born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, Februaiy 
2d, 1810. Flis ancestors were Scotch-Irish, his 
father-, Samuel McClintock, having been born in 
the north of Ireland, but of Scotch origin. His 
mother was Hannah Todd, of Montgomery county, 
Pennsylvania. His preliminary education was received at 
the schools of his native county, after which he spent three 
years at Kenyon College, Ohio. He then commenced the 
study of law under the direction of James Hepburn, a very 
talented attorney of Northumberland. After about one 
year, he removed to Luzerne county and completed his 
legal course in the office of the Hon. George W. Wood- 
ward, with whom he was afterwards in ]iartnership. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1S36, and has ever since been 
in the active practice of his profession. He was appointed 
District Attorney of Luzerne county by Attorney-General 
Johnson, under Governor Porter, and discharged the duties 
ofthat office with distinguished ability and conscientiousness. 
But public position being distasteful to him, he resigned 
the office after one year's service. He has frequently been 
solicited to accept public appointment, but has invariably 
refused. He has been for a numlier of years counsel of 
the Delaware & Hudson, and Delaw.are, Lackawanna & 
Western Railroad Companies. He was appointed, by 
Governor Hartranft, one of the Commissioners to revise 
the New Constitution, who commenced their sessions in 
Philadelphia, in August, 1874. In 1841, he was m.arried 
to Augusta, daughter of Jacob Cist, of Wilkesbarre. 





556 

" " URPIIV, JAMES, Merchant, was bora in Ireland, 
Januaiy 28lh, 1842. His parents were Daniel 
Mvirpliy anil Mary (McMahon) Murphy, both of 
unmixed and worthy Irish extraction. He came 
to this country in 1S54, and settled with his family 
in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. His education 
was accjuired in the common schools of the vicinity, and, 
though debarred from pursuing his studies in the thorough 
and comjilete manner which he desired, he nevertheless 
succeeded in obtaining a usefid and a practical education. 
In Decenil)er, 1S56, he entered the general mercantile 
establishment of the brothers Wright, of Lock Haven, and 
continued to act in their employ until i86l. At that date 
the original fum was succeeded by Simon Scott, with 
whom he remained until May, 1865. A branch store was 
then opened by his employer, at Renovo, and, being ex- 
tended an interest therein, he took charge of the business 
at that point; this establishment was known under the 
name of Murphy & Co., the profits being equally divided 
between James Murphy and Siinon Scott. Ultimately, the 
branch store became the leading mercantile house in 
Renovo; the trade, in a fair season, averaging one hun- 
dred thousand dollars per annum ; this business being 
accomplished in a place containing but about two thousand 
five hundred inhabitants, and having no surrounding 
country to depend upon for profitable relations, as the 
town lies in the heart of the valley, and is isolated from 
the neighboring villages and large centres of commerce. 
Also connected with the house of Murphy & Co. is an 
extensive clothing establishment, whose business is prose- 
cuted under the name of Logan & Co., James Murphy 
being largely interested as one of the company. For a 
long period he was a School Director on the Board of 
Renovo, and, as one of the fust who acted in that capacity 
wlien the town was founded, was noted for his energy and 
generous efforts. He has also been Treasurer of Renovo, 
and an influential member of the Town Council, exhibiting, 
in this position, commendable firmness and judgment. 
As Treasurer of the Building Loan Association, his shrewd 
enterprise and unerring foresight have contributed materially 
to its successful esLiblishment. Entering into life without 
means, he has, unaided, won for himself position and 
public esteem. lie was married, in 1S64, to Catherine 
Keefe, of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. 



I ITCAIRN, ROBERT, Superintendent of the Pitts- 
burgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, was 
born in Johnstone, a village near Paisley, in 
Scotland, on May 6th, 1836. His parents, who 
had emigrated to this country in their early life 
and returned to Scotland again, came once more 
to the United St.ites, in 1846, and settled in Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania. He received a common-school education, 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP/EDIA. 



p.artly in Scotland am! partly in this counti-y. In 1S50, he 
entered the service of the Atlantic & Ohio Telegraph Com- 
pany, a.s messenger boy, in the Pittsburgh office; soon after- 
wards perfected himself in telegraj)hy, and was promoted to 
operator. In the fall of 1S52 or 1S53, he entered the service 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad as Telegraph Operator and 
Assistant Ticket Agent at Mountain House, near HoUidays- 
burg, while that company was yet using the old Portage 
road over the AUeghenies. In February, 1854, the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad having completed their own line over the 
mountains, he was transferred to the General Superintend- 
ent's office, Altoona, to await a similar position at one of 
the mountain way-stations then being opened. He, how- 
ever, was fortunate in being retained in the General Super- 
intendent's office, where he remained, filling different posi- 
tions, until 1861, with the exception of one year's intermis- 
sion, he having been sent to the Western Division of the 
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway, when that 
road was being completed from Plymouth to Chicago. In 
1861 or 1862, he was appointed Superintendent of the Mid- 
dle Division from MilHin toConemaugh. Some lime after- 
wards the road was reorganized, and he was appointed 
Superintendent of Transportation, a position he held until 
the spring of 1865, when he was promoted to be Superin- 
tendent of the Pittsburgh Division. In that responsible 
position he is still engaged. He has therefore served for 
twenty-two years, uninterruptedly, in the Pennsylvania 
Railroad Company's interest, rising from the position of 
messenger to that of Division Superintendent, and growing 
up with the business of from two to three trains per day to 
the immense travel now passing over the road. He was 
married, in 1856, to Elizabeth E., daughter of John Rigg, 
of Altoona, and formerly of Levvistovvn, Pennsylvania. Of 
two younger brothers who started as he did, John Pitcairn, 
Jr., was lately General Manager of the Oil Creek & Alle- 
gheny River Railroad, and has now retired from railroad 
business ; and Hugh Pitcairn is now Division Superintendent 
of the Pittsburgh Division of the Pan Handle Railroad. 



/oJ\ RIDGENS, R. R., Lumber Merchant, was born in 
Lock Haven, Clinton county, Pennsylvania, Oc- 
tober loth, 1S18. His father, Thomas Bridgens, 
and mother, Rosanna (Richey) Bridgens, are 
residents of the same county, and were among its 
earliest and best-known settlers. In former days, 
Ills grandfather also resided in the neighborhood, and acted 
valiantly as a captain of militia during the Indian war which 
then agitated this section of the State. R. R. Bridgens 
lived on a farm until he had attained his seventeenth year, 
acquiring — in accordance with the primitive usages of those 
days — the rndiments of the crude and elementary education 
obtainable in the neighboring log school-house. In the 
year following his withdrawal from school life, he entered 




41 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPyEDIA. 



557 



into the business of contracting on railroads and canals ; and 
from that date down to the present time has been constantly 
engaged in this occupation, operating on an extensive scale, 
and in different parts of trie county. He is now, and has 
been for many years, largely engaged in the lumber trade; 
and the firm of Noyes, Bridgens & Co. are probably the 
largest dealers in square lumber on the West Branch. He 
is interested also in the banking-house of Moore, Simpson 
& Co., of Lock Haven ; and, for a number of years, has had 
charge of the canals in this section of the Stale, receiving 
his appointment from the Canal Commissioners in 1857, 
and holding it until the date of the final sale of the canals. 
While acting in the above-named capacity, he evinced a 
thorough knowledge of the many details and duties attend- 
ant upon its management and administration, and in every 
particular gave entire satisfaction to all concerned therein. 
In politics he belongs to the old Democratic school; and, 
although never holding, or desiring to hold, any political 
office, has always been an active and a prominent member 
of the party. During one period, owing to the warm soli- 
citations of his friends, he was Burgess of the town, and as 
such deported himself with dignity and capability. At an 
early date entire success crowned all his efforts, and, 
acquiring in due lime a considerable fortune, he has ever 
been distinguished for his public and private generosity and 
benevolence. At the present time, he devotes but little 
pen:onal attention to any of the mercantile pursuits in which 
he is still extensively interested, preferring to enjoy the 
pleasures of a tranquil and unfettered privacy. He is 
widely known as a skilful and untiring hunter; and, at the 
arrival of the proper season, proceeds with tents and a pack 
of hounds, twenty-four in number, to the camping-ground, 
where, accompanied by his friends, he indulges with great 
zest in his favorite recreation. In manner and action he is 
modest and unassuming, in conversation appreciative and 
interesting, and his undeviating integrity in all things is 
worthy of high commendation. • He was married, in 1850, 
to Elizabeth Crawford, of Lock Haven, Clinton county, 
Pennsylvania, a woman of lovable and admirable character. 



'RIPP, IRA, Capitalist, was born in Providence, 
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, January 6th, 1814. 
His father, Isaac Tripp, and mother, Catherine 
La France, were of English and French ancestry. 
They removed to Pennsylvania from Providence, 
Rhode Island. His education was received at 
the common schools, and the business of his life, from his 
early youth to the present day, has been that of a farmer. 
In connection with his agricultural pursuits, he has also 
been largely engaged in coal-mining operations, owning 
large tracts of coal lands which he leases, not working the 
mines himself. In other real estate he is also heavily 
interested, and is proprietor of a fine driving-park on the 





outskirts of Scranton, called " Tripp's Park." In February, 
1S38, he was married to Rosanna Shoemaker, of Wyoming. 
His high sense of public duty and patriotism prompted him 
to enlist, in the commencement of the late war, and although 
over age, he entered upon an active campaign. At the 
battle of Falling Waters, Virginia, he was captured, and as 
a prisoner endured the horrors of Libby Prison for six 
months. After his exchange, he was honorably discharged 
from the service. He is a Director in the Trust and 
Savings Bank of Scranton, also in the Second National 
Bank of Scranton, and is a high-toned public-spirited citizen, 
enjoying the high regard of all who know hini. 



ORMAN, CHARLES R,, M. D., Physician, was 
born at BarUhamsted, Litchfield county, Connect- 
icut, August 4lh, 1817. His early education he 
received at the schools of the neighborhood, com- 
pleting his course at the academy in Westfield, 
Massachusetts. Determined to adopt the Medical 
profession, he entered the Jefferson College in 1S44. After 
attending two courses of lectures, he graduated from that 
institution in 1846, and immediately removed to Pittston 
and commenced to practice. Here he has ever since 
remained, devoting himself entirely to his professional 
duties and enjoying the confidence of the entire community. 
Prior to his settlement in Pittston, he had studied for two 
years under the tuition of Dr. B. F. Throop, in Scranton, 
a warm personal friend of Dr. J. T. Gorman, his father, 
who practised in Abington, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, 
and died in 184S. 



ACKEY, L. A., LL. D., Lawyer, President of the 
Lock Haven National Bank, was born in White 
Deer township. Union county, Pennsylvania, 
November 25th, 1819. His parents were Thomas 
S. Mackey and Catherine (Augstatt) Mackey, 
both from Berks county, Pennsylvania. His pre- 
liminary education was received under the able guidance 
of the late Rev. David Kirkpatrick, then resident in Milton, 
Pennsylvania; when that divine, subsequently, removed to 
Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, L. A. Mackey followed him, 
and was pi-epared for Union College, at Schenectady, New 
York. Among the former students under the above-named 
scholarly and esteemed preceptor were Governors Curtin 
and Pollock, with many others who have since become men 
of note and eminence. So rapid was his progress that, 
before attaining his sixteenth year, he passed the required 
examination, and, when admitted to the college, was the 
voungest member in a class of one hundred and eight. He 
then took a two years' com-se, graduated with the highest 
honors of his class, and was selected to deliver the usual 
Greek Oration. Subsequently, he entered the law office of 




SS8 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



ex-Governnr Pollock, where, (luring the ensuing year, he 
industriously pursued a course of legal studies ; at the expi- 
ration of that perio<l, he entered the law-school of Dickinson 
College, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, that chair being then 
under the charge of Judge Keed, renowned for his scholar- 
ship and sterling abilities. While here, he was honored by 
receiving the degree of LL. D., graduated, and, in 1840, 
was admitted to the bar of Carlisle. Removing to Lock 
Haven, he commenced, in 1S41, the active practice of his 
profession, continuing to prosecute it until 1S55. At this 
date he became one of the chief movers in organizing the 
Lock Haven Bank, with a capital of $200,000 — $120,000 
paid in. Of this institution he was chosen President, and 
as such has continued to act down to the present time, while 
his management and operations have always given entire 
satisfaction to all connfcted with the institution. In 1865, 
the bank was merged into a National bank, and at present 
possesses the full esteem and confidence of its numerous 
depositors. In 1S70 — when Lock Haven became a city — 
he was chosen its first Mayor, and held that responsible 
office for three years, during which time he greatly assisted 
in its progress, and in the profit.ible development of its 
industries and resources. For many years he has been 
closely and importantly identified with all the leading 
interests in this section of Pennsylvania, and his actions 
have always been characterize<l by calm discrimination, 
matured judgment, .and beneficial enterprise. He is Presi- 
dent of the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad Company, which 
runs between Lock Haven and Tyrone, and has filled this 
office for the past ten years. He is also President of the 
Central Normal School Association of Pennsylvania, and 
President, moreover, of various other minor enterprises and 
institutions. In politics, he is of the old Democratic school ; 
in 186S, was the candidate for Congress in his district; and 
at the present time is prominently named for the same posi- 
tion. He was married, in 1847, to Mary Hepburn, a 
daughter of .Samuel Hepburn, of Milton, Pennsylvania, a 
distinguished and learned legal practitioner of that place. 



fCCLUSKV, A. L., Justice of the Peace for Indiana, 
Pennsylvania, was born in Alexander town, West- 
moreland county, Pennsylvania, June 23d, 1815. 
His parents were William McClusky and Jennie 
(Larimet) McClusky, and he is of worthy Scotch- 
Irish extraction. His education was acquired in 
Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and, at an early age, he 
evinced those persevering and energetic qualities which 
have since conduced to bring him before the public as a 
prominent and influential citizen and officer. LTpon the 
completion of his course of studies, he engaged in general 
occupations until 1859, when he was elected Clerk in the 
office of the Court Register and Recorder. In 1871, he 
was elected to the position which he occupies at pres;enl — 




Justice of the Peace for Indiana county. While aclin" in 
this honorable and responsible capacity, his entire conduct 
and actions have evidenced commendalile ability and 
shrewd judgment. He is warmly att.iched to the Republi- 
ciM party, is a firm supporter of its principles and move- 
ments, and is esteemed ,as an industrious and a leading 
member. In many of the past campaigns which have 
agitated Pennsylvania and^he surrounding country, he has 
participated prominently, and, though of an unostentatious 
nature, has, when necessity or emergency required the effort, 
stood forward promptly and fearlessly to sustain or vindicate 
views, opinions, and actions, conscientiously adopted and 
performed. Owing to no one the position and reputation 
which he has attained, and believing firmly in the value and 
efficacy of self-assistance, he is worthy of much commenda- 
tion for his indefatigable industry and the shrewd enterprise 
th.at has won him the cordial respect and admiration of a 
wide circle of friends and acquaintances. In all matters 
involving the interests of his State he is a vigorous mover, 
and is never backward in assisting in charitable and 
philanthropic enterprises. 



ARVEY, GEORGE T., M. D., Physici.an, was born 
in Doylestown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 
ijll 1817. His father and mother were Enoch and 
C^'f Sarah Harvey, who were among the earliest 
settlers in this section of the Slate, and were 
widely known and respected in the adjacent 
His education was acquired in the boarding- 
school of Bridgepoint, Pennsylvania, and upon the comple- 
tion of his course of elementary and preliminary studies, he 
commenced the study of medicine under the efficient tutor- 
ship of Dr. Abram .Stout, .an able and conscientious practi- 
tioner and director. At this time he was in his twenty-first 
year, and, appreciating fully the value of constant and 
minute research, napidly prepared himself for his profession, 
and finally graduated in the University of Pennsylvania. 
Later he removed to southwestern Missouri, and finding 
what he deemed a desirable and promising locality, remained 
in that country for about three years, practising with en- 
couraging success. Subsequently he returned to his native 
place, and, temporarily abandoning the pursuit of his profes- 
sion in one branch, established a drug and prescription 
store. In this enterprise, of which he was sole proprietor 
and manager, he acquired, by his thorough technical and 
medical knowledge, and his practical and valu.tble advice, 
the confidence and respect of a wide circle of customers and 
patients. At the breaking out of the Rebellion, actuated 
by an ardent desire to assist in sustaining the integrity of the 
Union, he entered the service of the United States Army, in 
the 25th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers; this organi- 
zation was enlisted for a term of thirteen months, and he 
acted with it until the expiration of that time, when it was 




BIOGRAnilCAL ENCVCLOP.-EDIA. 



S59 



duly musteied out. He then re-enlisted in the I04tli Regi- 
ment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, for three years service; 
on this occasion he was chosen Captain of a company, 
lie participated actively in the battle of John's Island, and 
was prominently engaged in the first action at Fair Oaks, 
where he was noted for gallant and serviceable conduct. 
Later, he accompanied the army to YorUtown, and down 
the Peninsula, taking an active part in the siege of Charles- 
ton, South Carolina. He afterward figured constantly in all 
the important operations, movements and engagements of 
the Army of the Cumberland, and was the recipient of 
many encomiums from his senior officers for his indefati- 
gable energy, his shrewdness and bravery. Although at 
that date a man well advanced in years, he performed a 
soldier's part in the most commendable manner, undergoing 
many hardships and mnch perilous exposure in the faithful 
discharge of numerous responsible duties. Upon^several 
occasions he was deputed to accomplish various mano^ivres 
and movements, attended with great and evidenf'<Tange!* 
and in every instance evinced a cheerful willingness'fo oBey 
scrupulously any and all commands, repeatedly learfi^ig^is 
men through hazardous and perilous encounters, and rai'ely 
experiencing a rebuff or defeat. At the termination,^ Hie 
conflict, he 'returned to Doylestown, and at on^'C'^esimiec} 
the personal management of his former extensrverhnd re*^ 
munerative business. He is a widely re'jpfecled 1in<t. influ- 
ential citizen of the above-named town, and is-no'ted-'for- 
his scholarly attainments, his energy aiid iiihbst&titajious 
benevolence. ■ ' 



('p/||OWRY, HON. MORROW B., Merchant.Legis^ 
U lator and Capitalist, was born at Mabel, Chau- 

fL) tauqua county. New York, March 6lh, i8n. In 
L^ . . . . 

j lyS?! ^'^ father, with his mother and nine 
^, f brothers, emigr.tted from the no th of Ireland 
and came to the United States; the mother and 
children belonged to the Covenanter or old-fashioned 
Presbyterian Church, which fact necessitated their emigra- 
tion. In 1791, the family moved to Erie county and 
settled at North East township, where all, with the excep- 
tion of the two elder sons, who returned to Union county, 
decided to settle permanently. Soon after moving to 
Pennsylvania, the family became seriously involyed hi 
legal troubles, and were compelled to resort to much litiga- 
tion in successfully establishing their claim to land, which 
they had purchased from the State and had- patented, but 
which was subser|uently claimed by the Population and 
Holland Land Company. While in Eric county, Morrow's 
father was married to Anna Barr, daughter of James Barr, 
who died in January, 1823, leaving a family consisting of 
seven sons and three daughters. Removing later to 
Chautauqua county, he resided there a few years, then left 
Mabel, transporting himself and family thence in a flat- 
bottomed boat, built on Chautauqua Lake, and in which the 



party traversed the French creek upward from Franklin to 
Meadville. Locating on Watson's run, Sandisbuiy town- 
ship, in Crawford county, ihey found themselves in a wil- 
derness, with no educational opportunities save those 
furnished by the incompetent master of an old log school- 
house, whose windows were made of greased paper, and 
whose acconiniodations were of the most primitive nature. 
Even these poor and excessively limited advantages Mor- 
row was not permitted to enjoy for any great length of 
time, since, the family being in straitened circumstances, 
the most trivial expenses were a source of discomfort, and 
he wasxibliged to contribute toward his own and its main- 
tenance. '.In 1824, his father married a Second time, 
esppusiiigf Mary Gibson, daughter of Andrew Gibson, of 
Fairfield 'ttownshii^. Eventually from this union sprang 
three sons, vizj Alexander, who was killed at the second 
battle of^Buil Run; Andrew, who resides in Rockford, 
Illinois; and Israel, living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 
1S26, his father again moved to Youngsville, in Warren 
county; ^but^in the new home Morrow remained but a few 
months; already his ambitious spirit began to assert itself, 
and he wai^ planning a beginning whose end was to be 
honor,a4ole and emineut. Travelling to North East, Erie 
county, heTaScred rh,e store ofliis ciusin, Hugh W. Lowry, 
atrd remaineUj»vii)T;!TlTft luitil 1828. He then started for 
Biiaflalo; arrivn»g«ilieii^he lodged at the Rathbone House, 
and ihWiti' >! 'H" pic.iltJetor' Mr.' Rathbone, succeeded in 
^ohtamim^ in tne.Store. of Leonard B. Creary. In 

this eslnlili'lnii' n( lie'reniained two yeai-s, when, his em- 
ploye'r 'dyiifif,- he ftjutid fresh occupation in a hardware 
store, ^continuing in-ihat situation until the spring of 1S31. 
A< thiexpirat'ion of three years, he determined to establish 
a business on his own account. Although only nineteen 
years of age, and unaided, he went to New York, and 
there obtained a stock of general merchandise amounting 
in value to more than $10,000, giving for this sum notes 
payable in six months. He then shipped the stock to Con- 
neautville, where he commenced business with what was 
at that time the finest and largest assortment of goods ever 
brought to Crawforil county. In this enterprising venture 
he was eniinenlly successful ; and, greatly encouraged, he 
engaged largely in the butter trade, purchasing all that he 
could obtain in_ the 'counties of Crawford, Mercer and 
Bufler, which was packec)' in firkins and shipped to Detroit, 
then beginning to be a'town of considerable importance. 
He also traded his goods "for cattle' of every description, 
and for horses and mules, which, found on the Western 
Reserve, were driven to Eastern markets. After concluding 
a very satisfactory business in Detroit, he returned, and, 
overtaking his drove of cattle in the Narrows of the Sus- 
quehanna, a few miles from Harrisburg, accompanied 
them, riding on a mule, into the last-named city: Within 
two days he had profitably disposed of all his cattle, and, 
with the cash proceeds, arrived in New York on the day 
when his notes beoame due. His piomptness in meeting 



SGo 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



his liabilities increased his credit in that city, and subse- 
quently was of great service to him in various ways. In 
the fall of 1841, he was nominated by the Democratic party 
and elected to the Lower House of the Legislature from 
Crawford county; and in 1S42 he was again elected. The 
Lowry family had always been warmly attached to Demo- 
cratic principles, siding with the Democratic party on all 
important issues. His object in going to the Legislature 
was purely a business one, while also usefully patriotic in 
its tendencies. He saw that the State needed appropria- 
tions for the Erie Exten,ion Canal and for other important 
purposes, and he was the author of the Bill for the Relief 
of the Domestic Creditors of the State ; he succeeded also 
in introducing and carr)'ing through a bill for the abolish- 
ment of the Nicholson Court, and obtained such legislation 
as settled the titles to lands in Northwestern Pennsylvania. 
For many years he attended the Slate conventions, and was 
an active and able mover in politics generally. He acted 
with the Democratic parly until James Buchanan became 
its candidate for the Presidency, when, from conscientious 
motives, he severed his connection with it ; prior to this 
event he had always been called a Democratic Abolitionist, 
and with just title. On uniting with the Republican party, 
he was immediately elected-a Delegate at Large to the 
National Republican Convention which nominated Abra- 
ham Lincoln for President, and was also a Delegate to the 
convention which renominated him ; in both conventions 
he served on the Committees on Resolutions. He was an 
old and trusted friend of John Brown, of Harper's Ferry 
fame, whom he visited after his incarceration. His in- 
tended visit was communicated to Governor Wise, who 
ordered a guard of soldiers to accompany him and then 
conduct him out of the State. In 1S48, he moved to Erie, 
where he has since chiefly resided. In 1861, on the even- 
ing of the day upon which Sumter was attacked, a public 
meeting was held in Erie, at which he offered S2000 to the 
rciment which should be the first to leave Northwestern 
Pennsylvania for Washington. This proved an incentive, 
and in a short lime the "83d" became a reality, and the 
promised $2000 was directed to be justly shared among the 
families of the indigent volunteers. During the course of 
the speech delivered at that meeting. Morrow Lowiy enun- 
ciated the following opinions, then considered rash and 
daring in the extreme : " I would enlist the blacks eveiy- 
where. . . . Thi; war must end in emancipation, and 
the sooner we have emancipation the sooner we will have 
peace." In the fall of that year, he was elected to the State 
Senate, to represent the counties of Erie and Crawford, and 
was retained by an admiring constituency in this position 
for nine consecutive years. During the Rebellion, many 
posiiions of trust and honor were offered him by the Gene- 
ral Government, but these he invariably declined, preferring 
to occupy the position conferred on liim by Governor Cur- 
tin — to care for the sick and wounded soldiers of Pennsyl- 
vania. In this latter noble employment he organized a 



system acknowledged by all to he the best and most effec- 
tual in accomplishing the desired ends. At the close of the 
war, he differed with his party on the Currency question, 
believing that the national banking system was a war 
measure, and that the " banks should be mustered out with 
the troops." In 1S67, he published a letter, which, full 
of political truths and original ideas boldly and ably ex- 
pressed on the posiiions and questions of the day, created 
considerable excitement in public circles. In this he spoke 
strongly and eluquently C(jncerning the License question ; 
Mrs. Surratt, whose execution he declared to be " the most 
wanton State murder on record"; the Naluralizalion of 
Foreigners; and Negro Suffrage. During his last term in 
the Legislature, he was stricken wilh paralysis in his right 
side, but fortunately the attack was not attended with fatal 
results. In 1870, after returning home from his legislative 
labors, over 2000 citizens of Erie united in a request to 
him that he would become their candidate for Congress, 
an honor he firmly declined in a letter full of pathos, loy- 
alty and manliness. " Taxes levied for ihe war," be wrote, 
" should have been reduced when the war ended, so that 
the interest should be paid, public credit maintained and 
the people relieved and encouraged. Make banking on 
public securities free — reduce the taxes, and -specie pay- 
ments will be the inevitable result." Again, speaking of 
Negro Sviffrage : " Clans and classes are o])poscd to Chris- 
tian fraternity, are odious to republican equality and justice." 
He now enjoys the seclusion of private life, giving his 
whole lime to the management of his large estate, consist- 
ing of immense tracts of land in and around Erie and else- 
where. He was married, in the spring of 1832, to Sarah 
Fletcher, of Lansingville, Tompkins county, by whom lie 
had six children, all of whom, wilh their mother, are de- 
ceased. He was married again, in 1848, to Harriet I. 
Henderson, of Springfield, Erie county. Finally, more 
than forty children have, at different times, been educated 
and cared for tenderly through his bounty, while, during 
the war, he gave largely from his private fortune to preserve 
the integrity of the Union and to promote entire emanci- 
pation. 



RYDEX, ANDREW, Miner, etc., was born in 
Scotland, 'January lOlh, 1827. In May, 1843, 
he emigrated to the United St.ates, and until 
1S50 was engaged in the mines at Carbondale, 
Pennsylvania. Receiving a more advantageous 
offer from the Pennsylvania Coal Company, he 
removed to Pittston and enlered the service of that com- 
pany in the capacity of Boss Miner. Here, with ihe ex- 
ception of the year 1863, when with the Baltimore Coal 
Company, Wilkesbarre, he has continued, and now fills the 
highly responsible position of Mine Superintendent. Tlie 
operations of the company are most extensive; it produces 
over 12,000,000 of tons of coal per year, and employs about 




niOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.-EDIA. 



5f,i 




2600 hands in and around its works. Ills position is one 
wliich requires tlie possession of peculiar faculties to properly 
fill, and his long tenure thereof fully attests the competence 
with which he discharges his duties. What education he 
lias acquired was obtained by chances, and his success in 
life is due to his own honest, steady and self-reliant exer- 
tions. He was married, in 1S45, at Carbondale, to Ann 
Law ; and, after her death, to Isabella Young, of Dun- 
more, in 1857. He is a School Director in Pittslon, a 
Director of the Minei-s' .Savings Bank, and for si.\ years 
was an Overseer of the Poor in East Pittston. 



ri.SON, WILLIAM R., Lawyer, w.as born in 
Reanistown, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, 
Januaiy 20th, 1S26. His father, John Wilson, 
was a prominent local politician, and a direct 
descendant of the famous Daniel Boone, who 
figured so largely as settler, backwoodsman and 
patriot soldier. His mother was of German extraction, 
and widely admired for her many womanly graces. He 
commenced the acquirement of a preliminaiy education in 
the common schools of his native town, but, owing to vari- 
ous circumstances, was able to attain to but a limited 
degree of proficiency. Subsequently, by a persevering 
course of self-education and well-directed industry, he 
fitted himself for that profession in which he has since risen 
to honorable position. He acquired a thorough knowledge 
of the law under the direction of the late Colonel Reah 
Frazer, and in 1850 was admitted to the bar. Immediately 
commencing the active practice of his profession in Lan- 
caster, he soon obtained a large and highly remunerative 
clientage. Rapidly attaining popularity, he became a 
member of the City Councils, and was chosen to fill the 
position of City Solicitor, fulfilling the duties of that position 
with marked ability. Although opposed in politics to the 
Administration during the late war to suppress the Southern 
Rebellion, he was, nevertheless, a strong and inflexible 
supporter of the Government, and delivered several ardent 
and eloquent speeches favoring a prompt suppression of the 
outbreak by force of arms, and encouraging enlistment and 
voluntaiy subscriptions. Throughout that memorable and 
trying epoch he ever manifested a fearless loyalty in the 
enunciation of his opinions, and advocated the cause of the 
Union in an able and energetic manner. He was a Direc- 
tor of the Inland Insurance and Deposit Company, of Lan- 
caster, and for some time acted as its Solicitor. For more 
than twenty years he has practised with marked success in 
the .Supreme Court, and is recognized as one of the leading 
members of the bar, commanding respect and admiration 
for his many natural and acquired talents. For more than 
fifteen years he was an influential and industrious member 
of the School Board of L.ancaster, and occupied himself 
incessantly and zealously in enlarging beneficial'^ the prin- 
71 




ciples governing school establishment and direction, evi- 
dencing in this particular a shrewd comprehension of the 
proper mode of management, and a commendable energy 
in carrying his conclusions to a practical and needed end. 
As a religious man, he is attached to the Presbyterian 
Church, and is generous in his donations for philanthropic 
and charitable objects. He was married, in January, 1S52, 
to a daughter of Frederick Oberlin, a well-known mer- 
chant and politician of Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, and 
has a thriving family consisting of three children. 



REWER^ HON. FRANCIS B., Physician, Mer- 
chant and Politician, was born in the town 
of Keen, New Hampshire, October 20th, 1820. 
Though not a native of, or at this time a resi- 
dent in, Pennsylvania, he has been conspicu- 
ously identified with the producing interests 
of this State. He received a thorough English and classi- 
cal education in the schools of his native State, and gradu- 
ated from Dartmouth in the class of 1843. He then 
entered upon the study of medicine, and after pursuing a 
course of study at the Jefferson Medical College, of Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania, he received his diploma from that 
institution and entered upon the practice of his profession 
at Baruet, Vermont. In 1 850, he removed to Titusville, 
Pennsylvania, and embarked in the lumber business on an 
extensive scale, becoming a member of the firm of Brewer, 
Watson & Co. He was also deeply interested in the petro- 
leum trade, and was largely instrumental in developing the 
great industries of which that product is the centre. The 
first well ever sunk for that oil was on the land of the firm 
of Brewer, Watson & Co., at the junction of Pine and Oil 
creeks, in Crawford county, Pennsylvania. For a number 
of years he was one of the largest operators and dealers in 
this commodity in the country. Having realized a very 
large fortune in his various enterprises, he retired to West- 
field, in the State of New York, and there established the 
First National Bank of Westfield, and became also the 
proprietor of the Westfield Locks Works, a most extensive 
manufacturing establishment. He has several times been 
elected to the New York I^egislature, where his record is 
in every way honorable ; and in 1S74 he was appointed by 
the President of the United States a Government Inspector 
of the Pacific Railway. 



^; INTZING, GRAVENSTINE, Cashier of the First 




National Bank of Lock Haven, was born in 
Lock Haven, Clinton county, Pennsylvania, Feb- 
^|_Cp, ruary loth, 1845. His father is I. C. Kintzing, a 
^^?y- prominent and influential citizen of this section 
of the State; his mother is Mary (Dunn) Kint- 
zing, whose family was one of the earliest to settle in the 
valley. Availing himself of the advantages offered by the 



5 62 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



daily common schools of his native town, he acquired an 
ordinary, but useful and practical, education. When in his 
eiijhtccnth year, he became actively engaged in business 
life, and since has met with far greater success and honor 
than usually falls to the lot of the majority of business men. 
His first essay was made in the lumber trade, the main busi- 
ness of this region of Pennsylvania. Acquiring an interest 
in a remunerative mill, he undertook its entire charge and 
conduct ; attending to the whole of the manifold duties en- 
tailed in operating it, and also to the financial department 
of the establishment. In this capacity he continued to act 
for two years, when he sold out his share in the concern, 
and shortly after entered the First National Bank as an em- 
ployi. In March, iS66, hewas appointed to the position 
of Teller, filling it for a period extending a short time over 
six years. How satisfactorily, and with what ability, he 
performed his duties is amply testified to by his subsequent 
appointment to the Cashiership of the institution. This 
event occurred in October, 1872, a vacmcy having been 
cause<i by the decease of his predecessor. He is probably the 
youngest bank cashier in the State ; and in the First Na- 
tional Dank of Lock Haven the cashier really holds the 
management and supervision, the President, occupied by 
other important interests, being unable to give much time 
or attention to the direction of its affairs; accordingly, 
upon the cashier necessarily devolves an important and 
onerous trust, and one requiring the constant exercise of 
great vigilance and careful discrimination. He is also a 
Director in the Lock Haven Shoe Company, a concern 
which does an extensive trade throughout the lumber re- 
gion, and particularly in Clinton county. In addition to 
this, he is an influential Director in the Great Island Dridge 
Company, an establishment possessing a cajiital stock of 
twenty-five thousand dollars. Although under thirty years 
of age, he is already one of the leading men in this section 
of western Pennsylvania ; occupies several responsible and 
])rominent positions, and bids fair, by his remarkable 
energy, shrewdness and enterprise, to take high rank among 
the wealthy, useful and eminent men of the State. 



ONES, COLONEL DAVID M., Register and Re- 
corder of Blair county, Pennsylv.inia, was born 
in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, April 24th, 
1838. His family was one among the earlier 
■^ [tr settlers of the State, and of Welsh descent. After 
receiving an ordinary common-school education, 
he le.arned with his father the trade of potter. In 1S60, he 
joined a corps of civil engineers, but at the outbreak of the 
war, in l86l, was among the first of the loyal men who en- 
listed in the service of the United States to crush the Re- 
bellion. Upon this occasion he served three months with 
the militia company of which he had been a member and 
a non-commissioned officer (Company D, 3d Regiment). 



He then assisted in raising and organizing a company of 
three years troops, and by them was elected First Lieuten- 
ant ; before receiving his commission, however, his captain 
became Lieutenant-Colonel of the regimental organization, 
and through this he received his commission as Captain of 
Company A, iioth Pennsylvania Volunteers. After the 
completion of this company at Harrisburg, the troops were 
assigned to active service in Marydand, and, in June, 1S62, 
joined the command of General Lander in West Virginia, 
participating in all his operations. After his death, they 
were placed under General Shields until after the b.atlle 
of Winchester, March 23d, 1862. Subsequently, they were 
transferred to McDowell's Corps, and afterward participated 
in Pope's campaign, and with McClellan in Maryland, and, 
finally, participated with the main army in its advance on 
Fredericksburg. He was wounded severely at the second 
Bull Run battle ; was taken prisoner at Chancellorsville, 
and confined for three weeks in Libby Prison. In 1862, 
he had been commissioned Major of his regiment, but the 
Colonel in command having been killed in battle, he in 
due course assumed command, and was finally appointed 
L'.eutenant-Colonel. At Gettysburg he was wounded again, 
and lost a leg; by this he was rendered unable to take 
further part in active service, and, October 9th, 1863, was 
mustered out of the service on account of disability resulting 
from his wound. In 1S64, he engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, continuing to live thus until 
elected to his present position in the autumn of 1865. Re- 
linquishing business at this period, he entered upon the 
duties of his office, December 1st, 1S65 ; in conclusion, we 
may a-";d that to this position he has been four times elected, 
a convincing proof that his record is fair and unspotted. 



f^alLLMORE, GEORGE F., Lawyer and Journalist, 
was born in New Hampshire, in 1S12. His 




ancestors were Scotch-Irish, and fought in the 
Revolutionaiy War. He was for some time a 
teacher in the State of New York, and came to 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1835. He was en- 
gaged to organize the first public school in Pittsburgh, un- 
der the then new common school law, and was soon after 
a teacher in the Western University, where he remained two 
years. He then read law for nearly three years, with'the 
late Hon. Walter Forward, and was employed as a writer 
in the office of Lowrie & Todd. Admitted to practice in 
i84l,hewas soon in the enjoyment of a large business. 
Thou'^h almost disal>led for active work for two months of 
each year by periodical catarrh, he had yet in twelve years 
become one of the most successful lawyers at the bar. The 
winter of 1S53 he spent at Harrisburg as a mcmljcr of the 
Legislature. At this time he became a proprietor and the 
editor of the Pittsbttrgh Post, and left it four years later 
with largely increased subscription lists. He was a candi- 




(?i<«xv -Pui ^i'W<^Afp'^»• 




«l 



BIOGRAPHICAL 

date for Judge in 1859, but not elected. Vf^en the war 
broke out, he was an earnest advocate for the cause of the 
Union, and has never been a party man since, nor sought 
any office. In 1S65, lie retired from his profession, bought 
a farm, and settled down to the long-coveted enjoyment of 
rural life. All his life he has been an enthusi.-.stic student 
of the natural sciences; and on such subjects his pen has 
not been quite idle, though his name has not appeared as a 
writer. He has a work almost finished on an interesting 
scientific subject, which those of his friends who have read 
portions of it strongly advise him to publish. He is a gentle- 
man of fine culture, and throughout his career has been 
esteemed as an upright and honorable man. a,^ » 




if ;>. 
^.^^j^UCKINGHAM, THOMAS LEA, D.B.^, M.f)., 

Dentist, was born March 9th, 1816, at Welawaie, 
near Stanton, his parents being James J5uckin_g; 
ham and Mary (Oliver) Buckingham, Bfl^glish' 
descent. He received his early education in- a 
common school near Brandy wine .Springs!, and 
on leaving that assisted his father in the niiilijig l>u.yntss, 
at which he remained until he was twenty ye?y-"s of age. 
He then followed the occupation of a fafmerjandrghntinued 
at that until 1S43, '" which year Jhs reir).9vq^l tg^. Ayi'.ming- 
ton, and began the study of dentistry in the ofiite of Dr. A. 
C. Reynolds. In 1845, he Ieft,.,.JVilmingtpr! ^nd came to 
Philadelphia, where he entered-..iiQto partnership with Dr* 
Lee, who had for many years b§en' established, on Wali7Ut 
street. This partnership ceased in„l846., since which Jate 
he has continued to practice his professiotijalone.., He,w^* 
one of the founders of the old Philadelphia. Dental. Co^le^; 
in which he took the chair of Mechanical Dentistry. This" 
college ceased to exist under its original constitution, and 
became merged into the Pennsylvania College of Dental 
.Surgery, which was established, in 1856, with an entirely 
new charter. In this latter college Dr. Buckingham at first 
held the same chair which he had previously held in the 
old college, but, in 1857, exch.anged it for tlu-it of-chemistiy, 
which he still retains. He was Dean of the,Faciilty of ^he 
College from 1857 to 1859, and again from 1865 to JS71; 
He received his M. D. degree, 'in l85l« ijomjiiie Philajfel- 
phia College of Medicine, ai>d-thn1r-of.. IX D. S., iji 1853, 
from the Baltimore Dental College. He vito one of the 
promoters of the Denial Times, and during its whole ex- 
istence contributed regularly to its columns. He also as- 
sisted in the establishment of the Pennsylvania Dent.i! As- 
sociation, the oldest dental association, with but one excep- 
tion, in the United States. In 1S60, he was the President 
of the American Dental Convention, and, in 1874, of the 
American Dental Association, which met that year at De- 
troit. He is one of the oldest established dentists in the 
cily of I'hiladelphia. 



ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 563 

ORDAN, THOMAS R., Engineer, was born in 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, February 12th, 1822. 
His parents were Thomas R. Jordan and Maiy 
Ann (Johnston) Jordan; both widely known and 
respected for their many estimable qualities. His 
education was acquired in the schools of his na- 
tive place, and he early manifested great perseverance and 
shrewd foresight. In 1843, he entered the United States 
Navy as landsman ; but after remaining in that position for 
one year was discharged at the instance of his father. 
Returning to Lancaster subsequently, he worked at the 
trade^uf carpenter for a limited space of time, but found it 
aii uncoiigenial employment at that point in his life. In 
1S46, hs.iji)tered the army of the United .States, then de- 
parting for>-Mexico. After serving for a short time as pri- 
Aiale, he wa* appointed Sergeant in the 2d Pennsylvania 
iVofuhtee^, commanded by Colonel Roberts, until the de- 
cease of ^iaX. estimable oflicer, an event which occurred in 
•Mexicof* tha." regiment - was afterward commanded by 
.Cqlohet'Ciay. While acting in this capacity, he upon all 
hecasiortsiicohducted himself with marked ability, and won 
iTKiny -"eitcJmiums for his gallant, useful and meritorious 
serviies; ''He was Ultimately discharged on account of dis- 
abijity- arising' from various causes, and returned to Penn- 
syhMTiia j'i'd NeW Qj'Ieans. He then became engaged anew 
in the'-car[5enteiV*thx<Flfc ; occupied himself in millwright 
worlJ*'of'iton' a'rKt-'vv'oOd'^aj^'was employed as an assistant 
iaJheTbluildivlg 6f "T^roiid 'BfWges, and in the manufacture 
ofj-fuiiTBig'-tables,' etc. ■■' In-lhlT'S'pring of 1857, he secured 
«i jki^iti6ii,Qh ariilro&d as Priv.ate Engineer, fulfilling the 
duliessttached'-totHi^ place until the fall of i860. In the 
ensWng'wiifiter, he forso'ok this employment and became 
ejigagSJiiii the hotel business, a venture which he has con- 
tiniiWlo pi'oseciite with great success down to the present 
time. ' He is a prominent and influential citizen of To- 
wanda, and noted for his solid business capacities, his skil- 
ful enterprise, and his undeviating integrity and uprightness. 
His qualifications for the business in which he is at present 
engaged are well known to a wide circle of travellers and 
resident men of >>K^lth and business, with whom his cour- 
teous demeanor' and attractive presence make him very 
popular. 



EGLEY, MAJOR FELIX C, Coal Operator and 
Capitalist, was born in Butler, Butler coinUy, 
Pennsylvania, February 28th, 1S25. His father, 
John Negley, participated actively in the War 
of 1812, and was noted for his gallant and meri- 
torious services ; his mother, Elizabeth (Patter- 
son) Negley, was a daughter of General James Patterson, a 
prominent and influential citizen of Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- 
vania. His grandfather took an active part in the memor- 
able movements and struggles of the Revolutionaiy con- 
flict, and distinguished himself by his intrepid and tireless 



564 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



efforts in aiding to sustain the Patriot cause, to secure a 
separate and free Government. On the paternal side he is 
of Swiss descent, his ancestors having emigrated from 
Switzerland to America at a period contemporary with 
William Penn; while in their native country these progeni- 
tors were rendered extremely conspicuous through the 
zealous support which they gave to the great Reformation 
and the renowned theologian and divine, Dr. Ulrich 
Zwingle. The early education of Felix C. Negley was ac- 
quired at Butler Academy, in the town and county of the 
same name ; upon the termination of the usual course of 
studies, he abandoned school life, and became engaged in 
engineering and general surveying. This occupation he 
pursued until the breaking out of the California gold ex- 
citement, of 1849, when, catching the general infection, he 
assisted in raising and organizing a company to search for 
gold in the new El Dorado. Being fully completed in 
numbers and outfit, this company left Pittsburgh in the 
spring of 1849, traversed the Plains, crossed the Rocky 
Mountains, and, in the following fall, arrived safely in 
California, without having been subjected to more than the 
usual amount of hardship and peril generally attending 
such a journey. Here the associates placed themselves in 
a desirable location, and Felix C. Negley was soon actively 
engaged in mining for gold ; possessing shrewd adminis- 
trative ability, he was appointed to control and manage 
the business affairs of the company, and eventually succeeded 
in acquiring a considerable amount of the precious metal. 
At the expiration of two years, passed chiefly in mining and 
minor trading operations, he deemed it advisable to move 
eastward, and shortly after arrived in safety in Pittsburgh. 
Here he associated himself with a firm which was the first 
to embark in the enterprise of mining and shipping coal by 
railroad to the above-named city; that initiatory essay 
proving highly successful, various other capitalists con- 
nected themselves with it, and, within a remarkably short 
space of time, the business was developed into one of great 
magnitude and importance. Until the breaking out of the 
Rebellion, in 1861, he was constantly and busily occupied 
in mining and shipping coal ; but, at this date, actu.ated 
by a fearless and an ardent loyalty, and desirous to aid in 
sustaining the integrity of the Union, he determined to 
tender his services to the Government as a volunteer sol- 
dier. He immediately contributed $50,000 from his pri- 
vate means to assist in suppressing the Rebellion ; and sub- 
sequently the major portion of this gift was employed in 
organizing and equipping a battalion of cavalry, with which, 
holding the rank of Major, he hurried to the scene of 
conflict. Thereafter, while arduously engaged for two years 
in the performance of perilous duties, he earned for him- 
self the reputation of an able and intrepid soldier. At the 
conclusion of the war, he returned to Pittsburgh and re- 
sumed his operations in mining and shipping coal, an occu- 
pation in which he is still extensively and importantly inte- 
rested. Although heedful when any leading or vital ques- 




tion arises, Major Negley has always refused to allow him- 
self to become embroiled in political agitations and partisan 
movements; solicited repeatedly to accept the candidature 
of various offices of trust, honor and emolument, he has al- ■ 
ways met such solicitations with a dignified but resolute 
refusal. In the system of the common schools, however, 
he takes the warmest interest, and for more than nineteen 
years has been an esteemed and influential Director of the 
public schools. 



■ BERIIART, GILBERT L., Civil Engineer .and 
Lawyer, was born at North Sewickly townshiji, 
Beaver county, Pennsylvania, June 15th, 1S30. 
His father, John Eberhart, was a prominent 
business man of the above-mentioned county, 
and well known as an upright and enterprising 
citizen. At the completion of the preparatory course of 
studies commenced in Mercer Academy, he entered Wash- 
ington College, Pennsylvania, and, in 1S52, graduated 
from that institution. After gr.adu.ating at Civil Engineer- 
ing, he was engaged on the Pittsburgh & Erie Railroad, 
and also in the city of Pittsburgh, until 1S56. At this 
date, he was appointed County Superintendent of Mercer 
county, for one year ; and subsequently filled the position 
of Principal of Public Schools, in Greenville, Pennsyl- 
vania, and, later, at Conneautville, Spring township, Craw- 
ford county, Pennsylvania, until April, 1S61. At the 
outbreak of the Civil War, he entered the service of his 
country, enlisting in Company D, known as the " Erie 
Regiment," for a teiTn of three months; he was then 
enrolled in the 8th Pennsylvania Reserves, as Commissary 
Sergeant. In 1S62, for efficient and meritorious service, 
he was promoted, on the field, to fill the position of Quarter- 
master of the Sth Reserves, and, prior to the receipt of his 
commission, was detailed as Commissary of Subsistence, 
on the staff of General Menle. During the progress of 
the rebellion, he continued to officiate in that department, 
and fulfilled the duties attached to his position with marked 
and acknowledged ability and integrity. At the fall of 
Richmond and the termination of the conflict, he was 
appointed by General Howard, as Superintendent of Edu- 
cation of the Frcedmen's Bureau, for the State of Georgia, 
remaining in this office for about two years. He then 
returned to Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where, upon the 
completion of a course of legal studies, he was admitted 
to practice in the courts of the above county, in June, 
1872. Through his shrewdness, enterprise, and scholarly 
attainments, he has gradually acquired a considerable 
clientage. In politics, he is a warm advocate of the prin- 
ciple* governing the Republican party, and is one of its 
most energetic and influential members; at the present 
time (August, 1874) he is a prominent candidate for the 
Asseir.bly on its ticket. 



/^S)^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



56s 







common 



'.ARRISON, ABRAHAM, Manufacturer, was born 
in the year 1S04, in Orange county, New York, 
near West Point. His father had been for many 
years engaged as a navigator upon the Hudson 
river, and his early days were passed in the old 
homestead, his education being obtained in the 
chools of his native county. He assisted his 
father until he attained his majority, when he decided upon 
learning a mechanical trade. He removed to Pittsburgh 
in 1S26, and entered the foundry of liis uncle, Lawrence 
Kingsland, of the firm of Kingsland, Lightner & Co. Here 
he remained for two yeare, industriously applying himself 
and succeeding in mastering the business of his choice in 
its every detail. Returning to his home upon the Hudson, 
he resumed his former life and continued thus employed 
for about five years, when, at the solicitation of his uncle, 
he again removed to Pittsburgh and rejoined the firm of 
Kingsland, Lightner & Co., as manager. .So valuable were 
his services that, in 1836, he was received into partnership 
with his former employers and the connection continued 
until 1839. He then, in association with H. L. Bollman, 
purchased the interest of the original owners, and continued 
the business under the firm of Bollman & Garrison until 
1851, when a junior partner withdrew. In 1864, he bought 
the interest of H. L. Bollm.an, and has been the head of the 
establishment since, the present firm consisting of A. Gar- 
rison, J. H. Rickelson and Willi.am Holmes. He has 
worked himself by energy, honesty and intelligent applica- 
tion to his proud position as head of one of the most e.x- 
tensive industrial establishments in Pennsylvania, which, 
to his sagacity and prudent management for years back, 
owes its present high success. He is a most active and 
public-spirited citizen, his high character and influence 
being fully recognized in the community in which he re- 
sides. He is the President of the Diamond S.ivings 
Bank, fills the same official post in the Pittsburgh and Mo- 
nongahela Bridge Company, and has occupied many other 
positions of high honor and responsibility. 



'AUFFMAN, COLONEL CHRISTIAN S., Iron 
Manufacturer, etc., was l^orn in Manor township, 
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, June I2th, 1826. 
He is of direct Swiss descent from both parents; 
his f-ither, Andrew J. Kauffman, was a farmer, 
well kncttvn and highly respected in the county. 
His scholastic education he received entirely in the com- 
mon schools of his native township. At the age of ten 
years, he entered a country store as assistant, in which em- 
ployment he continued for three years, when, his health 
beginning to give evidence of failing, he abandoned Ijis 
situation and returned to his father's farm. Here he re- 
mained until he was sixteen years of age, aiding in the 
routine duties of home labor during summer and attending 




the district common-school during the winter months. 
With increased knowledge and improved health he re- 
turned to the commercial establishment he had quitted, for 
two years, when he engaged in the mercantile business 
upon his own account. Meeting with fair success, in 1849 
he disposed of his business with the intention of emigrating 
to California. Sober second-thought resulted in his remain- 
ing in the East. In the spring of 1850, he resumed mer- 
cantile pursuits in Columbia until 1854. At this d.ite, in 
connection with Hugh M. North and General B. A. .Shaeffer, 
he purchased a furnace and proceeded to the manufacture 
of iron. After some time, Mr. North retired from the firm, 
and, at the death of General Shaeffer, Mr. Kauffman pur- 
chased from the estate his interest, and thus became the 
sole proprietor of the works, which he has been success- 
fully operating ever since. Some time after obtaining sole 
control, he rebuilt and enlarged the establishment, render- 
ing it complete in evei-y department, and introducing all the 
most approved appliances in order to enable him to pro- 
duce the best qualities of iron. In 1856, he was elected to 
the State Legislature and served for one term with credit 
to himself and full satisfaction to his constituents. He is 
a member of the town council and has been connected with 
a large number of corporations and companies as an officer 
and director, and having always taken a lively interest in 
the building of railroads and other internal improvements, 
he has done much to develop and build up the section of 
countiy in which Columbia is situate. He was appointed 
aid to Governor Pollock, and thereby received the title of 
Colonel. A strong supporter of the United States Govern- 
ment during the late Civil War, he contributed many thou- 
sand dollars to aid in the preservation of the Union. He 
is an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and deeply 
interested in eveiy movement for the advancement of re- 
ligion and morality. He was married, in 1852, to a 
daughter of the late Jacob Slrickler, a prominent farmer 
and miller of West Ilempfield township, Lancaster county, 
Penn.sylvania. 




AHM, EDWARD J., 
turer, was born in 



Merchant and Manufac- 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 
August 24th, 1831. The family is of Swis.s- 
Gennan origin. His great-grandfather. Right 
Rev. Michael Zahm, was a Bishop in the Moravian Church. 
At the time of the Reformation in Germany, there were 
two brothers of the family living : one remained with the 
Catholic and the other enlisted in the Protestant Church ; 
of the latter, Edward J. is a direct descendant. His father, 
Mathias Zahm, occupied various positions of public trust 
for nearly sixty years in Lancaster, and died August 25th, 
1874, aged eighty-five years. The resolutions of the Lan- 
caster Bar and School Board bear high testimony to his 
worth and integrity. Edward J. is the youngest of five sons 
and four daughters. His education, acquired at the public 



S66 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



schools of thirty years ago, was not particularly advanced, 
though he enjoyed for one year the benefits of the instruc- 
tion in the High School of Professor Kirkwood, since 
eminent as an astronomer. At the age of fourteen, he 
entered the watch and jewelry store of his brother, as 
an apprentice. Here he continued for eight and a half 
years, mastering all the delicate details of the art. In 
December, 1854, in connection with his brother, H. L. 
Zahm, he engaged in business on his own account under 
the firm-title of H. L. & E. J. Zahm, in Lancaster. Some 
years later, they purchased the property directly opposite 
their original location, known as the Hubley Comer, and re- 
fitting it handsomely, removed their establishment thereto. 
In March, 1870, he purchased his brother's interest, desig- 
nated the location Zahm's Corner, and has continued to 
enjoy uninterrupted prosperity. Through his intimate per- 
sonal relations with the late Rev. Henry Ilarbaugh, D. D., 
of the Reformed Church, he became actively attached to 
that denomination, and has filled several places of responsi- 
bility therein ; for many years he has been a prominent 
member of the Board of Trustees of its Theological .Semi- 
nary,- and was mainly instrumental in changing its location 
from Mercersburg to Lancaster. For a long time he has 
also been one of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Mar- 
shall College, located near his home. His zeal in the cause 
of Christian education and the interests of his denomina- 
tion h.as rendered him prominent in its Synods and widely 
known and respected in the church throughout the United 
States. He was of the first Board of Directors of the Lan- 
caster Inquirer Printing and Publishing Company, aiding 
largely in the organization of that important business in- 
terest ; was connected for one year, as a Director, with the 
Lancaster County Mining Company, and assisted in bring- 
ing into operation the means for the development of the 
rich mines controlled by this corporation. Recently, he 
accepted the Presidency of the Adams & Perry Watch 
Manufacturing Company, the parties associated with him in 
the enterprise only engaging in the undertaking upon the 
condition of his assuming that position. He vv.is married, 
April 5th, 1855, to Marg.aret, daughter of Jacob Kuhns, 
brickmaker, of Lancaster, and has three sons and four 
daughters. 

'Riddle, GEORGE W., Lawyer, was born in the 
city of Philadelphia, Januaiy nth, 1818. He 
was educated at St. Mary's College, Baltimore, 
and, on the completion of the usual curriculum, 
devoted himself specially to the study of the law. 
He was admitted to the bar, January nth, 1839, 
and h.as continued actively and successfully to follow his 
profession in his native city up to the present time (1S74). 
He is one of the most eminent lawyers of the Philadelphia 
bar, and fitly represents the ability, sterling integrity, and 
solid learning which have made that bar famous. Devoted 




almost exclusively to his private practice, which is very- 
large, he has held but few public positions; his services in 
this direction having been confined chiefly to the offices of 
School Director, member of Common Council, Trustee of 
the Gas Works of the city of Philadelphia, and member 
of the Fourth Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania 
of 1872 and 1873, in which latter body he was particularly 
prominent, representing the First Senatori.il District, com- 
posed of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh, Eighth, 
and Twenty-sixth Wards of the city of Philadelphia. He 
was a regular attendant at its sessions, and a frequent, 
powerful, and earnest speaker, especially in the discussions 
on the subject of the " Judiciary ; " he served also on the 
Committee on Impeachment and Removal from Office, of 
which he was the Chairman, and on that on Executive 
Departments. In politics, he is attached to the Demo- 
cratic party. 



n/ 



(^^1.,irvAMPT0N, HON. 



QJ 



fflA.\lI•^ON, HON. MOSES, LL. D., Lawyer, 
Judge, etc., was born near Darlington, Beaver 
county, Pennsylvania, October 28th, 1803. His 
' father, Moses Hampton, was one of the early 

pioneers of western Pennsylvania, whence he re- 
moved from the State of New Jersey, where he 
had resided for many years. He was of English descent, 
but served in the cause of freedom during the war of the 
Revolution. About 1S12, the family removed to Trumbull 
county, Ohio, where they built a log cabin, cleared ground 
for farming purposes, and, in the midst of the surrounding 
wilderness, toiled hard to build a home. In all these 
labors the son bore a willing part, adding to his farm work 
the trade of blacksmilhing, which was his father's occupa- 
tion. He left his home when seventeen and entered an 
academy at Burton, Ohio, where, his father being too poor 
to assist him in gaining an education, he supported himself 
by manual labor for one year, in which he acquired con- 
siderable jiroficiency in the English branches and had com- 
menced the study of Greek and Latin. Leaving Burton, 
he visited his home, and then, journeying on foot through 
the trackless forest, made his way to Washington College, 
Pennsylvania. Here he entered upon a regular course 
under the instruction of Dr. Wylie. In the last year of the 
session, 1826, he was tendered, and accepted, the post of 
Principal of the La Fayette Academy, at Uniontown, Penn- 
sylvania. This position he creditably filled (or two years, 
during which time he commenced the study of law with 
John M. Austin, of Uniontown. Here he w.as admitted to 
the bar in the early part of 1829, and immediately engaged 
in the practice of the profession. In 1S29, he removed to 
Somerset, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and became the 
colleague of Jeremiah S. Bl.ack and Charles Ogle. For one 
year he held, from Governor Ritner, the appointment of 
Prothonotary of the Courts of Somerset, and then resigned. 
He gained much reputation in this place, and ranked .as 



BIOGRAI'IIICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



567 



one of the leading members of its bar. In 1S3S, he re- 
moved to Pittsburgh, where his practice became greatly 
extended, and he engaged with zeal in the field of politics. 
In tlie Kitner campaign of 1837, he was among the most 
active and efficient advocates of Whig principles, winning 
thereby great popularity and adding largely to his profes- 
sional connection. Since the age of seventeen, he has 
been a regular member of the Presbyterian Church, and is 
one of the senior elders of that denomination. In 1846, he 
was elected to Congress as the representative of Allegheny 
county, and, in 1848, was re-elected. During his first 
official term, he was a member of the Committee on Com- 
merce; in the second session, on the Committee of Ways 
and Mean^. Returning to Pittsburgh, he proposed to de- 
vote himself to his practice, but, in 1853, was nominated 
for and elected President Judge of the District Court of 
Allegheny county. Re-elected as President Judge of the 
same court in 1S63, he served with distinction until Decem- 
ber, 1S73, when he retired to private life. While in Con- 
gress, he oinained an appropriation for the building of the 
Marine Hospital, on the Ohio river, below Pittsburgh, and 
also secured an appropriation of $75,000 for the building 
of the Pittsburgh Post-office; this being the first money 
ever granted for such purpose to any city excejit New York. 
During his term of service as Judge, he organized and i:)er- 
fected the system of the Allegheny County Work-house, 
now a great benefaction and a self-supporting institution. 
He was an original member of the Republican party. 

I'p^LACK, JEREMIAH .S., Lawyer and Judge, was 
born in Somerset county, Penn.sylvania, January 
loth, 1810. His father was a man of influence 
and considerable prominence, and, from 1814 to 
1818, was a member of the Legislature; after- 
ward, for several yeai-s, an Associate Judge; and, 
at the time of Ms death, a member of Congress. After 
acquiring a thorough classical and mathematical education, 
he abandoned school-life and adopted temporarily the oc- 
cupation of a farmer. When in his seventeenth year, he 
entered the law office of Chauncey Forward, in Somerset, 
and, in 1S30, while still in his minority, was admitted to 
the bar. In 1S31, he became Deputy Attorney-General for 
Somerset county, and, in 1S42, was elevated to the bench, 
becoming the President Judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas of the Judicial District composed of the counties of 
Somerset, Bedford, Fulton, Franklin, and Blair. In 1851, 
he was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Coiut of Penn- 
sylvania, to which he was re-elected in 1854. In 1857, 
under the administration of President Buchanan, he was 
the Attorney-General of the United Stales; in i860. Secre- 
tary of State ; and, in 1862, Reporter of the Supreme Court 
of the United States. He was elected a member of the 
Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania of 1872 and 





1873, as a Democratic delegate at large, and took an active 
part in all its deliberations until he resigned his seat on 
October 2d, 1S73. 



HOCK, SAMUEL, Lawyer and Financier, eldest 
son of John and Salome Shock, was born in 
Harrisburg, May 28lh, 1797. Ilis ancestry vv.as 
purely German, and his grandparents immigrated 
to this country at an early day, settling near 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, remov- 
ing to Harrisburg in 1792, filled the office of Commissioner 
and Treasurer of Dauphin county, and, in iSlo, was 
selected by the Legislature of Pennsylvania as a Commis- 
sioner with Robert Harris, Adamson Tannehill, William 
McCandless, and Nathan Beach, to survey the northern 
and southern roads from Harrislnng to Pittsburgh, to dis- 
cover the best route for a turnpike between the two places. 
After a thorough course in various preparatory schools, he, 
in l8l5-'l6, studied at the West Nottingh.tm Academy in 
Cecil county, Maryland, under the care of the Rev. Dr. 
Magraw and the distinguished linguist, Daniel M'Crem- 
nier. In iSi2-'i3-'i4, he was Recorder of Patents under 
John Cochran, Secretary of the Land Office, and Recorder 
of Surveys in the office of Andrew Porter, then Surveyor- 
General. In September, 1814, he joined the Harrisburg 
.'\itillerists, a volunteer company formed within twenty-four 
hours after the British had burned the Capitol at Wash- 
ington. This company, commanded by Richard M. Crain, 
marched to York, and thence to Baltimore, where they 
remained until the enemy abandoned the intended attack 
upon that city, and concentrated their forces near New 
Orleans. In May, 1817, he began to study law with Hon. 
Amos Ellmaker, Attorney-General of Pennsylvania, and, 
under his auspices, was admitted to the bar in March, 1S20. 
In the same year, he was appointed Solicitor of the Harris- 
burg Bank, which post he filled for many years, being later 
made Solicitor for the Directors of the Poor. In 1825, he 
took an active part in an unsuccessful effort to impeach 
Samuel S. Frank, President Judge of the Dauphin and 
Lebanon District. In the early part of his professional 
career, he was both a teacher and a superintendent of the 
Sunday-school of the Lutheran Church, and, by personal 
labor and generous contributions, aided materially in the 
erection of a Sunday-school house. In 1825, he was elected 
Clerk of the House of Representatives, by a union of the 
Whig and anti-Masonic members, as successor of Francis 
R. .Shunk, the Democratic candidate. In 1S37, he was 
made Secretary to the Convention to amend the Constitu- 
tion, and, at the close of the labors of that body, he was 
unanimously thanked. In 1839, he was elected Cashier 
of the Columbia Bank and Bridge Comi)any under no veiy 
favorable circumstances; its nominal capital being $150,- 
000, but, actually, not more than from $80,000 to $100,000, 
as a bridge costing more than $175,000 had, in 1S32, been 



$68 



i;iOGRx\PlIICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



carried aw.iy by an ice-fieshet, and the loss sustained had 
not l)een made up; no dividend had been made for five 
years, while the stock was selling at S35 per share for 
SlOO paid in, and few buyers; the capital was afterward 
increased to $250,000 by converting $100,000 of bridge 
capital into bank capital, which only enlarged the banking 
privileges without adding a dollar of money to its resources. 
In l8j7, the capilal was increased by subscription and pur- 
chase of new stock at S115 per share to $322,500. with a 
change of title to that of the Columbia Bank ; in 1865, the 
charter as a Slate B.tnk was surrendered, and it became 
the Columbia National Bank, with a capital -of $500,000, 
and the stock is now selling at from $145 to $150 per 
share ; he still retaining charge of its interests as Cashier. 
In 1848, he was appointed aid to Governor William John- 
stem, which, by courtesy, conferred upon him the title of 
Colonel. In i860, he was a member of the State Com- 
mittee of the Republican party, and a delegate to the 
National Convention at Chicago which nominated Abra- 
ham Lincoln for the Presidency. Through his exertions 
and liberal donations, an excellent library has been estab- 
lished in the common-school building, in Columbia, for the 
free use and benefit of the pupils of the common schools, 
and is known as the Shock Library ; also, in various other 
educational enterprises he has labored etificiently. During 
the Rebellion, he was noted for his loyally, and presented 
lo the company of volunteers first formed in Columbia a 
handsome and costly flag. At one and the same lime, he 
served as President of the following named companies and 
organizations: the Common-School Board, for ten years; 
the Columbia & Marietta Turnpike Road Coni])any; the 
Columbia & Chestnut Hill Turnpike Road Company, all 
of which he aided in constructing; the Columbia Water 
Company, and the Columbia Gas Company. He was 
Treasurer of the Reading & Columbia Railroad Company, 
but resigned that position in 1862, preparatory to embark- 
ing for a continental tour. He was also a Director of the 
Poor of Lancaster county, and of the Wrightsville, York & 
Gettysburg Railroad ; a Trustee of the Normal School at 
Millersville; and was twice elected Auditor of Lancaster 
county. He still fills the major portion of these offices, and, 
in addition thereto, is President of the Old Columbia Public 
Grou\id Company. He is a member of the Presbyterian 
Church in full communion, and P.esident of the Board of 
Trustees. In politics, he has been uniformly anti-Demo- 
cratic; in iSiS, he cast his first vote with the Old School 
party, which, under Michael Leeb and others, was an ofif- 
.shoot from the Democracy. In 1824, he was one of thir- 
teen citizens of Ilaruisburg who supported John Quincy 
Adams for the Presidency; in 1829, he joined the anti- 
Masonic party, and prepared the first political pamphlet 
issued by that party in Pennsylvania. He was a great 
admirer of Thaddeus Stevens. He was married, in 1842. 
to Hannah, youngest daughter of Amos Slaymaker, of 
Salisbury township, Lancaster county, noted as the pro- 




prietor of tlie famous " Good Intent" stage line of coaches 
that ran from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. She dying in 
March, 1S60, he was married again, in 1S65, to Annie E., 
ilaugliter of Robert Barber, a descendant of Robert Barber, 
one of the first settlers of Lancaster county, who took 
up one thousand acres of land, on a part of which the 
town of Columbia now stands. 



UFF, JAMES KNOX POLK, Lawyer, was born 
in Chartiers township, Allegheny county, Penn- 
sylvania, September loth, 1844. He is of Irish 
extraction, and in 1833 his family settled in 
Western Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Josejih 
Lawson, emigrated from Ireland in 181 1, and, 
upon landing in the United States, .settled in Delaware 
county. His father, Samuel A. Duff, removed with his 
grandfather, in 1833, to Allegheny county, each remaining 
there subsequently until his death. James acquired his 
education in various schools, including the Bethel Academy, 
of Allegheny county, presided over by Dr. George Mar- 
shall, noted for his talents and scholarly attainments. His 
course of studies he completed finally at Mount Union 
College, in Stark county, Ohio, where he evinced unusual 
discriminative powers and quick perception. Leaving this 
institution in 1861, he engaged in the study of the law 
under the guidance of General Shiras, Sr., of Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania. Upon the completion of his course of legal 
studies, he was admitted to the bar, in 1865. He imme- 
diately entered upon the active practice of his profession in 
Louisville, Kentucky, but in six months returned thence to 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he has since practised 
with success. At an early period he became warmly in- 
terested in the various political movements agitating his 
State and country; and, partici]iating actively in all. affaii-s 
touching the interest of the Democratic party, was early 
recognized as an able and energetic membA-. I'ulilic opera- 
tions and enterprises he has uniformly supported. He is 
Solicitor for various banks, railway companies and finan- 
cial organizations. In 1872, he received the Democratic 
nomination for the Legislature, and in 1874 was, by uni- 
versal acclamation, nomin.ited for District Attorney, a posi- 
tion he is well fitted to fill. 



ROWN, A. M., Lawyer, was born in Middlesex, 
Butler county, Pennsylvania, August 3d, 1829. 
His father, born in Cumberland county, Penn- 
sylvania, in 1800, was a descendant of one of the 
Revolutionary heroes who participated actively 
in the struggle for Independence; his mother, 
Mary Marshall, born in the county of Derry, Irelaml, came 
with her father's family to Pennsylvania when in her in- 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



569 



fancy, aiul at the present time is noted for her cultured 
intellectual powers and her womanly graces; she is a 
descendant of the renowned Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, 
whose offshoots form one of the most valuable and admi- 
rable elements of our present population. A. M. Brown 
was primarily destined by his parents to pursue a mercantile 
life, and when quite young became the recipient of a thor- 
ough business training, which was subsequently of great 
value to him as a lawyer practising in a large commercial 
centre. Later, he abandoned commercial pursuits, and, 
in accordance with his earliest and most ardent desires, 
entered upon the study of the law. Having diligently and 
profitably studied the legal science and practice under the 
able guidance of the Hon. Thomas M. Marshall, of Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania, he was, by " special allocatur," granted 
by the Hon. William B. McClure, President Judge of the 
Courts of Allegheny county — upon the certificate of the 
Board of Examiners — admitted to the bar in 1853; he was 
thus duly qualified to practice without having pursued the 
period of probation almost invariably required of law- 
students. He was then admitted to partnership with his 
learned and able preceptor, and the law firm of Marshall & 
Brown soon attained high rank in the profession ; the mem- 
bers, individually, also became prominent leaders in local 
and State politics ; not, however, as holders or seekers of 
office and emolument, but as public-spirited and loyal citi- 
zens. From the date of his admission to the bar down to 
the present time A. M. Brown has actively pursued the 
practice of his profession, for many years associated in 
partnership with the Hon. T. M. Marshall, and since 1865 
individually and for himself alone. At this date he is 
widely recognized as an eminent and influential practi- 
tioner and an upright law'yer, distinguished by ability and 
scholarly attainments. Although he has never sought nor 
held any political position of profit, the characteristics 
which have ensured him success in his profession and his 
oratorical powers have conduced to render him popular and 
powerful as a political mover. Few men have contributed 
so materially to the success of the Republican party, yet at 
all times he has been prompt and fearless in unveiling and 
suppressing eveiy species of trickery and injustice emanating 
both from his own and from the opposing party. As an 
energetic member of the Republican National Convention, 
at Baltimore, in June, 1864, and at Chicago in 1S6S, he 
acquired a national reputation. During the war to suppress 
the Rebellion, his best energies were contributed to main- 
tain the integrity of the Union; and, by his warm and well- 
directed efforts, the enlistment of volunteers for the army 
was greatly furthered. Although often urged by the people 
and the press to become a candidate for Congress, for ju- 
dicial and for various other responsible positions, he has 
invariably and resolutely declined to accept the proffered 
honors. In seeking a candidate, in 1S74, for Mayor of the 
consolidated city of Pittsburgh, under the new charter, the 
people and the newspaper press presented with rare unani- 

72 



mity the name of A. M. Brown for that office. The Pilts- 
btir^h Dispatch first publicly advocated his election in an 
able and lengthy editorial containing the following: ** We 
are well convinced that ninety-nine out of every hundred 
tax-payers will, at the mere mention of his name, feel satis- 
fied that, if the whole directory were searched over and 
carefully pondered, a fitter nomination could not be made." 
Speaking further of the new charter and of the increased 
importance, power and dignity attached to the above-named 
office, the same well-known journal says : ** It will be seen 
at a glance that the place, under these conditions, cannot 
be properly filled save by a person fairly conversant with 
city affairs, possessed of good judgment, firm will, and, 
chiefest of all, unbending honesty. It is no fulsome lau- 
dation, but a simple statement of fact, to assert that these 
attributes, one and all, are possessed by A. M. Brown. 
Certainly the most active member of the bar to-day ; inti- 
mately acquainted with the past history and present status 
of Pittsburgh ; of unyielding fidelity to the fulfilment of any 
duty reposed in him, he would not he merely a Mayor 
enjoying public confidence in his personal worth, but one 
capable of using at all times intelligently and for the best 
interests of the city the large authority reposed in his 
office." The Chronicle (Independent) also promptly and 
cordially endorsed the nomination, as did also the Leader, 
the Gazelle (Republican), the Telegraph, and the Posl (the 
only Democratic organ in Pittsburgh), and the News Item 
(a literary journal), with many other newspapers, all of 
which spoke in glowing terms of him and advocated 
earnestly his nomination and election. lie has been offered 
the position of Judge of the District Court by a majority of 
the bar, and twice firmly declined to enter upon the onerous 
duties of that office. He is distinguished for his liberality 
and benevolence; has ever been energetic and efficient 
upon all occasions of public and private emergency, and 
deservedly enjoys the respect and confidence of all who 
know him. 




/ 



URTIS, HON. CARLTON B., Lawyer and Con- 
gressman, son of John Curtis, was born in Madi- 
son county. New York, December 17th, iSi:. 
Having received an academic education, his 
'^iir^^ talents and taste led him to select the legal pro- 
^' fession, and he entered the office of the late 
Judge Mullet, of New York. Soon after he moved to 
Pennsylvania, and there continued his studies with D. C. 
Barrett, of Erie, until his admission to the bar. In 1834, 
he settled in Warren, Warren county, Pennsylvania, and 
immediately engaged in the practice of his profession. In 
some features of legal knowledge he is almost without 
superiors, while his reading has been so extensive and so 
carefully conducted that few jurists have a more profound 
knowledge of the general law. In 1836, then but twenty- 
five years of age, he was sent to the Legislature, serving 



S70 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



meritoriously; and in 1837 and 1S38 was twice re-elected; 
during his term there he warmly and ably supported the 
Common School Law, then heing enacted. Returning 
home he resumed his practice, and was thus occupied until 
1850, when he was elected to the Thirty-second Congress. 
He was an upholder of the Democratic parly and principles 
until 1855, when the Missouri Compromise was repealed; 
and since that time has affiliated with the Republican party, 
exhibiting himself as an able champion when it was sorely 
in need of competent leaders. In 1 86 1, when President 
Lincoln issued his call for troops, he- was in the enjoyment 
of a large practice, but his regard for his country's safety 
influenced him more strongly than did bis desire to advance 
his personal interests, and he immediately conimenced re- 
cruiting soldiers for the army. • I^s "efforts ^-eated the 
58lh Regiment of Pennsylvania \'pjunteers, and of this 
organization he was appointed Ciflooel.-, The* regiment 
was soon after ordered to .North Carolina, ajid tljer^ did 
efficient duty for a lengthy-.perio^. 11^ ,1-863,' his health 
began to fail, and he was required, Ao resign. Aftjer his re- 
turn home, and when reinstated in his fergier gaod health, 
he re-engaged in his professional dutios, and Since that, 
date has continued to pr.ictice with gre^t succqss.vln 1S72, 
the Republicans of the Niileleenth ■District. utvaniniqusly 
nominated and elected him to Jhe Ftj^-fX^JWrcl— Conj^'gSs.. 



a party of young men from his native county, for the purpose 
of settling under the Connecticut laws ; and at once em- 
barked in trade in a small way. In the long and bloody 
dispute which followed, known as the " Pennamile and 
Yankee War," though himself a Pennsylvanian, he steadily 
adhered to the cause in which he had embarked, until the 
question of jurisdiction was decided in favor of Pennsyl- 
vania by a competent tribunal, in the Decree of Trenton. 
" From that moment," says the late Judge Scott, " he 
yielded obedience to the Constitution and laws of Pennsyl- 
vania, and contributed all in his power to quiet the turbu- 
lent and reconcile the disaffected to the legitimate authori- 
ties." On the 17th of October, 1775, he was commissioned 
an Ensign in the 24th Regiment of Connecticut colonial 
Militia. On the 26th of August, 1776, he was appointed 
by Congress to serve as an Ensign in Captain Durkee's 
Company of Wyoming minute-men, for local defence. 
The WlyjJming companies were, not long afterward, drawn 
into co-operation with the main Revolutionary army ; and 
HoUcnback served eighteen months, being engaged in the 
battles .nt Millstone, Bound Brook, Mud Fort, Brandywine 
^>nd Geimantown. His daring conduct at Millstone was 
^ijially commended. Early in June, 177S, representa- 
tiouj Cjf iijinriiient.dauger to their homes caused the resigna- 
tiui^^;Tlje,Gpmjtii.ssioncd officers of the Wyoming companies. 



where he has made an lion6rali}e «:GJaj:d .'siid 1aUi)rs<l'.Wsitt»kaiid Iheif return' to;, W'yoming with a portion of their men 



zeal and efficiency asji mem1>^r bTthe^iijtimSiflee^^^jr'yertiii 
lories, and Expenditures of <he- \iar».Diiiartnincnl. vHe is 
one of Erie's mo.'^l talented -ami lutcr^njsiiig ^itizens^-aijd 



4''MliiQt)ai^ ajjiotjg- tjie number. They came just in time 
-Lovlij. «-.(C& the fatal day approached, scouts were sent up 
the' Ji»iia4yelianna to reconnoitre the approach of the enemy. 



has always been foremi^t"'in-allipiiWic.improV^"i^4nfa. i Ife" »At vEj Jlerj -^fifteen miles above Wilke^barre, HoUenback 



was one of the founder.s oftthe First Naiio^ialBcuik odEr^.- 
and was the chief and miiSt enCTgetac orsjanizer and JjujWet 
of the Dunkiik & Venango. Raihoad; and.tj:> hnn mui6..b6 
credited a large share in the, origiaatipn of^.thosei'wise' 



measures which have sii^ce co.iitril\uted -to rejider tljaUerp^ selljers wye' roused for self-defence. The greater part of 



terprise so extensive and remun^ati\ie.» l]e..was-.marrietl, 
in 183s, to Ann Sargent, of Warren, Warren '■'county; 

Pennsylvania. " ' 

'OLLENBACK, MATTHIAS, Pioneer, Revolu- 
tionary Soldier, Judge, Merchant, Indian Trader, 
etc., was born February 17th, 1752, at or near 
Jonestown, in Lancaster (now Lebanon) county, 
Pennsylvania, and was the second son of John 
HoUenback — of Saxon descent, but believed to be 
a native of Virginia — and Eleanor Jones, a lady, of Welsh 
parentage. Being thus of mixed-German and Welsh descent, 
nature appears to have selected for him some of the strongest 
and best traits of both characters. His education was limited 
to a few weeks tuition in a common school ; but to him, as to 
other men who have risen from obscurity by the force of 
their own abilities, the world was a life-long school, and expe- 
rience and observation his skilful tutors. He emigrated to 
Wyoming Valley about the latter part of the year 1769, with 




ajid -Jrinc coiiipanion found the bodies of the two young 
Hardiii!*i,'fj:e.sliljc murdered and scalped by the savages. 
;;^lij.'se tTie.y.-plac^d in a canoe and brought down the river. 
The ;foe,.was ,'now kupwn to be near at hand, and the 



ihi Vk'yoinilig.minute-men being still in the main army, the 
dk^feuce devolved mainly upon the aged, the young and 
t^ l!ndisciplj;ied, poorly armed and equipped : yet they 
.went- forth with a constant mind, and the most of them 
sealed, their devotion with their blocd. The story of the 
day of July 3d, 1778, is well known. Ensign HoUenback 
fought upon the right wing; and says the historian Miner, 
" Fear was a stranger to his bosom. I h.ive heard several 
say who recognized him in the battle that a braver soldier 
never marched out to meet an enemy." When the day 
was lost and the rout became general, he escaped to the 
river, throwing off his outer clothing and securing some 
valuables to his queue. Thus he swam the river, diving 
under as long as he could, and coming to the surface occa- 
sionally for breath; a bullet once grazing his he.id so 
closely as to cause an involuntary gasp, by which he lost a 
gold piece out of his mouth. Resting for an hour on the 
eastern bank, under cover of the forest and the darkness, 
he pressed on to Wilkesharre, reaching home about one 
o'clock in the morning of July 4ih. After some hurried 




Q^^,^^^^j^^^^Uj.i^^«^::..=..^!<^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



571 



consultation and preparations, by four o'clock he was in the 
saddle and on the way to Bear Creek, where he met Captain 
Spalding with his company, and urged him to press on to 
the relief of the fort at Wilkesbarre. That officer declining 
the risk, with a few men whom he induced to join him, 
HoIIenback started on the return. On regaining the verge 
of the valley, however, he found that he was too late, the 
town and his own house being in flames and the fort al- 
ready in possession of the savages. He now devoted his 
exertions to the relief of the fugitives, and supplying them 
with bread in their flight to the Delaware ; in which his 
untiring energy evoked the gratitude of many sufferers. 
After tranquillity was restored, he was of the party who 
returned to the valley and battle-field, and attended to the 
burial of the sl.nin, whose bones now lie under the monu- 
ment at Wyoming. He now again embarked in trade; 
marrying one of the widows of the Kittle, by whom he had 
three daughters and a son, the late G. M. Ilollenback. 
The house and store which he then erected, and in which 
lie laid the foundations of an ample fortune, is still shown 
on Main street, in the city of Wilkesbarre. In the year 
1 79 1, he established the first trading-post at Newtown — 
now Elmira, New York — upon the occasion of Colonel 
Pickering's treaty with the Indians at that place. About 
six years before, or somewhat earlier, he established stores at 
Tioga Point — now .Athens, Pennsylvania — Wysox and else- 
where. All the goods for his numerous stores were brought 
in wagons from Philadelphia to Middletown, and then 
" pushed " up the Susquehanna in Durham boats ; which, 
returning, brought down the various articles of barter, furs, 
produce, etc., received from the settlers and Indians in 
exchange for goods. As his ventures prospered, he ex- 
tended his operations with wonderful vigor. No amount 
of hazard, travel, or fatigue, seems to have daunted this 
daring and energetic pioneer. At each of his trading-posts 
he acquired land, and carried on also the cultivation of the 
soil. Clearly foreseeing the progress of the country, he 
invested his earnings in the purchase of farms and unseated 
lands, thus becoming ultimately one of the largest land- 
holders in the valley of the Susquehanna. Upon hearing 
of peace with England, in 1782, he gathered and took to 
Niagara a drove of cattle, for the purpose of supjilying the 
garrisons there. But so ]>rompt were his movements, that 
he preceded by some weeks the official news of peace, and 
was held as a prisoner by the British garrison. Upon his 
return, in 1792, from his last enterprise of ihis kind, he 
narrowly escaped from a plot of the Doane gang of des- 
peradoes to waylay and kill him for his money; his relation 
of this trip and of his adventures upon the return is said to 
have been full of thrilling interest. His journeys were 
made in the saddle; his money, often large sums of gold 
and silver, being carried at the pommel. A sword-cane, 
attached to the saddle when on the journey, was generally 
his weapon of defence ; if is still preserved and shown in his 
only portrait. II is life was often in imminent peril. On one 



occasion a worthless Indian threw live coals upon the 
top of a keg of powder in one of his stores, with the 
purpose of blowing him up; but the courage and ad- 
dress of a clerk averted the explosion. The Indian is 
said to have lost his life afterwards in an encounter with 
the same clerk on a foot-bridge across the river. Many 
similar anecdotes were related, but the memory of them 
is now lost. A few years after the war, when the re- 
nowned chief Red Jacket passed through Wyoming on 
his way to Philadelphia, he paid HoIIenback a friendly 
visit, accompanied by his braves; the host's surviving 
daughter, now in her eighty-seventh year, still remembers 
the visit and the courtesy of the noble savage. In 
July, 1788, HoIIenback was present at the treaty of 
Buffalo, between the Six Nations and the State of Massa- 
chusetts, represented by Oliver Phelps. At the same 
treaty were present also Colonel John Butler, the British 
leader at W^yoming, and Capt. Joseph Brant, the celebrated 
Mohawk leader. In 1787, HoIIenback was commissioned 
Lieutenant-Colonel by Benjamin Franklin, President of 
the -Supreme Executive Council ; two later commissions 
are dated 1 792 and 1793. In 17S7, he was also com- 
missioned Justice of the Peace and of the Court of 
Common Pleas; and in 1791, upon the adoption of the 
new State Constitution, an Associate Judge, which position 
he filled with honor and respect throughout the remainder 
of his life, a period of thirty-eight years. Prominent 
in public affairs, as in private business, his house was 
the home of a generous and courtly hospitality, where 
were entertained many eminent persons on their visits 
to Wyoming. For many years it was his custom to 
give an annual dinner to the bench and bar of Luzerne 
county; at which "the Madeira flowed like water, and 
the cares of business were laid aside for the pleasures 
of hospitality and social enjoyment." In politics, the 
sympathies of Judge HoIIenback were with the Demo- 
cratic party. His last vote was cast for General Jackson, 
in November, 1828, only three months before his own 
death : the ballot was taken from his hands by the 
election board as he sat in his carriage, the incident 
calling forth enthusiastic cheers from the Demociatic 
.spectators. He died on the l8lh of February, 1829, aged 
seventy-seven years, leaving to his children a large estate 
and an honorable name. He was a man of strong mind, 
indomitable energy and unconquer.ablc will ; " a p.atriotic 
man and brave soldier, a true type of that representative 
class of Americans who subdued the wilderness and founded 
the Republic." In person he wa.s of the middle stature, 
with a compact and vigorous frame, capable of the extremes 
of exertion and exposure. His habits were simple and 
abstemious, and his dress plain, but worn with a careful 
regard for personal neatness. He was not a member 
of any Christian church; but was attached to the Pres- 
byterian denomination, of which he was a constant and 
liberal supporter. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



, OORIIEAD, HON. JAMES KENNEDY, Manu- 
facturer, Corporation President, and ex-Congress- 
nian, was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, 
September 7th, 1806. His father, WilHam Moor- 
head, came to this country from Ireland, in 1798, 
and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, 
where he was married to Mrs. Elizabeth Young, whose 
maiden name was Kennedy ; she belonged to the Scotch- 
Irish family of that name, whose membere were well 
known as early settlers in the Pequea Valley, of that 
county. In 1806, he purchased and removed to a farm 
situated on the banks of the Susquehanna, in Halifax 
township, Dauphin county, where his son James was born. 
William Moorhead was an enterprising and talented man, 
and took an active part in the political movements of the 
d.iy; in 1814, he w.as appointed by President Madison, 
Collector of Internal Revenue for the Tenth District of 
Pennsylvania, fullilling its duties with marked ability and 
judgment; in 1S15, he removed to Ilarrislmrg, where he 
died in 1S17. In the following spring, Mrs. Moorhead, 
with a family of six young children, returned to the farm 
on the .Susquehanna; and on James Kennedy, while in his 
twelfth year, devolved its management, and also the duties 
connected with a ferry established by his father, and 
widely known as the Moorhead Ferry. At the age of 
sixteen, he was apprenticed to William LinviUe, of Lan- 
caster county, to learn the art of tanning and curiying 
leather. After the expiration of his term of apprentice- 
ship, he pursued his trade as a journeyman tanner for a 
short time; and, in 1827, engaged as a Contractor on the 
Susquehanna Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, when 
he became an ardent advocate of the Internal Improve- 
ment system. In 1S28, he obtained contracts on the 
Juniata Division of the above-named canal, and removed 
to Huntingdon in order to facilitate his business. Upon 
the completion of his contracts, he was appointed by the 
Central Commissioners, Superintendent of the Juniata 
Division of the Pennsylvania Canal ; and held that posi- 
tion until 1838, when he resigned it to take charge of the 
Pioneer Packet Line, an enterprise established through his 
instrumentality for the carrying of passengers from Phila- 
delphia to Pittsburgh. This responsible interest neces- 
sitated his removal to the latter city in 1836, where he has 
since chiefly resided. In the meantime, he had become 
an active, ardent, and influential member of the Demo- 
cratic i>arty, and was recognized as an eminent ally and 
astute leader. In 1S39, he was appointed by Governor 
Porter, Adjutant General of the State of Pennsylvania; 
and, in the summer of 1840, President Van Buren ap- 
pointed him Postmaster, at Pittsburgh, which last office he 
held until the accession, in 1841, of the Harrison adminis- 
tration. At this date, the improvement of the Mononga- 
hela river by dams and locks was commenced ; to him 
was awarded the first contract therewith connected, and 
he became a stockholder in the company. In 1846, he 



was elected President of the company, and still retains 
the position after twenty-eight years of continuous service. 
In the History of the Company, recently written by a dis- 
tinguished lawyer of Western Pennsylvania, appear the 
following lines : " It is so obvious as hardly to justify its 
mention here, that much of this company's success and 
efficiency is owing to the energy, skill, and unceasing 

vigilance of its President Indeed, so completely 

has he become identified with the ' Slackwatcr,' that it 
has given to him his most familiar sobriquet, ' Old Slack- 
water.' To wh.it extent this Slackwater navigation of the 
Monongahela river has contributed to the growth and 
prosperity of Pittsburgh, and the development of the gre.nt 
interests in the Valley of the Monongahela, need not be 
told in Western Pennsylvania." In 1840, he established 
the Union Cotton Factory, in Allegheny City, but in 1849, 
it was devastated and entirely ruined by fire. From 1849 
to 1S73, he was largely interested in the Pittsburgh Novelty 
Works. At an early date, he became identified with the 
telegraph enterprise, and, for many years, was President 
of the Atlantic & Ohio Telegraph Company; and of the 
Pittsburg, Cincinnati & Louisville Telegraph Company; 
he was also, for a number of years. President of the 
Chartiers Valley Railroad Company. For a lengthy 
period, he served as one of the Inspectors of the Western 
Penitentiary; and has been a Director and Manager of the 
Western Pennsylvania Hospital, and of the House of 
Refuge at Pittsburgh, since their establishment, and still 
holds a position in the former. To the founding and 
support of these two institutions he contributed largely, 
both by pecuniary assistance and personal effort. He is 
one of the Trustees of the Western University, and also 
one of its most active and efficient upholders. While a 
member of the Democratic party, he was distinguished for 
his Anti-Slavery Extension and Protective Tarifl" Doctrines. 
On the formation of the Republican party, in 1856, his 
princi[iles and convictions induced him to side with that 
organization; and, in 1858, he was elected a Representa- 
tive to Congress from the Pittsburgh District, and subse- 
quently was re-elected four times. In 186S, he declined a 
renomination, and at the end of the Fortieth Congress 
withdrew from active public life. In the Thirty-sixth 
Congress, he served on the Committee of Commerce; in 
the Thirty-seventh, on the Committee of Naval Affairs, 
and was made Chairman of the Committee of National 
Armories. In the Thirty-eighth Congress, he was con- 
tinued on the Committee of Naval AfTairs, and ajipoinled 
Chairman of the Committee on Manufactures. In the 
Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, he was a member 
of the Committee of Ways and Means, while retaining the 
last-named Chairmanship. Throughout his various terms, 
he distinguished himself as a shrewd and brilliant orator; 
and delivered able speeches on the subjects of the Tariff, 
Finance, Reconstruction, Impeachment of ex-President 
Johnson, and other engrossing subjects of the day. He 



BIOGRArniCAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



573 



possessed, in the highest degree, the respect and confidence 
of Aljraham Lincoln, and of Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary 
of War, the latter having lieen, for twenty years prior to 
this lime, his intimate friend and legal adviser. During 
the progress of the Civil War, he was noted for his un- 
tiring and generous attention to the wants and interests 
of the Pennsylvania soldiers; and ever evinced a fearless 
loyalty and an inflexible determination to sustain the rights 
and honor of his State and country. While actively en- 
gaged as a contractor, manufacturer, political leader, as 
President of a Navigation Company, of one Railroad and 
two Telegraph Companies, he has managed to devote much 
time and attention to charitable movements and enterprises 
of a philanthropic nature ; and has always been an 
energetic participant in all movements calculated to ad- 
vance the welfare of the State and countiy. His le<iding 
traits of character are indomitable energy, strength, talent, 
and ability; in its tendencies his clear and vigorous in- 
tellect is eminently practical, and his nature is aspiring and 
progressive. He was married, in 1830, to Jane Logan, 
of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. 



c^' 






(IDDLE, SAMUEL, Merchant and Cotton-Mill 
Operator, was born in the township of Park- 
mount, County Antrim, Ireland — situated two 
and a half miles from Belfast — in the year 1800. 
After acquiring a varied and useful education in 
a private academy, he became employed, when 
in his fourteenth year, in a cotton factory at Belfast. 
During the nine years which were passed in this establish- 
ment, he was a shrewd and attentive observer, losing no 
opportunities to obtain an insight into the principles and 
details involved in the business, and he rapidly acquired a 
practical and valuable knowledge of the art of cotton 
manufacture. Judging that the new country offered more 
ample fields for profitable operations, he sailed for the 
United States in May, 1823, but was shipwrecked, while 
en route, at Sable Island. In the ensuing August, how- 
ever, he landed safely at Philadelphia, with a capital con- 
sisting of the meagre sum of four Spanish dollars. Pos- 
sessing an exhaustless store of hope and energy, and 
animated by strong self-reliance, he visited Manayunk ; 
immediately obtaining work in one of the large cotton 
factories located there, he was industriously occupied until 
stricken by fever and ague. Upon regaining his health 
and strength, he moved to Pleasant Mills, New Jersey, 
where, obtaining similar employment, he worked diligently 
for more than three years. In 1827, he decided to invest 
his earnings in some remunerative enterprise, and com- 
mence business on his own account. Moving to Spring- 
field, Delaware county, he rented a building in that place, 
and began the spinning of cotton yarns, with nearly 500 
spindles, employing about ten hands. Prospering greatly 




in this venture, he removed his establishment to a more 
extensive building situated on Chester creek, and began 
operations there with 3000 spindles, and all the necessary 
machinery. Ultimately, he became one of the largest 
manufacturers in the State, and established, in 1842, the 
well-known Glen Riddle Mills. His success in life is 
attributable to his energy, perseverance, prudent and far- 
seeing enterprise, and an undeviating integrity in all rela- 
tions with his fellow-men. He is one of the most promi- 
nent and influential men in that region of Pennsylvania 
where he resides; and as a businessman has the entire 
confidence of a wide circle of merchants and capitalists, 
who find in him a prompt, trustworthy, and generous 
associate. 

' -^ ARR, MATTHEW ROBINSON, Merchant and 
Stove Manufacturer, was born at Harbor Creek, 
Erie county, Pennsylvania, December 25th, 1S17. 
His giandfather, James Bair, emigrated from 
Antrim county, Ireland, in 1755; was married 
to Elizabeth Kirk ; and lived in Mifflin county, 
Pennsylvania, until 1802, when he removed to Erie county 
with his father, James Barr, Jr.; in 1812, the latter was 
married to Polly R. Kelly, and acted as a Captain in the 
War of 1812; subsequently, April 1st, 1S30, the two last- 
named persons moved to Mill Creek, Pennsylvania. His 
maternal grandfather, John Kelly, was a Revolutionary 
soldier, and noted for loyalty and intrepid bravery. After 
completing his early education, Matthew R. Barr, then in 
his nineteenth year, became engaged in teaching school, 
and pursued this occupation for several years. His father 
dying, in April, 1835, he attended to the management of 
his mother's farm, continuing to teach meanwhile until 
1842. In 1845, he was elected Constable of Mill Creek, 
and was re-elected for the terms of 1846 and 1847, at 
whose expiration he declined a re-election. He was sub- 
sequently connected as salesman with the principal busi- 
ness men and mercantile firms of Erie ; notably with Les- 
ter, Sennett & Chester, who prosecuted the foundiy business 
in that place. In the summer of 1848, he became general 
salesman, time-keeper and overseer for the above firm, re- 
ceiving for his services $300, later $400, and, finally, g6oo 
per annum. The copartnership of Lester, Sennett & Chester 
expiring March 1st, 185 1, he, in conjunction with Conrad 
Brown, purchased the interest of the firm, and at once com- 
menced business under the name of Sennett & Co. In 1856, 
he became interested with others in a contract to build sixty 
miles of the Philadelphia & Erie Road. They were in- 
structed to begin operations in .September of that year, in 
order to influence certain desired legislation ; the company 
failing to secure this legislation, however, in the following 
June the President, S. V. Merrick, instructed them to cease 
work until further notice. Much dissatisfaction arose, and 
Matthew R. Bnrr was appealed to for advice regarding the 



574 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



inability of tlie company to comply with its original engage- 
ments. On this occasion he advocated earnestly the con- 
tinuance of the enterprise; "determined to aid in building 
a road to I'hiladelphia," he encouraged his associates to 
proceed, and trust in the ultimate success which it seemed 
jirobable the company might secure. Acting in concert 
with him, the building was constantly prosecuted, the 
desired legislation was obtained in 1858, and, in 1859, 
the contract was successfully completed. In 1855, the 
style of the firm was changed to Sennett, Barr ic Co. In 
1857, the partners lost heavily by the failure of their 
Western customers, and later, by fire, over gio.ooo, the 
Insurance Companies failing to comply with their agree- 
ments; they lost also an additional sum of $10,000, _by- 
the sinking of a cargo of stone in Lake Micliigan. These 
heavy losses involved them so seriously that, in 1S5S, it 
was necessary to demand an extension of time, and their 
indebtedness was not entirely liquidated until iifteisJM.iR.i 
Barr received the profits arising from his railroad contracts. 
In 1858, Brown and Sennett retired from the firm,Hjjen 
the copartnership of B.irr & Johnson was formed.^ T^hc 
real estate was then sold at Sheriff's sale, and purclwisedi 
by John R. Cochran; in 1862, it wa-s redeemed torn Jiim 
and ultimately, after acquiring by purchase ,-h<s»partueiii^ 
entire interest, M. R. Barr retired frmn .\cliv*'b«^iiK'^-; in 
1872. Prior to 1862, the usual au.l ^■ 
ment for workmen consisted in4uj>jil,vii>*,. 'i'^'",^i ■-- 1 
visions and dry goods kept in stora>bBt,-bi:li»;yinu' 'l>ii 
would be to the benefit of l)^s, entpl.t^es t^ ; 
cash, he did so; the beneficial results ari-i 
measure far exceeded his expectations; and s^ji>Li,{Uciiyl^ 
iiroduced a long and sorely needed revolution jn^lJu; lieU:, 
lions existing between the employer and, the employed- ill' 
that region. In 1852, he w.as elected a member of the 
City Council, occupying that position for nearly ten years ; 
he was also for several years President of the Common 
Council. He has been an influential member of the Board 
of Trustees of the Erie Academy; and, in 1866, was 
elected a School Director, being appointed, in 1866, 1S72, 
and 1873, President of the Board. To the latter position 
he declined a re-election in the present year, and he is now 
a member of the Water Commission. He was married, 
in the spring of 1S42, to Laura W. Wright, of Mill Creek, 
Pennsylvania, and has a family consisting of three children. 



;AUMGARDNER, THOMAS, Coal Merchant 
and Miner, was born in York, York county, 
Pennsylvania, December 20th, 1816. His father, 
Thomas Baumgardner, was a well-known and 
wealthy hatter of that city ; his mother a 
daughter of Jacob Gartman, a prominent coach- 
maker of the same place. On both the paternal and the 
maternal sides he is of German extraction. His early 




education was acquired in the common schools of his 
native county, whence, after a short course of ordinary 
but practical studies, and while in his thirteenth year, he 
moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and entered the store of 
Thomas C. Lane, in the capacity of clerk. At the expira- 
tion of five years passed in this employment, he became 
engaged at Lancaster, in the dry goods estaljlishment of 
Henry B. Carson, a widely-respected merchant of that 
city. Eighteen months later, he purchased an interest in 
the business, and, until 1840, continued associated in part- 
nership with his former employer. Purchasing, in the 
above-mentioned year, the property at the northwest cor- 
ner of North Queen street and Centre Square, he entered 
ftito,lhe dry goods business on his own account. Subse- 
quently^Jie associated himself with his brother Hcniy in 
the coSB|[rade, prosecuting that calling in connection with 
the ^feft In 1S52, he disposed of his original business, 
wX.ijSemy extended his field of operations in the last- 
namedMrade, opening his present extensive yard, on North 
P^ince'street. Since that date, his trade has rapidly and 
Qonstitntly increased and prospered until he is now re- 
cognized as the largest and most enterprising coal mer- 
jrl^Ti'tVjn the city. He is also engaged extensively in 
1; '. in, the Shamokin District, and h.as an office 

■ n^f^Street, Philadelphia, his sales in this city 
iiiPi^jknlini;.;^ 18,000 tons per Aionth. He is im- 
'■• -iterestesl.in the Sand Mining Industry of Lewis- 
1) county, si'nd furnishes to consumers the finest 
I I lUtainable jfi the United States; and, moreover, 
: ; 1 uf various large interests in the iron founding 
•]^ii>ijicss..or, Pulaski county, Virginia. He is a member 
.crCirhe firm of Shenk, Bausman, Carpenter & Co., owners 
(if the " Number 4 Cotton Mill, in Lancaster." He built 
and was the principal owner of the Junction & Breakwater 
Railroad, in Delaware, an enterprise he recently sold to 
the Old Dominion Steamship Company, while retaining 
an influential share in its management, and acting as 
Director. In the Lancaster County Bank, in the Lan- 
caster Bank, and in the Lancaster Savings Institution, he 
has been a valued Director; and, at the present time, 
occupies that honorable position in the Northumberland 
County National Bank, in the Lancaster Eire Insurance 
Company, and in tlie Reading & Columbi" Raibnad. He 
is the Pi^idento^the Enterprise Coal Company, and has 
"held" tfiat position also in other simila' corporations. He 
built the Enterprise Railroad Conipany, and, until it was 
consolidated with the Reading Railroad, officiated as its 
President. In the Philadelphia & Sunbury Railroad he 
has been an influential Director; and at this date is en- 
g.iged in milling on a very extensive scale. He was mar- 
ried, March 5th, 1840, to a daughter of John Hofi", a 
prominent citizen of Lancaster, at one time Cashier of the 
Farmers' National Bank. From this union sprang seven 
children, six of whom are now living, five girls and one 
boy. The son is associated with his father in the coal 



II 




^'^U^ iVdt CPAciwtoi*'***' 



Oy'P^' 



-^:^^7-i~&-->yf^ 



TilOGRAPIIICAL ICNCVCLOP/EDIA. 



575 



trade, and evidences great shrewdness as a business man 
and operator. One of the daughters was marrietl to the 
late Howard P. Smith, Treasurer of one of the prominent 
western raih'oad companies ; anotlier was marrietl to the late 
James K. Patterson, son uf the well-known Colonel D. \V. 
Patterson 



fOYES, HON. AMOll C, Lumber Merchant, was 
born in Grafton county. New Hampshire, Sep- 
tember 17th, 1S18. His parents were Rufus 
Noyes and Hannah (Clark) Noyes, both residents 
of the above-named State, and of Scotch-Irish 
extraction. Until he had attained his majority, he 
was occupied in agricultural pursuits connected with his 
father's farm, acquiring meanwdiile the rudiments of a 
useful and a practical education. He was then actively 
engaged for a few years in general mercantile pursuits, 
meeting with vaiying success. Removing to Emporium, 
Cameron county, Pennsylvania, in 1S47, he occupied him- 
self in the lumbering trade ; and in this business has since 
continued, meeting with great and merited, prosperity ; the 
firm of Noyes, Bridgens & Co. being at the present time the 
largest square-lumber dealers on the West Branch. In 1S49, 
Colonel Noyes (taking that title from a militia colonelcy 
which he held some years before) left Cameron county, 
and took up his abode at Westport, Clinton county, where 
he has since chiefly resided. During the following twenty 
years his time and attention were almost exclusively en- 
grossed by the cares and responsibilities attendant upon a 
very extensive and prospering business ; also by a growing 
interest in the momentous public and political questions then 
agitating the country, and which culminated ultimately in 
the civil conflict. During the Rebellion lie was an active 
and warmly interested Unionist, and exerted himself to the 
utmost in aiding to uphold the rights and honor of his Slate 
and country. In 1869, he was elected to the Legislature on 
the Democratic ticket, and so satisfactorily and efficiently 
did he fulfil the important duties connected with this posi- 
tion that, at the following election, he was once more 
returned. AVhile acting in this public capacity, he served 
oil several prominent committees, viz. : the Committees on 
Ways and Means, on Corporations, and Etlucation, besides 
various others of less magnitude and importance. While 
engaged in those responsible positions he evidenced, at all 
times and under all circumstances, the possession of many 
needed and admirable qualities. When the internecine 
struggle was at its fullest and most menacing development, 
he was bold and fearless in .speech and action, while he 
labored incessantly to increase the means and resources of 
the Government, and effectively denounced the trickery and 
corruption of faithless partisans and officials. Although 
devoted to the interests of his party, and an energetic and 
able ally and leader, he has always sternly refused to use 
his talents in serving it when conscientiously opposed to its 




measures and operations. As an orator he is curt, incisive, 
logical, and convincing; wdiile his plain and unhabored 
delivery is forcible and impressive. At present he is a 
valued member of the Board of Public Charities, and is 
tireless in liis efforts to render that organization prompt and 
effectual in its workings. Generously inteirested in all matters 
of progress, improvement, and philanthropy, he has done 
much to ameliorate the condition of the poorer classes in the 
section of Pennsylvania wdiere he resides, and is always 
ready to co-operate vigorously in all charital>Ie movements. 
He was married, in 1S54, to Rebecca Stewart, of Westport, 
Pennsylvania, the descendant of an old and honorable 
Scotch family. 



RANDES, CARL, M. D., Physician, was born in 
the kingdom of Hanover, ALarch 29th, 1818. His 
parents were Friederich and Johanna Brandes, 
both of German extraction. His early education 
was acquired in the schools of his native country 
until he had attained his fourteenth year, when 
he entered the Caroline College of Brauschweig ; at the 
expiration of four years, passed in that institution, he pur- 
sued a further course of studies in an anatomical institute 
situated in the same place. In 183S, the King of Hanover 
required his services in the army for one year ; subsequently, 
a petition was forwarded to the court requesting his release 
from further service in order that he might complete his 
professional studies. The petition being granted, he entered 
the University of Guttengen, remaining as a student in the 
halls of that famous resort of learning for more than four 
years. Later he entered the University of Leipsic for one 
year, and remained for one year also in the Frederick Wil- 
li.im Institute of Berlin. In 1845, he left his native country 
and embarked for the United States. Upon landing, he 
moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he has since chiefly 
resided, and acquired wide renown as an able and learned 
pr.actitioner. Immediately after his settlement in this place, 
he commenced the active practice of that calling in which 
he had served so long and so arduous an apprenticeship. 
His technical and scholarly acquirements rapidly gained 
him the esteem and admiration of those qualified to appre- 
ciate his true worth ; but, for a long time, his eflbrts were 
constantly frustrated by jealous rivals, and it was not until 
he had struggled long and manfully that he was able to 
conquer his rightful position as a skilful and erudite physi- 
cian. In 1S48, he visited California, and remained in that 
country until September, 1850; while there, his leg was 
accidentally broken, and great prostration of health resulting 
in consequence thereof, he deemed it advisable to return to 
his home. In 1853, still suffering from ill health, he visited 
Europe, residing there for about one year. At the expira- 
tion of that time he returned to the United States, settled 
again in Erie, where his family was living, and resumed the 
practice of his profession, rapidly securing an extensive and 



576- 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



remunerative business. In l86r>, he was appointed Examin- 
ing Surgeon for civilians claiming exeinption from the 
draft, and for more than a year efficiently discharged the 
duties attached to his responsihle office. In 1864, he visited 
the Southern States, touched at Cuba during his travels, and 
in the ensuing fall returned to western Pennsylvania. In 
1870, he again visited the Continent; made a very extensive 
tour of eighteen months ii\ various parts of Europe; 
witnessed many of the battles occurring during the progress 
of the Franco-German war; was at Sedan, Metz, and Stras- 
bur", when those important actions took place; met Von 
MoltUe in the Prussian camp ; and came in contact with 
Napoleon III while he was a prisoner of war. After his 
return he again resumed his position as a medical practi- 
tioner, and is now recognized as a leading member of his 
profession. He has been importantly identified with many 
of the chief enterprises connected with his adopted home ; 
is a Director of the Erie Rolling Mill, also of the Keystone 
Shoe Factory, and is the Vice-President of the Humboldt 
Bank. He was married, February 19th, 1846,10 Katherine 
Shank, of Erie, Pennsylvania. 

/ ~^^^ 

^MERSON, JAMES E., Mechanic, Inventor and 
Manufacturer, was born at Noridgework, Maine, 
in 1S53. Brought up on a farm, and used to its 
labor, he still found time to acquire a good 
English education at the common schools of the 
neighborhood. At his own request he was 
apprenticed to learn the carpenter trade, and for several 
years after attaining his majority he worked thereat, in 
Bangor. In 1850, he removed to Lewistown and erected 
the first manufacturing building in the place. Here also he 
invented a single machine for making cotton bobbins. In 
1852, he was induced to emigrate to California by the glow- 
ing reports that came from its golden fields. He landed in 
San Francisco, January 7th, 1853, sick and without money, 
his rigid temperance, as he believes, alone saving his life 
from a fjarful fever. Once in California, he went to work 
in a saw mill, without wages. He "wanted to show them 
what a circular saw could do." In five daysjhe had charge 
of the mill, at ten dollars per day. He remained nine months 
at this occupation, then erected a mill of his own, and during 
his proprietorship of the establishment conceived and com- 
pleted some of his most remarkable inventions connected 
with circular saws. These improvements were the results 
of individual necessity pressing upon an inventive mind, 
and the remedy has revolutionized that branch of the trade. 
After seven years residence in California he returned east 
and settled in Trenton, New Jersey, and engaged in the 
manufacture of edged tools. During the civil war, the firm 
of which he was a member tilled large contracts for swords 
and salires, and the last especially were regarded as the 
best furnished the Government. After erecting the build- 




ings and machinery of the Mercer Coal & Iron Company 
in Pennsylvania, he returned to Trenton and became Super- 
intendent of the American Saw Company, organized to 
manufacture his patent circular saws. In 1872, he removed 
to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and, entering into partnership 
with lleniy P. Ford, established the large saw-manufactur- 
ing works which are now in successful operation, and which 
specially produce the circular saws bearing his name. He 
has received over thirty different patents for labor-saving 
machines ; has conducted successfully several large business 
enterprises ; travelled from Maine to the Pacific, and through 
the continent of Europe; and has never used liquor or 
tobacco in any form. He is a man who has made his mark 
in the world, and whose numerous inventions will remain 
as monuments to his patient, intelligent, and successful 
mechanical genius. 



^, JOWER, CAPTAIN JOHN, Builder and Proprietor 
'YI of the Fii-st Mill in Manayunk, Revolutiiinary 
,11 Soldier and Shipwright, was born in Philadelphi.i, 
pj^'' September loth, 175S, in a house occupying a 



?-^!^ portion of the site where Dr. Jayne's building is 
^ now situated, then the third door below Tliird 
street in Chestnut. He was of worthy Scotch-English ex- 
traction, and, as the date of his birth evidences, one of the 
earliest settlers of the outlying and virginal country adjacent 
to his b.rthplace. Unable to secure many or thorough edu- 
cational advantages, owing to the undeveloped state of the 
country and to other causes, he compensated for a lack of 
systematic culture and training by his natural talents, clear 
intellect, and admirable powers of calculation in geometry 
and mathematics. At a proper time he was apprenticed to 
learn the art of ship-carpentering ; subsequently, after ac- 
quiring, in Philadelphia, a complete and practical knowledge 
of that business, he became owner of several vessels, which, 
commanded by him in person, gained for him his title of 
Captain. After pursuing this business on an extensive scale 
for some time, he engaged successfully in various mercantile 
pursuits, in manufacturing, farming, and in building opera- 
tions. While interested in the latter occupation, he visited 
Manayunk, and shrewdly foresaw the importance to which 
that locality might aspire as a future manufacturing town. 
Through his unaided enterprise and efforts the first mill was 
there erected; his were also among the earliest homes built 
there, and it is to him that the present flourishing town of 
Manayunk, with all its great interests, owes her first devel- 
opment. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary conflict, he, 
though a minor at this date, served with discretion ami 
intrepidity, under Smith, in Mud Fort, at Trenton. .Subse- 
quently, he was actively engaged in manufacluring, at 
Germantown, during the war of 1S12 ; and while this secoml 
conflict was in progress furnished the Government wilh 
large quantities of kerseys and woollen goods of various 
descriptions. In 1S14, he moved to Rock Hill, and there 



EIOGRAPIIICAL ENCVCLOP.'EDIA. 



577 




built two substantial mills; by his enterprise and generosity 
aiiling greatly in the rapid developincnt of that region. 
Thence he returned to Manaynnk, where he remained 
during the greater part of the years 1S18-' 19, continually 
occupied in building, manufacturing, and other beneficial 
industrial employments. In early manhood he was married 
to .Susan Leake, a daughter of one of the earliest pioneers 
in southern New Jei'sey. He died in Manayunk, Pennsyl- 
vania, April 25th, 1S31, leaving a record wholly honorable 
and patriotic. 



'AXFORD, GILES, Merchant, was born in Norwich 
Farms, now Franklin, New London county, Con- 
necticut, September iSth, 17S3; removing thence 
to Herkimer county, New York, with his father's 
family in i8oi. The origin of the family can be 
traced back directly to John Sanford, President 
of Rhode Island in 1655, who, in 1637, had been disarmed 
for sympathizing witli Wheelwright in his famous o|iinions; 
and who, in connection with Coddington, Hutchinson, and 
other well-known colonial men of wealth and eminence, 
purchased Rhode Island, and resided at Portsmouth. On 
the maternal side, Giles Sanford is descended from Richard 
Edgerton, who, in 1655, was one of the Thirty-eight 
Original Proprietors of Norwich, Connecticut. After a 
residence of several years in Herkimer county. New York, 
Giles removed to Erie in iSlo, and there decided to settle 
permanently. In 1S14, he associated himself in partnership 
with R. S. Reed, and with him was actively engaged in 
mercantile pursuits until 1S24. In 1S23, the firm, in his 
name, became contractor for supplying the military posts of 
Fort Dearborn (Chicago), Mackijiaw, .St. Mary, and .St. 
Howard (Green Bay). An original contract for the first- 
named station, with George Gibson, Commissary-General 
of Subsistence, found among the family papers, is curiously 
instructive in view of the present extent and greatness of 
modern Chicago; it was for the whole consumption of the 
one hundred men stationed at Fort Dearborn, and was 
intended for a three years supply, the entire amount being 
forwarded at two periods, eighteen months apart. The 
following is an exact and faithful copy of the original 
document : 

" 120 bbls. of Pork @ SS.oo 
250 " " Fini; Flour @ 84-00 
1400 gallons Proof Whislcey @ 25c. 
110 bushels of Beans @ Ci.oo 
1760 lbs. Hard Soap @ idc. 
860 " Tallow Candles @ 16c. 
28 bushels of Salt @ 81.40 
450 gallons of Cider Vin-gar @ 25c." 

Truly, here in the annals of the past is found the measure 
of the greatness of the present. In 1824, Giles Sanford was 
chosen Delegate to the Canal Convention \vhich met at 
Harrisburg in that year; and in this important organization 
which gave the initiatoiy impetus to internal imi^rovements 
73 




in the Stale, he distinguished himself by his ability, acute 
foresight, and tireless energy. Throughout his life, and up 
to the latest moment of his sojourn on earth, he was a 
zealous and generously disinterested supporter and leader in 
all enterprises and movements concerning the furtherance 
of public improvement, or the prompt and profitable devel- 
opment of the resources of his State and country. He 
assisted substantially in the promotion and practical elabo- 
ration of local agricultural and horticultural interests; and 
contributed liberally to benevolent and Christian objects and 
missions. During the exploring voyages undertaken by the 
Hon. Henry R. Schoolcraft to the northwestern part of the 
country, he was often associated for weeks with that eminent 
geologist while engaged in scientific researches ; from this 
constant and intimate contact resulted a lasting friendship, 
and, subsequently, a protracted correspondence, with mutual 
exchange of specimens of natural curiosities and scientific 
sayings and doings. He was married at Aurelius, Cayuga 
county, New York, October 6th, 1816, to Laura Goodwin ; 
and died February 13th, 1866. 



AW, WILLIAM, Miner, was born in Scotland, 
December Sth, 1824. His early education was 
very limited, his parents being engaged in the 
mines in their native country. He determined, 
at an early age, to seek his fortune in the New 
World, and, in June, 1842, landed at New York. 
For one year ne worked as a day-laborer on the Delaware 
& Hudson Railroad, when, making his way to Carbondale, 
he entered the mines as a common miner, and continued 
thus occupied until June, 1850. For twelve months subse- 
quently, he filled the post of boss miner at the mines of the 
Pennsylvania Coal Company, at Dunmore, and from there 
he removed to Archbald, where, until June 1st, 1854, he 
had charge of the mines at that place. Since the latter date, 
he has been with the Pennsylvania Coal Company, where 
his thorough knowledge of all details connected with the 
mining of coal renders his services of great importance. He 
has under his direct charge some 250 men. He was mar- 
ried, September 28th, 1847, to Catherine Biyden, of Scot- 
land. He is a member of the Town Council, and a School 
Director, of Pittston, and is ever active in aiding to advance 
the moral and social welfare of his fellow-men. 



ENDER, THOMAS A., Assistant United States 
Marshal of Pittsburgh, was born in Philadeljihia, 
Pennsylvania, January 4th, 1834. His parents 
were Thom.as Pender and Mai-y (Hines) Pender; 
the former having been a well-known contractor 
in his native place ; on both the paternal and the 
maternal side he is of worthy Irish extraction. He was the 
recipient of an ordinary school education, and, after attaining 




578 



r.IOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOPyEDIA. 



a certain degree of proficiency in the usual branches of 
sludy, abandoned school life in 1846. Subsequently, he was 
engaged for a short time in the express business ; and later 
became a Steamboat Agent, in which capacity he acted 
for several years, evidencing much shrewdness, enterprise 
and efficiency. In 1869, he entered the employment of 
the Government, and since has continued to serve its inte- 
rests faithfully down to the present time. During the Re- 
bellion he was importantly connected with the United States 
Army, holding a. responsible position in the Quartermaster's 
Department. During the major portion of this lime he was 
actively occupied in forwarding and delivering arms and 
ammunition to the various headquarters of the Union. iurces,' 
and during that period received many deserved encomiums 
for his capable and meritorious services. Although disin- 
clined to participate as an active partisan or leader in pub- 
lic and political movements, he is warmly intetestett in alli 
matters pertaining to the welfare and improvement of his 
State and county, and is firm and decided in hs opposition 
to governmental corruption, and in his support of loyal and 
beneficial measures. At the outbreak of the war, he espoused 
the cause of the Government, and during its.^ duration 
exerted himself to the utmost in aiding to sustain its in- 
tegrityand suppress the Rebellion, never failing, iinder any 
circumstances, to cxhibit'liimself as an intrepid and patriotic 



jlIELPS, BELA D.,.M. D., Physician and Surgeon," 
was born in Herkimer coiinty. State of New York, 
June 15th, 1S23. His. fathei-' Benjamin Pfielps,'] 
a well-known farmer and agriculturist who was 
noted for the thorough knowledge wKich he pos- 
sessed regarding his vocation, was a native of 
Connecticut, but for many years resiiled in the above-named 
place, where Bela first saw the light. His mother was 
Sarah (Greenfield) Phelps, also a resident of Herkimer 
county. New York, and widely esteemed for her many wo- 
manly graces and admiralile character. After acquiring a 
preliminary arid rudimentary education in the daily schools 
of his native place, Eela entered the Fairfield Academy, 
situated at Fairfield, in the county of Herkimer, and de- 
voted himself zealously to an academic and varied course 
of studies. Upon the completion of the usual profcationary ; 
term required by that efficient institute of learning, he en- 
tered, when in his twenty-second year,the Cnstleton Medi- 
cal College, located in the thriving town of Castleton, Ver- 
mont. At an early age he had evinced a decided inclina- 
tion to embrace the art of medicine as his profession ; and 
during the four months passed in this establishment re- 
peatedly evidenced the possession of those sterling traits 
and qualifications which ultimately enabled him to take an 
eminent and enviable position among his fellow-practitioners. 
He was then admitted to the Albany Medical College, in 
the State of New York, where he also comnleted a course 



of the same duration as that passed in the Castleton insti- 
tution. Suljsequently, inspired by an ardent desire to per- 
fect himself in a thorough manner in all the principles and 
manifold derails involved in the medical profession, he en- 
tered upon a third and final course of four monihs in the 
Bufl'alo Medical College, in the same State; at its temiina- 
tion, the degree of M. D. was conferred upon him, when 
he returned to his native county and commenced the active 
practice oP his profession, meeting with gratifying success. 
In the following year, however, he removed to Pennsylvania, 
and settling in Cr^awford county remained there for about 
five years, acquiring meanwhile a remunerative and exten- 
sive j>r.ictice both in the town and the adjacent country. 
.\t the ex[)iration of this time, he moved to the county of 
Eric, residing for a short period in Union ; but, in 1S64, 
shortly, after the opening of the town of Corry, he deemed 
that this locality might furnish a larger field for more honor- 
able anfl. lucrative operations, and there established him- 
self. ..Tte result testified to the shrewdnessof his judgment, 
and,; in a remarkably short space of time, he was widely 
recognized as a learned, efficient and leading physician, 
^spesially as a Surgeon has he secured a durable and 
iitferiteH renown ; to this branch of his profession he has 
given his in^st earnest attention and an application inccs- 
san't.and acute. ^."A*i extensive reputation as a surgical ope- 
tatcr. has j)atur?ully /-resulted from these efforts, and at the 
pr£sgnl!,tim'a.caeh,and every railroad centring in Corry — 
viz., the'AttSntjCi;&.-Gfeat ^Vestern, the Philadelphia & 
Erie>, and the Oil City, & Allegheny — has secured his ser- 
vices-as Surgeon for. this section of its road. Not only is 
Iii§ ianje spread abroad throughout western Pennsylvania — 
"w-hcre he has often been called to attend to serious cases 
more than a hundred miles distant from his home — but his 
services have been sought after by the famous Indianapolis 
Surgical Institute, which is now urging him to assume a 
responsible position in its management. This offer he will 
ere long probably accept ; in that case, his son, a talented 
young practitioner, will inherit his practice. The above- 
mentioned institution is one of great import.ance in the West; 
it was foundeil for the treatment of natural and acquired 
deformities, and also for that of chronic diseases. At the 
present time, there are in it more than two hundred pa- 
tients under treatment ; and connected with it is a systemati- 
cally arranged workshop, where the manufacture of required 
Splints, brjjpes, cftitches, and various other needed articles, 
is constantly carried on. The high ]iosition held by Dr. 
Phelps has been won entirely through his own indomitable 
will and unaided exertions. Starting in life with the scan- 
tiest means, and having no influential friends or relatives 
to push him forward, his success is attributable solely to 
his professional skill and attainments, and to the undeviat- 
ing perseverance and promptness characterizing his actions. 
Although in his fifty-first year, he is still hale, vigorous 
and indefatig.ible in his efforts to benefit humanity and add 
to the lustre of his profession. At this date, he occupies 




'^«».. 




f>-^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



579 




I'.ie position of City and County Physician, fulfilling its nu- 
merous duties with marked ability. lie was married, in 
1S46, to Lewilla Sweezy, a resident of Herkimer county. 
State of New York. 



»ARNAHAN, ROBERT B., Lawyer, was born in 
St. Clair township, Allegheny county, Pennsyl- 
vania, April 23d, 1S26. His grandfather, David 
Carnahan, came to Pennsylvania from County 
Antrim, Ireland, before the outbreak of the Re- 
volutionai-y War, and settled in the county of 
Cumberland. Throughout the memorable struggle for in- 
dependence he served actively in a company of artillery ; 
and at its termination purchased a tract of land in the pre- 
sent county of Allegheny, adjoining the Manor cf Pitts- 
burgh, removing to it with his family in 1784. His second 
son, William, inherited a portion of this farm, and continued 
to reside on it until his decease, in 1S38; and it was here, 
about four miles southward from the old city of Pittsburgh, 
that Robert B. Carnahan was born. His preliminary edu- 
cation was acquired in the Western Univereity of Pittsburgh, 
where he graduated in August, 1845 ! subsequently, he en- 
tered the law office of the Hon. Walter Forward, under 
whose able guidance he pursued a course of legal studies. 
In December, 184S, he was admitted to the bar, and imme- 
diately commenced the practice of his profession, meeting 
with lucrative and \honorable success. In 1S54, he was 
mminated by the Whig party, of which he was an active 
and influential member, for the House of Representatives 
in the General Assembly of the State ; in conjunction with 
the major portion of the ticket, however, he was defeated, 
ia consequence of the " American" or " Know-Nothing " 
movement, which in that year carried the State almost en- 
tirely. During this exciting time he was noted for his tire- 
less and efficient energy, his ability, and his shrewd but 
loyal tactics. On the formation of the Republican party, 
in 1S56, he Ijecame one of its most zealous and prominent 
members, and was a leader in the Presidential campaigns 
of 1856 and i860. On the 12th of April, 1861, he was ap- 
pointed by President Lincoln United States Attorney for 
the Western District of Pennsylvania, and occupied that 
honorable position until Februaiy 1st, 1S70. In the per- 
formance of the various and onerous functions attached to 
this office, he displayed unusual capability and sterling judg- 
ment. Prior to the period of his appointment as District 
Attorney, that post was one demanding but a limited exer- 
cise of attention and discretion, and involving but few im- 
portant responsibilities. Later, however, the Rebellion, and 
the increased Congressional legislation necessitated in order 
to organize an army and maintain it in the field, rapidly 
rendered the position one of the most laborious and respon- 
sible places under the Government, calling for ceaseless at- 
tention, energy and undeviating vigilance. This district 
embraced territorially three-fourtlis of the State of Pennsyl- 



vania, and within his province came constantly many of the 
most vitally important and delicate questions ever considered 
within the jurisdiction of the United States Courts. Ulti- 
mately, the business att.ached to the office developed itself 
to such an extent as to engross his whole time and atten- 
tion. He acted in this capacity under the administrations 
of Presidents Lincoln, Johnson and Grant, servinir, mean- 
while, under five different Attorney-Generals. In August, 
1866, tired of the incessant toil and tumult attending public 
life, he tendered his resignation ; and, on this occasion, 
was pressingly solicited by Attorney-General Stansberry to 
reconsider his determination, and to retain a position for 
which he was so eminently qualified by his natural and ac- 
quired abilities. At the end of his second term, desiring to 
return to his private professional occupation, he voluntarily 
retired, leaving a chronicle reflecting high honor upon him- 
self and upon all connected with him. Immediately upon 
resuming the practice of his profession in Pittsburgh, he se- 
cured an extensive and remunerative clientage ; and since 
has pursued his vocation there with constantly increasing 
success and renown, having been many times engaged upon 
cases requiring a thorough knowledge of the subtilties and 
complications of the law, and involving issues of great 
importance. Upon such occasiofts he has never failed to 
win the esteem and admiration' of all by the exercise of 
those various qualities which, natural endowments, have 
been strengthened and improved by study, observation and 
wide experience. He enjoys the entire confidence of the 
court, the bar, and the general community ; is a clear, logical 
and forcible advocate; and, as a citizen, is trustworthy, 
scrupulously just and honorable, and wamily interested in 
all movements having for an end the advancement of social 
conditions and the speedy development of his State and 
country's vast resources. 



SpESSENDEN, JAMES M., Mechanic and Manu- 
I facturer, was born in the year 1S16, at West 
If Cambridge, Massachusetts, near the historic bat- 
f^^X tie-ground of Lexington, which engagement was 
' J^^al) witnessed by both of his parents. His father 
was a prominent merchant of the Revolutionaiy 
times, and was largely engaged in the grain trade. His 
early education was complete, and he enjoyed every pos- 
sible advantage to be obtained at the schools and academies 
of his native section. Aljout the year 1833, he was appren- 
ticed to learn the file and saw making trade, and, after 
fully mastering the mysteries of these arts, he was appointed 
Manager of a hardware manufacturing company, located 
at Woburn and Boston, Massachusetts; from Clerk he rose 
to the position of Director in this corporation. He subse- 
quently bought a saw factory, located at the same place, 
with sales- rooms in Boston, in which enterprise he remained 
for two or three years. For the following ten or twelve 
years he was particularly engaged in the manufacture of 



5So 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.liDIA. 



files at West Cambridge and Boston ; a portion of this time 
he resided in Rochester, New Hampshire, and was hon- 
ored by being elected to the Chairmanship of the Select 
Council and to the post of Treasurer of that town. About 
1859, he assumed the direction and charge of the Whipple 
Kile and Slate Worlds, and here he remained for ten years, 
closely engaged in bringing to perfection machineiy for the 
complete manufacture of files, and he was entirely success- 
ful. Prior to this time files h.id been cut by hand labor 
exclusively, but these remarkable inventions have caused 
machine-cut files to entirely supersede those made by hand. 
The most successful inventions of this kind are of American 
origin, and quite a number of the machines have been ex- 
]iorted to England, France and other parts of Europe. In 
1869, in company with David Blake, he founded the 
Western File Works, removing his residence to Beaver 
Falls, Pennsylvania. The prosperity of this enterprise has 
been c JtUinuous, and they are now the largest works of the 
kind in the world, doing an annual business of over half a 
million of dollars. He is the father of the machine file-cut- 
ting trade in this country and the oldest manufacturer now 
engaged therein. He is public-spirited and ever active in 
advancing the interests of the localities in which he resides. 
He is at present Chairman of the Committees on Finance 
and on Roads in the Council of the Borough of Beaver 
Falls ; is also a Director of the Beaver Falls G.as Company. 
He was married, in 1843, to Eliza, daughter of James Leb- 
bets, a wealthy land-owner of New Hampshire, and sister 
of Judge Noah Lebbets of the Supreme Court of that State. 



jlRANSON, COLONEL DAVID, Mechanic, Sol- 
dier, Merchant and rolilician, was born in Bris- 
tol, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1S40. His 
jjarents, both honored members of the Society 
f)f Friends, removed to Philadelphia while he 
was quite young, and in this city he received a 
thorough scholastic education. At an early age he volun- 
tarily apprenticed himself to learn the trade of a carpenter, 
and after acquiring it proceeded to travel. He was work- 
ing in the .State of Mississippi in 1S60, when the Civil War 
commenced. His sentiments upon the Slavery question 
were most pronounced and his patriotism unbounded. 
Through much peril he gained the borders of the Free 
States, and at once enlisted as a private in the Union army. 
In his regiment, the 2Sth Illinois, his promotions were 
rapid and all earned. In the battles of Fort Henry, Pitts- 
burgh Landing, Siege of Corinth, Ilatchie river, Iludson- 
ville. Siege of Vicksburg and numerous other engagements, 
he gave ample evidence of his valor as a soldier and ability 
as a commander. U])on the organization of Colored Troo])s, 
he, as a matter of principle, appeared before the Board of 
Examination as an applicant for a position, and though but 
twenty-three years of age he was recommended by them 




for a Colonelcy of the fii'st class. After organizing and 
drilling several battalions at Benton Barracks, Missouri, he 
was assigned to the 62d United States Colored Infantry, 
and served with it during the entire war, commanding it at 
the last fight of the conflict, Palmetto Ranche, on the Rio 
Grande, May I2lh and I3lh, 1S65. Through 1865-66 he 
was Regimental, Brigade and Post Commander on the Rio 
Grande frontier, and in the latter part of 1865 he made a 
tour of observation into the interior of Mexico during the 
Franco-Austrian invasion, the report of which was most 
important. He quitted the army only when his military 
services were no longer required. His regiment, during its 
term, he educated in general knowledge as well as soldier- 
ship. The Lincoln Institute, Jefferson City, Missouri, for 
the education of colored teachers, new in successful opera- 
tion, was founded and endowed by himself and command. 
At the close of the war he returned to Philadelphia and 
engaged in the coal business, and by his energy, system 
and ability soon became one of the most prominent dealers 
in the city, having at one time three difl"erent establish- 
ments directly in his charge. He was married, Decemlier 
iSth, lS65, to Sallie L. Woolman, of West Philadelphia, 
and has a charming young family. His reputation is 
national ; his friendships are wide-spread ; by a number of 
papers of the Western States his name was brought forward, 
in 1S72, as a candidate for the Vice-Presidency, and there 
was a strong feeling in his favor. Since 1S66, spite of the 
demands of his extensive private business, he has been 
active in public affairs. He has travelled over the entire 
Union, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and also in a 
literaiy and editorial way (through a trade newspaper pub- 
lished by him) has taken a prominent and able part in the 
discussion of the great questions of the day, especially that 
of resistance to corporation monopolies. He is one of those 
men who always desire to be in the front of the fight f,.r 
the right. He is a politician in the be.st sense of the term ; 
his ambition is not solely for his own aggrandizement. At 
this time his friends and the best portion of the citizens of 
the First Congressional District are urging his election to 
Congress from that district. The election to the National 
Legislature of such men — the industrious mechanic, brave 
soldier and honest merchant — would insure to the country 
a new lease of prosperity and glory. 



OOD, E. A., M. D., Physician, was born in Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1834. 
His parents were both honored members of the 
Society of Friends and were fully alive to the 
value of knowledge as a means of success in 
life. He was afforded evei-y opportunity for the 
acquirement of a thorough education, and after the com- 
pletion of his schola-^lic course at the seminary in Cali- 
fornia, Pennsylvani.T, he decided u]»on the adojition of the 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.^LDIA. 



5S1 



medical profession. With tliis object in view, he matricu- 
lated at the Western Reserve College, at Madison, Ohio, 
and, after devoting himself for two years to his medical 
studies, received his diploma from that institution. Imme- 
diately upon his graduation he removed to Allegheny 
county, Pennsylvania, located himself in Pittsburgh, and 
proceeded to establish himself in the practice of his pro- 
fession. His industry, social qualities and devotion to his 
art soon brought him into notice, and he quickly built up a 
large and lucrative connection. Not only among the citi- 
zens of his section did his attainments receive their full 
measure of credit, but he rapidly rose to distinction and 
gained a front rank amongst his professional brethren. 
In 1S72, he was honored by political preferment, being 
elected to the Common Council of the city, and in the same 
year he attained the high position of President of the Alle- 
gheny County Medical Society. He is devoted to the 
science which has been the study of his life, is a prominent 
member of all the principal medical societies and holds a 
post of honor or trust in most of them. He is conspicuous 
in every good work, and his reputation as a man is fully 
equal to his high rank as a Physician. 



BARTHOLOMEW, HENRY LUZERNE, M. D., 
Surgeon and Physician, was born at Mendon, 
Illinois, September 21st, 1841. His parents, 
Darwin F. and Sarah II. F. Bartholomew, were 
of Connecticut origin, and early instilled into his 
mind the lessons of that thrift and morality 
which have marked his life. He was afforded ample op- 
portunities for the acquirement of knowledge, his scholastic 
and classical education being received at the academy at 
Galena, the Mendon Academy, Cooperstown Seminary, 
Illinois College and Dartmouth College. Thoroughly pre- 
pared in such schools as these to enter upon the study of 
any profession, he chose the career of a physician. He 
matriculated at the Dartmouth Medical College, and after 
pursuing the prescribed course of study he graduated with 
honor from that institution in 1S60. With a view to gain- 
ing a practical knowdedge of his profession, immediately 
after graduating he removed to Boston, Massachusetts, and 
entered the Deer Island Hospital as an Assistant, and here 
remained for one year. Anxious to participate in some 
way in the struggle in behalf of the Union, he entered the 
army in 1862 as an Assistant Surgeon, and in that capacity 
served in the field during the campaign of General G:*ant 
along the Mississippi river. Unable to stand the exposure 
incident to field life, and suffering from illness contracted 
therefrom, he was obliged, reluctantly, to resign from the 
army. Immediately upon his recovery to health he ac- 
cepted an appointment as Assistant Surgeon in the navy, 
and was at once assigned to duty as Surgeon-in-Charge on 
the " Ilendrick Hudson" Hospital-boat, stationed off Key 





West, Florida. After about three years service in the navy, 
he resigned his commission and settled in Westfield, New 
York, where he remained for a year and a half, engaged in 
professional practice. He then removed to Warren, where 
he is now located, busily engaged in a successful practice. 
His abilities are acknowledged not only in private but in 
professional circles, and he ranks high among the leading 
physicians of the country. He is Censor of the County 
Medical Society, and is also a member of the State Medical 
Society. 



cCAMANT, HON. JOEL B., Lawyer and Legis- 
lator, was born in December, 1828, in Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania. His father was a veiy 
prominent physician of that county, as well as an 
influential politician, having at one time been a 
candidate for Congress against the Hon. James 
Buchanan. The son was afforded every opportunity for 
the acquirement of knowledge, and finished his education 
at Churchtown, in Lancaster county. After serving for 
some time as clerk in the Farmers' Bank, of Schuylkill 
county, he entered upon the study of law under the tuition 
of the Hon. Thomas H. Walker. He was duly admitted 
to the bar, and commenced the practice of his profession. 
His ability being quickly recognized, he soon formed a 
large and valuable business connection. The active in- 
terest which he ever exhibited in regard to all local or 
general political questions gained him prominence as a 
leader and a great reputation as a thinker. The Demo- 
cratic party have elected him to all conventions where wise 
management or mental ability of a high order were re- 
quired. He was a member of the Convention to amend 
the Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania, and his 
services in that body and in the committees upon which he 
was appointed were most valuable to his party and to the 
citizens of the Commonwealth in general. In 1870, he 
was appointed Cashier of the Shenandoah Valley Bank, 
located at Shenandoah, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, 
where his fin.ancial ability adds greatly to the reputation 
which the institution enjoys for stability. He is an influ- 
ential politician, a fine lawyer, a thorough business man, 
and a worthy, high-toned citizen. 



OODS, ROBERT, Lawyer, was born in Wa,shing- 
ton, Pennsylvania, Februaiy 19th, 1814. He is 
the oldest practising attorney at the bar of Pitts- 
burgh. His grandfather, Thomas Woods, was a 
well-known resident of Chester county, and died 
of yellow fever at Philadelphia during the preva- 
lence of that epidemic at the close of the last century. His 
son, the father of Robert, was born and educated in Chester 
county, and emigrated to W.ishington county in 1806, 




S82 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.-EDIA. 



where he followed the profession of surveyor. He was 
surveyor for the State, and surveyed nearly all the land in 
Washington and Allegheny counties. He was widely 
known in the western part of the State. Robert, in 1S28, 
while yet a boy, w.ts employed in the post-office at Wash- 
ington, Pennsylvania, from which point was distributed all 
the mail matter for the West, and he made up the first 
package of letters for Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a 
graduate of the cl.iss of '34 of Washington College, Penn- 
sylvania. After leaving college he taught in an academy 
at Pottstown, Pennsylvania, for a short time, and studied 
law with N. P. Hohert, one of Governor Ritner's State 
ofticers. Having finished his reading of law with Walter 
II. Lowry, of Pittsburgh, he was admitted to the bar in 
April, 1S37, and was Cliiif Clerk in the Pittsburgh post- 
office for several months after his admission. In October 
of the same year he associated himself with Thomas B. 
Beale, and opened a law office in the " Diamond." This 
partnership w.is dissolved in a year, and he then formed 
one with Richard Biddle, a brother of the well-known 
Nicholas Biddle, and they continued together until the 
death of his partner, in 1847. For over twenty years and 
up to the present lime his brother, Stephen Woods, Jr., has 
been associated with him under the firm-name of R. & .S. 
Woods. In politics, he was a Democrat until the firing 
upon Fort Sumter, but has never been active in politics. 
He is thoroughly devoted to the practice of his profession. 
He was President of the Pan Handle Railroad for two 
years and during the panic of '57 ; the road was laid out 
under his management. In 1842, he was married to Sarah 
L. Christy, daughter of Robert Christy, of Pittsburgh, by 
whom he has liad fifteen children, nine of whom are livincr. 



i%iTZ, REV. HENRY .STYLES, Clergyman, was 
born in Reading, Pennsylvania, April 6th, 1826. 
His mother was the daughter of a soldier of the 
Revolution; his father, George Getz, was an offi- 
cer in the navy of ihe United States during the 
War of 1812, and also a prominent citizen of 
Reading, Pennsylvania, who established the first English 
newspaper ever printed in Berks county, and which is still 
published. He is the brother of the Hon. J. Lawrence 
Getz, who for six years represented the district of Berks in 
Congress. He received a thorough academic education at 
the well-known schools under the direction of the Moravian 
Society at Litiz, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Upon 
starting in life he at first engaged in the book business, and 
for a short time was connected with the publishing trade in 
Philadelphia. But commercial life was not suited to his 
tastes or nature, and in 1856 he became a candidate for 
Holy Orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church. Follow- 
ing the prescribed routine he was ordained to the Diaconale 
by Bishop .'\. Potter, in 1S57, and to the Priesthood by 




Bishop Samuel Bowman, in 1858. He was assigned to 
and had charge successively of the parishes of Christ 
Church, Media, Delaware county, Pennsylvania ; of St. 
Peter's Church, Smyrna, Delaware ; of the united parishes 
of the Church of Faith, M.ahanoy City, and St. Peter's 
Church, Hazleton. At present he is the Rector of Trinity 
Memorial Church, Warren, Pennsylvania (Division of Pitts- 
burgh). He is now Dean of the Warren Deanery, one 
of the Clerical Deputies from the Diocese to the General 
Convention, and is also Editor of the Diocesan Missionary 
paper. Our Diocese. He was married, December 27111, 
1852, to Caroline, daughter of Thomas Desilver, a promi- 
nent bookseller of Philadelphia. 




i 



TTINGER, DOUGLASS, Captain in the United 
States Revenue Marine Service, was born in Ger- 
mantown, Pennsylvania, December nth, 1S04. 
The Ottinger family are, as the name would 
imply, of German extraction. The father of 
Douglass was Second Lieutenant of Infantiy 
during the Revolutionary War. Having received an edu- 
cation in a common school of the city of Philadelphia, 
young Ottinger entered the Merchant Marine service when 
a boy, and rose rapidly to the post of Commander. When, 
in 1832, the Revenue Marine was reorganized, he accepted 
the appointment of Second Lieutenant on the cutter " Ben- 
jamin Rush," and in the following year was transferred to 
the cutter " Erie." Having given much attention to the 
invention of life-saving implements for the use and rescue 
of ocean travellers, he was appointed, in 1848, to establish 
and equip ihe first life-saving stations in this countiy and 
put in methodical working order eight on the coast of New 
Jersey, for rescuing persons from wrecked ships. In 1849, 
by special request of a company of gentlemen, he was 
granted leave, without pay, to take their ship to San 
Francisco ; and after reaching the California coast he w.is 
engaged by a company to explore the coast, and discovered 
and named Humboldt Bay, which he promptly reported to 
the Government, though at the time out of the service. 
For nearly two years he was a Commander in the Pacific 
Mail Line of Steamers between San Francisco and the 
Isthmus of Panama, and resigned this lucrative position to 
obey the orders of the Government and take a command 
that paid him but S1200 per annum, the .Secretary of the 
Treasui-y having informed him the Government wanted his 
service, not his resignation. From 1851 to 1853 he com- 
manded the cutter " Frolic," having the onerous task of 
protecting the revenue on the whole Pacific coast, and the 
maintenance of order in the harbor and settlement of San 
Francisco, his being the only authority capable at all times 
of protecting the shipping and city from the lawless herd 
gathered there from every quarter of the globe. From 1853 
to 1S56, Captain Ottinger was stationed in the Gulf of 



i 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



583 



Mexico and on the coast of Florida and Georgia ; after- 
wards lie was ordered to L,alve Erie. At the breaking out 
of the Reljellion he took the Revenue Fleet of five vessels 
from the Lakes down the St. Lawrence and around to Bos- 
ton in midwinter. In 1S62, he commanded a Revenue 
Fleet in the waters of North Carolina, enforcing the em- 
bargo on goods contraband of war and re-establishing the 
civil law. In 1S64, receiving orders from the Treasury 
Department to superintend the construction of a vessel for the 
Revenue service, after the model he might think best, the 
"Commodore Perry," a vessel of great speed and seaworthi- 
ness, was built. In 1870, he was one of the C immissioners 
appointed to decide on the class of vessels best suited to 
the service, in which capacity he served nearly one year in 
Washington ; his dissenting report is on record in the 
Treasury Department. He was then ordered to Lake Erie 
to take command of the " Commodore Perry," and after- 
wards to the coast of Massachusetts. He is the inventor of 
the " life-car," which may be described as a covered, sheet- 
iron compartment, capable of passing through the heaviest 
breaking waves, and holding three persons, and designed 
for the rescue of persons from stranded vessels in storms, 
where the ordinary open life-boat could not be used. On 
its first trial it was the means of saving two hundred and 
one lives from the British immigrant ship " Ayrshire," 
stranded on the coast of New Jersey in the month of Jan- 
uary, 1S51, during a dreadful gale, and soon afterwards of 
two hundred and seventy-one passengers and a crew of 
eighteen from the ship " Georgia," driven ashore at another 
point on that coast. It has since been introduced into tne 
life-stations in Europe, and an unoffici.il estimate places the 
number of lives already saved by it at over four thousand. 
This record places the name of the inventor beside that of 
the noble Sir Humphrey Davy as a benefactor of his race. 
The " Commodore Perry " is equipped with an outfit of this 
kind presented to the Government by her Commander. 
Captain Ottinger abandoned this valuable implement to the 
free use of mankind, under a manly conviction that the use- 
fulness of inventions calculated to save human life should 
nut be restricted by patent. But, in the year 1S58, Con- 
gress recognized the importance of the " life-car," etc., by 
voting him the sum of ten thousand dollars as a testimonial 
of his great service to mankind. His contrivance is at once 
so simple and efficient that it will probably continue to rescue 
the shipwrecked as long as there are tempests on the sea. 



ARRIGAN, CHARLES WESLEY, Lawyer, was 
born in Philadelphia, on April 23d, 1S27. On 
the paternal side his ancestry were Irish ; his 
mother was an Englishwoman. He was pre- 
pared for college partly in the Academical De- 
partment of the University of Pennsylvania and 
partly at Pennington, New Jersey, afterwards graduating 
at Dickinson College ; he read law wi;h Hon. John Re.ad 




at the same place. In 1S49, ^' '^"^ early age of twenty-two, 
he was nominated for the State Senate, but was defeated. In 
1S55, he was elected Register of Wills and Judge of Pro- 
bate of his native city, and served with ability for three 
years. He received the nomination for Congress in the 
Fifth Congressional District, in 1S62, and was defeated by 
only si.\ty-two votes, his opponent being Judge Thayer, Re- 
publican. He contested the s::at, but after a long investi- 
gation his claim was disallowed. lie has been an active 
politician during the past twenty years, and has served in 
many National and State Conventions of llie Democratic 
party. He was a Delegate to the Convention that nomi- 
nated James Buchanan for the Presidency ; to the Charles- 
ton Convention that nominated Breckenridge ; to the Chi- 
cago Convention that nominated McClellan, and was one 
of the twenty-seven delegates who voted against and bitterly 
opposed the ratification of the nomination of Horace Greeley 
at Baltimore, in 1872. In 1S74, he was appointed a Notary 
Public by Governor Hartranft. Always an earnest advo- 
cate of street railways in his native city, he was for a num- 
ber of years a Director of the Second & Third Streets 
Passenger Railway. He was married, in 1S57, to a lady 
who is connected with some of the first families of Virginia, 
and at present resides at G-Mmantown. 



ICKINSON, SANDFORD, M. D., Physician, a 
distinguished practitioner of Erie county, Penn- 
sylvania, was born in Norwich, New York, Sep- 
tember 7th, 1808. His parents were Josiah and 
Prudence (Taylor) Dickinson ; on the paternal 
side he is of English, and on the maternal of 
.Scotch extraction. His elementary and preliminary edu- 
cation was acquired at the Norwich Academy, and, upon 
the completion of the usual course of studies in that insti- 
tution, he decided to turn his attention to the study of medi- 
cine, a calling for which he had evinced a warm attach- 
ment. When in his twenty-fourth year, he entered upon a 
course of medical studies, subsequently perfecting himself 
under the able instruction of Dr. Henry L. Mitchell, with 
whom he was connected as a pupil for about three years. 
He afterwards graduated from the old College of Physicians 
and Surgeons of New York City, in the class of 1831-32. 
After duly receiving his degree of M. D., he visited Erie 
county, and deeming it a desirable and promising locality, 
began there the practice of his profession. Steadily acquir- 
ing patients he ultimately became one of the most prominent 
and highly respected practitioners in that section of Penn- 
sylvania, and since has made it his permanent place of resi- 
dence. In 1S67, he became the purchaser and proprietor 
of a large drug and prescription store in Erie; of this estab- 
lishment his son is at present the owner and manager, al- 
though he still holds a controlling interest in its direction 
himself, and, by his wide experience and thorough technical 




584 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 




knowledge, tends to endow its affairs with that gravity and 
carefulness so essential to success in such a business. For 
more than tweniy-live years he has been invested with the 
charge of the Poor-House patients, and to him has l^een 
allotted the honorable duty of caring for the sick soldiers 
and marines of Erie county. He is a man of unusual cul- 
ture, and possessed of a large fund of varied scholarly at- 
tainments, and a medical knowledge that evinces thorough 
training and constant studiousness. To him is owing the 
valualiie introduction of the alcoholic and opiate treatment 
in cases of poison by vipers, and punctures in the operation 
of dissecting, preparing and embalming; this treatment he 
introduced into his practice in 1S45, and since that d.ate 
many learned and eminent practitioners have availed them- 
selves of the result of his provings. He was piartjed, in 
1833, to Rebecca Judson, daughter of Judge Jn^Stm, of 
Columbus ; she dying of consumption, he was man'ied again, 
in 1838, to Harriet Maxwell, who is still living. 



ARTIN, BARTON B., Lumber Merchant, was 
born in West Earl township, Lancaster- county, 
Pennsylvania, in 1821. His father,^T^ihTi:Mainin, 
was a prominent fanner aiud ''ajnieHlturist of thc' 
above-mentioned placevjiid iKoiwJnentiy idenlified- 
with the various progressive liioyemuit's chronijed 
in the history of his county. Barton -w^s -the-' eldest of.' a 
tiimily consisting of nine children, ^U of whoniiare iio\N«k«>Kll 
known in their respective communities as men and^vftmejo 
of integrity and worth. He was the recipient of the -oY^T- 
naiy common-school education, and, at.an e^ily llffriod of 
his existence, found that the limited circle and cicgum- 
stances of the farm-home were too confined for his views 
and purposes; he, accordingly, determined to seek else- 
where a wider field offering greater opportunities for the 
prosecution of profitable enterprise. Removing to the vil- 
lage of Millersville, in Lancaster county, he there became 
engaged in mercantile pursuits, meeting with great and 
rapid success. A large family gathering around him, and 
noting anxiously the meagre array of educational advan- 
tages presented in this locality, it suggested itself to him 
that the origination and firm establisjiment in Millersville 
of an institute of learning would be highly advantageous, 
not only to that town, but also to -the country adjrvfent. 
Acting promptly and ably upon this idea, he, in the summer 
of 1854, at the head of a self-constituted committee con- 
sisting of five of the most influential and energetic men of 
the town, succeeded in laying the foundation of the cele- 
brated State Normal School of Millersville; ultimately, in 
connection with other residents, and acting as leader and 
prime mover, he, by his strenuous efforts and generous dona- 
tions, raised the institution to a position which entitled it 
to State aid, and since that date its affairs have become a 
part of tlie c<immon-school history of the State. During the 



past fifteen years he has been actively engaged in the lumber 
business at Columbia and Lancaster; possessing in the 
former place an extensive wholesale yard, and at the latter 
a large retail establishment. In Clinton and Cambria coun- 
ties he is the proprietor of various mills, and of important 
tracts of timber and coal lands ; in the last-named county 
he is one of the largest individual land-owners in the State. 
In addition to these properties, he owns over three thousand 
acres of bituminous coal lands, situated near Portage Sta- 
tion, on the Pennsylvania & Centr.il Railroad, and is almut 
to build a branch road from the Pennsylvania Central Rail- 
road to his properties, purposing to commence mining ope- 
rations on an extensive scale. In the lumbering business, 
wholesale and retail, he is the largest operator in this sec- 
tion of Pennsylvania, his last year's (1873) business having 
ejeceecled, Six millions of dollars. " Westlavvn," his resi- 
dence Jil Lancaster, is admittedly the handsomest specimen 
of archircscture in the city, and, as a villa residence, one of 
the'fnost eleg.ant in the State. He has been a Director in 
thff '.LaficBster Fire Insurance Comjjany, and also in many 
tither organizations and corpor.ations; while as a warm and 
gi;nenoU,s patron of the Young Men's Christian Association, 
>tiafb^s dene much to further its interests. In religion, he 
is UHiiTjately osinnected with the Lutheran Church, and con- 
trilnites- materially.^U? its well-doing both by Christian de- 
portmcnt,an4 manifitent don.ations. During the Rebellion 
he ftincettigreat- loyalty and energy in the support of the 
Goift-Tntiigju, and;.sfiu-his two sons to battle for the integ- 
fityajfitlve Union. The ejdcst, E. K. Martin, now a grad- 
iKl(o(if; A^iiherst. foliege, enlisted, when but fifteen years 
■<ii'!iS§,,'in;tbe;79tJi Regjpient of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
injSepteml-je;r„l86l,an.d participated actively and perilously 
i^ii; ^iapy\actions luitil the close of the conflict. His other 
son,. Lieutenant J. C. Martin, entered the army in 1862, 
also while in his fifteenth year, as Second Lieutenant in 
the 145th Regiment of Pennsylvania V^olunleers, was pro- 
moted to a First Lieutenancy, and eventually served on 
General Tyler's staff in the Army of the Potomac. B. B. 
Martin married a daughter of Chiistian Rohrer, a prom- 
inent citizen of Millersville, Lancaster county. 



AGEE, CHRISTOPIIER, Lawyer, was born in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 3d, 1829. 
He is descended from old Scotch-Irish Presbyte- 
rian stock of western Pennsylvania. His great- 
grandfather was Alexander Thompson, of Cham- 
bersburg, whose descendants emigrated to and 
settled in Allegheny county. He is connected with the 
Wiley family of Philadelphia, and is also a relative of Hon. 
Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. Being prepared to 
graduate in the We-stern University of Pennsylvania, he was 
persuaded to defer it and to pursue a higher course of 
studies in the University of Pennsyhania, at Philadelphia, 






^^^ 



■^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



58s 



where he graduated in 1S49. Undecided as to what pro- 
fession to adopt, he tooli a course of instruction in the 
medical department of the University. Afterwards deter- 
mining upon the study of the law, he entered the office of 
William B. Read and Alexander McKinley. During the 
time he was in the office of these distinguished gentlemen, 
he also attended the law lectures of Judge Sharswood, and 
was a graduate of the first law class under this eminent 
jurist. He was admitted to the bar of Philadelphia, in 
1853, and, by virtue of his high degree as a graduate, to 
practice in the Supreme Court. In the same year he re- 
turned to his native city, and was admitted to its bar on 
motion of his cousin. Colonel Samuel A. Black. Two 
years later he was elected to the Legislature as a Demo- 
crat, and was the youngest member of that body at the 
time. In 1856, he was the Democratic candidate for 
Mayor of Pittsburgh, but was defeated by a small majority, 
his youth — he being then but twenty-seven years of age — 
contributing not a little to his non-success. In 1S74, he 
was nominated, against his wishes, for Judge of the Or- 
phans' Court, of Allegheny county. As a lawyer, he 
enjoys an excellent reputation, but is too reserved to take 
an active part in politics, and is only ambitious to quietly 
and honorably practice his profession. He is married to 
a daughter of the late Rev. John N. McLeod, of New 
York, a prominent clergyman of the Reformed Presby- 
terian Church, and a member of the Committee ap- 
pointed to revise the Bible. 



^(Q[r))YON, Rev. GEORGE ARMSTRONG, D. D., 
was born in Baltimore, Maryland, March 1st, 
1806. He was the son of Samuel Lyon and 
Pety W. (Broom) Lyon, daughter of the Hon. 
Jacob Broom, of Delaware, one of the signers 
of the Declaration of Independence. His an- 
cestors came originally from the north of Ireland, and 
settled in Pennsylvania; his grandfather having laid out 
and surveyed the town of Carlisle; and since that time, by 
frequent inter-marriages, many of the most distinguished 
families in the country have become connected with the 
Lyon family. Dr. Lyon's boyhood was passed principally 
in Wilmington, Delaware; and his education was acquired 
at Dickinson College, whence he graduated, in 1824, at 
the age of eighteen. He then entered the Theological 
Department of Princeton College ; upon the completion 
of his studies in that institution, he moved to Carlisle, 
and in the following ye.ar (1828), crossed the Allegheny 
mountains on horseback, arriving in Erie in the fall of 
1 828. Having received calls to the Presbyterian Churches 
at the above place, and also at Fredonia, New York, he 
spent the winter of l828-'29 between those two places. 
In the following spring, he accepted the call to the First 
Presbyterian Church, at Erie, and, September 9th, 1829, 
74 




was ordained and installed by the Presbytery, as Pastor 
of that church. In this capacity, he thenceforward acted 
with distinguished ability and success, until his decease. 
While officiating at Erie, he led the denominations over 
the whole of the western part of Pennsylvania, that sec- 
tion of the State lacking, at this date, any regularly ap- 
pointed and ordained jiastors. In 1847, the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity w.as conferred upon him by Dickinson 
College, and afterward also by Princeton College. For a 
period extending over forty years, he was the loved and 
revered Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, of Erie, 
and it was his first and only ministerial charge. Intro- 
duced there during a season of ardent revival, he evinced 
an indefatigable ardor m his pastoral duties, and, through 
hi:; constant exertions, many effijctive religious revivals 
added greatly to the strength and prosperity of the church. 
He was a wise and zealous laborer; and his undivided 
time and talents, as well as much of his own private means, 
were cheerfully given to advance the precepts and the 
institutions of the Gospel throughout the State and else- 
where. As a pastor he was distinguished for the grave, 
affectionate, and instructive nature of his addresses and 
discourses, by his powerful and trenchant intellect, cul- 
tivated taste, and a warm and practical charity, manifested 
repeatedly in both public and private actions. He was 
married, in Carlisle, in 1828, to Mary Sterrilt, by whom 
he had six children ; one of these survivors is now the 
wife of the Hon. J.' W. Douglass; another, George A. 
Lyon, is well known as a prominent citizen holding the 
rank of United States Paymaster. He died at Avon, New 
York, where he was residing in order to strengthen his 
failing health, on March 24th, 1871. On Tuesday, March 
28th, his body was placed in the tomb in Erie Cemetery; 
the funeral ceremonies performed in the church upon that 
occasion being of the most solemn and impressive char- 
acter. The invocation was pronounced by Rev. J. O. 
Denniston, of Park Presbyterian Church, and the funeral 
sermon was preached by the Rev. R. Craighead, of 
Meadville. 



YON, GEORGE ARMSTRONG, Jr., Lawyer 
and Paymaster in the United Stales Navy, was 
born in Erie, Pennsylvania, December 23d, 1837. 
His father was the Rev. G. A. Armstrong, D. D., 
a distinguished Presbyterian minister of Western 
Pennsylvania. His early education was ac- 
quired in the Erie Academy, whence he entered Dartmouth 
College, graduating from that institution in 1858. Return- 
ing to his native place, he pursued a course of legal studies, 
and, upon its completion, was admitted to the bar of Erie 
county, March 12th, 1861. He subsequently pursued the 
practice of his professio.n, until June, 1862, meeting with 
fair success. He th^n entered the United States Navy as 
Assistant Paymaster ; joined the Mississippi squadron in 




5S6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



the following July, and participated actively in all the 
battles of the Mississippi until the surrender of Vicksburg, 
taking part also in that memorable action. In September, 
1863, he was detached from that squadron, and in Ajiril, 
1S64, joined the United States ship " Pontoosuc." While 
connected with this vessel, he participated in both of the 
attacks on Kort Fisher, and in the ensuing actions and 
operations on the James river, and at Cape Fear, being 
constantly engaged up to the time of the surrender of 
Richmond, the event which terminated the conflict. In 
the fall of 1865, he joined the frigate " Potomac," at 
Pensacola, Florida, remaining at th'fs station until the 
summer of 1867. Moving to Philadelphia" shortly after, 
in the ensuing fall he joined the United States -ship 
"Idaho," and sailed with her to- Japan, where he was 
stationed until the spring of 1S70, whet"! he' returned home. 
In the commencement of the following year, he was 
ordered to the United States ship " Worcfester,'"- 'detailed 
by the Navy Department to carry supplies to the French 
after the Franco-German War, and with it pt^oceeded to 
Southampton, Liverpool, and various other points on the 
English coast. Returning again to ihe United-" States Tii 
August of the same year, he was' ordered, in September, 
to the United States ship " Michigan," doing duty on the 
Lakes. In 1866, he became Paymaster, Avitli the rank 
of Major, which position he still -fills. 



ETMORE, HON. LANSING' D., Lawyer and 
Judge, was born in^Warreri coui'ity, I'ennsylvania, 
October l8th, l8l8.~'His father, .'of ' th'e same 
name, was a native^of -NeWEiyglahd, but- hA«l 
early moved to Warren and was '-k prominent 
lawyer of that place. His mother, Caroline 
Ditmars, was descended from " Holland Dutch" ancestors. 
The means of his father enabled him to obtain a thorough 
education from the most approved sources of the day. 
His preliminary instruction was received at the academy 
of his native town, and after a preparatory course at 
Washington College, Pennsylvania, he nMlricuIated at 
Union College, New York, and graduated with honor 
from that institution, in 1841. For a year and a half 
after quitting college, he was engaged as a teacher in an 
academy; then, entering the office of Johnson & Brown, 
of Warren, for the purpose of reading law, he applied 
himself with such diligence that he was enabled to pass a 
most creditable examination, and gain his admission to 
the liar in the fall of 1S45. Immediately commencing 
the practice of his profession with all his characteristic 
energy, industry, and ability, he soon formed a large and 
lucrative connection in the county of his birth and those 
adjoining. To his ever-increasing business he devoted his 
entire attention until his well-earned reputation as a jurist 
caused him to be elevated from the ranks to a position of 




honor and trust. In the fall of 1S70, he was elected 
President Judge of the Sixth Judicial District, composed 
of the counties of Erie, Warren, and Elk, and in these 
courts he continued to preside until 1872. At that date, 
by a change in the constitution and law, Erie was made 
a single district, and Judge Wetmore chose the Thirty- 
seventh District, composed of the counties of Elk, War- 
ren, and Forest, as the scene of his future labors, and 
upon this bench he still continues in his high capacity. 
Prior to his elevation to the Judiciary, he had occupied 
the post of President of the First National Bank of War- 
ren,', and is' now President of the National Lumberman's 
Association. • He has been twice married; first to Miss 
Weatlierby, of .Warren, who died in 1S56, and, in 1S5S, 
to M-iss Shatttick, of Massachusetts. 



EEC, COLONEL SETH, the Founder of the 
1 City of Erie, and the head of a family which for 




fbuv genei-atioiis has been the most important one 
in' IVortfiwestern Pennsylvania, was a native of 
Rhodfe ^Island, but at an early period of his life 
removed to Uxbridge, Massachusetts. He was 
a ])hysician by 'pi'ofession ; and in the battle, of Bunker 
Hill held the rank of Colonel. In 1790, he acquired a 
larger tract of land in Ontario county. New York, known 
as the- "Reed & Rvckman Location," of which he dis- 
posed, in 1795, '\"'' ^^'''^' ^ stock of Indian supplies came 
to Erie and established a trading-post on the site of the 
old Prestju'ile stockade, long before desolated by the 
fimous Massa.sawba massacre. He had four sons and two 
dauglitors, all' of whom with his wife followed him hither. 
He' died,' in. March, 1797, at the age of fifty-three. His 
wife survived till December, 1821, dying at the age of 
seventy-thi-ee. 



ILES, ROBERT, Merchant and Capitalist, was 
born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, 
April 2d, 1793. His parents were both Penn- 
sylvanians ; the father, Robert, with the mother, 
Katharine (Watts), passed with the three-year old 
son, through the town which is now his home, 
when on their way to settle on lands near Sugar Loaf Wliat 
education he i-eceived was obtained from private tuition, 
and at a proper age he was obliged to do his share of work 
upon his father's farm, which had been put into cultivation 
in 1797, the family being about the first who settled in 
Warren county. He continued upon the home farm until 
the death of his father, when he engaged in the lumber 
trade, and continued to be most actively and extensively 
connected with that interest until vei-y recently. In 1833, 
he was elected Prothonotary of the Courts of Warren 
county, being the second person to hold that office after 





C- -• //TJry »w.^ ^ J'At^ 



«^<^ X /^' 



'-^^^y 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.IiDIA. 



587 




its creation. He has been also identified, veiy consider- 
ably, witli mercantile and real estate transactions, most 
of them involving large amounts. His business tact and 
sound judgment have almost invariably caused his invest- 
ments to turn out to his advantage. He was tnarried, 
January l6[h, 1S17, to Sallie Smith, of New York. He 
has been an active, thinking business man during his long 
life, and as the result of his labors is now quietly enjoying 
the fruits of the substantial fortune he has accumulated. 
He is public spirited, patriotic, and liberal, and to his 
efforts much of the prosperity of Warren county is to be 
ascribed. The town in which he now resides he has seen 
grow up from the very first, and he lakes keen delight in 
aiding and advancing its interests. 



EORGE, J. P., Journalist, was born in Westmore- 
land county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1832. 
His mother was a connection of the Patterson 
family of this State. His grandfather (paternal) 
was born in Ireland and emigrated to the United 
States, about 1790. He moved to what was then 
the " Far West," and for some time made his home in the 
State of Kentucky, being, while there, an associate of 
the noted Daniel Boone. He removed finally to Penn- 
sylvania and settled in Westmoreland county, where he 
married and raised a large family. The second son of this 
pioneer was Thomas George, born in 1800, and the father 
of the subject of this sketch. He lived in Westmoreland 
county until 1832, when the son was born; he then re- 
moved to Clarion, and afterwards to Armstrong county. 
J. P. George received his entire early education in the 
common schools of Clarion county. His father being a 
farmer, he passed hi; time in labor on the farm and in 
study, until he reached his eighteenth year, when he 
entered the office of the Clarion County Democrat, then 
under the management of Colonel William P. Alexander. 
Here he remained for about two years engaged in master- 
ing the details of his art; and, in 1852, removed to Jeffer- 
son county, where he entered a printing office and quickly 
rose to the post of foreman, remaining in the position for 
seven years. Upon the commenceinent of the late Civil 
War, he at once responded to the calls of patriotism. He 
enlisted, early in 1S60, in the nth Regiment Pennsylvania 
Reserves, and was at once appointed First Lieutenant of a 
company in that regiment commanded by Captain Brady. 
He served faithfully and bravely in every field, and upon 
all occasions proved himself a valuable and efficient 
officer. In 1S62, he was honored with a promotion to the 
rank of Captain. After leaving the army he returned to 
Brookville, and jiurchasing the paper upon which he had 
formerly been employed, assumed editorial charge, which 
he continues to the present. He has honestly and con- 
scientiously served the Democratic party, and that organisa- 




tion fully acknowledge their obligation to him. Though 
often solicited to accept public office, he has ever persist- 
ently declined so to do. He is a journalist of ability, an 
honest and fearless editor, a public-spirited, unselfish, and 
valuable citizen. 



ILKINS, PIARVEY LORENZO, M. D., Phy- 
sician and Druggist, was born in Victor, Ontario 
county. New York, March 6th, 1S15. His an- 
cestors came originally from the north of Eng- 
land ; his great-grandfather, on the paternal side, 
having arrived from England as a missionai^ to 
the present city of Boston. His grandfather was one of 
five brothers, all of whom fought valiantly at the battle 
of Bunker Hill, and he was an active participant through- 
out the Revolutionary struggle ; at the expiration of the 
war, he was married to a sister of the father of the Hon. 
Amos Kendall, Postmaster-General under General Jackson. 
Subsequently, he settled at Wilkins' Falls, Franklin county, 
Vermont, and for a long time was a member of the Legis- 
lature ; in that place he raised a large family, five sons and 
four daughters; and the ycKingest, James, the father of 
Harvey Lorenzo, served with his brother in the War of 
1812; he, marrying in 1814, became the father of eight 
children, Harvey Lorenzo being the eldest. The prelimi- 
nary education of the latter was acquired in the common 
schools of Chautauqua county. New York, whence, in 
due time, he entered Fredonia Academy. Abandoning 
school life when eighteen years of age, he moved to 
Canada, and there began the study of medicine under the 
able instructions of Dr. Luther Cross. While engaged in 
pursuing his medical studies, he held the position of Col- 
lector of Tolls and Deputy Collector of Customs; after 
fulfilling the duties of these offices for three years, he re- 
signed, and returned to the United States. Entering the 
Geneva College, he ultimately graduated from that institu- 
tion, after which he settled in Charlotteville, Niagara 
county, New York, practising his profession there until 
:86i, and meeting with much success. Owing to the 
precarious state of his health, he then deemed it advisable 
to discontinue the active prosecution of his vocation. The 
Oil Fever dawning into existence at that period, he started 
for the Oil Regions, and there became successfully interested 
in various enterprises. Moving to Erie, Pennsylvania, he, 
in connection with John W. Hammond, invested in several 
oil refineries, and secured profitable returns. In this busi- 
ness he was actively occupied for severaf years, meeting 
with varying success, and becoming noted as an industrious 
and enterprising operator. Subsequently, he disposed of 
his oil interests, and established an extensive drug store in 
Erie, which he is at present conducting with great success. 
He has always been prominently identified with the Public 
School System, and is now an influential member of the 
Public School Board. Although wai'mly interested in the 



sss 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



chief political questions of the day, and a firm and loyal 
citizen, he is neither a seeker nor holder of political office; 
and has repeatedly refused to accept various positions which 
have been tendered him by admiring friends, a school 
trusteeship being the only office which he has consented to 
hold. He is noted for his scholarship, his undevialing 
integrity and his fearless maintenance of that which he 
espouses from conscientious motives. He was married, in 
1837, to Miss Reed, of Canada, a daughter of one of the 
oldest and most honorable English settlers, and has a family 
consisting of two daughters. 



^EED, RUFUS SETH, son of Seth Reed, the 
founder of Erie, was born at Uxbridge, Massa- 
chusetts, October nth, 1775. In 1798, he mar- 
ried Dolly Oaks, of Palmyra, New "York, who 
died the same year; and, in i8oi,.he marrred 
.^gnes Irwin. His career is so id^itified with 
the early growth and prosperity of Erie, that.th« record of 
either is the history .of both. He died June jatji, 1S46, 
leaving a large fortune, and only one child, ijie, late General 
Charles M. Reed, who became one.of thftgreatest- ^Ofliioiers 
of the country. Mrs. Reed stiqfived ,lier J»i#)*iil'wuSpy 
years, dying in 1S64. . .; 

1(^2 LLISON, HON. JOHN,' Regiitter of'tb* .UniteU' 
States Treasury, was born in Beaver,. Bcav'er 
county, Pennsylvania, August 5th, 1S12, and is 
the son of James Allison, now deceased, formerly 
an able and distinguished attorney-at-Iaw. His 
grandfather, the late Colonel James Allison, of 
Washington county, Pennsylvania, was one of the pioneers 
of western Pennsylvania, having removed to that territory 
in 1773, and made his settlement in the last-named county 
in the ensuing year; he was of Scotch descent, and was 
born in North Carolina, in 1744, whence he inoved to Cecil 
county, Maryland, where he was married to a member of 
the Bradford family. Subsequently he was one of a small 
company of pioneers who left the eastern settlements and 
crossed the Allegheny Mountains to find and people new 
lands and homes in the wilderness. His biographer says 
of him : " He was a man of great moral worth, combining 
the personal cour.age so necessary in those trying times and 
circumstances with the ennobling Christian principles. He 
was one of the lale Rev. Dr. McMillan's first Ruling Elders 
of the Presbyterian Church. After the Revolutionary War 
had closed and Washington county become organized, he 
represented that county in the State Legislature almost con- 
tinuously from 1786 till 1793. He took an active part in 
advocating the abilishment of slaveiy, and voted for the 
final Act which passed the Legislature in 1788. . . . Was a 
member of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolishment 



of Slavery, which was incorporated by the Legislature of the 
State in 17S9. . . . At the lime of his death, which occurred 
in 1821, he was one of the Associate Judges of Washington 
county, a post he had held for many years." Some of his 
descendants still own and reside upon a part of the land 
which he purchased and settled upon in 1774. His son, 
James Allison, commenced the study of law under the late 
David Bradford ; completed his researches under the in- 
struction of Mr. Purviance, then a lawyer of Washington, 
Pennsylvania; and, in 1795 or 1796, was admitted to the 
bar. Upon the organization of Beaver in 1802, he removed 
to that county and was there engaged in the practice of his 
profession until 1846, when he retired, having completed 
liis half century in full and successful practice. In 1S22, 
he was elected to Congress from the Allegheny, Armstrong, 
Beaver, Butler and Mercer District, and re-elected in 1824; 
.owing to a strong distaste for the agitations attending public 
life, however, he resigned at the close of his first term. 
Thereafter, he continued to reside at Beaver until his decease 
at the .age of eighty-two, in 1854. John Allison was the 
jx^cipient of a common-school education at Beaver, his native 
|3)Lce. When a boy, he conceived an intense desire to enter 



fti- 



1828, his father applied for a 




■e;iq5rmy or navy, and, 
\CTSss(it^'96ija!dmLssion to the Military Academy at West 
Paftb(»uti_.6Sled to secure the desired object. In the first 
\ < fl' of -.Gr^eeal Jackson's administration, he again filed his 

; ; :i uionj.*but the cadetship was, for political reasons, 
gi\ cu \o another, and John, gieatly disappointed, cared little 
cariGeroing'wh.at should be his pursuit in life, since his most 
ardent- desires had been thwarted. He was afterward, by 
means of his elder brother James, apprenticed to learn the 
halting business with the once celebrated firm of McKee & 
Graham, of Diamond street, Pittsburgh. He remained in 
this employment until the spring of 1833, when the establish- 
ment was sold and he returned to Beaver, where he com- 
menced business on his own account, opening a store in 
April, 1S33; that business he prosecuted for some time, 
meeting with considerable success. In March, 1839, he 
removed to Marietta, Ohio, continuing in the hatting busi- 
ness until June, 1S43 ; ^' ''^'^ ''^''^ '''^ father and brother 
William prevailed upon him to return to Beaver, in order to 
begin the study of law. Complying with their wishes, he 
entered upon a course of legal studies, purposing to enter 
into partnership with his brother, as his father intended to 
retire from the bar upon his admission to practice. Their 
plans were frustrated, however, by the death of William, an 
event which occurred in 1844; but, continuing his studies 
under the guidance of his father, he was admitted to the 
bar in the fall of 1846. Subsequently, he remained in 
active practice for a sufficient length of time to terminate 
the affairs and business of his father, but abandoned all idea 
of practising on his own account — " a .step which in latter 
years he has greatly regretted." In 1846, he accepted the 
non.ination by the Whig party for a seat in the Assembly, 
and was elected, and re-elected in 1S47, also in 1849; and. 




x/^i>i^^^'^v y. yz^c^ . 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



5S9 



in each session that he served, ranked high as a debater. 
The last session, that of 1S50, was notable for tlie number 
of very able men acting as members, among whom were 
Hon. James M. Porter, Judges Conyngham and Beaumont, 
D. M. Smyser, A. K. Curnyn, R. Rundle Smith, Craig 
liiddle, Jesse R. Borden, and John S. Bowen. His most 
ailmired speeches were that in vindication of the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad, which was fiercely assailed at the session 
of 1847, when an applicant for a supplement to its charter 
considered essential to its success; and that delivered at the 
session of 1850, in favor of an elective judiciary. At that 
period he was an advanced Anti-Slavery Whig and member 
of a Committee appointed to consider the Federal Relations 
of the State; associated with him were Judge Beaumont, 
G. W. Scofield, .Souder and John .S. Bowen. The com- 
promise measures of 1S50 were then before Congress, 
and excitement ran high throughout the country. Judge 
Beaumont submitted the majority report advocating strong 
Pro-Slavery Doctrines in regard to slavery in the Territories ; 
John Allison submitted a report signed by him and John S. 
Bowen, asserting substantially the doctrines afterward 
adopted by the Republican party. This report greatly 
increased his popularity with his constituents, and in the 
fall of 1850 he was elected to Congress. In 1852, he was 
again nominated, at the time when General .Scott was 
nominated by the Whig party for the Presidency, and placed 
upon a Pro-Slavery platform — a measure which greatly 
damaged that party — ^but was defeated by less than forty 
votes. In 1854, he was again nominated, and elected by a 
large majority over the candidate who had formerly defeated 
him in 1852. He was known in Congress as a determined 
opponent to the spread of slavery into our Territories, and, 
in 1856, delivered an admirable and eloquent speech upon 
that subject, which, with Colfax's speech upon the Kansas 
Laws, were ordered to be printed for distribution in the 
ensuing campaign. Seeing the urgent necessity for the 
organization of a party based upon Republican principles, 
he signed the first call for a convention to assemble in 
Pennsylvania for that purpose. He was a member of the 
First National Convention, which was convened at Pitts- 
burgh, February 22d, 1856, to organize a National party, 
and represented Pennsylvania in the Committee on Platforms 
and Resolutions. In May, 1856, he was President of the 
First State Republican Convention that assembled after the 
National organization ; was a Delegate from Pennsylvania 
to the National Republican Convention which assembled at 
Philadelphia two days after the State Convention ; was 
Chairman of the State Delegation in that Convention ; and, 
at the request of the Illinois Delegation, nominated Abr.iham 
Lincoln as a candidate for Vice-President. In i860, he was 
elected a Delegate to the National Republican Convention 
which met at Chicago, and was instructed to vote for the 
late W. H. Seward. In 1857, he entered into the lumber 
business, at Keokuk, Iowa, but the financial collapse of that 
year greatly depressed Western activity, and lumbering 



proved to be an unprofitable enterprise. Before the break- 
ing out of the war he returned to Pennsylvania, and 
November 1st, 1 861, entered the United States service as a 
Paymaster, serving with fidelity and acceptability until the 
close of the Rebellion. During that time he received and 
paid out some millions of dollars, and was among the first 
paymasters who settled and closed their accounts, thereby 
relieving their bondsmen from all accountability. After 
leaving the army he resided for a time upon a farm in 
Mercer county, Pennsylvania; and, during the campaign 
of 186S, was noted as an energetic and talented leader, 
addressing a great number of Republican meetings and 
conventions, and laboring earnestly for the public welfare. 
On April 1st, 1869, he was appointed by President Grant, 
Register of the United States Treasury, and still continues 
to discharge the duties of that honorable and responsible 
office. He is possessed of many and varied scholarly attain- 
ments ; is a fluent and forcible speaker; and is one of the 
most valued supporters of that party in whose origination 
and successful establishment he was a prime and indefatig- 
able mover. He was married, in March, 1836, to L. A. 
Adams, eldest daughter of the late Dr. Milo Adams. 



ELSH, CAPTAIN JOHN H., w.is born in the 
county Tipperary, Ireland, December, 1839. He 
came to America with his parents, in 1848, and 
settled in Erie, Pennsylvania. After obtaining 
an education in the public schools of that city, he 
entered the Commercial Marine of the Lakes, 
serving in almost every capacity from cabin-boy to com- 
mander. When the war of the Rebellion broke out in 1861, 
he enlisted as a sailor in the United States Navy, but his 
perfect knowledge of seamanship soon engaged the attention 
of his superiors, and insured him rapid promotion. He 
served principally in the Mississippi squadron, participating 
in many of the hardest-fought naval battles of the war. In 
the summer of 1S64, the United States gunboat " Undine " 
was sunk at Clifton, Tennessee, and although the vessel was 
surrounded by a force of rebels outnumbering her crew six 
to one, through his untiring energy and skill she was saved 
from being a total loss. For this gallant service he was 
immediately promoted from Acting Ensign to Master. After 
the loss of the " Undine," at Paris Landing, in one of the 
most desperate naval engagements of the war, he was 
ordered to the iron-clad " Cincinnati," and from that vessel 
to the flag ship " Lafayette," and forced to part from a crew 
with whom he had seen the hardest service for two years, 
and by whom he was greatly beloved. When the gunboat 
" Mist " was commissioned, he was ordered to command 
her, which position he held until the close of the war, and 
was discharged December loth, 1865. After the war he 
was mainly instrumental in organizing the United Stales 
Naval Union, a league something similar to the Grand 




59° 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



Army of llie Republic. He engaged for a while in business 
in the Oil Region, .ind then again relumed to Erie and 
established himself in the wholesale liquor trade, dealing 
largely in the native wines of the Lake Shore. He is a self- 
made man in the best sense of the word, having pursued his 
studies when a boy under the discouraging restraints of 
poverty, and having since advanced upon his merits. In 
1S74, he was elected .School Director, receiving 557 of the 
569 votes cast, there being two other candidates in the field. 
In the same year he was independent candidate for Assem- 
bly. In 1S60, he married M.iry Sheahan, of Rochester, 
New Vork. 

/5.ig*|ACK, LOULS, D. D. .S., Dentist, was born in 
2j J: Germantown, March 26lh, 1S32, his parents being 
_%li Josiah Jack and Elizabeth (Foster) Jack. When 
'-^fj^ five years old he was taken by his parents to 
in J^'^^^'^i'j Pennsylvania, where he received his pre- 
liminary education, consisting of the ordinary 
elementary instruction of the public schools, and a mathe- 
matical course in the county academy. At the age of nine- 
teen he removed to Philadelphia, in order to study dental 
surgeiy. Plere he became one of the first matriculants of 
the old Philadelphia College of Dental Surgery at its first 
session in 1S52, graduating from thence in 1854, and was 
appointed Demonstrator of Operative Dental Surgery in the 
college in 1855, which position he resigned in 1858. He 
h.as, during the course of liis experience, contributed a 
number of essays to the Dental A'cws Letter, and Dental 
Cosmos, and has invented a number of useful instruments 
and appliances. His most important essay is, TJie Conserv- 
ative Treatment of the Dental Pulp. 



TEWART, JAMES L., Physician and Surgeon, 
son of William Stewart and Mary Reid, was 
born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, 
August 1st, 1825. He received his preparatory 
education at a private school in Pittsburgh, and 
graduated from the University of Pennsylvania 
in 1S4S, immediately thereafter coinmencing the practice 
of his profession at W.-iterford, Erie county. In 1S50, he 
removed to the city of Erie, where he has had a very 
successful career. During the war he was Surgeon to the 
3d Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, and in general service. 
He has been several times President of the Erie County 
Medical Society, and, in 1868, was Vice-President of the 
State Medical Society. He h.ns been for several years, 
during his residence in Erie, a member of the Board of 
School Directors, and for over eighteen years Physician to 
the County Jail. He has been President of the Board of 
Pensions for the Department of Erie, and Examining 
Surgeon ; also President of the Erie County Savings Bank, 




1 and of the Erie Transfer Company. He has performed a 
number of surgical operations that render him prominent in 
that department of science. In the y^ar 1849, he married 
Anna D. Bartholomew, of Philadelphia. Their only son 
Lieutenant Reid T. Stewart, was born in Erie, April 20th 
1850. In June, 1867, he graduated from the Philadelphia 
High School, at the head of a class of seventeen, lakim' the 
degree of A. B. Appointed to the United States Military 
Academy from the district of Erie, he stood number eight 
in a class of forty-three, graduating in 1871, and was 
assigned to Company F, 5th Regiment, United States 
Cavalry, stationed in Arizona Territory. On the 27th of 
August, 1872, while on his way from his station at Camp 
Crittenden to the military post at Tucson, to attend a court- 
martial of which he had been appointed Judge-Advocate, 
he was waylaid by a band of .'\pache Indians, and, together 
with the United States Mail Agent who accompanied him, 
murdered in' Davidson's Canon. His body was recovered 
and buried on the following day at Fort Tucson. The 
remains were subsequently removed under escort to the 
house of his parents, at Erie, and interred with great honors. 
He was a young man of unusual promise. A true Christian, 
a modest scholar and a brave soldier, he seemed destined to 
realize every noble ambition. The June previous to his 
death, the Philadelphia High School conferred upon him 
the additional degree of A. M. 



•\WLE, HON. HENRY, Mayor of Erie, was born 
at Freedom Iron-Works, Mifflin county, Pennsyl- 
vania, August 2lst, 1833. He is a descendant 
of the honorable old family of his name who 
settled in Philadelphia in 1686, and from which 
have .sprung .several of the most eminent jurists 
who have graced the bar of that city. His grandfather, 
William Rawle, was United States Attorney for the District 
of Pennsylvania, under the administration of President 
Washington, and the author of A Treatise on the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, and other works. His uncle, 
William Rawle, Jr., was also a lawyer of eminent attain- 
ments, and the author of /Cawle's J^eforts. His father, 
Francis W. Rawle, was in early life one of the Associate 
Judges for Clearfield county. His mother was Louisa Hall, 
daughter of Charles Hall, of Northumberland ccunity, an 
attorney-at-law, and a granddaughter of Robert Coltman, 
of Lancaster. He finished his education at Professor 
Balmar's school, in West Chester, and at the age of seven- 
teen joined the Engineer Corps in the construction of the 
Pennsylvania Central Railroad. Afterwards he became 
Principal Assistant Engineer on the western division of the 
Philadelphia and Erie Railway, and after its com]ilelion 
from Erie to Warren, in 1S59, embarked in the production 
of pig-iron, at Sharon, in Mercer county, from Lake 
Superior ore. In i860, he married Harriet G., daughter 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



591 




of General Charles M. Reed, of Erie, and in 1S62 took up 
his residence in that city, where he engaged largely in the 
shipment of coal, still continuing the iron business in 
Mercer county. Since his residence in Erie he has been a 
leader in establishing several of her most flourishing and 
important branches of industry. In lS6g, the firm of 
Rawle, Noble & Co. started the Erie Blast Eurnace, which 
possesses great advantages for the production of pig-iron 
from Lake Superior ore; and in 1872 procured the associa- 
li ;n of capital in starting the Erie Rolling Mill Company, 
of which its senior member is President. In municipal 
afl'airs he has necessarily been somewhat prominent; though 
generally eschewing politics, he consented, in 1S74, to stand 
for the office of Mayor, and was elected by an overwhelm- 
ing majority. His wife died in 1S69, leaving him two 
dauMiters. 

/ ~^^ 

iEARSON, GENERAL ALFRED L., Lawyer, 

was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 
2Sth, 1836. His family was among the earliest 
of those who first settled in the county of Al- 
legheny, Pennsylvania, and its members were 
ranked with the most prominent and influential 
citizens of that region; his father, John Pearson, was a 
talented and estimable man, and one who possessed the 
entire respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends and 
acquaintances. After acquiring a preliminaiy school edu- 
cation, the tastes and inclination of Alfred L. led him to 
select the law as his profession ; accordingly he pursued the 
usual course of legal studies under the able instruction 
of E. R. Jones, and upon its completion was admitted to 
the bar, in 1S61. The subsequent outbreak of the Rebel- 
lion, however, interfered materially with his original projects 
and intentions, and, actuated by an ardent desire to aid in 
sustaining the integrity of the Union, he decided to abandon 
temporarily the practice of his profession and profier his 
services to the Government as a volunteer. The first po- 
sition of note which was subsequently held by him was 
that of Captain in Company A of the 155th Pennsylvania 
Volunteers; to this he was appointed August 22d, 1862. 
Thenceforward his continuous and rapid progress upward 
testifies abundantly to his merits and abilities as a soldier 
and leader. December 31st of the same year he assumed a 
still higher grade, that of Major, and on the 22d of July, 
1863, received his commission as Lieutenant-Colonel. On 
the 31st of the following month he was again promoted, on 
this occasion to the position of Colonel. In that capacity 
he served for a period of thirteen months, when, September 
30th, 1864, he was appointed Brigadier-General by brevet. 
Six months subsequently, on the ist of March, 1S65, in 
consideration of gallant and meritorious services performed 
at Lewis's Farm in Virginia, he received an appointment 
as Brevet Major-Gener.al. Throughout the war he partici- 
pated personally and actively in all the movements and 



operations of his regiment, commanding a.s Brevet Brigadier- 
General the Third Brigade, First Division, Fifth Corps. 
He was afterward assigned to the command of the First 
Brigade, First Division, Fifth Corps, consisting of troops 
from the States of Pennsylvania and New York. The latter 
detachment he commanded until mustered out, at the ter- 
mination of the conflict, and in no instance was absent in 
any of the numerous engagements in which it was a par- 
ticipant. After deporting himself as an efficient, zealous 
and intrepid soldier until the final cessation of ho.stiIities, 
he was mustered out of the United States service, June 2d, 
1S65, leaving an honorable record. About five years later, 
on March 2gth, 1870, he was appointed Major-General of 
the Pennsylvania .State Guards, in command of the Sixth 
Division (formerly the Eighteenth Division), and received 
his commission at the same date. Prior to this event he 
had served in Pittsburgh for three years as District At- 
torney, having been elected in October, 1868; to the many 
requirements of this position he brought the same devotion 
and ability which had marked his conduct in the field, and 
throughout the term gave entire satisfaction to all interested 
in his administration. In October, 1871, he was elected 
from the Fifteenth Ward to the Select Council for two 
years, and during his tenure of ofiice labored wisely and 
effectively for the welfare of his constituents and fellow- 
citizens. 



ROWN, HON. RASSELAS, Lawyer and Judge, 
was born in Brownville, Jefferson county, New 
York, September loth, 1812. His father, George 
Brown, who served in the War of 1S12, was a 
native of Pennsylvania ; his mother. Temperance, 
was a native of Connecticut. His early educa- 
tion he received at the common schools of his neighbor- 
hood ; the cultivation of his riper years was acquired at the 
academies in Belleville, Jefferson county, and in Waterford. 
He entered Union College in 1834, and graduated with 
honor from that institution in 1836. After having com- 
pleted his education he removed to Warren, Pennsylvania, 
where he assumed charge of the Warren Academy, and 
held the position of Principal for nearly three years. While 
engaged in teaching he industriously employed his leisure 
time in the study of law : at first under the able tuition of 
the Hon. Lansing Wetmore, and afterwards with Struthers 
& Johnson. Having completed the prescribed course, he 
passed a most creditable examination and was admitted to 
the bar in June, 1840. He immediately commenced the 
practice of his profession, and in his attention to business 
has ever since been unremitting. His superior education, 
added to great natural ability, with a reputation for industry 
and integrity which early in life distinguished him, caused 
his services to be in demand, and in a short lime he built 
up a large and lucrative practice which has been steadily 
increasing during fifteen years, until his connections are 




592 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



extended over the entire State. In 1S45, he was elected to 
represent his fellow-citizens of Warren county in the State 
Legislature. In 1857, he was appointed a member of the 
Board of Revenue Commissioners from his district. In 
i860, he was honored by the commission of President Judge 
of the Sixth Judicial District. In 1872, he was elected a 
member of the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania. 
In all these positions he g.ive evidence of pure patriotism, 
great mental ability and wise practical qualifications. In 
1858, he was commissioned as a Brigadier-General of 
Militia, and serve<l in that capacity for several years. He 
is connected with the Dunkirk & Warren and Warren & 
Venango Railroads as stockholder and Director; is a stock- 
holder and Director of the First National Bank and a 
stockholder and Counsel for the Warren Savings Bank. 
He has been employed for many years as Counsel for the 
Borough of Warren and also for many of the leading cor- 
porations throughout the State. He was married in Janu- 
ary, 1S41, to Elizabeth Sill, of Warren. His record as a 
judge, a lawyer, a politician or a citizen is unassailable. 



: ABBITT, HON. ELIJAH, Lawyer and Legis- 
lator, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 
1795. His father, before the Revolutionary 
War, was engaged in the command of merchant 
vessels mainly in the West India trade. After 
the commencement of that war, which for a 
time destroyed his business, he served as a Lieutenant in 
the Continental Army, and at its close resumed his former 
occupation. Some time afterwards he removed to the 
State of New York, and was there engaged in agricultural 
pursuits till his decease, in 1S09. His son, Elijah Babbitt, 
became a resident of Pennsylvania in 1816; and in 1822, 
with a good academic education, entered upon the study 
of the law at Milton, in Northumberland county, in the 
office of Samuel Hepburn, then a distinguished lawyer in 
large practice in that part of the State. He was admitted 
to the bar in Northumberland county in 1824, and com- 
menced practice there. He removed to Erie, Pennsylvania, 
in 1826, where he has ever since been l.iboring in his pro- 
fession, having thus been through half a century engaged 
in legal practice. On November 28th, 1827, he was 
married to Caroline Elizabeth Kelso, daughter of John 
Kelso (deceased), one of Erie's first and most esteemed 
pioneers. She is still living. He was during many years 
a Trustee of the Erie Academy and Attorney for the 
Borough and City of Erie; and in 1834-35 Deputy Attor- 
ney-General for the Commonwealth. He was a member 
of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania in 1836- 
'37, and a member of the Senate from 1843 to 1846. In 
185S, he was elected (o represent the Twenty-fifth Con- 
gressional District of Pennsylvania, composed of the coun- 
ties of Erie and Crawford, in the Congress of the United 




States. He was re-elected to the same office in i860, his 
last term ending March 4lh, 1863. During his Congres- 
sional terms he served on the Committee on Revolutionary 
Pensions, the Committee on Revision and Unfinished 
Business, the Committee on Commerce, and the Special 
Committee on Defences and Fortification of the Great 
Lakes and Rivers. It was his fortune to liave been a 
member of Congress at the commencement and during the 
most critical period of our great war for national existence ; 
and his record shows him constant in support of all 
measures and expenditures designed for the replenishing 
and supporting of our armies and crushing the great Rebel- 
lion. He was among the first to advocate on the floor of 
the House of Representatives the immediate emancipation 
of slaves and their employment as soldiers in the army of 
the United States. In all things outside of measures for 
suppressing the Rebellion he appears to have been a strict 
economist, voting for the abolition of the Franking Privi- 
lege, against the increase of any civil expenditures, and 
favoring a strict accountability by all public officers. In 
1874, lie still lives in the enjoyment of good health and 
conducts a considerable legal practice for old clients whose 
business has long been i:i his hands and who refuse to 
engage other counsel. 



•^ /:i> ILGORE, COLONEL SAMUEL, Treasurer of 
^ ^J-^l Allegheny county, ' Pennsylvania, was born in 
f ■ I I Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 15th, 1842, and 



ci ^7^^ on both the paternal and maternal sides is of 



^^'- ■'- Irish extraction. His education was acquired in 



the common schools of his native city, and in 
1855 he removed thence to Athens county, Ohio. He re- 
mained there for three years, and at the expiration of that 
time returned, in 1S58, to Pittsburgh. He was then em- 
ployed at the City Water Works until the breaking out of 
the Rebellion, when he abandoned his occupation to assist 
his country. After raising and organizing a company of 
volunteers in August, 1S62, he was mustered into service as 
First Lieutenant, Company D, of the 155th Regiment 
Pennsylvania Volunteers. December 15th, 1862, he was 
promoted to a Captaincy; and, March 13th, 1S65, for gal- 
lant and meritorious conduct at the battle of Peeble's Farm, 
Virginia, was appointed Major by brevet. During the 
progress of the war he participated actively in the following 
engagements, and upon all occasions evinced commendable 
prudence, bravery and ability: Antietam, Fredericksburg, 
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Bristow Station, Rappahan- 
nock Station, Mine Run, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, 
North Anna, Tolopotomy, Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor, 
Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, Poplar Grove Church and 
Peeble's Farm ; taking part, moreover, in various other 
forays and skirmishes. March 14th, 1 865, he was dis- 
charged from the service on account of disability, arising 
from severe wounds received during the action a! Peeble's 



LlOCRArillCAI, ENCYCLOP.liDIA. 



593 




Farm, Virf;inia. From January, iS66, until ihe termination 
of 1S71, he was Ijy consecutive elections Superintendent 
of the Pittsburgh Markets. February 22cl, 1870, he was 
appointed Captain of Company B, of the 14th Regiment of 
National Guards of Pennsylvania (Zouaves); August 15th, 
1870, he was promoted to the vacant position of Major; 
and, January 3d, lS7l,was promoted to a Colonelcy, re- 
ceiving his commission at the same date. In October, 187 1, 
he was elected Treasurer of Allegheny county, and in 
October, 1873, ^^^ again elected. April 20th, 1872, he 
resigned his Colonel's commission, desiring to devote him- 
self entirely to the cares and responsibilities attached to the 
official position which he now holds with such marked 
acceptance. He was married, March 14th, 1S68, to Sarah 
M. Oiles, daughter of Dr. W. P. Giles, a well-known and 
highly respected practitioner of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 



<ARPER, MAJOR ALBERT METCALF, was 
born at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 22d, 
1S43. I^^ '"■^5 '''^ second son of John Harper, 
President of the Bank of Pittsburgh, and Lydia 
(Electa) Metcalf, of Pittsburgh. Having received 
a liberal education in his native city, he went to 
pursue his scientific studies at the Rensselaer Polytechnic 
Institute, New York, in i86i-'62. Here he made rapid 
progress and attained a high position in his class. He re- 
ceived many marks of respect and popular favor from his 
fellow-students, and was the first elected to the office of 
Grand Marshal, the duties of which position he performed 
with acceptance to all and credit to himself. When the war 
broke out, he was among the first to volunteer his services; 
and on August 25th, 1862, was appointed by the Governor 
first Adjutant of the 139th Regiment of Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers. A modest, boyish young fellow, he seemed to 
some of the rude men that surrounded him almost too cor- 
rect in his deportment, too abstemious in his habits, and too 
delicately nurtured to endure the roughness and brave the 
dangers of a soldier's life. But when the trial came, no one 
was more prompt to the call of duty; no one showed more 
endurance on the long march, or in the shivering bivouac 
than he ; no one more freely exposed his breast to the rebel 
bullets ; and the ringing echoes of his cheerful young voice, 
as he led his men to the front, will long linger in the 
memories of his comrades. Through many encounters he 
passed scathless ; but in the battle of the Wilderness, May 
5th, 1864, he was severely wounded, and in September of 
the same year was honorably discharged. His militaiy 
ardor, however, not being cooled, he was appointed by the 
President Assistant Adjutant-General of the United States 
Volunteers, with the rank of Captain, by and with the ad- 
vice and consent of the Senate, August 17th, 1S64. In 
May, 1865, the President conferred upon him the rank of 
Major by brevet, for faithful and meritorious services. At 
75 



his own request, the war being then over, he w.as honorably 
mustered out of the service, June 27th, 1S65. Returning 
to his home, he was received with mingled affection and 
pride; for during his campaigns he not only had won 
golden opinions by his bravery and soldier-like qualities, 
but also liy his mild and temperate disposition. He was 
throughout temperate, virtuous, pure, falling into none of 
the gross vices which too often stain the soldier's life. Hav- 
ing faithfully and honorably served his country, his predi- 
lections for scientific pursuits soon manifested themselves, 
and in September, 1865, he recommenced his studies at the 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he graduated with 
the degree of Civil Engineer, July 2d, 1867. Subsequently, 
he devoted nearly a year to the further study of analytical 
chemistry, which no doubt aided him in the management 
of a large oil refinery which he undertook soon after return- 
ing from the Institute. In October, 1 869, he entered as a 
partner the firm of Dilworth, Mar])er & Co. Here he brought 
the same earnestness and ability that had characterized him 
as a soldier and scholar. His business career was brief; 
on the loth of December, 1871, he was taken with typhoid 
fever, and died after an illness of four weeks. Numerous 
tributes were paid to his memory. The officers and mem- 
bers of the 139th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers unani- 
mously passed a resolution in which they recorded their 
hearty testimony to the brave and soldierly qualities of one 
who through trying scenes bore himself as an intrepid 
soldier, an ardent and zealous patriot, and a gentleman in 
the truest sense of the word, and declared : That in the 
death of their late comrade they had sustained a shock to 
many pleasant and fraternal ties ; his country had lost a 
true patriot, society the pattern of a perfect gentleman and 
citizen, and his family an affectionate sou and brother. 
The Pittsburgh daily papers with one accord testified grace- 
fully to his good qualities. He was unmarried. In 1874, 
the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, where he 
graduated, had a magnificent memorial window erected to 
his memory in the library of the institution, on which are 
inscribed the various battles he was engaged in during the 
war, and the badges of literary societies and army corps, 
etc., to which he belonged. 




/ 



LARK, THOMAS, Author and Editor, was born 
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, September 28th, 
1787. Educated for the priesthood at the Catho- 
lic College in Baltimore, but declining to take 
orders, he entered the army in 1813, as Captain 
of United States Engineers. He was engaged 
during the last war with Great Britain in constructing 
the defences on the Delaware river. On leaving the army, 
at the close of the war, he devoted himself to literature and 
mathematics. "His History 0/ i/ie A'avy of //le United States, 
a work highly commended by the elder Adams and Jefferson, 



594 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOIMiDIA. 



and his Cirsdi's Coiitiiimlarics, witli English Notes, were 
publislied in 1S14. He became Editor for the Association 
of Philadelphia Booksellei-s for the Publication of the Latin 
and Greek Classics. He published his Practical and Pro- 
gressive Latin Grammar in 1859, likewise various inter- 
linear translations of the Latin and Greek Classics. He 
died ill Philadelphia, Ajiril 28th, i860. He never married. 



lEARSON, ROBERT WEST, D. D., Clergyman, 
was born in Manchester, England, in 1839. His 
education was acquired chiefly at Owen's Col- 
lege of the University of London. In 1866, Ke 
left his native country and embarked, for tho 
United States, arriving in Massachusetts.iiV 1866: 
In the following year he was admitted to practice in the 
Supreme Court; and, subsequently, was actively- occupied 
in the pursuit of his profession in both MasSa'tAusetts an 
Montreal, Canada. He was thus engaged until called to 
the ministry of the Baptist Church in the last-ttanied city, 
where he was ordained in 1869. He was aflej*M*ard,-from 
1S70 until 1S73, Pastor of the First B.iptiise Ctui*itir»f 
Lafayette, and also acted as President of ■lhe"?fa4>kli<\ C(»l. 
lege. In 1873, as a mark of recognition ■at»<\ tjricffiifiic"^ 
knowledgment for valuable servic^s-'i-'eiuleted,' thatiuslitti- 
tion conferred upon him the honorary (Jf3r<;fe<tf'"D'; I3.''^A1 
the present time he is the esfee'metl "Pastor-o'fJlWtFoHrnt 
Avenue Baptist Church of Pittsburgh', wfliSre Iie*'c^ci.ites 
with marked zeal, industry and ability.- A ninn of- tefined 
culture, and possessing a clear, acute and vigorous intellect" 
his various literary essays have won him considerable repu- 
tation, and elicited much comment from the local and 
general press. His volume of Sermons recently published 
contains many wholesome truths arrayed in scholarly and 
impressive language, while his papers on Chemical Analysis 
evince a thorough acquaintance with the principles and 
details involved in that subject. 



t OBLE, HON. ORANGE, Farmer and Oil Ope- 
rator, was born in Washington county. New York, 
April 27th, 181 7. His father was a farmer in 
humble circumstances, and he followed the same 
pursuit himself up to the age of thirty-five, com- 
bining with it the business of cattle dealer and 
general speculator in live stock. In 1852, he removed with 
his family to Randolph, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, 
where he purchased and cultivated a large tract of land, 
and three years later, in company with Hon. George B. 
Delomater, engaged in mercantile and manufacturing 
business, which was continued till 1S63. The partners em- 
barked in the oil business soon after the first development 
of petroleum in 1859, and, on Mny 27th, 1863, struck the 



woild-renowncd "Noble well," probably the largest that 
has ever been struck. It flowed at first for many weeks at 
the rate of 3000 barrels a day, and its entire production, as 
shown by the books of the company, was 480,000 barrels. 
In 1864, he removed to Erie, where, in the following year, 
he established the Keystone National Bank. He was elected 
Mayor of the city, in 1S6S, and filled the oftice for four 
successive terms, being elected three times almost without 
opposition. Under his administration the Cily Water- Works 
were erected, at a cost of $800,000. His name has been 
connected with nearly every project of local enterprise sirce 
his residence in Erie, and many of her most flourishing in- 
dustries owe their establishment to him. He is a Director 
in the Dime Savings Bank, the Second National Bank of 
Erie, and the Foxbury and St. Petersburg Savings Banks 
in' Clarion county. He was the projector and half owner 
of the first elevator in Erie, and is largely interested in 
" the Bay State Iron Works," " the Erie Paper Mill," and 
d.iithe.'blast furnace of Rawle, Noble & Co. He is President 
of the Alps Insurance Company, and of the Erie Street 
Railway Conip.nny. He is, in the strictest sense of the ex- 
pression, a self-made man. Starting in life with nothing 
hut his two honest hands, and having enjoyed only the most 
•nijfagte opportunities for an education, he has acquired a 
largL'-firrlj^ne and attained a most respectable posiiion in a 
vci-y: ?nt^ligent community. It redounds to his credit and 
characfferkis the spirit of the man to remark that he got 
the pfm'oip^part of his education by doing chores for his 
■boacd" while' attending the winter term of the academy in 
his. native county. At the age of twenty-three he married 
Mirrerva Reed, of North Granville, Washington county. 
New York, Ijy whom he has had six children, two of whom 
only are living, Theodore F. Noble and George Ilem-y 
Nol)lc, residing in Eiie. 




■i 
„^^ILL, HON. THOMAS H., Lawyer, Legislator 
^li^ and Banker, son of Captain Richard Sill, who 
served in the Revolutionary War, was born at 
Windsor, Connecticut, October nth, 1783. He 
graduated from Brown University, Rhode Island, 
in 1804, and after studying law with the Hon. 
Jacob Burnett, ""of Cincinnati, Ohio, began the practice of 
his profession at Lebanon, in that State, in the year 1S09. 
The failure of his health soon induced him to relinquish 
business for a time, and after travelling for a year he re- 
sumed the practice of law at Erie, Penn.sylvania, where he 
remained till death. From 1816 till 1818, he was Dejiuty 
United States Marshal for the District, and, in 1819, De- 
puty Attorney-General for the State of Pennsylvania, open- 
ing the first court in Warren county. In 1823, he was 
elected to the lower branch of the State Legislature, and, 
in 1826, succeeded the Hon. Patrick Farrelly in Congress. 
In 1828, he was re-elected, being the only anti-Jackson 
member from his State, which shows the extent of his per- 




.^fe^ 



g>^:^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



595 




sonal influence willi his constituency. He declined nomi- 
nation for the following term, and, in the year 1837, was 
made President of the United States Branch Bank at Erie, 
a position he held till the close of the institution. He was 
a member of the Convention that revised the .State Consti- 
tution in 1S36, and attained a marked influence in th.at 
assembly. In 1848, he Ijecame Presidential Elector, .and 
in the college voted for Taylor and Fillmore. From 1848 
to 1S53, he was Postmaster at Erie. He w.as an able and 
eloquent advocate. Among contemporaries of the most 
respectable p0*;ts he was a man of note and influence. And 
while the (jualities of his mind commanded the respect of 
all, the amiability of his disposition procured him their 
affection. He took a lively interest in most public matters, 
especially the cause of education, and for more than thirty 
years w.is a Director of the Erie Academy. He died on 
February 7th, 1S56. 



'.VI.L, ORRIS, Merchant and Capitalist, was born 
in the town of Dover, Windhaine county, Ver- 
mont, September 22d, 1804. His parents were 
both of the best blood of New England. His 
father, William Hall, was a gallant soldier of the 
Revolutionary War, and a man of influence in 
his section. His mother, Aljigail P., was a worthy help- 
mate for such a husband. The son was afforded by his 
intelligent parents every facility for the acquirement ef 
knowledge within their power to grant him. His education 
was obtained at the schools of his native neighborhood. 
Immediately upon quitting his own teachers he entered 
upon the profession of instructing others, and going to 
Jamestown, Chautauqua county, he taught school in that 
place, and also in the town of Carroll, in the same county, 
during the winters of 1825 and 1S26. He then moved to 
Warren, Pennsylvania, and there also for a year was en- 
gaged in his profession of Instructor. In 1S27, he engaged 
in mercantile trade, dealing in dry goods, groceries and 
general supplies ; in the course of business, as conducted 
in those days, he was led, in the way of trade, to dealing 
extensively in lumber. He continued his general commer- 
cial transactions until 1835, when he abandoned all busi- 
ness except that connected with his lumber interests, to 
which he devoted his entire attention, and in the prosecu- 
tion of which he still continues. His business, owing to 
the active and intelligent attention which he has ever 
devoted to it, has steadily increased during all the years 
which he has conducted it. His manufactories now turn 
out an annual product of over a quarter mill. on of dollars; 
his transactions in lumber in the rough, extending along 
the Allegheny river and its tributaries, are among the most 
extensive in that section. The same region is thickly built 
up with mills of his erecting ; he is also the proprietor of 
large saw-mills upon the Juniata river. He is the owner 
of a great quantity of valuable real estate, being reputed the 




most extensive property-holder in Warren. He was mar- 
ried, in 1830, to Eliza K. Kackney, of Warren. Though 
advanced in years he is still active in business, prompt in 
the discharge of his duties as a citizen, and warmly inte- 
rested in all matters pertaining to the good of his section 
and society in general. 



OTTS, DAVID, Jr., Iron Master and Congress- 
man, was born in Pottstown, Montgomery couniy, 
Pennsylvania, November 27lh, 1794. His father, 
David Potts, was a prominent and influential 
business man of Chester county, Pennsylvania; 
his mother's maiden name was also Potts. He 
received a thorough and classical education in his native 
place, and, upon attaining his majority, succeeded his father 
as Manager of the Warwick Furnace, located in Chester 
county, Pennsylvania ; in this capacity he continued to act 
with great ability and success until his decease, an event 
which occurred June 1st, 1863. In l823-'24-'25, he w.as 
a member o- the Legislature for the above-mentioned 
county, and during his terms was noted for his incorruptible 
integrity, his industry and his well-directed energy. From 
1830 to 1836 inclusive, he was the Congressional member 
from the same place ; and throughout the lengthy period, 
during which he was zealously occupied in caring for the 
interests of his county and constituents, he distinguished 
himself by marked ability and public spirit. Many of the 
most important improvements in his district are mainly and 
directly attributable to his shrewd foresight and effective 
efforts; while, when living, he was ever a foremost and 
energetic mover in all matters having for issue the welfare 
of his State and fellow-citizens. In politics he was stead- 
fastly opposed to the Jackson and Van Buren administra- 
tions, and in the support and vindication of his own views, 
actions and opinions always evinced true loyalty, an unde- 
viating uprightness of mind and heart. He was noted for 
his scholarly attainments, and a large fund of useful and 
varied information ; and was warmly interested in the 
prompt development of the educational advantages of Mont- 
gomery county. He was married, March 4th, 1S19, to Anna 
Nutt May, daughter of Robert May, one of the most exten- 
sive operators and largest iron-masters in Pennsylvania. 
He died at Warwick, Chester county, June 1st, 1863, and was 
buried in the family burying-ground at Coventryville. 

'TANTON; HON. EDWIN M., LL.D., Lawyer, 
Attorney-General and Secretary of War, was born 
at Steubenville, Ohio, in 1S14. He was of Quaker 
descent, his grandparents having been prominent 
and widely respected residents of New England, 
and noted for their anti-sl.ivery opinions. His 
early education was .acquired chiefly at Keuyon College, 
which he left in 1832, when advanced in his Junior year. 




596 



lilOGKAriilCAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



lie then pinsued a course of legal studies, and, upon its 
completion, became a member of the Ohio bar, and later a 
resident of Tennsylvania. Prior to the administration of 
Buchanan he secured, by the able exercise of talents natural 
and acquired, a wide and honorable reputation as a scholarly, 
enterprising and energetic citizen and practitioner; in i860, 
under the above-mentioned administration, he was appointed 
Attorney-General of the United States. At the outbreak of 
the Rebellion he advised the Government to institute with- 
out delay prompt and decided measures ; when consulted 
by Buchanan before the meeting of Congress, he advised 
him to incorporate into his message the doctrine that the 
Federal Government had the power, and that it was its 
duty to coerce seceding States. It was well for the country 
that, at this momentous period, he held the Attorney-Gene- 
ralship, for a true and fearless patriot was greatly needed 
in the Government at that time. After taking the oath of 
office, he said to a friend : " I have taken the oath to sup- 
port the Constitution of my country ; that oalh I intend to 
keep both in letter and in spirit." Ably did he keep his 
pledge amid the ensuing treasons and perils that environed 
the Union; unveiling treacherous officials, he blasted them 
with his stern rebukes ; in the Cabinet he constantly and 
earnestly advocated swift and decisive action, denouncing 
the unwise temporising Spirit manifested by several high 
officers fearing to commit themselves too openly ; was often 
closeted in council with General Scott ; advised ably the 
members of the Peace Congress; and leaguing himself 
with the Republicans in Congress, kept them well informed 
concerning the councils of the administration. The mem- 
orable resolution introduced into the House by Mr. Dawes, 
regarding Toucey, Secretary of the Navy, was inspired by 
E. M. Stanton, who believed that he was guilty of treason 
in endeavoring to subvert the Government. During this 
time he was constantly surrounded by agents an.xious to 
frustrate his loyal purposes, and, on one occasion, while 
conversing with Sumner, led him away from the office, not 
daring to speak candidly while watched by the vigilant 
emissaries of secession. When Floyd, enraged by the loyal 
conduct of Colonel Anderson at Forts Moultrie and Sum- 
ter, entered the Cabinet, and charged his associates with 
violating their pledges to the Southern people, it was E. M. 
Stanton that rose and with fierce loyalty abashed him. In 
1S62, under the administration of Lincoln, he was, notwith- 
standing the opposition of Montgomeiy Blair, appointed 
Secretary of War. Immediately he occupied himself in a 
thorough examination of the Government forces ; met the 
Military Committee of the Senate in their room at the 
Capitol, and laid before them the result of his prompt and 
exhaustive laljor and researches. More than one hundred 
and fifty regiments, many only partially complete, were dis- 
persed throughout the country ; these bodies he proposed 
to bring together and consolidate; and, after expl.iining to 
the committee his reasons for acting in this manner, was 
strengthened by their commendation and support. The pre- 



parations for the active campaign of 1S62 he pressed vigo- 
rously, and, very often through the entire night, was 
occupied in attending to the military and civil exigencies 
of the State; sending important telegraph communication 
to all parts of the Union, and proffering needed and shrewd 
counsel to the various officials with whom he was brought 
into contact. Throughout the entire war he devoted him- 
self to the cause of the Union with an earnestness and un- 
selfishness only equalled by his masterly ability, untiring 
energy, never-failing resource, undaunted courage and grand 
confidence in the triumph of right. Whe» Lincoln ex- 
pressed to several members of the Cabinet his intention, 
should Grant secure a victory at Richmond, to permit that 
officer to negotiate terms of peace with the Confederate 
Generals, he steadfastly opposed such a measure, declaring 
bluntly that no one had the right to attend to such matters 
but the President; from this resulted the order to Grant in- 
structing him to hold no conferences with Lee except on 
questions of a purely military nature. Subsequent to the 
surrender of Richmond, Lincoln was about to permit the 
assembling of the rebel Legislature of Virginia by General 
Weitzel ; Stanton, however, apprehending peril, opposed it 
earnestly, and the .permission was recalled. When the 
Legislature of Indiana was dissolved, in 1863, and no ap- 
propriations were made to assist the State Government or 
the Union forces. Governor Morton looked anxiously to the 
Secretary of War for sorely needed succor. Upon his own 
responsibility, the latter drew his warrant upon the Treasury 
for §250,000, to be paid from an unexpended appropriation 
made formerly for raising troops in States in insurrection. 
" If the cause fails," said Morton, " you and I will be 
covered with prosecutions, and probably imprisoned, or 
driven from the country." " If," replied Stanton, " the 
cause fails, I do not wish to live." Finally, the quarter 
million of dollars was accounted for by Indiana in its ulti- 
mate settlement with the general Government. When the 
news of Lee's surrender was received at Washington he 
tendered his resignation to Lincoln, saying that now that 
the great work was ended he would abandon his laljorious 
position. The President, however, induced him to recall 
his determination, and he consented to remain in the War 
Office until the disbandment of the army. He was a cordial 
supporter of the Christiari and Sanitary Commissions, and 
assisted materially the management of the Freedmen's 
Bureau in its commendable endeavors to ameliorate the 
condition of the newly-emancipated race. December 20th, 
1S69, after his retirement from office, he was nominated by 
President Grant, and confirmed by the Senate, an Associate 
Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States ; but he 
was not to enjoy long the honor attached to that office, 
dying suddenly, December 24th, 1869. Prior to this event, 
a testimonial fund of $100,000, to repair the losses occasioned 
by his devotion to the interests of his country, was refused 
by him in the fii-mest manner, and with peremptory curt- 
ness. Sulisequently, the same amount was contributed for 



BIOGRAPHICAL EXCYCLOP.^DIA. 



S97 




the support of his family. His name appears to several 
publications. He prepared the Reports of Cases Argued 
and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio, 
in Banc, December Term, 1841, December Term, 1844, 
Columbus, 1843-45, 3 vols. (vols, xi, xii, xiii, Ohio Re- 
ports) ; also Reports as Secretary of War, iS52-'08. 



VTES, JABEZ, Merchant, was born January 1st, 
1S55, at Germantown; his parents being Horatio 
Gates, of American descent, and Adele B. 
(Bevue) Gates, whose family were French, but 
had long resided in the West Indies. He re- 
ceived his education at the Germantown Academy, 
and on his father's death, which occurred when he was 
about eighteen years of age, left school in order to take 
charge of his business, which was that of a general mer- 
chant and dealer, and which had at that time been estab- 
lished about twenty years, being one of the oldest business 
houses in Germantown. In addition to the business re- 
sponsibilities of the establishment, the care of the family 
and the education of his brothers and sisters also devolved 
upon him. He has continued this business up to the 
present time (1S74), and has extended and developed it 
considerably. He occupies a prominent position in his 
native town, and is a Director of the National Bank of 
Germantown, and of the Germantown Insurance Company, 
also a Trustee of the Germantown Academy. He is also 
one of the Commissioners of Highways of the Twenty- 
second Ward, and during the war was Chairman of the 
Committee for filling the quota from that ward. In 1862 
and 1S63, and again in 1S68 and 1S69, he was the repre- 
sentative of the ward in Councils. In politics he is a 
Republican. He was married, in 1S07, to Isabella M., 
daughter of the Rev. T. Sovereign, of Burlington, New 




Jersey. 



■ RAIG, HON. ALLEN A., Associate Judge of 
Erie county, was born at Lebanon, New York, 
August Sth, 1S20. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, 
and bis parents were in humble circumstances. 
Though a man of rare cultivation he enjoyed, 
when a youth, only the most meagre advantages 
for an education. Early apprenticed to the trade of cabi- 
net-maker, he took up the study of the classics, and with- 
out any regular teacher became proficient in Latin and 
Greek, and pursued mathematics, for which he had a 
jieculiar aptitude, to the higher branches of abstract cal- 
culation. By intuitive learning, from a cabinet-maker he 
became a draughtsman and pattern-maker, being an en- 
thusiastic student of mechanical philosophy. He moved lo 
Erie in 1S42, and, in 1844, he married Sophronia Bliss, of. 
that city, by whom he has had a family of nine children. 



For two terms, beginning with 1853, he was Justice of the 
Peace, in Erie, and, in 1S56, he was a Delegate to the 
Convention that nominated Fremont and Dayton for the 
Presidency. In 1S61, resigning the Justiceship, he was 
elected Sheriff of Erie county, and, in 1S64, was ap- 
pointed Paymaster in the United States Army, a position 
he held till 1865, when, by reason of injuries sustained in 
a railroad wreck, and which have permanently impaired 
his health, he was forced to resign. After his return from 
the army he engaged in mercantile pursuits for a time in 
Erie, and, in 1871, was elected Associate Judge. He was 
one of the first to cut loose from the old Whig organiza- 
tion. All his life he has been a student, and has made 
himself familiar with nearly all modern sciences. Though 
he has never applied for admission to the bar, his legal 
reading has been as extensive as that of many lawyers. 
He has also read much in the science of Medicine. In 
1866, Allegheny College conferred on him the degree of 
Master of^rts. Of direct and simple manners, quick dis- 
cernment, broad humanity, unusual cultivation, and attrac- 
tive speech, his mind is calculated to win upon others, and 
with more ambition he could not have failed of rare politi- 
cal influence. He sustained intimate acquaintanceship 
with Horace Greeley, Henry J. Raymond, William II. 
Seward, and many of their prominent contemporaries; 
and declined appointment to the United States Consulate, 
at Hong Kong, when offered him during the administra- 
tion of Seward in the Department of State. He is life- 
member of Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons ; mem- 
ber of the Grand Chapter of Holy Royal Arch Masons ; 
has received all the orders of knighthood conferred by the 
Grand Commander of Knights Templar, and is an Odd 
Fellow passed chairs. His eldest son, a fine mathema- 
tician, is General Accountant of the Toledo, Wabash & 
Western Railroad. 



TEEL, EDWARD T., Merchant, was born in 
Philadelphia, January 6th, 1835; and is a son 
of Robert and a grandson of Thomas Steel. 
He is of English descent, his ancestors being 
members of the Society of Friends, who emi- 
grated from Great Britain, and landed at Phila- 
n 16S3, one of them being Treasurer of the 
Commonwealth under the proprietaiy of William Penn. 
He attended various boarding schools in New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania during his boyhood, and finished his educa- 
tion at Abington, which he left in his fifteenth year. Re- 
turning to Philadelphia, he entered a wholesale notion 
house, September 9th, 1849, and has ever since been en- 
gaged in mercantile pursuits. He remained in this estab- 
lishment until the close of January, 1851, when he passed 
to the cloth store of William Jackson & Co., at Market 
and .Second streets, and there became thoroughly ac- 
quainted with that business in all its branches. He con- 




598 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



linued in the employ of this house until the close of 1S56; 
and on January 1st, 1857, engaged in the same business 
as a member of the firm of Chesnut, Steel & Co., their 
location being on Second .street north of Market, and their 
joint capit.il at the commencement of the enterprise being 
less than $5000 cash. They removed to the opposite side 
of the street, July 1st, 1S57; and again changed their 
store to the Northeast corner of Market and Second 
streets, January 1st, 1859. The partnership was continued 
thereafter for two and a half years, when he withdrew 
from the firm. On January 1st, 1S62, he opened a cloth 
house, and did business under his own name, in the store 
previously occupied by the former firm, Nos. 4 and 6 North 
Second street, where he remained nine years, having 
added to the capacity of the premises by the purchase and 
addition of the store, No. 203 Market street, which adjoined 
his place of business on the rear, thus giving him a front 
on Market street, and more than doubling the area of sur- 
face. By the admission of his brother, Heni^ M. Steel, 
the firm-name was changed, January 1st, 1865, to Edward 
T. Steel & Co. Six years thereafter (January 1st, 187 1 ) 
they removed to their present establishment, at the South- 
west corner of Market and Si.\th streets, the building 
being 40 by 75 feet, and five stories high. Here, by un- 
tiring energy and perseverance, they have succeeded in 
establishing a business, among the first, in this line, in the 
United Stales. At his first outset, he made strenuous 
efforts tc advance the interests of the firm with which he 
was then associated, and when he engaged solely on his 
own account, he labored incessantly, and never forgot 
those who favored him. He strictly adhered to a cash 
business, invariably pa , ing the ready money for all goods 
as bought, and thus secured discounts on all purchases. 
He believes that the science of business is qnbraced in the 
laws of interest, and is firmly convinced that success is 
certainly attained, and to a greater extent and more speedily, 
by limiting the amount of business to the ability to make 
settlements by ca-sh ; that credit is a privilege only to be 
used in times of great financial embarrassment, and is, of 
necessity, available then, if not mado use of as a rule. He 
never allowed any bill or pecuniary engagement to pass the 
hour of maturity, unsettled by cish ; though die gre.at 
financial embarrassments of 1857, 1861, and 1S73, ^''^ 
embraced in his business experience. In July, 186S, 
Joshua G. James was admitted to the firm, and Januaiy 
1st, 1871, his brother, William G. Steel, became a partner, 
the name and style continuing as b?fore. He has ever 
been an Anti-Slavery man, and took an active part in the 
formation of the Republican party. He was, of course, 
an Abolitionist, and gloried in his belief, especially as it 
required nerve to avow and uphold his sentiments. Al- 
though so strongly favoring the formation of that party, 
which was destined to wage such an incessant warfare and 
gain such a victory over the .slave power, he has ever es- 
chewed politics. He was, however, an active laborer in I 




the canvass which resulted in the first election of Lincoln, 
and was one of the originators of the Mercantile Tarifi" 
Club during the campaign. He has been nominated by 
the Centennial Commission, and elected by the Stock- 
holders, a Director of the Centennial Board of Finance, 
and has labored diligently for *he success of this great 
popular movement from its very commencement. In 
every matter, whether public or personal, he is a diligent 
laljorer, and combines with untiring patience a determina- 
tion to succeed in whatever he undertakes. 



ANDERSON, GEORGE, Editor and Journalist, 
was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, 
November 16th, 1S05. His father, William 
Sanderson, was a well-known farmer and agri- 
culturist of that county, and noted for the 
thorough knowledge which he possessed re- 
garding his business and its many requirements. On the 
paternal side, he is of Scotch-Irish extraction, and on the 
maternal, of German descent. His early education was 
acquired in the common schools of Carlisle, Cumberland 
county, Pennsylvania; and, when in his nineteenth year, 
he became a school teacher, continuing to act in that 
capacity for several years. While pursuing this vocation, 
he was the recipient of many encomiums for his scholarly 
ability and calm judgment, and ever deported himself in 
an upright and dignified manner. In 1S36, he became 
editor of the American Volunteer, published in Carlisle, 
and continued to fulfil the responsible duties of that office 
until 1845. During this time, he was Prothonolary of 
Cumberland county for four years, serving with credit to 
himself and entire satisfaction to the people. In the same 
year, he received the appointment of Postmaster of Carlisle, 
and held that position for four years also. In 1S49, he 
removed to Lancaster, Penn.sylvania, and purchased the 
Lancaster Intelligencer ; this journal he published and 
edited for fifteen years, with marked ability and enterprise. 
In 1S59, he was elected Mayor of Lancaster, and re-elected 
nine times, holding the office for eleven consecutive years, a 
previously unparalleled length of time. Prior to this, in 1S38, 
while editing the Carlisle Volunteer, he participated actively 
in what was known as the " Buckshot W'ar," between the 
two aspirants for gubernatorial honors. Porter and Ritner. 
On this occasion he was distinguished for his quick shrewd- 
ness and ability, both as a writer and a speaker. For 
more than thirty years, he took an active and energetic 
part in the movements and affairs of the Democratic party, 
and was a talented and valuable ally. For several years 
he was Notary Public; and, during twelve years, an 
efficient member of the School Board of Carlisle ; this 
latter office he also held for several years in Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania. For two years, he was a member of the 
Lancaster City Councils, in which term he served also 




C^c^. A./^ 



C^c^^-^i^^- 



EIOCKArillCAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



599 



liming one year as President of the lower branch. While 
Ihe late war was progressing, he was Mayor of Lancaster 
city, and assisted to the utmost extent of his abilities in 
encouraging and assisting the Union soldiers, and in fear- 
lessly upholding the rights and honor of his country. He 
was married, in 1S28, to a daughter of HfiViry Smith, of 
Sliippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, a well- 
known and influential citizen of that place. He has one 
son attached to the editorial staff of the JieaJing Times ; 
and another to that of the Alloona Sun. One of his 
daughters is prominently connected witli the Tract Societies 
and Foreign Missions, and is noted for her charitalile and 
iK'ucvolent disposition. ■-'^ 

i ~^ ^ 

EED, CHARLES M., Merchant, ShipW-ner, 
Canal and Railroad Projector and Congre^Sman,' 
only son of Rufus Seth and Agnes Reed, was 
born at Erie, on the 23d day of April, 1863; 
His father was the son of Colonel Seth Keefly 
who eight years before removed from Massachu- 
setts with his family and settled at the site of the towiv^f 
Erie, at the harbor of Presque Isle, which had^be*nl^c<n}trcif 
by Pennsylvania in 1792. Born amid uht: sttjrm^ -^' 
of the settlement of a frontier, his earlieM -xnuii'cuHrsi . 
the bold, brave men who had fought tte . tiatlles of lii- 
Revolution and faced the rigors of bordeV life -allnetlflcil t.. 




of civilization, was the duty of the hour. It was at this 
time that Charles M. Reed came on to the stage, and his 
life, with all its ardor, was devoted to the accomplishment 
of this great work. The sale of the " Peacock," a small 
steamer which, having been commenced by the Chautauqua 
Steamboat Company, on Lake Erie, it had been found 
necessary to sell, was the opportunity which prompted him 
to enter at once the commercial career which for a quarter 
of a century would employ his energies and for all time 
connect his name with the settlement, the development and 
the aggrandizement of the Northwest. The purchase of the 
^'Peacock " was to be followed by the marking out of routes 
of trade, "the establishment of wharves, wood stations and 
warehouses '-.which would facilitate trade on the almost 
trackless surface of the lakes, here and there dotted with 
settlemenls^but• thus far comparatively unaided by liglit- 
hou'ses, bu<?)rs,. charts or pilots. All required effort. To 
overcome these difficulties was a pleasure for him, because 
.it brought. into action .all the versatile powers and resources 
of a master mind. From year to year, as settlements were 
made, hOT^ors discovered, and local facilities developed, he 
-S-as am^ig the first in initiating improvements which might 
.open the patbwav of commerce. Having bought out the 

' ihertTufriyalled steamer " Jefferson," he made a 
;ic3v;o,-Siid there attended the Government land 
iSJi^. -At'thtit" time, for want of a wharf, it was 

■>■ tci aiidior the steamer in the harbor. Impressed 



the formation of that energy of character which pi.jnpta:] ;;tvith \l}ie_futiire iii<!cessities and greatness of the point, ho 

jipurcliasSd lots and contracted for the immediate " erection 
^of a '-.wharf and warehouse, which for many years were 
known by his name, upon the south side," up to that time 
unoccupied by business; commerce has demonstrated the 
correctness of his perception. He returned to Erie and at 
once commenced the construction of the largest steamer on 
the lakes, designed exclusively for the Chicago trade, which 
upon completion paid for itself during the first season. 
From year to year adding to his fleet of steamers, increasing 
them in size, speed and elegance with the advancing im- 
portance of the West, the name of " Reed's Line " in 1850- 
'5i-'52vv.is borne upon twelve steamers, which in those 
years foimed a daily line from BulHilo to Chicago, and were 
a synonym for elegance, reliability and speed. He had 
been elected to the Legislature'in 1S37, as a Whig, and was 
active and'earnSst Tn' advocacy of the canal from the Ohio 
to Lake Erie. This work had been already commenced by 
the State, and left in an unfinished condition in 1841. As 
soon as private enterprise was authorized to take it in hand, 
he came forward, and with energetic efforts and large 
advances aided the work to completion; so that in 1843 
through communication was had from the river to the lake. 
He was the chief owner of this improvement while in exist- 
ence, and .at its abandonment, when superseded by railroads, 
was its creditor to the amount of ,$1,100,000. When the 
Lake Shore Railroad was commenced in 1849, he took a 
leading part, providing iron and equipment, and was for 



tlie many acts that, linked together, fornvWs reniarkiiUe life 
and career. In 1813, he was sent to school at Washington, 
Pennsylvania, where his studies were continued until his 
graduation at Washington College in 1818. Studying law 
with Hon. Horace Binney, in Philadelphia, he was admitted 
to the bar with the intention of practising; but it was not 
his destiny to spend his life in a law office, and happily for 
himself and for his country he yielded to the force of cir- 
cumstances. The widely extended business of his f.ither 
furnished him scope for drill in the outset of a career which 
was to be indissolubly entwined with the settlement and 
development of the West; the fruits of which would linger 
long after the form of the actor would disappear from the 
busy scenes of life in which he was destined to play so im- 
portant a part. To supervise the stores^ the milKjnd ih^ 
farms of his father was not employme'nt erroifgh for his 
energies. Cradled upon the shores of the great lakes, he 
saw that the interior of the continent was to be reached by 
this channel ; that a country stretching to the Mississippi was 
to be peopled, and its commerce opened. To do this would 
furnish a field for his abilities. He grasped the opportunity, 
and right grandly did he perform the duties it involved. 
The West was open, liostilities had ceased, and the Indian 
title had been extinguished ; the genius of F'ulton had 
aciapted steam to navigation, and Clinton had connected 
the Hudson with Lake Erie. To extend the line to the 
verge of the inland seas, and thus bear forward the standard 



6oo 



I'.KJGRAPIIICAL EN'CYCLOr.tDIA. 



years its President and chief stockholder. Space forbids 
full details of his eventful, busy life; it is enough to slate 
that in the promotion pf all improvements, whether in stage 
lines, canals, steamers or railroads, his place was always 
first. In the Pittsburgh fire of 1845, and in the Chicago 
fire of 1871, alike in private and public charity, he was 
forward. It was public spirit that led him again and again 
to construct the " Reed House," which, built originally upon 
the model of the " Astor," seemed essential to Erie's pros- 
perity, and in which he invested hundreds of thousands of 
dollars with little hope of return. When the Water-Works, 
alike the pride and protection of Erie, were projected, he 
furnished the necessaiy means, as also for the Rolling Mill 
built shortly before his death. One of his last acts was the 
advance of money to develop a new route to the coal fields 
of Duller county. In his church relations he was an 
Episcopalian, and was connected with St. Paul's Church 
from its organization, in 1827, until his death. He was the 
main contributor to the present edifice of .St. Paul's, to 
which he gave §13,000, the bell and tower being his exclu- 
sive gift. On August 9th, 1S38, he was married to Harriet 
W., daughter of Luther Gilson, of Watertown, New York. 
Of their seven children, three died in early infancy. Again 
and again was their home shadowed by sorrow, and when 
two years before his own decease his daughter, Mrs. Rawle, 
wife of Hon. Henry Rawle, Mayor of Erie, was suddenly 
stricken by disease and death, there was a community of 
mourners in sympathy with the stricken family. But two 
of the seven now survive — the eldest, Charles M., late Mayor 
of Erie, and Loyd G. He was elected to Congress in 1843. 
Going to the capital with his family, he entered with vigor 
into the effirts to secure appropriations for our harbor; 
while his elegant and princely hospitality at the national 
capital is still among the traditions of Washington society, 
as the memoiy of the last of the Virginia administrations is 
recalled. His untiring efforts in behalf of Erie harbor were 
rewarded by the prompt appropriation and immediate dis- 
bui'sement of $40,000 fir this object. At Washington, he 
mingled with Welister, Adams, Wright, Benton and 
Douglas ; and with his family was one of the party on the 
" Princeton" when Secretaries Upshur and Gilmer were 
killed by the explosion. During his long and active career 
the incessant strain of mind and body told upon his frame, 
wliich for about nine years had been so infirm that he could 
not move with freedom, and for the Latter part of this period 
he was unable to walk without assistance. From day to 
day, though his mind was bright and clear, and his 
sympathy for friends and his active interest in passing 
events unabated, his strength failed, until December l6th, 

1S71, when 

" His sufferings ended with the day." 

The pulpit, bar and bench united in the funeral ceremo- 
nies, which were conducted from St. Paul's Church. The 
interment took place in the Erie Cemetery, whr under 
the shadow of the stately monument which murks the 



resting-place of four generations, repose the remains of one 
whom Erie will long remember with alTeclionate regard. 
He was of medium height, imposing presence and graceful 
deportment ; affable and gracious in his manners, and of 
remarkable conversational powers. His general intelligence 
was remarkable, and while he was well informed on matters 
of passing interest, his closeness of reasoning and exhaustive 
mastery of what might come before him were extraordinary. 
His talents were of a high order, and though his business 
pursuits drew his whole attention, he would have shone in 
any calling. As was said by Bishop Spaulding in his 
funeral discourse: "It belongs to other places and other 
occasions to commemorate his sterling virtues as a citizen, 
man of business and member of society. He was a good 
man; he was in every sense a Christian gentleman. Ilis 
greatness all are ready to acknowledge. Had he given his 
life to such studies, he would have been among the greatest 
of statesmen. He had in him the elements by which he 
might have become one of the first political economists of 
his time. He would have administered wilh grand success 
the finances of an empire." He ranked with the leading 
spirits of the nation, the men of thought and action who 
have made this countiy great and prosperous. As remarked 
by a local cotemporary : " Probably no man ever contributed 
more essentially and directly to the development of the 
great West than General Reed did by the establishment of 
these magnificent facilities for transportation before the days 
of railways, and by adopting the policy of cheap rates of 
freight and fare, of which he was the pioneer and always 
the most determined supporter. With such advantages at 
the beginning, and with such energy and great, good judg- 
ment to improve them, it is not strange that General Reed 
became one of the exceptionally rich men of this country." 
His wealth at his death was estimated at from seven to ten 
millions. As was said by one of his compeers : " General 
Reed was an honest man — eminently .so. He wanted his 
own, but nothing more. He was a man of peace, often 
yielding his own to avoid the evils of litigation; few men 
had so little litigation in proportion to iheir immense busi- 
ness. His integrity was unquestioned, and his sense of 
honor remarkable." For his whole life a resident of Erie, 
identified with all her interests and known to all her people, 
he ranked as her first citizen, while for three generations 
the Reed family has been the leading family of north- 
western Pennsylvania. 



EED, CHARLES M., M.inufacturer and Merchant, 
son of General Charles M. and Harriet Reed, was 
born on August loth, 1S44. After receiving an 
education at a collegiate institute in Geneva, New 
York, he embarked in the manufacture of pig- 
iron, at Middlesex, Mercer county, and afterwards 
in the coal busine.ss, in Erie. LTpon the death of his father, 
he succeeded to the care of an extensive commercial 




BIOCRAI'UICAL ENCVCLOiVEDIA. 



6oi 




century. 



business and the disposition of an estate worth iS8,ooo,ooo. 
In 1S72, lie was elected Mayor of Erie unanimously, the 
opposing candidates withdrawing. He w;xs also elected 
f.jr the succeeding term, being the youngest man who has 
ever held the office. July 12th, 1SC6, he married Ella 
Morrison, of Erie. 



(ATSOX, LEWIS F., President of the Warren 
Savings Bank, was born in Titusville, Crawford 
county, Pennsylvania, April 14th, 1819. His 
parents, John and Rebecca Watson, both natives 
of the State of Delaware, moved to the above- 
mentioned county in the early part of the present 
His early education was acquired in the school 
hicated in his birth-place, and, wdien in his thirteenth year, 
he entered a country store at Titusville in the capacity of 
clerk. At the expiration of, a year and a half, passed in 
this situation, he moved to Franklin, and there was engaged 
also as a clerk for a period of eighteen months. He then 
visited Youngsville, Warren county, and took charge of a 
store for Mr. Warren, holding that position for nearly two 
years. In 1S37, he settled at W'arren, in the county of that 
name, and entered the Warren Academy, then presided 
over by R. Drown, since appointed to the bench. Until 
1838 he remained in this institution, when he became em- 
ployed in the Prothonotary's and Recorder's office, fulfilling 
the duties of that position for about eight months. In the 
spring of 1839, he engaged in mercantile pursuits on his 
own account at Warren, continuing thus, meeting mean- 
while with much success, until i860. Al.so since 1S3S he 
has been extensively interested in real estate operations, 
and, particularly, has had frequent and important trans- 
actions in pine timber lands. Engaged at an early period 
in the lumbering business, in manufacturing and marketing, 
great and merited success has crowned his .able efforts ; and 
at the present time he is an important and widely-known 
opcr.ator in the same trade. In the fall of 1859, he 
was associated with Mr. Tarr, of Warren, in ju'ospect- 
ing for petroleum on the farm of his brother, John Watson, 
at Titusville; in the spring of i860, they met with striking 
success, discovering and developing what was afterward 
known as the Fountain Oil Well, which created great ex- 
citement as the first flowing well in the country. IK* was 
one of the original stockholders of the First National Bank 
of Warren, founded in 1864, and for several years acted 
ably as its Vice-President. He was the originator and 
organizer of the Conewango Valley Railroad, an enterprise 
which h.as since been merged in the Dunkirk, Warren & 
Pittsburgh Railroad, and of which he was the first Presi- 
dent. Of the Warren Savings Bank he was one of the 
principal founders and organizers, in 1870, and subse- 
quently became its first President, an office -which he still 
fills with recognized and admired capability. From an 
early date until 1856, he was an old-line Whig, when, on 
76 




the disbanding of that organization, he became identified 
with the Republican party, whose principles he still advo- 
cates and in whose ranks he is an influential and efficier.t 
member. He was nominated for Congress by the Repub- 
lican party of Warren county, Pennsylvania, in the present 
year, for the Twenty-seventh Congressional District, com- 
posed of Erie, Venango and Warren counties; after a 
struggle of several days without effecting a nomination, the 
convention adjourned for some weeks, re-assembled August 
31st, and on the 1st of September he and William Mitchell, 
the Venango county nominee, withdrew their names, thus 
effecting the renominatioii of Colonel Curtis, of Erie, the 
present member, for a second term. He was manned, in 
1S56, to a daughter of the late Judge Eldred, and has one 
child living;, a d.au'^htcr now in her fourteenth year. 



UDWIG, EMANUEL ALBERT, Professor, and 
Editor of the German Weekly Paper of Erie, was 
born hi Eerne, Switzerland, iSth May, lSi.<. 
His fathei', Emanuel Ludwig, was the first pastor 
of the Cathedral of Berne ; his mother, Margue- 
rite (Holler) Ludwig, was the niece of the cele- 
brated Holler, the philosopher of Berne. His education 
was acquired in his native place, where he attended the 
Berne Gymnasium, Lyceum and University; becoming sub- 
sequently a jjupil in the Universities of Zurich and Heidel- 
berg, he, in the latter institution, liad conferred upon him 
the title of LL. D. Abandoning school liTe in 1838, he 
was engaged in making the lour of Europe until 1844, 
when, returning to Berne, he edited the Berne Intelligence 
jfomnnl ; this daily paper he conducted ably and success- 
fully until 1S51, when he decided to leave his country and 
embark for the United States. Upon arriving in this 
country, he began the cultivation of a farm in the interior 
of New York State, occupying himself exclusively in agri- 
cultural and horticultural pursuits. Ultimately, caring 
little for farming, he accepted a position as Professor in the 
Academy at Binghamton, whence, hater, he was called to 
assist in the Towanda Collegiate Institute. Afterward he 
became engaged in the Presliyterian Female Seminaiy of 
Staunton, Virginia; also as Professor in the famous Wash- 
ington College, at Lexington, in the same Stale. From 
there he went to the Riverside Institute, in Wdkesbarre, 
Pennsylvania ; then to the Normal School of Bloomsburg, 
Pennsylvania, becoming finally Principal of the Academy at 
Danville, Pennsylvania. During this time he had origi- 
nated and successfully established two German weekly 
papers, one at Honesdale and one at Scranton, Pennsyl- 
vania; these journals, both Democratic organs, met at once 
with much success, and are still in existence and well 
known as ably edited and prosperous _papers; since their 
establis' snt he has disposed of Kis interest in their man- 
ag.:ment.' He removed recently to Erie, where liis children 



Oo2 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCI.Ol'/lCDIA. 




now resiJe ami where ho proposes lo pass the remainder 
of his life, being constantly occupied as Editor of the Ger- 
man weekly paper. He is a man of unusual attainments, 
is talented and scholarly, and one of the best linguists in 
the United States, understanding ten languages, six of 
which he speaks fluently and correctly. He has a large 
and varied acquaintance with both American and European 
literature; is a facile and forcible writer, and an acute and 
competent critic. In 1845, while occupied in editing 
his Journal at Berne, he was married to a lady of his 
native city. From this union sprang seven chililrcn ; one 
of his sons, a non-commissioned officer in the 53d Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers, was killed at Hatcher's Run; another is 
Vice-President of the American Fusee Company, while a 
third is engaged in business in Erie, Pennsylvania. 



jJELL, HON. JAMES MARTIN, Lawyer and 
State Senator, was born at Bell's Mills, Autis 
township, Blair county, Pennsylvania, December 
7th, 1799. He was the son of Edward Bell, one 
of the original settlers in the Tuckahoe Valley 
of Pennsylvania. The times and locality did not 
aflijrd many advantages for the acquirement of education, 
and he was mainly self-taught ; he did, however, attend 
school for a short time in Huntingdon, and here he 
displayed remarkable intelligence and great aptitude in the 
acquisition of knowledge. Immediately upon leaving 
school he commenced the study of law under the tuition 
of Robert Allison, of Huntingdon, who was then considered 
one of the fust lawyers in the county. Bringing the same 
intelligence and industry to bear upon his legal course that 
had distinguished his earlier days, he was enabled to pass 
a more than creditable examination, was admitted to the 
bar, and engaged in the practice of his profession in Hunt- 
ingdon, in 1S26. As a lawyer, he had few equals, being 
endowed with a wonderfully retentive memory, a high 
order of intellect and a clear, vigorous and practical mind. 
In legal questions, involving titles to land, he had no sui)e- 
rior, and he was frequently employed in cases of that nature 
in other States. He removed, in 1845, from Huntingdon 
lo HoUidaysburg, where he engaged in the banking 
business, afterwards organizing State banks in Johnstown 
and Huntingdon; at the time of his death he was President 
of the First National Bank of Huntingdon. He was largely 
connected with and held a heavy pecuniary interest in the 
iron business in Blair county. He was ever active in all 
matters pertaining to the welfare of his country and society, 
and was a leading man of great influence in his section. 
In 1838, he was elected to the Slate Senate, where his high 
intelligence, legal knowledge and practical business quali- 
fications made him a most valuable and prominent member, 
lie was married, January 27th, 1S29, to Mary P.age Ward, 




of Poughkeepsie, New York, and died at his home in Ilol- 
lidaysburg, June 4th, 1S70, full of years and honors, loved 
and respected by all who knew him. 



EYNOLDS, JOHN FULTON, Major-General 
United States Army, was born in Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania, September 2ist, 1820. lie was 
educated in the schools of his native city until he 
was appointed, in 1S37, as a Cadet in the West 
Point Military Academy. He graduated June 
3Clh, 1841, standing number twenty-six in his class, which 
included many men now noted in history. July 1st of the 
same year he was appointed Brevet Second Lieutenant 3d 
United States Artillery, and was ordered to Fort McHenry, 
Baltimore, Maryland ; three months later he received his 
full commission. In 1S43, he was ordered to St. Au- 
gustine, Florida, and at the close of the same year was 
transferred to Fort Moultrie. In 1845, he was sent to 
Corpus Christi, and subsequently to Fort Brown. In June, 
1S46, he was promoted to the First Lieutenancy of his 
battery, and accompanied General Taylor's army to Mexico. 
Pie was breveted a Captain for gallant and meritorious 
conduct in the battle of Monterey, with rank dating from 
September 23d, 1346; and further breveted Major, with 
rank from February 23d, 1847, for gallant conduct at the 
battle of Buena Vista. Both of these brevets were awarded 
by Congress, in August, 1848. After the close of the 
Jlexican War, he was sent to the forts on the coast of New 
England, where he remained four years. During Febru- 
ary, 1852, he acted as Aide to Ciencral Wool, and on 
March t,i\, 1S55, received his full commission as Captain 
of Artillery. He also serveil upon the staff of General 
Twiggs. He formed part of the command which was sent 
across the plains lo Utah, reaching .Salt Lake Cily in 
August, 1854. In March, 1855, ordered to California, he 
was particularly distinguished for brave conduct during the 
several conflicts with the Indians near the Rogue river, in 
Oregon, during the year 1856. In 1859, he ci mmanded 
Company C, of the 3d United .States Artillery, and stcod 
number thirty-seven upon the lineal roll of artillery cilficei-s. 
At the com.mencement of 1S61, he held the appoinlmcnt 
of Lieutenant-Colonel and Commandant of the West Point 
Cadets. He was also Instructor of Cavalry, Infantry and 
Artillery Tactics at the Military Academy. On May 14th, 
1861, he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
14th United States Infantry, one of the new regiments, and 
on August 20th of the same year he was promoted to the 
rank of Brigadier-General of Volunteers and ordered to 
Ihe command of Fort Hatter.as. But at the request of 
Governor Curtin he was assigned to the command of the 
First Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps. He 
marched and fought his command on the Peninsula and in 
Pope's command. In September, 1861, he commanded at 



\ 





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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



603 



Cheat Mountain, Virginia, when the enemy under General 
Robert E. Lee attacked him in strong force to drive him 
from his position, but were forced to retire. Made Major- 
General of Vokmteers, in 1862, he was attached to the 
Army of the Potomac. He served with conspicuous gal- 
lantry in all the battles of that army in that memorable 
year. In September, iS62,when Pennsylvania was threatened 
with invasion, he was placed in command of the forces for 
the defence of the State, and his skill and energy were most 
effective in giving check to the enemy. He commanded a 
division under Burnside, and, when General Hooker was 
placed in command, he was assigned to the First Army 
Corps. He was killed at Gettysburg, July ist,r863, while 
leading a charge on the enemy's works, plis liody was 
1)uried in the family enclosure in the cemete'iy at -Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania, on July 4th, 1863. His was a eharicler for 
study and imitation. He was modest, reticent, sttidious 
andlirave. Me possessed all the qualities of a great mili- 
tary leader; severe in his discipline, he had no mere/ for' a 
delinquent officer, but a never-failing indulgence for the 
errors of the private soldier. He w,a.s the idol of the great 
Pennsylvania Reserve Division. Prau<l and pure, he Was 
no talking General ; honors came to liim liecause they were 
deserved, not asked. 

c'M^URTIN, ANDREW GREGG, cx.Goveroor of 
Pennsylvania, was l)orn on April 22d,--i8i7,St 
the village of Bellefonte, Centre county, Petinsyl- 
vania. His father, Roland eurtift,-h.acl seltl'ed 
there in iSoo, having eiriigriteS ft ti>is' cotintfy 
from Ireland in 1793 He w'as a wealthy manu- 
facturer of iron, both forge and furnace, anid-'was also'a 
gentleman of fine attainments, having been ediicatbd at the 
French capital, where he was sent at the age of eigliteen. 
His maternal grandfather was Andrew Gregg, for many 
years a member of Congress, a United Stafes Senator, 
Secretary of State under Governor Hiester, and candidate 
for Governor in opposition to John Andrew Shulze. One 
of seven children, he was educated in the best private 
schools at home, afterwards sent to an academy under the 
charge of Dr. Keagy at Harrisburg, and finally placed in a 
widely-known institution at Milton, of which the Rev. Dr. 
Kirkpatrick was the principal. At the last-named place 
he finished his academic education. Returning to Belle- 
fonte, he commenced the study of law with William W. 
Potter, afterwards a member of Congress from thai; district. 
Attracted by the fame of Dickinson College, whtch at thfs 
period had a law department in a flourishing condition, he 
was matriculated there, and became a pupil of Judge Reed, 
who was at that time regarded as one of the ablest lawyers 
in the State. In 1S37, he was admitted to the bar in Centre 
county, and commenced practice at Bellefonte, in parlner- 
shiji with John Blanchard, an eminent lawyer and after- 
wards member of Congress. At the very outset of his 




career he took a leading rank in his profession, and early 
entered the political arena, where his keen sense of humor, 
united with his more solid advantages, made warm admirers 
as well as powerful opponents. In those days he was an 
earnest Whig. In 1840, he labored for the elevation of 
General Harrison to the Presidency, and, in 1844, made a 
successful canvass of the State for Henry Clay, exciting 
great enthusiasm wherever he appeared. In 1848, he was 
placed upon the electoral ticket, and contributed largely to 
the successful issue of General Taylor's campaign. He 
was also an elector in 1S52. In 1854, he refused the nomi- 
nation for Governor which was urged upon him, and 
worked earnestly for his friend. Governor Pollock, under 
whose administration he was appointed Secretary of the 
Commonwealth." - This was a post of signal honor and re- 
sponsibility, as in addition to the duty of Secretary proper 
he was ex-officio SupeririteDdent of Common Schools. To 
his fostering care at this juncture the schofils of Pennsyl- 
vanfa are largely- indebted' for their present admirable con- 
dition. In i860, he was nominated as a candidate for 
Governor, and his election by a majority of over thirty-two 
thousand votes virtually secured the election of Abraham 
Lincoln to the . Presidency in the November following. 
When he ;K'as called to the gubernatorial chair, the gravest 
problems ^eV'presentetl to American statesmanship had to 
be solved. * The" political importance of Pennsylvania, as 
well as its geographical position, rendered the duties of its 
chief officer peculiarly' responsible,' both North and South 
looking to it to avert war, aftd every expression of its gov- 
ernment vi'as awaited with' profound interest. Under these 
tiding circiiiristanees the Governor spoke for Pennsylvania 
with decision and wisdom, and made a record honorable in 
the' Highest degree. ■ The conflict obliterated the old land- 
marks in political teaching, but the relations of the States 
to' each other, and' the duties of patriotism as proclaimed 
by him in his first official utter.ance, remain unchanged and 
were indorsed througliout the North. No one better un- 
derstood" the magnitude of the impending conflict at the 
I breaking out of the war. With a long line of southern 
border exposed to the sudden incursions of the enemy, and 
the National army composed of only three months' men, 
and likely, even with these, to be outnumbered in the field, 
he determined not to rely upon the mistaken conceptions 
of the National authorities for the protection of the State. 
Thousands of men were already in camp, or were on their 
way, their services having been accepted, when the order 
(5f revocation was'received. The Governor, instead of dis- 
bindingthem, "directed that they preserve their organization, 
and immediately applied to the Legislature for authority (o 
form a corps of thirteen regiments of infantry, one of 
cavalry, and one of artillery, to be organized and equipped 
by the State, to be subject to the call of the National Gov- 
ernment if needed, and to be at all times in readiness for 
immediate service. This was the origin of the afterwards 
famous Pemisyivania /ifscnv Corps. He was also cease- 



6o4 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP.EDIA. 



less in his devotion to the interests and wants of ihe soldiers. 
No letter from a soldier at the front, whether officer or 
private, was ever received without being promptly an- 
swered. In 1863, he was formally tendered a first-class 
Foreign Mission, which the Governor signified his willing- 
ness to accept when his term should expire. But in the 
meantime he was nominated for re-election, and relinquish- 
inn- his intentions of going abroad he accepted the call of 
his fellow-citizens, and again entered upon the canvass. In 
1S64, his health was so much impaired by the arduous duties 
of his position that he was ordered to Cuba by his physi- 
cians, and thither he proceeded. After the close of the 
struggle. President Johnson tendered him a Foreign Mis- 
sion, which he declined. In 1867, he was a prominent 
candidate for the United States Senate, and, in 1868, he was 
warmly supported for Vice-President, in connection with 
General Grant. Soon after the latler's inauguration, he 
was nominated as Minister to Russia, and the nomination was 
promptly confirmed by the Senate. Just before embarking 
for his new duty he was the recipient of a marked evidence 
of public respect. The Councils of Philadelphia nnani- 
mously invited him to a piUilic reception in Independence 
Hall, and, in addition, the leading citizens, without distinc- 
tion of party, united in giving him a banquet at the Aca- 
demy of Music. On his return from Russia he was elected 
a delegate at large to the State Constitutional Convention 
of 1872 and 1873. No man in official position in Pennsyl- 
vania had such an opportunity to serve his State and 
countiy as had Governor Curtin during the ever memorable 
six years of his administration of the office of Chief Execu- 
tive of Pennsylvania; and he more than met the measure 
of his responsibilities. Of all the State Executives of the 
loyal States, he was most conspicuous, because of the ex- 
ceptionably grave duties which devolved upon him. His 
State, second to but one in population, surpassed by none 
in her material wealth and diversified industiy, exposed 
for hundreds of miles to border incursions from the enemy, 
and ])otenliaI in every political utterance in declaring the 
will of the nation touching the policy of the Government in 
prosecuting the war, he spoke and acted almost as an oracle 
for the whole North, and no one State officer was so widely 
respected and obeyed. And in all the various new and 
complicated duties accepted by him as Governor of the 
State, he moulded the policy and dictated the actions of 
other faithful Commonwealths. He was the first Executive 
to reinforce the defeated and demoralized Army of the 
Union after Bull Run ; the first to have his .State officially 
represented at the Capital to care for the interests of the 
soldiers in the field ; the first to have the officers of the 
State with every army where the Pennsylvania warrior was 
in service, to feed the hungry, minister to the sick and 
wounded and return the dead for burial witl' their kindred, 
and he was the first to gather the orphans of the fallen sol- 
diers into homes and schools as the children of the State. 
These were all his measures — the creation of that enlarged 




humanity that has made him single from the common race 
of officials ; and these records, written ineffaceably by his 
official acts on the brightest annals of our Commonwealth, 
have endeared him to his people without regard to party 
prejudices. He married Catharine, daughter of William J. 
Wilson, M. D., of Centre county, and has one son and four 
daughters living. 



RUBB, CLEMENT B., Iron Manufacturer, was 
born in Mount Hope, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 
vania, February nth, 1815. His ancestors were 
of Welsh extraction. His father, Henry B. 
Grubb, was a well-known and wealthy iron mas- 
ter of New Hope, who unfortunately died when 
his son was but seven years of age. The business was, how- 
ever, canied on by the mother, a lady of remarkable charac- 
ter, the daughter of Daniel Buckley, a large fanner and promi- 
nent iron-worker of Lancaster county. Every educational 
advantage that wealth could bestow was freely lavished upon 
the boy. His preliminary studies were conducted in the 
schools of Long Island and Flushing, New York ; the 
learning of his riper years he acquired in the high schools 
and private academies of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At 
the age of seventeen, in 1832, he entered the establishment 
conducted by his mother, in the capacity of book-keeper, 
and remained in that subordinate but responsible position 
until he had attained his majority. He then, in connection 
with his elder brother Edward, assumed control of the 
entire estate and carried on the business under the firm- 
title of E. & C. B. Grubb. The advent of the new' part- 
nership was marked by the exhibition of youthful energy 
and enterprise. They immediately proceeded to rebuild 
the old furnaces and to erect new works upon such an ex- 
tensive scale that they soon became the heaviest iron manu- 
facturers in Pennsylvania. The marked success which at- 
tended the efiTorts of the young firm is attributable to the 
superiority of their product, their new appliances and intel- 
ligent management soon gaining them the reputation of 
making the best charcoal iron in the State. About the 
year 1851, the copartnership was dissolved by mutual con- 
sent, and two years later, in 1853, Clement B. Grubb built 
the St. Charles Anthracite Furnace at Columbia, Pennsyl- 
vania. He was also largely interested in the Port Deposit 
Furnace. He subsequently disposed of his interest in 
several furnaces to his brother. Bates Grubb, and also made 
sale of all the original works except " The Codorus," which 
he still owns in connection with a large tract (many thou- 
sand acres) of timber land. In 1872, he associated in 
partnership with himself his only son, Charles, under the 
firm-litle of C. B. Grubb & Son, and they are now operat- 
ing the St. Charles and Henry Clay Furnaces, near Colum- 
bia, Pennsylvania, and are doing a most extensive business. 
The firm owning several tracts of iron land, which produce 
a very valuable quality of ore, are enabled to compete sue- 



EIOGRArHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



605 



cessfully with all others in the trade. Mr. Grubb is an 
energetic promoter of internal improvements and ever alive 
to the interests of his section and State. He built and was 
for many years President of the North Lebanon Plank Road, 
and is now the President of the First National Bank of Lan- 
caster. He is a leading nieml>er of the St. James' Episcopal 
Church and is a perfect type of the cultivated, high-minded. 
Christian merchant and gentleman. He vv.as married, B'eb- 
ruary 27th, 1S4J, to a daugliter of Charles Brook, an exten- 
sive iron manufacturer of Chester county, Pennsylvania. 



PARLEY, HENRY, Operator in Oil, was born in 
Canton, Stark county, Ohio, April 2Sth, 1S39. 
His preliminary education was acquired in the 
common schools of his native place, and, when 
in his sixteenth year, he entered the Rensselaer 
Polytechnic Institute, at Troy, New York, from 
which, in 1858, he graduated with all the honors of the in- 
stitution, as a Civil Engineer. Subsequently, he became 
Assistant Engineer upon the Troy & Boston Railroad, 
and Hoosac Tunnel, of which General Herman Haupt, at 
an earlier date Chief Engineer of the Pennsylvania Central 
Railroad, was Chief Engineer. He was afterward ap- 
pointed Principal Assistant Engineer of this enterprise, and 
the entire management of the work of the Hoosac Tunnel 
was confided to his care. He was thus occupied until the 
outbreak of the Rebellion in 1861, when, Massachusetts 
withdrawing her aid, operations were temporarily sus- 
pended. In 1862, he moved to Pittsburgh, and, interest- 
ing himself in the Petroleum trade, met with great success, 
being the active partner of the firm of Richardson, Harley 
& Co., then one of the most extensive petroleum commis- 
sion-houses in the western section of the State. In 1S63, 
branch houses were opened in New York and Philadelphia, 
and, moving to the latter city, he undertook the sole super- 
vision and direction of this department of the business. 
Subsequently, associating himself with the Hon. Augustus 
Schell, the late Benjamin Nathans, John Bloodgood, James 
McLean, and other capitalists, he liecame interested with 
them in the purchase for oil development of large tracts of 
land in West Virginia. In the autumn of 1864, owing to 
the engrossing nature of his new venture, he was obliged to 
dissolve his connection with the house of Richardson, 
Harley & Co. In 1865, the West Virginia essay not prov- 
ing successful, he became engaged on Oil Creek, in Ve- 
nango county, Pennsylvania, in constructing pipe lines for 
the more rapid and economical transit of petroleum from 
the wells to various points of shipment. The pipe line 
from Pit Hole to Miller Farm, constructed in the fall of 
1865, by Mr. Van .Syckle of Titusville, involved its pro- 
jector in financial embarrassments, and ultimately came into 
the possession of Abliot & Harley, who then owned one- 
half the Pit Hole and Miller Farm Line, while 11. Harley 



owned individually the whole of the Bcnninghoff Run 
Line; these two lines were consolidated, and for a short 
time the business was prosecuted under the firm-name of 
Abbot & H.irley. About this time the latter commenced 
the construction of a pipe line from Benninghoff run to 
Shaffer farm, and while occupied in that important under- 
taking met with much and dangerous opposition from the 
resident teamsters, who looked upon such enterprises as 
violations of their rights. In the spring of 1866, hovi'ever, 
despite their turbulence and open warfare, the line was 
completed, success crowned every effort, and he was uni- 
versally applauded for his fearless energy and perseverance. 
In 1867, the Western Transportation Company, holding 
the only charter granted by the Pennsylvania Legislature, at 
that period, for transporting oil from the wells to railway 
stations, fell under the control of the partners, and their 
lines were then organized under the charter of the old 
Western Transportation Company, and entitled the Alle- 
gheny Transportation Company, H. Harley being subse- 
quently elected its President. In 1 868, this organiz: tion 
was recognized as one of the leading institutions in the oil 
countiy, and Jay, Gould obtained control, by purchase, of 
its extensive and valuable interests. H. Harley was 
then appointed Superintendent of the Oil Traffic of the 
Atlantic & Great Western and Erie Railways, and acted 
in this responsible capacity until he embarked for Europe. 
In August, 1871, he became the chief organizer of the 
Pennsylvania Transportation Company, with a capital of 
$1,700,000, owning and operating nearly 500 miles of pipe 
line running throughout Triumph, Pleasantville, Tidioute, 
Irwineton, Oil City, Shawburg and Titusville, and having 
its apex at Miller farm ; eventually, after acting as Director 
in that enterprise, he was elected President. The above 
company is one of the most substantial and extensive estab- 
lishments in the countiy, while its stockowners are men 
of great wealth and tried ability. At the present time its 
President is a resident of Titusville, and is widely admired 
and esteemed for his many sterling talents and the pleasant 
courteousness which characterizes all his actions, whether 
in public or in private life. 

ELLES, CHARLES F., Landholder, was born at 
Glastenbui-y, Connecticut, November 5th, 17S9. 
His father was George Welles, fifth in descent 
from Governor Thomas Welles, who founded 
the family in America in the year 1636. The 
origin of the family was Norman ; and during 
the reigns of the Plantagenet kings of England there were 
six barons of the name in line, holding seats in Parliament 
and lands in Lincoln and Yorkshire. Two brothers were 
prelates in the time of Richard and John ; Hugo de Welles, 
called " Saint Hugh," Bishop of Lincoln, and Josceline de 
Welles, Bishop of Bath and Wells. These men were in 




6o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



large part the constructors of the splendid cathedrals of 
Lincoln and Wells. A third brother, Simon, went with Coeur 
de Lion on his crusades. During the Wars of the Roses, 
the family lost their titles and estates, the heads of it per- 
ishing one by one as York or Lanc.-ister in turn gained the 
ascendency. George Welles, whose wife was Prudence, 
daughter of Colonel Elizur Talcott, removed with his 
family from Giastenbury to Athens, Bradford county, Penn- 
sylvania, about the year 1798. His second son, Charles, 
was sent a few years later to his native State, where he 
received some advantages of education at the famous Bacon 
Academy at Colchester. He was of a poetic and imagina- 
tive turn of mind, and during his youth wrote some 
passable verses which were generally published in the Port 
Folio, a monthly miscellany of elegant literature, published 
in Philadelphia by Joseph Dennie. In 1812, upon the 
erection of Bradford county, he was appointed by Governor 
Snyder its first Pi-olhonolary, Register, Recorder and Clerk 
of the Courts. During his tenure of these offices he took 
an active part in politics, owning the press and good-will 
of the Democratic county organ, the Biadfoid Gazille. 
The party spirit in those days ran high, particularly in small 
border neighborhoods; and the trenchant character of his 
political writings was such as would in later days produce 
a strong sensation. In 1818, he was succeeded in office 
by the appointees of Governor Findlay, toward whose elec- 
tion he had contributed by zealous and incessant labors. 
This apparent ingratitude had the effect of disgusting him 
with political life; and in 1S22 he removed to Wyalusing, 
in the same county, where, in the various pursuits of agri- 
culture, surveying and the care of great landed estates, he 
passed the remainder of his days. He was originally edu- 
cated for the bar, which fact was of great value to him in 
his land business ; and it was said of him that no man in 
northern Pennsylvania had so extensive and accurate a 
knowledge of the nature and situation of land titles and the 
laws bearing upon them. He was also a practical surveyor, 
and knew personally every rod of the boundary lines of 
several large estates which were in his charge. He was 
the model of an indulgent landlord ; and no matter how 
vindictive the spirit of opposition on the part of the 
" Squatters," whose possessions he was forced to interfere 
with, his good sense and forbearance, combined with 
judicious firmness, invariably won the day and turned 
enmily into friendship. When asked for the secret of his 
uniform success in his numerous land-suits, he replied: 
" I always know my case before I begin." His tastes 
were literaiy and his reading large, the science of geology 
being his favorite study. In social life he was generally 
pleasant and genial : somewhat taciturn and reticent in 
mi.xed company ; but, when wakened by the suggestion of 
some favorite topic, he was one of the most instructive 
and delightful of talkers. Tall and of erect and dignified 
carriage, his port was that of the old school gentleman. 
He married, in 1S16, the daughter of the late Judge Hol- 




lenback, of Wilkesbarre, by whom he had a large family 
of children, all but two of whom survived him. lie died, 
from the effects of a fall from his carriage, September 23d, 
1866, aged nearly seventy-seven years. 



T R U T H E R S, THOMAS, Lawyer, Capitalist, 
Coal, Iron and Railroad Operator, was born in 
the Connecticut Western Reserve, in 1803. His 
father, John Struthers, was of Scotch extraction, 
and, originally from the .State of Maryland, settled 
in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1776. 
As a practical land-surveyor, he was one of the most useful 
men in the community, and commanded a company of 
Mounted Rangers who greatly aided the Government in its 
conflicts with the hostile Indians. In the above-mentioned 
reserve he was one of the first settlers, and ultimately be- 
came one of its most prominent and influential ciiizens. 
Thomas acquired in his native place a practical and useful 
education, attending school during the winter months and 
working on his parent's farm during the summer season. 
Subsequently, he entered upon a more extensive course of 
studies, and, when in his seventeenth year, became a student 
in Jeflerson College. He afterward commenced the study 
of law under A. W. Foster, an eminent practitioner of 
Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and in 
January, 1827, was admitted to the bar. In December, 
182S, he moved to Warren, Pennsylvania, and since has 
chiefly resided in that place. He soon secured a large and 
lucrative practice and engaged actively in the land agency 
business, disposing of lands owned by various capitalists and 
introducing many settlers into the regions, promising hand- 
some returns to those able and willing to develop their vast 
resources. While interested in the latter occup.ation, how- 
ever, he found that, owing to the lack of railroad facilities, 
it was no easy matter to draw the attention of emigrants to 
the vast tracts placed in his charge. To secure the opening 
up of the wilderness partly in the State of Pennsylvania and 
]:)artly in that of New York then became an all-engrossing 
idea. In 1836, as a delegate from Warren county, he took 
his seat in the convention held at Williamsport, convened 
to consider the best means of securing to Philadelphia a 
share in the large trade of the lakes. From this meeting 
arose the scheme for the Sunbury & Erie Railroad, and he, 
with others, was appciinted to lay the sulijcct before the 
Legislature. Eventually, the passage of the bill was secured, 
but was not brought to a vote until April, 1837. In the 
organization of the coir.pany he was chosen a Director, 
while Nicholas Biddle, the fin.ancier, acted as President; in 
l83S-'39, careful surveys were made, the line located, and 
the work of grading commenced in 1840. A return of the 
fin.incial panic of 1837, however, caused a cessation of labor 
until 1851, and it was not until 1862 that the road was 
finally completed ; throughout the whole of that |)eriod 




I 



LJIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP.4iDIA. 



607 



Thomas Slruthers was noted as an able and tireiess advo- 
cate antl supporter, and to him must be mainly credited the 
viltiniate completion of the line. Prior to this time he was 
connected with General Wilson in the construction of the 
first railroad in California, from Sacramento to Folsome, or 
Negro Bar, procuring all the needed rails and equipments 
from Boston, Massachusetts. He was also interested with 
others in the construction of street railways in the city of 
Cincinnati; and, with O'Reilly, Brooks and others, under- 
took the improvement of the Des Moines river for steamboat 
navigation. Operating extensively in wild lands, he met 
with great success, and in 1S57 sold his interest in Ihe pur- 
chase of 130,000 acres from A. M. Jones, of Philadelphia, 
subsequently becoming largely interested in railroad con- 
tracts. Later, he originated and successfully organized vari- 
ous railroads of great importance, viz. : the Oil Creek Rail- 
road, of which he is President; the Cross Cut Railroad and 
other branch roads in different parts of the State. In 1863, 
he purchased a farm of over 400 acres, in Mahoning county, 
Ohio, and since his return from Europe, in 1867, has erected 
on it the largest and most successful furnace in the State, 
and founded a village called Struthers, containitig a post- 
office, saw-mill, church, hotel, store and a staUon on the 
Laurence Railroad, besides a thriving ami industrious 
jiopulalion. He has a large interest in a neighboring c6al 
field, in several furnaces and rolling^nviils, tlie furnaces 
consuming 1000 tons of coal per diem and.yitrldiug nearly 
half that amount of metal. The Brown iSStruther.s- Iron 
Works, of which he is the President and largest. Share- 
holder, is one of the most prosperous institutions iii Wes^rj 
Pennsylvania, its engines and mills being found from Mus- 
kegon to Florida. In politics, he is a zealous and niflu- 
ential advocate of the Whig and Republican principles, 
and warmly supports the protective tariff system. He was 
a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1872, and 
while acting in that capacity served ably on several im- 
portant committees. In addition to the various interests 
and businesses mentioned, he is proprietor, part owner and 
tlirector in many other enterprises. He \\"as married, m 
I S3 1, to Emma Eddy. 



■ EWELL, JAMES, Mechanic and Legislator, was 
born in West Philadelphia, February 13th, 1S35. 
His parents are also both n.atives of the same 
place ; the father, Samuel Newell, having been 
for many years eng.aged there in the manufacture 
of augers, is well known and highly respected. 
His education, which was a thoroughly practical one, was 
acquired at the Newton Grammar School of West Phila- 
delphia. Immediately after quitting school he was, at his 
own request, apprenticed to the gas-fitting trade, in which 
he continued as a learner and employ^, mastering the 
details of the business with the quickness of an intelligent 
mind, unlil he attained his majority. He then opened an 




establishment of his own, and was soon engaged in meet- 
ing the demands of a rapidly increasing trade. Having 
from his early manhood evinced a strong interest and taken 
an active part in politics, his services were soon rewarded 
by position. In April, 1861, he was appointed, by the 
Trustees of the Philadelphia Gas Works, Registrar of Gas 
for West Philadelphia ; this post he filled for two year's, 
when he was retired in consequence of a change in the 
political complexion of the trust. He was almost immedi- 
ately commissioned Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue 
for the District of West Philadelphia, and performed the 
duties pertaining to that office to the satisfaction of the de- 
partiiient during the administration of President Lincoln. 
Uponthe accession of Andrew Johnson to the Presidency, 
his political views not being in accord with the administra- 
tiorij he was retired from his office, and returned to the trade 
lie had relinquished. He continued at his business pur- 
suits iintil the election of General Grant, when he was 
again appointed to the post from which he had been re- 
lieved, and held' it until January 1st, 1S73, when he ten- 
dered his' resignation, having been elected to the State 
,Legislat*e a^Representative from the Eighteenth District. 
This , bonoT, ^\^s ^ again conferred upon him by a well- 
satisfied ci^nst.Huenc); in the ensuing year. So cre<lilable 
was Ms record and so' effective his services in behalf of his 
section ;Jhat hjw-as renonliuated, without opposition, for 
the sessibhs of iS75-'76. He is now a member of the 
Republicans State 't'onvenlion from the Fourth Senatorial 
District of Pennsvlvania'. 



EALE, EDWARD FITZGERALD, of Chester, 
Pennsylvania, was born in Washington, District 
of Columbia, February 4th, 1S22. He is descen- 
ded from ancestors distinguished in the history of 
our country. He is a grandson of Commodore 
Truxtun, of the United States Navy, and son of 
Paymaster Beale, of the same service, both of whom had re- 
ceived, as the reward of conspicuous gallantry, medals from a 
grateful country -tlirough the Houses of Congress. His early 
education was acquired at Georgetown College, where he 
continued until lie received an appointment to the United 
States Nrrva'l Acadeiiry, in 1S36; He 'graduated in 1S42, 
and was assigned as Midshipman to the line-of-batlle-ship 
" Columbus," and in her made a cruise to the Mediterra- 
nean. He afterwards accompanied Commodore Stockton to 
California, and served both upon land and sea under Stock- 
ton and General Kearney during the Mexican W'ar, being 
an active participant in the Conquest of California and per- 
forming deeds of soldierly valor that read as a page of 
romance.- At the termination of the war he received from 
his brother officers a handsome sword of honor and epau- 
lets, with a petition for his promotion for gallant conduct. 
The sword bears the following inscription : 




f)o8 



BIOGRAPIIK AI, ENCVCLOP.KDIA. 



Piesenteci by the officers of the United States Navy, on 
the Station at San Diego, California, to Lieutenant Etlvvard 
Beale, of the United States Navy, for his jjallant comliict in 
tlie chars;e upon the Mexican forces at San Pastiuale and 
San Bernardino, and his carryin;:; intelligence to San Diego 
of the position of General Kearney, through the enemy's 
lines at great personal risk, on the 6lh and 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1846. 

He was detailed by Commodore Stockton to bear to 
Washington the despatches containing the intelligence of the 
Conquest of California. The following is the letter notify- 
ing him of his assignment: 

United States Frigate " Congress," "1 

IIaubok. 01-- San Diego, February <)th, 1847. j 
Sir : — I have selected you to be the bearer of the accom- 
panying despatches to the Navy Department in consequence 
of your lieroic conduct in volunteering to leave General 
Kearney's cani]i (then surrounded by the enemy) to go to 
the garrison of San Diego for assistance, and because of the 
perils and hardships you underwent during that dangerous 
iourney to procure aid for your suffering fellow-soldiers. 
You will proceed, etc., etc. Faithfully, your obedient ser- 
vant, R. F. Stockton. 

At the conclusion of the Mexican War he resigned his 
commission and was immediately appointed Superintendent 
of Indian Affairs for New Mexico and California, on retir- 
ing from which position he received at the hands of his 
associates a service of plate bearing the following in- 
scription : 

Presented to Lieutenant Edward F. Beale, from those 
who served under him during his administration of Indian 
Affairs in California. A tribute of affection and respect to 
one whose ]ilan for Indian civilization M'as conceived in the 
purest spirit of philanthropy, pursued with self-sacrilicing 
devotion and energy and crowned with the most pre- 
eminent success — 1854. 

Lender Governor Johnson, and at the especial request of 
Major-General Wool, United Slates Army, he was ap- 
pointed a Brigadier-General and commissioned to bring to 
a conclusion the Indian war in California, wdiich delicate 
service he performed with his usual discrimination, and 
most satisfactorily. He made many highly important ex- 
plorations across the continent, and was appointed lo run 
out the thirty-fifth parallel of latitude from the Mississippi 
river to the Pacific Ocean, with a view to the establishment 
and construction of a national highway or wagon road. 
IIj was also detailed by the President and Secretary of 
War to examine and report on the efficiency of camels as .a 
means of overland transportation, all of which matters he 
investigated thoroughly, mastered fully, and satisfactorily 
reported upon. In -iSei, he was appointed Surveyor- 
General of California and Nevada by President Lincoln, 
but applied for active service during the Civil War in the 
following letter : 

San Francisco, California, 24/// July, 180 1. 
A short time ago you did me the honor to appoint me to 
a most important and responsible position, for which I bej 



you to accept my most grateful acknowledgment. Under 
any other condition of puiilic affairs, yo;: have left me 
nothing to desire. But to the flag under which I have re. 
ceived honorable wounds — under which my father and 
grandfather fought for the honor and glory of the countr)' — 
I think I ov.'e something more in this hour of trial than a 
mere performance of duty in a position of ca.se and quiet. 
To the Government I owe early education and supjKjrt ; 
for I entered its service almost a child, and I feel towards 
it a filial affection and gratitude ; all that I have — even n-.y 
life — I owe to it, and it is a debt I am willing gratefully 
and cheerfully to discharge. From fourteen to twenty-five 
my life was passed at sea, and for the past fifteen years 
principally on the great plains and on the Rocky Moun- 
tains. I served during the Mexican War, anil at its close 
resigned and have been engaged in many positions of im- 
portance since. I know that I am resolute, patient and 
active, and if I had not courage my love of country would 
supply the want of it in such a time as this. Devoted lo 
my country and owing it everything I have in the world, 
I write to offer my services to you in any cajiacity you may 
wish to use them until the present Rebellion is crushed out 
of the land. You cannot add to the distinction you have 
already confeiTed upon me by any appointment, for there is 
none within your gift more distinguished or more honor- 
able, nor do I desire any change except that I may more 
efficiently serve the United States. In a word, I simply 
wish to offer my life for the flag. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

E. F. Beale. 
To His Excellency the President of the United States. 

Since the termination of his services as Surveyor-General 
he has devoted himself to his own individual interests, 
being entirely employed in the details of his extensive land 
and cattle business. He is one of the largest land-owners 
and sheep and cattle-raisers in the country. His ranche, 
about eighty miles north of Los Angeles, California, con- 
tains 200,000 acres of land and flocks an<l herds unnum- 
bered. He was married, June 27th, 1849, to Mary E., 
daughter of the Hon. Samuel Edwards, and for five years 
resided upon his California possessions with his family. 
He is in all respects a man of mark, as well as a scholar 
of extensive and varied acquirements. The bare record of 
the services he has performed impresses the reader with 
an ajjpreciating sense of his unselfish patriotism and high 
character. 



ILLER, REUBEN, Jr., was born in Philadelphia, 
near Frankford, Pennsylvania, in June, 1S05. His 
])arents were Pennsylvanians, and his father re- 
moved to Pittsburgh when he was about four 
months old. Having received a very good edu- 
cation at the Old Academy, under Joseph Stock- 
ton, he went into his father's store, who had commenced a 
small business in manufacturing cut nails by hand, Reuben 
often assisting in heading the barrels. In the summer of 
1S24, he commenced business for himself, opening a gro- 
ceiy store on Liberty street. He soon became successful. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.IJDIA. 



609 



and built a store at the corner of Tenth and Liberty streets, 
which he still owns. He has been member of Common 
and Select Councils in Pittsburgh and Allegheny C.ty, and 
for thirteen years was member of the Second Ward School 
Board, representing that ward at the time of the organiza- 
tion of the High School therein. There was much oppo- 
sition at the time, but his perseverance helped to carry the 
measure. In 1840, he gave up the grocery business, and, 
in connection with William C. Robinson and Benjamin 
Minis, founded the Washington Works, in Birmingham, 
near Pittsburgh, for the manufacture of steam-engines. His 
firm built the lirst iron steamboat that was floated in the 
Western waters. At the organization of the Mechanics' 
Bank he was a large stockholder, and subsequently was 
elected President, a position he resigned in 1855. After 
the great fire of 1845, whicli broke up the insurance com- 
panies, the Western was, in 1S49, the first to reorganize ; 
he was elected President, but refused to accept the position 
while continuing a Director. He was married, in 1826, to 
Ann Leishman, daughter of Peter Harvey, of Philadelphia, 
and has a grown up family, several of his sons being citizens 
of prominence. 



;A\DERGRIFT, JACOB J., Merchant, Manufac- 
turer and Capitalist, was born in Pittsburgh, Penn- 
sylvania, April loth, 1S27. His father, William 
M^ K. Vandergrift, had long resided in that city pur- 
t-r/ suing his avocation of carpenter and builder ; 
later in life, and during the childhood of the 
son, he engaged in steamboaling upon the Ohio river, be- 
tween Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Jacob's educational ad- 
vantages were very meagre, for, owing to the pecuniary 
misfortunes of his father, he was at an early age thrown 
upon his own resources to gain a livelihood. At sixteen 
years of age he obtained a situation upon a steamboat plying 
upon the Allegheny. The energy and clo.se attention to 
duty which he at all times exhibited attracted the attention 
of his employers, and he gradually attained positions of 
higher importance until, in 1853, he had risen to the com- 
mand of the " Hail Columbia," at that lime one of the 
finest steamboats upon the Wabash river. In this position 
he remained for several years, trading between Pittsburgh 
and Lafayette, Indiana. In 1S60, he retired from river 
life, and, going to Western Virginia, became interested in 
the oil sections of that country, and was proceeding in his 
arrangements for obtaining that product when interrupted 
by the commencement of the Civil War. He was finally 
forced to leave the State, abandoning his ojierations and 
sacrificing his investments. Nothing daunted by the dis- 
couraging circumstances attending his first venture after oil, 
in 1S62, he moved to Oil City, Pennsylvania. This locality 
at that time was almost a wilderness, the great business in 
the earth's product being then in its infancy and the market 
suj^ply limited. Here he engaged in trade as a dealer and 
77 




shipper, and in this line continued until 1865, at which 
date he commenced operations as a producer in connection 
with his already established business, associating with him 
a partner and dealing under the firm-name of Vandergrift 
& Co. This copartnership continued for two yeais, wdien 
it was dissolved and a connection formed, in 1868, with 
George V. Forman. The new firm immediately entered 
upon most extensive operations, laying miles of pipes from 
different points for the purpose of facilitating the transporta- 
tion of the oil from the wells to the shipping depot. This 
was meeting a want long felt, and the reward of the ener- 
getic projectors of the improvement was a large and satis- 
factory increase in commercial reputation, business, and 
money. In 1872, the Imperial Oil Refinery Works, one 
of the most extensive establishments of the kind in the State, 
was placed in operation ; the erection of this industry being 
mainly due to Mr. Vandergrift, who was one of the original 
projectors of the enterprise, and whose time, means and 
influence were all exerted to render its success assured. 
To his sagacity and prudent management is to be credited 
the high position which these works maintain amongst the 
manufactories of Pennsylvania. He was married, in 1854, 
to Henrietta V. Morrow, of Pittsburgh. 



o/^if^jARKER, GEORGE R., A. M., Professor of 
Science and Mathematics, was born in Wyom- 
ing Valley, Kingston, Luzerne county, Pennsyl- 
vania, August 3d, 1823. His father, William 
Barker, and grandfather. Captain Asa Barker, 
were natives of Massachusetts, Chelmsford hav- 
ing been the birthplace of the latter. His early and pre- 
liminary education was acquired at the academies in Kings- 
ton and Wilkesbarre, where he pursued a course of classical 
and scientific studies; upon its completion, under the direc- 
tion of various private tutors, and through the recommenda- 
tion of Bishop Potter, he received from the Union College 
the honorary degree of A. M. After a few years experience 
in teaching, he began the study of law under the guidance 
of James Lowiy, of Wellsboro', Tioga county, Pennsylvania, 
and, finishing the usual probationary course of legal studies, 
was admitted to the bar. Removing immediately to To- 
wanda, in the same State, he entered the office of the Hon. 
William Elwell, intending to at once practice his profession. 
A vacancy in the Principalship of the Towanda Academy 
having occurred, however, he was induced to assume the 
duties and responsibilities of that office in conjunction with 
Henry M. Hoyt, afterward Judge of Luzerne county, and 
Brigadier-General of Volunteers in the United States Army 
during the war for the suppression of the late Rebellion. 
While con'ienting to occupy himself in this institute of learn- 
ing, he did not purpose to abandon more than tempo- 
rarily his original profession; but, becoming warmly in- 
terested in scientific and literary puiNiiits, and manifesting 




6io 



BIOURAPIIICAL ENCYCLOPyEDIA. 



a marked and natural aptitude for instilling instruction into 
the minds of his pupils, he has since then willingly con- 
tinued to act as an educator and tutor. While awaiting the 
erection and completion of the new building in Towanda, 
he had taught science and mathematics in the Wyoming 
Seminary, and was the recipient of many encomiums for 
his able and efficient services. At the expiration of the 
first year he became sole Principal of the Towanda Aca- 
demy, and subsequently remained there for about two years. 
Thence he moved to Lavvrenceville, Tioga county, Penn- 
sylvania, to assume the Principalship of a new academy 
then in readiness for inauguration; shortly after, however, 
he returned to his former position, and ably fulfilled its 
duties until August, 1854. He then moved to Germantown, 
Pennsylvania, and, in the following September, opened an 
English and Classical School ; this institutfon, succeeding 
from the outset, has since won a high and extensive 
tation as an educational and training establishment ofT 
fiist order. At the present time, he is a vestryman in .St. 
Luke's Church, and is noted for his cordiaisVmpathy with 
all charitable and meritorious objects. ■ He is A man «¥ 
finished culture and refined literary allainme)ttk.v' He was 
married, August 3d, 1853, to Anna I,. MoriA.IJBuglji.r of 
the late Hon. Samuel W. Morris, of Well -buro", l^^unsY'lv, 1111 



.INTZING, TENCHL.'C.,Mcrobani, ll.n , : :, 
Capitalist, was born in Pbiladclphiii, F^rtiry 7-t;K, 
1818. His parents (T.;,e. JCinf2liigrand->Ejrea 
Gravenstine) removed to Oolunibia"co^nty;rP&rfiii; 
sylvania, when he was yet quite- youn^j^M^n 
this section he received such education as' tlje 
times and the neighborhood afforded. Here also he made 
his first start in life, establishing himself in mercantile 
business, at which he persevered, with more than average 
success, until the spring of 1840. At this date he removed 
to Lock Haven, where he cmitinued his commercial pur- 
suits until 1S46, when he became largely interested in 
farming and the lumber trade, subsequently taking up the 
insurance business and acquiring a lucrative connection in 
that line. In 1864, he was an energetic promoter of the 
organization of the First National Bank of Lock Haven, 
and has been the President of the institution since its estab- 
lishment, much of its success and standing being due to, 
his sagacious, careful and highly intelligent" nian5gepisiir.% 
In him local improvement h.as an earnest advocate, _and 
numerous valuable buildings which now ornament the town 
of his adoption attest the practical nature of his advocacy. 
He is a large stockholder in the Gas Works of the town ; 
is Secretary and Treasurer of the company, and with one 
other capitalist controls the entire stock of the works. In 
the .Susquehanna river, about two miles below Lock Haven, 
is " Great Island," a beautiful spot and a most v.aluable 
property, wdiich w.is purchased many years ago from the 





Indians by the grandfather of his wife, William Dunn ; he 
has greatly enhanced the value of the possession by his im- 
provements thereon. He was an originator and organizer 
of the Gre.at Island Bridge Company for connecting this 
property with the main land ; the bridge being built in 
1854. He was for many years a Justice of the Peace. Is 
now Secretary and Treasurer of the Lock Haven Boot and 
Shoe Manufacturing Company, in which he is largely inte- 
rested. He is greatly respected as an honest, intluenlial 
and especially reliable memlier of society. He was married, 
in 1844, to Mary Dunn, of that section of the .State in 
which he has so long resided. 



|,.(,OLLENBACK, GEORGE MATSON, Merchant, 
Banker, Legislator, Cajjitalist, was born in Wilkes- 
'"if'lr '^•'''''■^i Pennsylvania, on August nth, 1791. His 
j[„Cjf father, the late Judge Matthias HoUenback, 
'^ .J came from Lancaster (now Lebanon) county, 
">*• on the Swatara, to Wyoming Valley, .about the 

year 17170, and located in Wilkesbarre, where he resided 
l+e-TPiH%ider of his life. He was one of that colony of 
11) ni'nti^innder the lead of Captain Lazarus Stewart, who 
nc hei'e'.upOTt^ilK- invitation of the Connecticut settlers 
I .l;e c'cii^nibfr cau.se in the defence of their lands, under 
ihu SusqaTefi^l«i> Company. The reward offered these 
jh\mi'^i;nils.nv»s the liiuls within the limits of the certified 
lo\^'ll-^hip "Of-- fiftriover — the name assigned by Captain 
:Sfc-'waTt .ajSteliis'Tuen after the town from which they emi- 
^nij^^.v ©f^ifie -lilimber of these young adventurers Judge 
ftollenbacfe seems to have been the most successful, as 
during his residence in the valley he accumulated a vast 
estate in lands, and, at the time of his decease, 1829, he 
was one of the most wealthy men of the State. George M. 
was his only son, and after giving him the best education 
the grammar schools of the county afforded, he educated 
hini in the pui-suit of his own occupation, that of a merchant. 
And for many years the father and son conducted and 
managed one of the most extensive mercantile establish- 
ments in the interior of the State. The business embraced 
the manufacturing of various articles of trade, lumber, flour, 
paper; and also included agriculture, mining, and many 
branches of mechanical industry. So that the house of 
Matthias HoUenback & Son was the acknowdedged head 
of^eveiy busirtess pursuit in northern Pennsylvania. And 
it was as successful as it was well-known. It resulted in 
an immense estate, and richly rewarded the enterprise and 
industry of the men who conducted and managed its count- 
less details. George M., often called Colonel HoUenback 
(having obtained that title as one of Governor Shunk's aids 
in 1846), commenced business in his own name, about the 
year 1818. It was at this time that he laid the foundation 
of the brick edifice for the double ])urpose of store and 
dwelling, which is still standing, on the corner of River and 




<nUs^ Ai. a fhUddp^^ 




^<^-Z^:^*^4d..^ 



~^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



6ii 



Market streets, in the city of Wilkesbarre. At the remote 
])L*riod when this building was erected it was probably the 
most costly structure on the Susquehanna north of Harris- 
burg. The dwelling part is now occupied by John Welles 
HoUenback, his nephew, and son by adoption. A building 
of this character, fifty years since, was not the work of a 
few months, for many of the materials were hauled a great 
distance upon road wagons, and skilled n.echanics upon 
the banks of the Susquehanna were scarce. So that the 
new home was not ready for business and occupation until 
the month of February, 1820, or about two years, after its 
commencement. At this business stand, with various per- 
sons in interest with him, he carried on merchandizing 
some thirty years. His own time, however, was mostly de- 
voted to the necessary care of a very large landed estate, as 
well as other matters which were constantly accumulating. 
About the year 1820, he served two years as the County 
Treasurer, and the books now iu that office show his hand- 
writing upon every page. He was a perfect model of in- 
dustry, and never availed himself of the assistance of others, 
if his hours of labor would permit of his doing the work 
himself. In 1824 and 1825, he represented the county of 
Luzerne in the General Assembly of the State. This was 
at the commencement of the system of internal improve- 
ments and inland navigation ; and, alongside of such men 
as Dr. Lehman, James Clark, George Wolf, Philander 
Stevens, and Joseph Mcllvaine, he devoted evei-y energy 
of mind and body to the accomplishment of this scheme. 
And in years after he contributed over a hundred thousand 
dollars, in ca-;h, to the construction of the Junction Canal, 
at the New York line, in order to complete a northern out- 
let for the North Branch Pennsylvania Canal. He also 
suliscribed liberally to the Susquehanna Canal, to make an 
outlet to tide-water. The canal system was one of his pets, 
and he never tired in furnishing money liberally, and be- 
stowed much of his time at the sacrifice of his private affairs. 
On the 1st of Februai-y, 1842, Governor Porter appointed 
him one of the Canal Commissioners of the State, but his 
other business aflfairs would not allow him to hold the 
commission but a short time. And it was at the pressing 
solicitation of his friends that he would accept the office for 
even a temporary season. He was a good merchant, farmer, 
manufacturer and banker. He was the President of the 
Wyoming Bank at the time of his decease, and had been 
f)r thirty odd continuous years preceding. In fact, for 
nearly half a century the n.ime of Colonel Ilollenback was 
connected with all the public affairs of the Wyoming Val- 
ley. He was in no way a selfish man. It gave him as 
much real pleasure to witness the success of others as his 
own efforts. He was ever ready to aid and assist young 
men in commencing the struggle of life, when he found 
them worthy ; but he had an abhorrence for idleness and 
dissipation. Several of the best business men of the city of 
Wilkesbarre to-day were his pupils. They received their 
first lessons of instruction from Colonel Ilollenback, He 



was the model busmess man of the town, as also the ex- 
ample to be imitated in habits of industry, honesty and 
morality. He was plain and simple in his manner of life, 
and furnished a standard of economy in all his expenditures. 
And notwithstanding- he was by far the man of greatest 
wealth in his county, the horses which drew his carriage 
also plowed his fields; his -furniture, his apparel, and his 
mode of living, all exhibited a plain and wholesome fru- 
gality; eminently utilitarian in every aspect of life. This 
sketch cannot be better closed than in the following extracts 
from an obituary notice of Colonel HoUenback, written at 
the time of his decease : 

" It may be remarked that the lives of the two Ilollen- 
backs, father and son, extend over the entire hLslory of 
our valley. Both together they have been identified with 
Wyoming from the time of its first settlement dt)wn to the 
present. In all the eventful progress which reclaimed a 
savage wild, and made it the glory and boast of a great 
Commonwealth, they bore a distinguished part. Matthias 
HoUenback was the compeer of our leading men of the 
past — Butler, Fell, Welles, Franklin, the Bowmans, Shoe- 
maker, Dorrance, Ross, Catlin, etc. The son links us 
with the lights of a jieriod less remote. He was the 
associate of Scott, Denison, Miner, Mallery, Cist, Beau- 
mont, Chapman, Murray, and many others who left their 
impress upon the community they adorned. In his per- 
sonal bearing he was always a gentleman. For him the 
low vices and vulgar indulgences of men had no charm. 
His salutation, his language, his bow, his cheerful smile, 
his respectful attention, were all types of the well-bred man. 
He was wholly free from the exhibition of ostentation, ego- 
tism, and the pride of display. We had no man among us 
more plain and unprelending. He was a man whose re- 
lations W'ith his fellows were characterized by justice and 
probity, whose friendly intercourse with the community w'as 
ever resjiectful and decorous, whose domestic life passed 
in strict attention to his business afi'airs, and the frugal en- 
joyment of abundance, and whose public career has never 
been blotted by the pen of censure. A man rich without 
contumely, elevated in the estimation of his counti"ymen 
without indulging the weakness of pride." 

He was married, September 23d, 1816, to Emily Linds- 
ley, of Lindsleytown, New York ; this lady died in the year 
1851, after which he was again married to the lady who 
survives him. He died suddenly on the 7th of November, 
1866, in his seventy-sixth year, and was buried in the ceme- 
tei7 which bears his own name, and which was the gift to 
the public of his bounty, leaving no children, but a name 
unsullied and a large fortune to his kindred. 



;VVIS, HON. WILLIAM, Jr., Judge, was born 
September 7th, 1812, in Crawford county, Penn- 
sylvania. His parents were James Davis and 
Mary Cotton, and kept a farm. His grandfather, 
James Davis, was one of the early settlers of 
Crawford county, coming from Franklin county 
about 1795. William was educated in private schools in 
Crawford counlv. He first started in the shoe and leather 




6l2 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




business, in Meadville, contimiing thereat till 1863. His 
public life began in 1S40, when he was returned to the 
Borough Council for three years; subsequently, he served a 
second term. In 1 846, he was Burgess of Meadville, and 
served three terms ; being subsequently the successful 
candidate for County Treasurer. In 1S63, he was elected 
Associate Judge; re-elected in 1S6S; and again, in 1873, 
making three successive terms. He is a self-made man. 
He has always been interested in public education and 
religion, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. 
The agricultural and horticultural societies of Crawford 
county know him as a valuable member. On April ist, 
1S34, he married Mary Johnson, of Crawford county^ ajicj. 
has had ;iine children, six of whom survive. One dav^gjitef 
is married to Dr. Colton, of Meadville; anothejr'to Dr. 
J. P. Hassler, of Cochranton. One son is Cashier of the 
Jamestown Banking Company; another, Henry,' L.,_,i.s 
Superintendent of the extensive oil refinery of. JVarden,- 
Frew & Co., Philadelphia. One daughter remains un- 
married, and the eldest son is engaged in coal busiRCss", in 
Meadville. •• *:A *! 



OBERT.S, DR. WALTER BROOKS, lii/i-. 
Operator in Oil, arid ex-MayiSr of , 'nmsviljc, 
Pennsylvania, was born -|fl .,^fnjje^f)If■ ,Snraliii,'« 
county, New York, May. 151I1J ^^^35. His ... 
cestors were distinguisliea/bOTfciti niilit.u.<'" 
~ diplomatic circles. His'j'reai_ ssandfathi 
maternal side, Andre Everard Va,n-P"raai;h, was ijlii; ..^.,..1 
Embassador of the Dutch East ItTiBrf^. Comptffry.Hd*, tlie^ 
court of Pekin, China, perfecting in this capa8t^ that 
treaty with the Chinese Government which enable'd the 
people of Holland to control exclusively, for a time, the 
commerce of the Chinese; he also published one of the 
earliest books in the French and English language^, illus- 
trating the habits and customs of that peculiar race. His 
great-grandfather on the paternal side. Colonel Owen 
Roberts, was a native of Wales, Great Britain, and, at one 
period, an officer in the British Army ; at the outbreak 
of the Revolution, he resided in Charleston, South Caro- 
lina, and at once sided with the patriots against the mother 
country. When the struggle commenced, he waS ..com- 
missioned a Colonel of the 4th South Garolina Artillery, 
and subsequently, was killed during the action at Stono. 
His grandfather, Richard Brooks Roberts, when but eigh- 
teen years of age, held a Captain's commission in his 
father's regiment, and, after the termination of the conflict, 
received from General Washington a commission as Major 
in the Regular Army. His father, Lucius Quintius Cin- 
cinnatus Roberts, thus named in consequence of his inti- 
mate and peculiar connection with the Cincinnati Society, 
in which he was a prominent and influential member, was 
widely known and respected for his many admirable quali- 
ties of mind and heart. The early education of Walter 



was acquired at the district school in his native place ; 
meanwhile, at the proper seasons, he was occupied in agri- 
cultural labors connected with his parents' farm. When 
in his seventeenth year he became a clerk in a banking 
office, in Albany, New York, but shortly after, owing to 
enfeebled health, abandoned that situation, and returne<l 
to his home. In 1S41, desiring to qualify himself for 
teaching, he entered the academy at Evans' Mills, in 
Jeflferson county. New York. Subsequently, he was ap- 
pointed to take charge of a district school in Northumber- 
land, S.'xratoga county, at a salary of eleven dollars per 
month. The next four winters he was thus engaged, while 
during the summer months he pursued a course of mathe- 
«fitieal studies at the Glens' Falls Academy, and began 
th^^wtiitij- of medicine also, under Dr. Sheldon, of Glens' 



Fal 



!=y-: 



Jieiv York. Afterward, he devoted his attention 



almo^t-exclusively to the science of dentistry. Travelling, in 
the siiSi^er of 1845, through New Hampshire, practising 
with inOTcerl ^success in New Hampton, Meredith, and 
elsewh^e, he returned, at its conclusion, to Poughkeepsie, 
J^evf York,' p'uri>o5lng to establish himself permanently 
lib' the.liusMiess of dentistry. In February, 1850, while 
- :'"'^ -fT^f^f: 1 ' morrhage of the lungs, he sailed for the 
i remained for a few weeks on the Island 
. !;is, ietum, late in the summer of 1S50, 

li ,t^n tjle establishment organized by him- 

l i-: Roberts, and practised his profession 
idw'ns of Dutchess county, taking much 
, io;'order to reinvigorate and strengthen 
jkuu... 1.. I'^jj; he" visited Nicaragua, Central America, 
and ijdBamerengaged in the purchase and shipment of deer 
sklnti and. cattle hides; after a short stay, he returned to 
New York, and organized a commercial and trading com- 
pany, under the firm-name of Churchill, Roberts, Mills S; 
Co., being himself one of the principal partners and man- 
agers. Reliable agents were then sent to Grenada to 
purchase the needed commodities and ship them to the 
States, and, in a very short time, the business of the house 
became wide-spread and flourishing. Later, in connection 
with his brother. Colonel E. A. L. Roberts, he opened a 
finely appointed dental office, in New York city, New 
York, finally purchasing the entire interest of the estab- 
lishment,- and locating himself in Bond street, where he 
remained in active and remunerative practice, until 1S6S. 
While thus occupied, he was also editor and proprietor 
of the A'nv York Dental yournal ; received the first 
medal awarded by the American Institute for the best 
artificial teeth ; and was one of the foremost movers in 
the establishment of the New York Dental College, of 
which institution he is still one of the Trustees. He after- 
ward revisited Nicaragua, in order to close the commercial 
relations sustained by his company with that country, and, 
after many severe hardships, was successful in the accom- 
plishment of the object of his mission. In 1S63, he was 
appointed by the Rev. Dr. Bellows to visit General Hun- 



1 



■J 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



6'3 



ter's Division, then at Benufort, South Carolina, and ex- 
amine into its sanitary condition ; this mission, sent out 
by the National Sanitary Commission, he ended in the 
most efficient and creditable manner. He then, in con- 
nection with Colonel E. A. L. Roberts, became interested 
in the manufacture of torpedoes for blasting oil wells to 
increase their productiveness, and, in the spring of 1S65, 
the Roberts' Petroleum Torpedo Company was organized ; 
in 1866, he became its Secretary, and, in 1867, its Presi- 
dent, which position he holds at the present time. In the 
former year, he had been elected to the Common Council 
of the city of New York, and ably served his constituents 
throughout the term. In the summer of 1S67, he made 
(he tour of Europe, and, in l858, returned, and, removing 
to Titusville, abandoned his practice in New York, in 
order to devote his time and attention entirely to his in- 
creasing interests in the former place. In March, 1872, 
he W.1S the candidate for the Mayoralty, and, after a stoutly 
contested canvass, w.as elected. He was an earnest op- 
poser of the South Improvement Company, and did much 
to hasten the destruction of that huge monopoly which 
threatened the prosperity of the oil-producing interest. 
When the Buffalo & Titusville Railroad was inaugurated, 
he assisted it by subscribing to its capital stock in the sum 
of 850,000, and, subsequently, was unanimously chosen 
President of that corporation. January ist, 1872, in con- 
nection with E. A. L. Roberts, John Potter, of Meadville, 
and L. B. Silliman, of Titusville, he organized, at the last- 
named place, a banking firm under the name of Roberts 
& Co. ; at present this is one of the most esteemed and 
reli.ible monied institutions of Pennsylvania, and its affairs 
evince in their management the exercise of great caution, 
shrewd enterprise and high integrity. On one occasion, 
solicited by large numbers of citizens, he accepted the nomi- 
nation for the Assembly on the Republican ticket of Craw- 
ford county. While residing at Titusville, he has erected a 
large number of spacious and elegant houses and stores, 
which add greatly to the appearance and prosperity of that 
town. He is now a candidate for the Legislature, having, 
after a warm contest, received the nomination of the Repub- 
lican party, of which he is an able and zealous member. 
He was married, in 1858, to Emily W. Titus, daughter of 
Erastus Titus, of New York. 




; 



iJOYER, HON. BENJAMIN MARKLEY, Law- 
yer, was born in Montgomery county, Pennsyl- 
vania, January 22d, 1S23. He was for some 
time a student in Lafayette College, at Easton, 
Pennsylvania, but afterward graduated at the 
University of Pennsylvania. He then pursued 
a course of legal studies, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, under 
the able instruction of the late Judge Reed ; and, upon 
its completion, was admitted to the bar at that place. He 



began the practice of law, however, in his native county, 
for which he was appointed District Attorney, from 1S4S to 
1850 ; and, while acting in this capacity, he evinced much 
ability and legal learning, also marked integrity and judg- 
ment. In Montgomeiy county, he rapidly acquired an ex- 
tensive and remunerative practice, and repeatedly was 
solicited to fill various judicial positions, but invariably 
declined to accept the proffered honors. In politics he 
was a Whig until the dissolution of his party, when he 
associated himself with the Democracy, soon attaining a 
prominent and influential position among his coadjutors. 
In 1856, he voted for James Buchanan for President, 
against John C. Fremont, the Republican candidate; and, 
since that date, has invariably cooperated with the Demo- 
cratic party. In i860, he was an active supporter of Judge 
Douglas for the Presidency, and aided substantially in es- 
tablishing a campaign newspaper, entitled the National 
Democrat ; of this journal, widely known as the organ of 
the Douglas Democracy of his county during the Presi- 
dential campaign of that year, he w.as, until after the elec- 
tion, the principal editor, and worked ably and persistently 
for its interests. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, 
he strongly advocated the advisability of reconciliatory 
measures; when, however, a conflict proved inevitable, 
he became an earnest and fearless Unionist, urging con- 
stantly the suppression of the Rebellion by force of arms. 
In many addresses to the people of all parties, and also in 
spirited communications to the loyal press, he supported 
energetically the cause of the Government, and furthered 
the prompt enlistment of volunteers. Twice during the 
war, when Pennsylvania w"s invaded by Southern soldiers, 
he raised a company of volunteers for the emergency, and, 
as Captain, served with them in the field ; on one of these 
occasions, through over-exertion and exposure, he con- 
tracted a serious illness which nearly terminated his life. 
In 1864, he was elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress, 
serving with such marked ability and skill lh.at, in 1S66, 
he was re-elected, securing a large majority of ballots. 
While thus publicly occupied he has ever maintained, with 
zeal and shrewd rectitude, the Democratic view of the 
prominent questions which have come before that body. 
In the Fortieth Congress, March 3d, 1867, a joint resolu- 
tion being under discussion in the House, For the Relief 
of the Destitute in the Sotithern and Sonthiocstern States, 
he was noted as one of its warmest advocates. In the 
second session of the same Congress, he was a member 
of the Select Committee to investigate the New Orleans 
riots, and upon that subject made the minority report. He 
was the defender of President Johnson in his resistance to 
the reconstruction measures of Congress, arid, in an address 
published under the title of The President and Congress 
— The Impeachers Impeached, elaborated a strong, pointed 
and eloquent defence. Two of his later speeches, . de- 
livered in the House of Representatives, were extensively 
circulated by his party as campaign documents, viz. : that 



6i4 



BIOGRArHICAL ENCYCLOPi^EDIA. 



on the Admission of Alaltnma, delivered March 17th, 186S; 
and that on The I'liiiic Expenditures, delivered June 30th, 
1868. Both of these speeches were widely copied through- 
out the Union, and quotations from them appeared in most 
of the prominent journals of eveiy section of the country. 
In the Democratic National Convention, in 1868, he ad- 
vocated the nomination of General Hancock for the Presi- 
dency; and, as a Delegate from the State at large to the 
Democratic National Convention, in 1872, he opposed the 
nomination of Horace Greeley. As a writer, he com- 
mands a fluent, polished, and vigorous style, and upon the 
Fubject to which he devotes his attention he lavishes much 
learning, wit, and striking power of expression. 



oi^^OMENEC, RIGHT REV, 

ex ■ 



M., Bishop of -Pitts- 
burgh, was born in Spain, ia'l8i5. On the 
maternal side, especially, he js connected with 
many of the Spanish nobility, jiis mother's name,- 
De Variana, indicating with sufficifent clearness 
the worthiness of her origin.- His preliminary 
education was acquired in Madrid'; ■ but, cJwing.lo various 
difficulties and inconveniences arising frora'cvcnts connected 
with the Carlist war, he was,Vhen quit^ yo'mg; obligeVl-to 
leave his native country. . He then crossed Qs^er Jo France 
in order to accomplish safeTy and-uninterraptSdly the-coni- 
pletionof his studies, and for a tilttc was,astiKrent.iJn ooeof 
the colleges of the sjiith ^fthat cou%Hy. ;_He siiBs^quently 
visited Paris, therfe pursuing his 'siudies with undijfatigable 
perseverance and enfergy. 'After , a ,residenfciS .of; several 
years in that city he emb.irked for, the Uriited- States, in 
1S37, in order to join the Catholic Missi'on located "in llfis 
country. Upon arriving here he was sent by his superiors 
to the Seminary of St. Mary, situated in Peny county, in 
the State of Missouri. There he became the recipient of all 
the sacred orders, and, in June, 1839, was made Priest. It 
is a fact worthy of note, that he was then the : youngest 
priest ever ordained in the United Stafes. Thereafter, he 
exercised the holy ministry in the wild woods of Missouri 
from 1839 imtil 1845, evincing commendable ability and 
great fervor in the discharge of his responsible duties, and 
winning the love and esteem of all brought into contact with 
him by his generous solicitude for their welfare, his learning 
and Christian deportment. Subsequently, he was aent by 
his superiors to Philadelphia, having been appointed to fill 
a Professorship in the Theological Seminary of that city. 
While acting in this important capacity, and engaged in 
expounding the doctrines of the church, he was also attend- 
ing the church of St. Stephen's, situated at Nicetown, in 
the vicinity of Philadelphia; eventually, he built up the 
Catholic church at Germantown, and, becoming its pastor 
and director, was constrained, owing to the onerous duties 
connected with this charge, to sever his connection with 
the Theological Seminary. While in that locality he dis- 



tinguished himself by his zealousness and his liberal and 
charitable actions, and by all. Catholic and Protestant, was 
admired and respected. Later, the Bishop of Pittsimrgh 
having, on account of the precarious condition of his health, 
resigned his position, the Right Rev. M. Domenec was, 
in i860, appointed Bishop of that see. While accepting 
the appointment to this high office, he deeply regretted 
leaving his flock in Germantown, and at his departure the 
residents of that place testified abundantly to the sorrow 
which they experienced in losing one who was at once a 
valued friend and a venerated pastor. The consecration 
services were performed by the late Archbishop Kenrick, 
distinguished by his pious life and exemplary labors in the 
cause of the church, the ceremony taking place on the gth 
of December, i860. During the progress of the late 
Rebellion, in 1862, when the Spanish Government was 
ufon the point of recognizing the Confederacy, he embarked 
for Madrid, was granted several interviews with the Queen 
and her cliief ministers, and ultimately succeeded in pre- 
.A!«»nting the recognition by Spain of the South as a bellig- 
erent and separate power and government. This highly 
important mission was undertaken at the instance of Arch- 
bishop Hughes, who had been deputed by the United States 
Governraemt to arrange that serious difficulty, but who was 
prevented -by- sickness from accomplishing his purpose. 
The Archbishop was often heard to declare that " Bishop 
Domenec, of .all those who had been sent by the Govern 
ment of the United States to arrange this matter, was the 
only oficT who had ever really succeeded in his mission." 
'A high coinpliment this, when the delicate and perplexing 
nattire of such an errand is taken into consideration. His 
life and. works are well known throughout the country, 
es];)ecially in western Pennsylvania, where he is universally 
recognized as a laborious and untiring director, and as one 
of the most learned theologians and divines in the United 
States. In all matters concerning church history, usages 
and precedents, he is an admitted authority. Apart from 
his theological attainments he is unusually conversant wiih 
the general literature of both the new and the old world, 
and is an earnest student in many and various departments 
of knowledge. His works and labors have won him notable 
encomiums and marks of favor from various high dignitaries 
of the church, by wliom he has repeatedly been cited as a 
churchman worthy of all imitation. 



f'REW, J. LEWIS, Chemist and Petroleum Mer- 
chant, was born in Richmond, Virginia, February 
28th, 1830. He attended the Richmond Acad- 
emy — a militaiy school — where he received a fine 
classical education. Much of his early learning 
he owes to his excellent mother, a woman of 
culture and method, his father having died when he was ' 
but two years of age. Although born and brought up 





'"*> Blh C-TlutaJ' 



i 

1 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.'EDIA. 



615 



among the slaves, he was early convinced that slavery was 
a great wrong. At the age of fourteen he was sent to West 
Town Boarding School, an institution under the care of the 
Society of Friends, where he remained two years, receiving 
the best of instruction, beside being metliodically trained in 
the straightforward, honorable and steady habits of that 
respectable society. He afterwards proceeded to Professor 
Gunimere's Academy, in Burlington, New Jersey, where he 
tarried nine months. On January 1st, 1S47, he l>ecame an 
apprentice to the drug business, in Philadelphia, entering 
the store of his brother, James H. Crew, at Fifth and 
Callowhill streets. In August, 1848, his brother, being 
oliliged liy severe illness to relinquish the business, he con- 
tinued for a short time by himself. About January 1st, 
1849, li^ associated himself with his brother, B. J. Crew, 
under the firm of B. J. & J. L. Crew. In 1S51, he himself 
was troubled with a pulmonary disease, and was ordered by 
his physician to the West Indies. Returning in eight 
months, he sold his interest in the firm to his brother and 
p.irtner, B. J. Crew. In December, 1852, he started the 
same business, individually, at the corner of Frankford road 
and Phoenix street, in the old district of Kensington. He 
remained there until 1859, when he again associated with 
his brother, B. J. Crew, first to build a factory for the m.aiiu- 
facture of chemicals, and afterwards by purchasing the 
interest of Mr. Griffith, his brother's partner in a similar 
manufactory at the corner of Sixth and Oxford streets. 
Early in l86i, he began, individually, to experiment in oils, 
with a view of discovering the best method of refining 
petroleum. He remained at this place as one of the firm 
of Crew Brothers & Co., until 1862, when, relinquishing the 
manufacture of chemicals, they removed to Arch and 
Twenty-third streets, where they operated an oil refinery. 
In May, 1864, they were burned out. Subsequently to this 
date, they admitted Joseph Newhouse to an interest, and 
selecting a new location on the line of the Philadelphia & 
Reading Railroad, built the Belmont Oil Works, putting up 
a most substantial building, replete with every convenience, 
and at that time pronounced the most perfect oil refinery in 
the United .States. Its capacity was large, for the time, 
reachin:; 1500 barrels per week. The oil manufactured 
there w.\s superior in quality, as was proved at the Paris 
Exposition, where it received the honor of a Med.al of Merit. 
It always commanded two cents per gallon more than any 
other. The establishment continued in operation until it 
was purchased by the Park Commission, and absorbed by 
Fairmount Park. During the negotiation for its purch.ise, 
it ran for a short time as a manufactory of gasoline. The 
firm was necessarily dissolved when the refinery ceased 
operations. In the same year — 1868 — he embarked in the 
mercantile business, individually, in Margaretta street, 
whence, in 1870, he removed to Water street. At the 
beginning of this last-named year he received into partner- 
ship Lewis J. Levick, thus constituting the firm of J. L. 
Crew S: Co. In this locality they continued but a short 



time, as their increased business required a more extended 
space. In December, 1870, they removed to South Second 
street, and added John W. Moore to the firm, which now 
became Crew, Moore & Levick. Here they rested two 
years, but then, needing larger premises, purchased the 
present location on Arch street. Although so successful a 
merchant, Mr. Crew has ever held aloof from all speculative 
movements, never allowing himself to be tempted to risk a 
dollar in any ephemeral or specious undertaking, and 
adhering to the principles in.stilled into his mind while a 
pupil at Friends' academies. He is a member of the Board 
of Managers of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelly to 
Animals, the Franklin Institute, College of Pharmacy, etc., 
and has interested himself to procure legislation on the 
subject of Cattle Transportation. He is prominent in all 
the benevolent enterprises of the day. He was married in 
Januar)', 1854. 




/ 



ARRIS, ALEXANDER, Lawyer, was born in 
Juniata county, Pennsylvania, February 14th, 
1S27. He is of honorable Scotch-Irish extrac- 
tion, and received his preliminary and elementary 
education in the common schools of his native 
place; his subsequent studies were pursued suc- 
cessively in the Tuscarora Academy and Washington 
College, Pennsylvania ; and, in 1851, he graduated from the 
latter Institution in the class of that year. He then entered 
the law office of William M. Biddle, a noted practitioner of 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and, under his instruction, fitted 
himself thoroughly for the legal profession. Upon the com- 
pletion of the usual course he was admitted to the bar, in 
April, 1854, and commenced the active practice of his pro- 
fession in Miffiintown, the capital of Juniata county. Here 
the able exercise of his talents soon won him an extensive 
and remunerative clientage, and, in 1855, he was appointed 
District Attorney by the court. In the spring of 1857, he re- 
moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, meeting there, also, with 
well-merited success. Having, from boyhood, been an untir- 
ing and discriminative reader and student, he early imbibed 
a love for philosophical and metaphysical research, which 
has, during his whole lifetime, strongly tinctured and char- 
acterized his mode of thought and feeling. In 1862, 
actuated by an ardent desire to master still more completely 
the various arts and sciences in which he was so deeply 
interested, he retired from the active duties of his profe.ssion 
and devoted himself entirely to study and writing. In this 
year he published a valuable Hand- Book of Geogt-aphy, 
which ran through several editions, and became very exten- 
sively known and appreciated, particularly among those best 
qualified to estimate at its true worth the value of those 
qualities constituting the real merit of a work upon such a 
subject. In 1863, he published another volume entitled 
The Cause of the War Sho-ivn ; an elaborate and logical 
essay which elicited much comment in public and political 



6i6 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



circles in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. His Biographical 
History of Lancaster County, a work of peculiar value to 
the inhabitants of the State, appeared in 1872. In addition 
to these commendable labors, he has contributed numerous 
articles, scientific, philosophical and metaphysical, to the 
Mercersbtirg Rcvie-w, a publication of acknowledged merit ; 
and these essays, evincing careful culture and fine analytic 
and svnthetic powers, have atffilcted much attention from 
many scientists and theologians. His exhaustive inquiries 
into the department of metaphysics have made him a recog- 
nized authority concerning such matters ; from Aristotle to 
Hegel he has delved deeply into philosophy on the meta- 
physical side, while on the theological side he is unusually 
conversant w'ith the subject in its m.inifold ramifications 
from Plato to Schleiermacher. He is master of the Latin, 
Greek, German and French languages, and possesses, more- 
over, a fair acquaintance with the Italian, Spanish and He- 
brew tongues, wliile his general knowledge of the grammar 
and of the principles and the construction governing those 
languages is surpassed by few linguists. At present he is a 
valued and influential member of the School Board of Lan- 
caster city, and fulfils the duties of that position with marked 
ability. He was married, October 13th, 1S56, to a daughter 
of Dr. Thomas Johnson, a well-known citizen of (he above- 
mentioned c.mnly, and h.is one child — a boy. 



>ORM.\N, GEORGE V., Oil Operator, was born in 
Hunterdon county. New Jersey, December y\, 
1S43. His parents were Hamilton Forman and 
Mary (V'ansyckle) Forman, both residents of the 
above-mentioned State. After completing a pre- 
liminary course of elementary studies, and when 
in his fifteenth year, he entered Princeton College, and 
graduated from that institution in 1S61. Entering the law- 
office of A. G. Richey, of Trenton — one of the ablest lead- 
ing practitioners of the New Jersey b.ir — he devoted his 
entire time and attention to the acquirement of a thorough 
legal education. At the expiration of one year, however, 
he moved to the Oil Regions of Pennsylvania, and, in 1863, 
commenced to operate in oil there, and also in the neigh- 
boring territory. For several years his speculations, in 
company with those of many others, were unsuccessful and 
discouraging; but, undaunted by repeated failures, he man- 
fully pei-severed, trusting that success would eventually 
crown his efforts. In 1868, he became associated in jiart- 
nership with John J. Vandergrift, a prominent and influen- 
tial merchant, and the firm of Vandergrift & Forman was 
organized. This establishment, dealing in oil and also 
carrying on the shipping of it, soon assumed large propor- 
tions, and rapidly grew to be the most entei-prising and 
extensive in its line of business. Subsequently the partners 
commenced the construction of a series of " Pipe Lines," 
ingenious and valuable assistants in the speedy and econo- 
mical transportation of the oil from the wells to various 




points of shipment, and also to the refineries. These pipes 
are two inches in diameter, and, as a general rule, from 
six to eight miles in length. One of the lines of this com- 
pany, however, is thirty miles in length, that one being the 
longest pipe line in the country ; they are the proprietoi-s 
also of a pipe line three inches in diameter, the only one 
of the size in use either in Oil City or in the adjacent region, 
the latter arrangement having been rendered necessary on 
account of the unusual and excessive productiveness of their 
wells. So rapidly did their trade prosper and increase after 
the formation of the firm, that they were necessitated to 
build line after line, until, at the present time, they possess 
considerably more than three hundred miles of pipe, while 
several of the lines run constantly five or six pipes. Upon 
several occa-iions they have handled the major portion of 
the whole production of the oil country, becoming thereby 
the recipients of handsome pecuniary returns. The lines 
are now known as the United Pipe Lines of Vandergrift, 
Forman & Co., and form a perfect and ramifying netwoik 
extending throughout the oil country, and terminating at 
four grand shipping points, viz. : Brady's Bend, on the 
Allegheny Valley Railroad; Monterey, on the same road; 
Ilarrisville, on the Shenangu & Allegheny Railroad; and 
R.ay Milton, on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- 
road. In addition to their tr.iding and ship|iing interests, 
they may be ranked also among the heaviest producers in 
this section of the .State, and are prominently and importantly 
identified with several banking institutions and financial 
enterprises in Butler and Venango counties. Although 
warmly interested in the public welfare, and a decided ex- 
ponent of his views on all matters involving its interests, G. 
V. Forman has .always manifested an inflexible unwilling- 
ness to permit himself to be drawn into the arena of political 
life. Contented with pushing forw.ird his business to still 
greater prosperity, he gladly leaves to others the tumults 
.and agit.aiions of a partisan career, while .advocating the 
election of this candidate or condemning the election of the 
other, in accordance with his conscientious convictions. 
As a business man, he possesses the entire confidence and 
esteem of a large circle of merchants and operators ; and a.s 
a citizen, he is one of the most influential men in the oil 
region, while the benefit arising to the State from his ener- 
getic and efficient efforts in aiding to develop its vast natural 
resources entitles him to consideration as a pulilic lienefactor. 
He was married, in 1868, to Martha Carter, from Paterson, 
New Jersey. 

LACKFORD, JOHN, Lawyer, was born in Wash- 
ington county, Maryland, December 3d, 1842. 
His father, Henry T. S. Blackford, of Maryland, 
was a well-known farmer and agriculturist; his 
mother, Eliza (Mayer) Blackford, of Virginia, 
w.as a d.aughter of the Rev. Dr. Lewis Mayer, a 
distinguished Reformed divine of York, who was at one 
time President of the Mercersburg Theological .Seminar)'; 




BIOCRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



617 




his gianclfalher, Colonel John Blackford, was noted for his 
gallant conduct during the War of 1812. His early edu- 
cation was acquired principally in the i)ublic schools and 
the High School of .Sheppardstown, Virginia; subsequently, 
he became a student in the York County Academy, but 
finally completed his course of studies in the above-men- 
ticinod high school. In January, 1868, he removed to 
York, Pennsylvania, pursued a course of legal studies under 
the guidance of his uncle, John L. Mayer, and in 1870 
was admitted to the bar. Since that date he has been con- 
stantly engaged in active practice, has secured a remunera- 
'tive clientage and won a high reputation. At the present 
time he is candidate for District Attorney, having received 
the nomination for that ofiice from the Democratic party, 
which, in York, is equivalent to- an election. He is counsel 
for several of the leading corporations in this section of 
Pennsylvania, notably the Hanover Branch Railroad. 



DBOTT, WILLIAM HAWKINS, Operator in 
Oil and Financier, was born in Middlebury, New 
Haven county, Connecticut, October 27th, l8ig. 
In early life he was occupied alternately in at- 
tending the common schools of his native place 
and in laboring in the interests of his parents on 
When eighteen years of age he became em- 
ployed as clerk and salesman in the mercantile establish- 
ment of General Hemmingway, at Watertown, Litchfield 
county, Connecticut, remaining in that position until the 
spring of 1844. He then removed to Newton Falls, Trum- 
bull county, Ohio, and secured employment in the house 
of Bronson & Warien, eventually, upon the dissolution of 
the firm by the retirement of the latter, becoming a mem- 
ber of the new organization. At the expiration of the first 
year, however, the firm of Bronson & Abbott was dissolved, 
and the partners continued to prosecute their business 
sej^arately. Subsequently, the latter jiurchased the interest 
of his former partner, also the real estate of Bronson & 
Warren, and from 1848 until 1862 carried on the entire 
business with uniform prosperity. In February, i860, he 
visited the oil region of Western Pennsylvania; arriving 
in Titusville on the 8th of that month, he inspected the 
Colonel Drake W^ell, and, foreseeing the approaching im- 
portance of the oil industry, purchased an interest in the 
James Parker farm, where a well was then being sunk, 
including the Crossley Well and lease, with an interest 
also in a tract of 100 acres at Shreve Rock. In this 
enterprise he invested jt 10,000, then returned to Ohio, 
and upon arriving at Newton Falls learned that a fifty- 
barrel well had been struck on the Parker farm lease. 
Th.it well, known as the Barnsdoll, was the second struck ; 
was put down with a spring pole; was 112 feet in depth, 
and produced over fifty barrels of first sand-rock oil per 
diem. Subsequently, while seeking in New York a market 



for his oil, he became acquainted with the well-known 
chemist, George M. Mowbray, and by him was presented 
to the drug house of the Shefflin Brothers ; to these dealers 
he sold 200 barrels of oil at thirty-five cents per gallon, 
thus initiating with New York that trade which has since 
assumed such vast proportions. The after shipment of this 
oil, owing to the lack of proper facilities, the high price and 
worlhlessness of the barrels and the difficulty of trans- 
portation, involved considerable outlay, and until later the 
profits of the product were greatly diminished by the ex- 
cessive cost attendant upon its shipment and delivery. In 
i860, in connection with James Parker and William 
B.arnsdoll, he began the erection of the first refinery con- 
structed in the oil country, and finished it successfully at a 
cost of $15,000. In that association he remained for about 
three years, securing moderate returns and constantly occu- 
pied in onerous and responsible duties ; during this period 
he contracted in Ohio for large quantities of barrels, and 
had them sent to him by wagons for a distance of ninety 
miles across the counti-y. In 1862, he interested himself in 
the coal business, and brought to Titusville the first car- 
load ever delivered at that place ;<Bpursuing this trade suc- 
cessfully, in October, 1865, he leased for thirty years a tract 
of partially developed coal lands situated at Greenville, 
Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and at the present time is 
constantly employed in mining and shipping large quan- 
tities of its product to the oil region and the adjacent 
country. In 1863, he purchased from S. S. Fertig a one- 
eighth "free" interest in the Noble Well, then producing 
2,500 barrels per diem, paying for it §27,500; and later 
secured an interest in the Caldwell Well, which was sold 
to his company for $145,000. In June, 1867, he connected 
himself with the Pipe Line interests w-ith Henry Harley, 
whose line from Benninghoff run to Shaffer farm had been 
finished in 1866; the consolidation of this with his own 
pipe line from Pit Hole to Miller farm proved an eminent 
success. The Pennsylvania Transportation Company, repre- 
senting a capital of over §2,000,000 and maintaining a 
tankage capacity of at least 300,000 barrels, owes its mag- 
nitude and its remunerative foundation and progress to the 
united exertions of W. H. Abbott and his coadjutor, H. 
Haricy. The Titusville & Pit Hole Plank Road Company, 
organized in the summer of 1S65 and completed in the 
winter of 1866, owes its projection and completion partly to 
W. H. Alibott, who advanced an important sum of money at 
the outset, and subsequently greatly aided the enterprise by 
his efficient labors and wise counsels. The Oil Creek & 
Titusville Mining & Transportation Company, granted a 
charter in April, 1865, authorizing the building of a rail- 
way from Titusville to Union, eventually fell into great 
pecuniary embarrassments, and was sold at public sale to 
E. Cooper and I. C. Frisbee, in Philadelphia; in 1870, W. 
H. Abbott, associating himself with other capitalists, deter- 
mincil to complete and set the road in successful operation; 
the construction of this important enterprise was then 



78 



6iS 



BIOGRAl'lilCAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 




pusheil rapidly lo coniplcliuii, and un February 281I1, 1S71, 
il was opened, and the first train of cars passed over it 
carrying' freight and passengers. Toward the erection of 
the Mission Church of the St. James Episcopal Church 
of Titusville he subscribed the entire cost, over S4cxx>, and 
in tliat church he is a constant communicant, having for 
many years occupied the position of Senior Warden. Of all 
measure^; calculated to benefit the city and the surrounding 
region . he is a generous and able supporter. He was 
married, in 1846, to Jane Wheeler, of Watertown, Con- 
necticut; a second time to Lucy S. Clark, of Newton Kails, 
Ohio; and a third tin-.e, in 1 869, to Anna G. Wheeler, of 
New York cily, who is still living. 



»EIGES, GEORGE W., Lawyer, of York, Penn- 
sylvania, was born in the borough of Dillsburg, 
York county, Pennsylvania, May iSth, 1S42. 
His father, Jacob Heiges, was a prominent chair 
manufacturer of the above-mentioned county; his 
mother was Eliz.-ibeth (Mumper) Heiges, and on 
both the paternal and the maternal sides he is of German 
extraction. He studied first in the public common schools 
and also under private tutors; hiter, he completed a course 
of academic studies, after which he taught in one of the 
public schools of liis native place. He w'as thus occupied 
for several years in the borough and county schools, be- 
coming subsequently the Principal of the York Clrf!;sical 
and Normal Institute; later, he was appointed one of the 
Principals of the Local Normal School, and Tutor in the 
York Academy. Upon resigning, he became Deputy Super- 
intendent of the Common Schools of York county for one 
year. After completing the usual course of legal studies, 
he passed his examination, was admitted to the bar of York 
county in 1867, and immediately l)egan practice. His 
industry and talents have won him an excellent connection 
and a high reputation at the bar. In 1S72, he was elected 
to the Legislature on the Democratic ticket, and re-elected 
in 1873. While serving in the legislative body, he was a 
member of the Judicial^, General and Local Committees, 
of the Federal Relations Committee, of the Constitutional 
Reform Committee, and of the Judicial Apportionment 
Committee ; also of various other committees of less promi- 
nence .and importance. During his last term he partici- 
pated actively and influentially in all measures connected 
with the more important questions of the day, and was 
noted for his sound judgment and prompt action under the 
most trying ciixumstances. He ^^■^s appointed by the 
Legislature of Pennsylvania a member of the Board of 
Auditors, constituted to re-examine and re-settle the ac- 
counts of various county oflficers, a measure resulting from 
a reform movement in his party, and in which he had 
been prominent. As a Free Mason, he is one of the most 
zealous and influential members of the organization to 




which he is attached, and is Past-Master of the Zeredalha 
Lodge, No. 451, A. Y. M. ; he is also Generalissimo of the 
Y'ork Commandeiy, No. 21, Knights Templar. He is a 
constant and valued contributor to the press of the county. 
He has always taken an active part in the political move- 
ments of the State and county, and especially is warmly in- 
terested in matters connected with the advancement and 
increase of the public educational systems and advantages. 
Since his retirement from the Legislature, he has devoted 
his entire attention to his profession, declining, although 
repeatedly solicited, lo accept any public position. 



OSTETTER, DAVID, Druggist, partner in the 
firm. of Hosteller & Smith, manufacturers of Hos- 
teller's Stomach Bitters, was born in Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania, January 23d, 1819. His 
father, Jacob Hosteller, M. D., a distinguished 
practitioner, was born in the above-named county, 
April iSth, 1791, graduated at an early age at the Jeflerson 
Medical College of Philadelphia, and died March 26lh, 
1859. His grandfather, Jacob Hosteller, was a German, 
and born in the same county, July isl, 1752, dying there 
December gth, 1823. His great-grandfather also was 
named Jacob Hosteller, and settled in Lancaster county 
ir. 173s. at a time when it was very .sparsely settled and in 
a stale of virginal wildness. Al ihis date he built a stone 
house, still standing upon a property in ihe possession of 
his lineal descendants. He was also a large land-holder, 
occupying over 600 acres of wood and meadow land, of 
which 320 acres were bequeathed to his son, who 
in turn divided this legacy between his two children, 
the third son being disinherited on account of his dis- 
loyalty to the cause of his country during the War of 
1812, in which his father and uncle had participated. 
David Hosteller was educated in Lancaster counly, and, 
April 15th, 1835, while in his fifteenth year, was em- 
ployed as a clerk and salesman in a dry goods establish- 
ment in his native town. He was ihus occupied until 
1S42, when he began business on his own account, meeting 
with moderate success. April 15th, 1850, l:e moved to 
California, and settled in San Francisco. In the following 
September, however, his entire slock was destroyed by fire, 
and he returned to his home much discouraged. But 
shortly after, his indomitable will and perseverance re- 
asserting themselves, in 1853, he associated in partnership 
with General W. .Smith, and organized the jiresenl fiim for 
the manufacture of stomach bitters. This medicinal com- 
pound was manufactured in accordance with the formula 
discovered by the deceased Dr. Jacob Hosteller. Thence- 
forward he met with entire success; and though in ihe 
beginning but six hands were employed in the manufacture 
of his specialty, the firm at the present lime furnishes con- 
stant employment to nearly 200 men, and possesses an 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



619 



extensive establishment filled with costly machinery. In 
1867, he became a Director of the Pittsburgh Gas Company; 
in 1869, was elected President; and since that lime has 
continued to be an active and influential member of this 
important institution. He is the largest stockholder and 
one of the most energetic movers in the East End and 
Allegheny Companies. In March, 1874, he purchased the 
cliarter of the Columbia Conduit Company, and with his 
custom.ary energy hastened the work forward to a com- 
pletion. Upon this occasion he was elected President, but 
declined to assume the office. Of the Penn Ga.s-Coal 
Com]>any of Philadelphia he is a prominent and respected 
Director, and also the second largest stockholder. He is, 
moreover, a Director in the Farmers' Deposit National 
Bank, and in the Fort Pitt Bank. He was married, July 
ijlh, 1854, to Rosetta Rickey, of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is 
a striking example of a self-made man, and is remarkable 
for his indefatigable perseverance in surmounting many 
and prostrating difficulties, his acute foresight, and the 
shrewd ability manifested in all the operations of an exten- 
sive business conducted with probity, enterprise and pru- 
dent economy. He is warmly interested in all local 
movements tending to improve the commercial interests 
of the State, and has always evinced a cheerful readiness 
to assist substantially in charitable and philanthropic 
measures. 




/ 



.OPKINS, JAME.S HERRON, Lawyer and 
Banker, was born in Washington county, Penn- 
sylvania, November 3d, 1832. He is of Scotch- 
Irish descent, and his ancestry settled in western 
Pennsylvania before the Revolution, his grand- 
father, Thomas Hopkins, being an officer in the 
war of that time. His father. Colonel William Hopkins, 
was prominent in State politics, was Speaker of the House 
of Representatives during the " Buckshot War," held vari- 
ous other offices, and died while a member of the last 
Constitutional Convention. James Herron Hopkins was 
educated at Washington College, Pennsylvania; after 
leaving school, read law with Judge McCandless, and was 
admitted to the bar before attaining his majority. After 
practising law for twenty years, his health failed and he 
went to Europe. During his travels he wrote a series of 
letters for the Pitlsbuigh Post, which were afterwards pub- 
lished in a volume bearing the title. Letters from Europe. 
Returning to his native land, he engaged in the banking 
business in Pittsburgh. He is now President of the Penn 
Bank and the Union Insurance Company of that place; is 
also a director in various other banks and corporations. 
He has always taken a great interest in politics and is a 
prominent Democrat in Western Pennsylvania; has been 
three times a candidate for Congress in his district, and in 
1872 was a candidate for Congressman at Large. Living 




in a section of the State that is largely Republican, he has 
never been elected to any political office. He is married 
to a lady of the \^'ell-known Jamison family of Baltimore, 
Maryland, several of whom are distinguished in the clergy, 
the army, the navy, physics, etc. 



ORTH, HUGH M., Lawyer, Legislator, etc., was 
born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, May 7th, 
1826. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, his father, 
John North, being a prominent merchant of Juni- 
ata county, and his mother a daughter of Hugh 
McAllister, whose father was one of the original 
settlers of the county, the founder of McVllisterville, and 
a major in the Revolutionary War. Hugh M. was enabled 
to enjoy exceptional educational advantages, and graduated 
with honor from the academy at Mifflinsburg when about 
twenty years of age. Choosing the legal profession, he 
entered the office of Judge Casey, a prominent lawyer, who 
was elected to Congress in 1848 and subsequently was 
appointed Chief Justice of the United States Court of 
Claims. In due course, having passed a most creditable 
exammation, he was admitted to the bar of Lancaster 
county, August 30th, 1849, having been previously entered 
at the bar of Union county early in the same year. He 
removed to Columbia and immediately commenced the 
practice of his profession. His energy, industry and intel- 
lectual acquirements soon brought him into prominence, 
and he quickly obtained lucrative practice, which has 
steadily increased; he now ranks among the most able 
attorneys of the State, and has acquired a large fortune 
by his labors. Active and public-spirited, he has always 
taken a great interest in all political questions of a local 
and national nature. He has held several offices in the 
town of his adoption with such satisfaction to his fellow- 
citizens that in 1854 he was elected to the State Legislature 
on the Democratic and Independent tickets. In i860, he 
was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at 
Charleston, South Carolina, and was there placed upon 
several important committees, among others that on Cre- 
dentials, a post in this particular convention demanding 
the exercise of rare judgment and ability. In 1864, he 
was the Democratic candidate for Congress against the 
late Thaddeus Stevens, and ran far ahead of his ticket. 
In 1872, he held the same position in opposition to A. 
Herr Smith, but as the district had long been largely 
Republican it was impossible for him to gain the election. 
He has been for many years Solicitor for several of the 
most important railroad companies in the State, and also 
holds the same official position in several other large cor- 
porations, including banks, insurance companies, etc. He 
is President of the First National Bank of Columbia, and 
is Director in a number of other institutions. In 1874, he 
polled the second highest vote in the Democratic State 



620 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 




Convention as the nominee for Lieutennnt-Governor of 
Pennsylvania. He has been for many years a leading 
member of the Presbyterian Church, and the President for 
twelve years of its Board of Trnstees. He was married, 
December 2y], iS6S, to a daughter of Thomas E. Franklin, 
a prominent lawyer of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 



fERTIG, JOHN, Mayor of Titusville, was born 
in Venango county, Pennsylvania, March 17th, 
1837. His parents were among the earliest 
settlers of that section, having located there in 
1S34, when the county was little more than a 
wilderness. Laboring on the home farm in boy- 
hood, he attended the log school-house in the winter. These 
scant educational advai tiges he turned to the best account, 
and laid the foundation of his present solid acquirements. 
Leaving home at eighteen, he travelled on foot 150 miles 
to the great lumbering districts on the Susquehanna. Ob- 
taining employment as a sawyer in an extensive establish- 
ment, he labored for about a year. Then feeling the 
necessity for more education if he would rise to the 
measure of his ambition, he abandoned work, returned 
home, obtained such books as he could, and studied to such 
good purpose that he soon became a teacher. For four 
years he taught in a district school, first near Neilllown, 
and later at .Steam Mills, near West Hickory, continuing 
his own studies the while and taking a course at the 
Neilltown Academy. In 1S60, the great oil fever having 
reached his neighborhood, he commenced operations by 
leasing a small tract of oil territory known as the Mc- 
Elhenny farm. Associating with him two gentlemen, he 
arranged for the sinking of a well, investing in the enter- 
prise the entire savings of his years of teacher's toil, and 
also, in order to make up what he lacked in ca,pital, en- 
gaging for day labor with the contractor. He lost his 
money and labor, the well proving oilless and being aban- 
doned. Determined to succeed, and profiting by the 
experience gained in his unfortunate venture, he immedi- 
ately secured the necessary implements and contracted to 
sink several wells. Having by this means again accumu- 
lated some little capital, he returned in about a year to his 
abandoned claim, and eventually, after many disappoint- 
ments and trials, he reaped abundantly the reward of his 
toil and perseverance. Having acquired a considerable 
fortune, he has for the past fourteen years been largely 
interested in real estate, dealing therein so extensively that 
he is at this time reputed to be the heaviest properly holder 
in the town of Titusville. He has done much to improve 
the place, the fine buildings known as Fertig's Block being 
a conspicuous evidence of his public spirit. His character 
as a citizen and a merchant is above reproach. The esti- 
mation in which he is held and his popularity in the com- 
munity in which he resides was well exhibited in the 




spring of 1873. Though a Democrat, he was then elected 
Mayor of Titusville l)y the largest majority ever gained by 
any candidate for that office, his opponent, the acting 
mayor, having been elected by the Republicans, the domi- 
nant party of the town. With such satisfaction did the 
citizens regard his administration that he was re-elected to 
the office in 1874, and the evidences of public favor con- 
stantly expressed towards him point directly to his elevation 
to higher and more important positions in the public 
service. In every movement tending to the advancement 
of the town with which he is by business and association 
connected, he is most zealous. He is attached as Vice- 
President to the m.anagemcnt of two of the banking institu- 
tions of his section, and in finance, as in commerce, his 
abilities render him a most valuable guide and associate. 
He was married, in 1S61, to Angeline E. Coldren, of 
Venango county. 



cCLINTOCK, JONAS R., Physician, .Soldier, 
Mayor, State Senator, etc., was born in Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania, .about the year 1810. He 
is descended from Celtic and Teutonic sources, 
his paternal ancestor, John McClintock, having, 
in 1789, at the age of seventeen, emigrated 
from Ireland, and the maternal side being represented 
by Peter Roup, who arrived from Germany and settled 
in Lancaster county in 1 761, and whose son. Colonel 
Jonas Roup, removed to Allegheny county in 1793. Both 
his parents died upon their farm, located in what is now 
the Twentieth and Twenty-second Wards of Pittsburgh. 
He received a thorough education at the Western Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania, and after pursuing a course of medical 
reading in his native city, under Dr. S. R. Holmes, com- 
menced the practice of his profession, and so quickly won 
success and reputation that in 1833 he was appointed 
Physician to the Almshouse and Prison, and during the 
Cholera epidemic of that year was selected as Health 
Physician by the Board of Health. He was President of 
the Common Council of the city in 1834, was elevated to 
the Mayoralty in 1836, and though belonging to the Demo- 
cratic minority, was re-elected for the two subsequent 
terms. In 1840, he was appointed by the President of the 
United States to the Chemical Department of the United 
States Mint at Philadelphia, which position he held for 
seven years, resigning it on the death of his father and re- 
turning to reside with his mother upon the old homestead. 
He is claimed .as the father of the Duquesne Grays, having 
originated them in 1832 ; for a long time, and in some ti-y- 
ing situations, he commanded this celebrated corps. He 
was elected to the Legislatuie in 1850, and became promi- 
nent in that body. As Chairman of the Committee on 
Domestic Manufactures, he defeated, by his report, the 
repeal of the ten-hour law of 1849. ^^ reported the Ap- 
portionment bill of 1S50, which succeeded the veto of 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



6zi 



Governor Johnston, and which passed into a law. In 1853, 
he was elected to the State Senate, where, as Chairman of 
the Committee on Education, he reported the School Bill 
of 1S54, and by his personal efiforts and influence secured its 
passage. He voted for the Repulilican resolution instruct- 
ing the Pennsylvania Senators and Representatives in Con- 
gress to vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, to save, as 
he explained his vote, the downfall of the great Democratic 
party. During the panic of 1837, he refused to sign as 
dictated by ordinance the $100,000 issue of small notes, 
and under threats of impeachment and removal from the 
mayoralty remained firm, and triumphantly presented to 
Councils a forgotten section of an act of 1S21, making the 
action required a misdemeanor punishable with fine and 
imprisonment. At the commencement of the late civil war 
he offered for active duty in the field, camp or garrison. 
He acted as Adjutant-General on the stafif of General Wil- 
liam Wilkins, and aided in organizing 3,500 citizens during 
the first months of the war, fully nine-tenths of which force 
w-as, in a short time, in service at the front. As a regular 
visitor to the Army of the Potomac during the latter three 
years of the war his notes from the field and hospital 
received high consideration at the War Department, and 
were the cause of the correction of more tlian one fault and 
need. In 1S64, when after peremptorily declining a nom- 
ination either to Congress or the State Senate his friends 
persisted in placing his name on the ticket, he ignored the 
nomination, and removing fi'om his home remained away 
until the contest was decided, thus consistently maintaining 
his avowed resolution made in the first hours of the Rebel- 
lion that he " would refuse to enter into conflict for civil 
position until treason should be wiped out." After devot- 
ing several years to the recovery of his wife's health, he 
settled down on the old homestead, now in the midst of a 
thriving city. 



f'cCUEN, AI.E.KANDER, City Commissioner of 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was born in that city, 
February 14th, 1834. His parents were natives 
of Ireland, and his father, Alexander McCuen, 
w.as engaged for a term of three years in the 
service of the United States, in the 4th Pennsyl- 
vania Cavalry, which participated actively in the late 
Rebellion. He was educated at the Southwest Public 
School, and, after acquiring a useful education, became 
employed in the brickyard of Pritman & Co., whose estab- 
lishment was located at Twentieth and Market streets, and 
learned the trade of brickmaking. He then served his 
time as an apprentice with Wright & Brothers, on Market 
street, bone and ivory turners. In 185S, while the laying 
of the Atlantic Cable was progressing, he was employed in 
the United States service, and, while on board the United 
States man-of-war " Niagara," assisted in arranging antl 
putting it out, April iSlh, 1S61, be was present at the 




memorable riots in Baltimore, and aided efficiently in 
assisting to quell the turbulence. Subsequently, he enlisted 
for three months as a private in the i8th Pennsylvania 
Regiment, Colonel Lewis commanding; was discharged, 
and re-enlisted in the 72d Pennsylvania Regiment, com- 
manded by Colonel Baxter; later, AugusJ loth, 1861, he 
was appointed First Sergeant in Conip.any D ; January 1st, 
1863, was jiromoted from that company to Company K, as 
Second Lieutenant, and September loth, 1863, as First 
Lieutenant. After the battle of Gettysbuig, he was ap- 
pointed to a captaincy, December 25th, 1863, in the latter 
company, a promotion due to his capture of a stand of colors 
from the Confederate color-bearer, and the observance of 
the incident by General Webb, who complimented him 
highly for his intrepid conduct; August 24th, 1864, he was 
mustered out with his company. Finally, he was connected 
with the 203d Pennsylvania Regiment as Captain of Com- 
pany E, with which he served for nearly twelve months. 
During the action at Fort F'isher, North Carolina, Januaiy 
15th, 1865, he was severely wounded, and afterward, March 
13th, 1865, was appointed Major by brevet of that organiza- 
tion, for gallant conduct ; he was mustered out with his 
company, June 22d, 1865. In 1868, he was nominated 
and elected by the Republican party City Commissioner, 
for three yeai's; and re-elected in 1871, for a second term, 
which expires January 1st, 1875. 



cNAIR, HIRAM S., Journalist, was born in Free- 
dom township, Adams county, Pennsylv.ania, 
June 22d, 1838. His father, Samuel S. McNair, 
boin also in Adams county, Pennsylvania, was a 
descendant of one of the earliest Scotch settlers 
of that county; his mother, S. C. (Bigler) 
McNair, was a former resident of Franklin county, in the 
same State. He was educated at Gettysburg College, and 
the Delaware Literary Institution, Delaware county. New 
York. At the outbreak of the war he left the latter estab- 
lishment and entered the United States service, April i6th, 
1861, as private in the 2d Pennsylvania Infantiy. At the 
end of his three months' service he re-enlisted as private in 
Cole's Maryland Cavaliy. With this body he served 
actively in the ranks until 1862, when he was promoted to 
a Second Lieutenancy by the order of Colonel Dixon S. 
Miles, and, subsequently, owing to the protracted absence 
of the superior officer, commanded his company from the 
time of his appointment. He was afterward promoted by 
Governor Bradford, of Maryland, to a First Lieutenancy in 
the 3d Maryland Cavalry, and was ordered with his regi- 
ment to the Department of the Gulf. There he participated 
in the Red River campaign ; during its progress was pro- 
moted to a Captaincy, and, after the Mobile campaign, while 
in command at Woodville, Mississippi, was brevetted Major 
by the order of General Canby, then in command of the 




622 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOr.€;DIA. 



CJiilf Depaitment. In the fall of 1S65, he was mustered out 
at Vicksburg. In the fall of the following year he removed 
to York, Pennsylvania, entered the well-known law office 
of Henry L. Fisher, and, in November, 1S68, was admitted 
to the bar. He prai;tised, however, but for a short period, 
entering in the latter part of i86g into mercantile business, 
dealing in diy goods under the firm-name of Hauer & 
McNair. This partnership connection lasted until the fall 
of 1S73, when he ■'etired and purchased the York Repub- 
lican, the leading Republican paper of York county, which 
under his able management has acquired new prestige and 
popularity. In 1872, he was the candidate on the Repub- 
lican ticket from York for the Legislature, and, although 
connected with the minority, ran considerably ahead of his 
ticket, reducing the opposing majority from about two 
thousand to nine hundred. At the present time, he is the 
Chairman of the Republican County Committee. He was 
married, in 1S6S, to Nettie Hauer, of York, Pennsylvania. 



MCTWILER, SOLOMON S., Banker, Capitalist, 
etc., was born in York county, Pennsylvania, 
October 28th, 1S33. His father, Joseph Detwiler, 
was an extensive and wealthy farmer and real 
estate owner of that section ; and his mother a 
member of the well-known Gerber family, of the 
same county. Beginning with the common schools of the 
neighborhood, he completed his education at the Mount 
Joy Academy. On attaining his majority, he entered upon 
the business of life as clerk and bookkeeper in the hard- 
ware store of Jonas Runkle, in Columbia, and so remained 
for five years. In July, 1S60, he associated in partnership 
with his brother, and engaged in the private banking busi- 
ness, in the same town, under the firm-title of Detwiler & 
Brother. The reputation sustained by the young partners 
speedily gained them a large connection, and they con- 
tinued to transact business under the original name, until 
May, 1 86^, when their banking house was merged into the 
First National Bank of Columbia. S. S. Detwiler was, 
at the same time, elected to the post of cashier of the in- 
stitution, and has continued to serve in that capacity, to 
the entire satisfaction of all concerned, ever since. As a 
private banker he was eminently successful, and by his 
high acquirements, gentlemanly disposition and address, and 
strict integrity, won the unreserved confidence of the com- 
munity. In the spring of 1S70, in company with five other 
gentlemen, he originated and placed in operation the Co- 
lumbia Deposit Bank, and ever since, as one of its principal 
Directors and Managers, has been largely instrumental in 
raising it to its present state of prosperity. To the town 
of his adoption he has been a most useful benefactor, hav- 
ing interested himself largely in real estate transactions and 
having erected many valuable buildings. He owns a very 
considerable amount of farm property in the counties of 




York and Lancaster, the finest agricultural section of Penn- 
sylvania, and also a large stone quarry near Coluir.bia. He 
also holds an interest, as partner, in the celebrated White 
Lime Quarry, at Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. He has been 
President of the Columbia Insurance Company, for sever.al 
years ; and, for some time, presided over the Town Council, 
of which body he was, for six years, a member. He has 
likewise been presiding officer of the School Board for 
three years, and is a prominent member and vestrjman of 
St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He was married, April 27th, 
i860, to a daughter of Isaac Redsicker, a wealthy tanner, 
of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 



LO/\N, HANNIBAL K., Lawyer, was born in 
Indiana, Pennsylvania, September 4th, 1838. 
His parents were James M. and Margaret (Kelly) 
Sloan ; his maternal grandfather. Meek Kelly, 
was a member of the State Senate of Pennsylva- 
nia from one of the northwestern districts which, 
some forty years since, included Indiana county ; his paternal 
grandfather, Walter Sloan, held the commission of Captain 
in the War of l8i2, serving efficiently on the Canadian 
frontier. Beginning in the common schools, he continued 
his education in the Indiana Academy until his sixteenth 
year. During the two following years he was learning the 
trade of machinist ; but, during the memorable financial 
panic of 1S57, his emjiloyers, with many other machinists in 
Indiana, were obliged to temporarily close their establish- 
ments, and he was unable to procure further employment. 
Philadelphia was visited, but in none of its machine shops 
could he find a situation; he then moved to Sussex county, 
Delaware, where he engaged with Shryock & Johnston, 
who were filling a naval contract for the furnishing of live 
oak to the Government. In six months, he relumed to his 
home and began, in September, 1859, to study law under 
Hugh Weir. His course w'as partially finished in April, 
1861, when, the Rebellion breaking out, he, with others, 
raised and organized the Indiana Nationals. Of this organi- 
zation he was elected Second Lieutenant in the following 
May, and, when entirely completed, it was sent to Camp 
Wright, near Pittsburgh, June loth, 1861. The Indiana 
Nationals were mustered into Stale service simultaneously 
with CoiTipany B of the nth Regiment of tlie IVnnsylvania 
Reserve Coqw, commanded by Thomas F. Galaher, of 
Westmoreland county. In July, 1 861, he was promoted to 
a First Lieutenancy, and, in the same month, left Cam]> 
Wright for Washington, where his regiment was mustered 
into the United States service, constituting a part of the 
First Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac. That 
cor]3s, then commanded by General McDowell, was subse- 
quently transferred to the Fifth Army Corps, commanded 
by Fitz John Porter; under this command he participated 
actively in the seven days' battles in front of Richmond, 




sj^^^''^^ <^2Vt^^^^ti.<i£.j'^&i. 



4 



I 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



623 



from Mechanicsville to Malvern Mills, and also in all the 
actions and movements in which the Army of the Potomac 
was engaged until June 1st, 18O4. Prior to this date he 
was, December 13th, 1S62, promoted to a Captaincy, and, 
in May, 1S63, for gallant and meritorious conduct at the 
battle of the Wilderness was appointed Major by brevet ; 
also, while taking part in the battle of Gettysburg, he was 
favorably noticed for his brave and efficient services. June 
13th, 1864, he was mustered out of the service with his 
regiment. After being engaged for two years in the oil 
business of the Pennsylvania oil region, he returned to 
the study of law under his former preceptor, II. W. Weir. 
In October, 1S66, he was appointed United States Assistant 
Assessor, and, in February, 1867, upon the completion of 
the studies pursued meanwhile, was admitted to the bUr at 
the September term of Indiana, and since has conttmjed to 
practice his profession with marked ability and succesi." He 
was subsequently nominated by the Democrats of the Legjis- 
lative District of Indiana and Westmoreland counties and 
elected, although the Republican majority of that district 
was considerably over 1000. At the close of the Legisla^- 
tive term of 1871, he resumed the practice of laWj but ulti- 
mately, owing to the solicitations of many friendV, allawGtl 
his name to be used as a candidate for Congi'ess;6^nd.^tli'&- 
Democratic County Convention unanimousljrsffic^nleTffii.rit- 
the nomination. '. ' 



NDERSON, HON. GEORGE K., President pf- 
the Exchange Bank of TitusviUe, Pennsylvania, 
Railroad Operator and Legislator, was born at 
East Waterford, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, 
September 14th, 1834. His father, Enoch L. 
Anderson, who died recently in his seventy-sixth 
year, was a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, 
and a son of Colonel Enoch Anderson, one of five brothers 
who were noted for their valor and efficient services while 
sei'ving in Washington's army throughout the Revolutionary 
War; these brothers, settling in Maryland, Tennessee and 
Kentucky, became subsequently prominent and influential 
men and public officers. Twenty members of the family 
have been elected to the House of Representatives at 
Washington, and four to the United- States Senate. His 
great uncle was a member of the United States Senate for a 
period of eighteen years, at one time officiated as President 
of that body, and later was Comptroller of the Treasury 
for twenty-one years. Hon. AlexanderAnderson, formerly 
member of- Congress from the Knoxville District of Ten- 
nessee, and United States Senator, noted for his energy and 
abilities, was a nearly-connected relative of George K. An- 
derson's ancestors. From 1800 to 1868', Enoch L. Ander- 
son resided in East Waterford, where) he reared a family 
consisting of ten children, follow'ing the tanning business, 
and engaged also in farming and agricultural pursuits. In 
the latter year he removed to TitusviUe with his son, and 




there resided until the date of his death. George K. An- 
derson remained with liis parents in East Waterford until 
July, 1850, when, having thoroughly learned the trade of 
tanning under his father, he entered upon a course of studies 
at the Tuscarora Academy, pursuing a student's life until 
1854, and in the interim acquiring a varied and valn.able 
training and education. From September, 1854, until Sep- 
tember of the following year, he was employed as a clerk 
in a store at HoUidaysburg, Pennsylvania; subsequently, 
desiring to obtain a more perfect knowledge of the difTerent 
rules, principles and systems governing the management and 
pVoi^ecution of mercantile enterprises, he entered Dufl^s Com- 
merdal^College, of Pittsburgh. Ui)on the completion of 
the usual course of studies in that institution, he graduated 
in-commercjal, banking, and railroad bookkeeping, receiv- 
ing on tKe occasion high encomiums from his tutors for his 
perseverance and shrewd insight into the detail.s and minutia; 
incidenrto'this particular branch of learning. He then put 
intoactiVi operation his newly-acquired knowledge by act- 
■ ii^ -,1g Bry6I\keei5er and private Secretary for Kirk it 
^Rhodes,"well-known and prominent car builders of Ro- 
cKeater, Pennsylvania. That establishment, employing over 
three' ^ftiTicked men, presented an admirable field for the 
^exercise 6f jkiiffihtstrative and executive powers, and for ob- 
'tiiin5iig,aira»'ie(i'ancVvaluable experience; and the numerous 
and resppnsiSe^'dntieS connected with its direction he ful- 
filled i,vith>«iia'i''Ked promptitude and ability. With Ki)k & 
Rhode's he- remafried utitil the fall of 1858, when he em- 
harkefl in-flie wholesale and retail groceiy business at Green- 
ville, Mer'eer^ county, Pennsylvania, under the firm-name 
of Power & Anderson ; in the same place he also entered 
the dry goods business, under the firm-name of Anderson & 
Packard. In this locality and in these undertakings he was 
actively engaged until September, 1862, when he sold out 
his interests in both establishments, in order to accept a 
position as assistant to General W. W. Irwin, Commissary- 
General of Pennsylvania, tendered to him and urged upon 
his acceptance. He remained in the office until October, 
1864, constantly and laboriously occupied in the discharge 
of responsible and onerous duties, and during portion of 
the time acting as Secretary to the Board of Military Claims. 
Resigning at the latter date, he visited the oil regions, set- 
tling primarily at Tan Farm, October 4th, and afterwards, 
November ist, making his head-quarters at Petroleum Cen- 
tre, Venango county. July nth, 1 868, he purch.ased the 
Brigg's Place, in TitusviUe, and sent for his parents and 
sisters to take charge of his new home; since then he has 
resided there, meeting with great and merited success in 
various and extensive entei'prises. Upon three difTerent 
occasions he has been chosen Senatorial Delegate to State 
Conventions, and was Delegate to the National Convention 
which nominated Grant for a second term. In 1873, he 
w.is elected to the Senate from Crawford county, having in 
TitusviUe a majority of over 800 ballots on a vote of less 
than 1000 in the city. Since starting as an oil operator he 



o 



o-^^ 



\Al 



624 



BIOGRAPHICAI, ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



has urillc-d more thnn 200 wells; ami at one time liis in- 
come attained the unusual proportions of fifteen hundred 
dollars per diem. During the past seven or eight years he 
has employed constantly, in one or another business and 
enterprise, about 300 men, thus affording direct support to 
more than 900 persons. Several young men who entered 
into business life in his establishments and under his care 
as bookkeepers, superintendents, overseers and engineers, 
have since become wealthy and prominent merchants and 
dealers. He was one of the original investors in the 
Northern Pacific, the Texas Pacific, and various other rail- 
roads and enterprises, being always a leading and ener- 
getic promoter thereof. He is, and has been from its organ- 
ization, Vice-President of the Pennsylvania Transportation 
Company, a corporation having a capital of $1,700,000 in 
stock and $200,000 raised on bonds ; it owns and operates 
500 miles of pipe lines, and has a tankage of 300,000 bar- 
rels; such men as Colonel T. A. Scott, William H. Kemble, 
C. B. Wright, of Philadelphia, the Vice-President of the 
Erie Railroad, Messrs. Harley and Abbott and Judge 
Douglass, of Titusville, are associated in its direction. He 
is also Director of five different banks. After settling in 
the oil region, and before the expiration of the first year, 
he was offered by one of the largest and wealthiest owners 
of oil property a position as Superintendent with a salary 
of Slo,ooo per annum; but having commenced operations 
on his own responsibility, and feeling sure that he would 
ultimately meet with much success, he declined the offer, 
and the sequel has shown that he acted wisely. In all 
schemes for the development of Pennsylvania resources he 
takes a warm and active interest ; while all movements of 
a philanthropic nature find from him cordial sympathy and 
generous support. He was married, July 5th, 1S59, to 
Emma Hawkins {the only daughter of the late Rev. D. K. 
Hawkins, of Pittsburgh), who died August 26lh, 1864, 
leaving three small children, one an infant; only one child, 
eleven years old, is now living. 



EISS, CHARLES. Coal Merchant, w^as born Feb- 
ruary loih, 1812, at Nicetown, Philadelphia 
county, Pennsylvania, his parents being George 
Weiss and Sarah (Nice) Weiss. He received his 
education at the old Germantown Academy, and 
on leaving there, when about seventeen years of 
age, was apprenticed to learn the trade of a lajiidary. At 
the expiration of his term he went (about 1838) to Phila- 
delphia, and there became engaged in the business of hotel 
keeping, which he continued to carry on until 1846, when 
he became a coal merchant, his location being on Ninth 
street, above Poplar. In 1850, he removed to Germantown, 
and has continued the business there up to the present 
time (1874). He has eng.aged extensively in real estate 
operations in Germantown, in which he has been very suc- 





cessful. He is a Director of the National Bank of fler- 
mantown, and of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of 
Germantown, and is also intimately connected with all the 
important local enterprises of the town, in which he holds 
an honorable and conspicuous position. In politics he is a 
Republican. He was married, in 1S38, to Susan R., 
daughter of Jacob Hortter, of Germantown. 



CIILUNDECKER, GENERAL MATHEW, 
Treasurer of the German Savings Bank, Erie, 
Pennsylvania, was born in Bavaria, July loth, 
1829. Educated in the public schools of his 
native coiintiy, he came to seek his fortune in 
America when he was twenty years of age. He 
settled in Erie and engaged in mercantile pursuits till the 
breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, when, though 
previously General of the State militia and well versed in 
military tactics, he set an exaniple to the community by en- 
listing as a private, on April 19th, 1S61. He was, how- 
ever, soon pnmioted to the commission of M.ajor, and was 
afterwards elected Colonel of the I nth Regiment Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers. As remarked by a fellow-citizen, the 
energy, public spirit and s.igacity of General Schlundecker 
have been manifested to the great advantage of Erie. 
Many of its improvements have originated with him, and 
all have received his support. Of large means and irre- 
pressible energy, he is always ardent in the support of 
measures that commend themselves to his judgment. Still 
in the ascendance of life, with broad financial schemes re- 
quiring time to mature, the better part of his career has 
probably yet to be told. 



WING, HON. THOMAS, Lawyer and President 
Judge of the United States District Court of Al- 
legheny County, Pennsylvania, was born in 
Washington county, Pennsylvania, July 3d, 1827. 
His parents were both of .Scotch-Irish descent, 
and when he was about three years of age they 
settled in Allegheny. His education, which was thorough 
and extended, was completed by his graduation from Jeffer- 
son College, Pennsylvania, in the class of 1853. For one 
year following he was an assistant Teacher in a school in 
his native State, and for the next three years Princip.al of 
the Natchez (Mississippi) Institute. Having occupied his 
leisure in legal studies and gained admittance to the bar, 
he commenced, in 1857, the practice of the law in Pitts- 
burgh, and soon succeeded in establishing a professional 
connection which has brought him wealth and high honor 
professionally and politically. He was a Republican Dele- 
gate, representing the Thirty-third Senatorial District, com- 
posed of the county of Allegheny, in the Constitutional 
Convention of 1872-73, and occupied an influential position 




% 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.i:DIA. 



625 




llierein, being a member of the Committees on Legislation 
and Revenue, Taxation and Finance. He was for many 
yeais a School Director, and takes a great interest in all 
matters pertaining to popular education. He was married, 
in 1859, to Miss Ilufnagel, of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. 
He was elected to his present high position daring his 
term of service as a member of the Constitutional Conven- 
tion, and assumed the duties of the post on the ist day 
of March, 1S73. 



!»AMPTON, JOHN HENRV, Lawyer, etc., son 
of Hon. Moses Hampton, was born at Union- 
town, Pennsylvania, October 25th, 1S28. His 
father's means being ample, he was afforded 
peculiar educational advantages. His prelimi- 
naiy studies were pursued at the Western Uni- 
versity of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in 1842 he was 
placed at the West Alexander Academy, where, under the 
tuition of Dr. John McCloskey, he was prepared for college. 
In the fall of 1844, he entered the Sophomore class of 
Washington College, and graduated from that institution 
with the highest honors in September, 1S47. In the spring 
sif that year he was selected to deliver the original oration 
in the contest between the literally societies of the college, 
and succeeded in winning for his society the honor which 
fcir the five preceding years it had been unable to attain, 
lie began the study of law with Hon. James Todd, in 
Philadelphia, but, his health failing, he returned to Pitts- 
burgh, where, later, he resumed his studies under the Hon. 
Edwin H. Stowe, and was admitted to the bar Febrnaiy 
15th, 1851. He at once engaged in practice with his 
father, but the connection was severed by the elevation of 
the latter to the bench. On the completion of the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad to Pittsburgh, in 1852, he was appointed 
Assistant Solicitor, and .since has almost exclusively de- 
voted his attention to the interestii of that great corporation. 
In 1857, upon the resignation of General William A. Stokes, 
then Solicitor, he was placed at the head of his department, 
where he still remains. The same year he was also appointed 
Solicitor of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Rail- 
road, and upon the leasing of that road to the Pennsylvania 
Company retained his position. From the completion of 
the Pan Handle and the Western Pennsylvania Railroads 
he has been Solicitor for both, and he holds a like office in 
the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad Company. 
In 1S72, with his then partner, he added the solicitorship 
of the PiUsliurgh, Virginia & Charleston Railroad Com- 
jiany to his long list of corporation clients, and it was sup- 
plemented in 1S74 by the Allegheny Valley Railroad. In 
politics, he has through life been an active, working Whig 
and Republican. He was frequently a member of State 
conventions, and his services were greatly in demand as a 
campaign speaker; but of late years his professional en- 
gagements have prevented him from appearing as actively 
79 




in the political arena, though he still continues warmly in- 
terested in and firmly attached to the party he has done so 
much to serve. He was the piojector of the Allegheny 
County Law Library, and has been its President ever since 
its organization. He delivered the oration, October 21st, 
1873, o" behalf of Washington College, at the laying of the 
corner-stone of the Washington and Jefferson College ; 
Hon. Cyrus L. Pershing one on behalf of Jefferson College, 
and Hon. John Scott another. Mr. Hampton's oration 
was largely quoted by the leading papers of the country and 
elicited much favorable comment. 



f"!^ LLISON, JOSEPH, President Judge of the Courts 
of Common Pleas and Oyer and Terminer of the 
City and County of Philadelphia, was born in 
l8:o, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, his parents 
being then residents of that city. When in his 
nineteenth year he began the study of the law 
under John B. Adams, and was admitted to the bar oil 
November 23d, 1843. Although not the recipient of a 
collegiate or classical education, he, in company with such 
men as David Rittenhouse and Chancellor Walworth, may 
assert that he was his owil tutor, and graduated upon a 
farm. Taking irito consideration the difficulties encoun- 
tered by him at the outset of his professional career, his 
efforts were soon crowned with success, and when unex- 
pectedly placed in nomination for a judicial seat he had 
succeeded in acquiring a lucrative and widening practice. 
From 1846 to 1 85 1 he was .Solicitor of the District of 
Spring Garden. In October of the latter year, he was 
nominated by the Know Nothing party, and was elected to 
the bench as Associate Law Judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas of Philadelphia; to this position he was again re- 
turned in October, 1861. Sulisequently, he was appointed 
by Governor Curtin to fill the vacancy occasioned by the 
death of President Judge Oswald Thompson. In October, 
1866, he was elected for a term of ten years to the position 
which he at present occupies. 



ISHER, HON. ROBERT J., Lawyer and Presi- 
dent Judge of the Nineteenth Judicial District 
of Pennsylvania, was born in Harrisburg, Penn- 
sylvania, in May, 1808. His father, George 
Fisher, also of Harrisburg, was one of the first 
lawyers admitted io the bar in D.auphin county, 
was in active practice there for more than sixty years, and 
during one period of his lifetime practised in all the 
counties of the State from Lancaster to the New York State 
line on the Susquehanna; noted for his aversion to political 
office-holding, he repeatedly declined to accept public 
positions of honor and emolument, and on one occasion, 




626 



BIOGRAI'inCAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



having acted as Jutlge of Klection, would not receive the 
compensation due to him for his services, saying that he 
" had never taken a dollar of public money, nor would 
take it"; he died in the entire possession of all his faculties, 
when in his eighty-seventh year. His mother, Ann (Jones) 
Fisher, of I'hiladelphia, was a niece of Chief Justice Ship- 
pen, and a daughter of Robert S. Jones. His brother, 
John Adams Fisher (now deceased), wa-s for many years 
an able practitioner in the Twelfth Judicial District, com- 
posed of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon, and pos- 
sessed a very extensive practice of the jiost honorable 
nature. Robert J. Fisher was educated at the Marrisburg 
Academy, and at the age of eighteen engaged in a course 
of legal studies under the able guidance of his father. In 
September, 1827, he entered the Law Department of Yale 
College, and in the fall of 1828 was admitted to the bar, 
when, removing immediately to York, Pennsylvania, he 
rapidly acquired a large and remunerative practice. From 
an early date he has been uniformly identified with the 
Democratic party, and has several times represented York 
county in State conventions; but he has never been a 
member of any legislative body, declining on many occa- 
sions nominations for various responsible positions whose 
attendant duties might have interfered with his professional 
pursuits. In 1840, he was a delegate to the National Con- 
vention at Baltimore which nominated Martin Van Buren 
for President; and in 1847 was appointed as one of the 
Board of Visitors to the Military Academy at West Point; 
he was also on the committee appointed to prepare the final 
report, and the major portion of that part not relating to 
militai-y affairs was written by him. In 184S, he was 
placed on the Democratic electoral ticket, Inil, Pennsyl- 
vania not recognizing General Cass's claims to the Presi- 
dency, he did not secure an election. lie was first elected 
to the position of President Judge of the Nineteenth Judicial 
District in October, 1851, was re-elected to that important 
office in i86i, and was again chosen in 1871 ; on each of 
these occasions he received the unanimous nomination 
of the York County Convention and of the District Confer- 
ence. During the late Rebelliim, he was an earnest 
Unionist, and in his charge to the Grand Jury at the April 
session of 1861 strongly recommended the raising of troops 
for the support of the National authority, urging also the 
advisability of ample appropriations for the support of the 
families of those who should volunteer to sustain the Gov- 
ernment ; in pursuance of this recommendation, the com- 
missioners subsequently appropriated a large sum of money, 
which was expended in accordance with his advice. Later, 
York was made a militai-y station, and while such one of 
its citizens, Mr. Harris, was arrested by military authority 
and imprisoned in a guard-house; application was made to 
Judge Fisher for a writ of habeas corpus, which wns 
promptly granted. The prisoner, guarded by a file of sol- 
diers with fixed bayonets, was hrnusiht into the court room ; 
the counsel for the relator asked the court to order the 



soldiers to lay aside their arms; the judge replied that, re- 
gardless of the military present, he would discharge or 
remand the relator as the law re(|uired. In this, one of the 
earliest conflicts between the civil and the militaiy power, 
he firmly sustained the m.ijesty of the law, and the relator 
was discharged. On a similar occasion he again opposed 
a growing military despotism, and in a serious quarrel be- 
tween the militaiy and civil authorities acted as a strict and 
fearless arbiter. While ardently anxious for the speedy 
overthrow of the Rebellion, he was determined to assert 
the supremacy of the civil law, and in no instance did he 
experience a defeat. Although strongly attached to the 
principles of the Democratic party, he has, since his acces- 
sion to the bench, retired from all active participation in 
local and State politics.. Some of his legal opinions liave 
been widely quoted in the newspapers and legal journals ; 
among them may be cited Cooler's Appeal, 5 Oisi-r, lo; 

Coiiimonmcallh vs. Aid, 7 Wright, 34; York Couii/y vs. 
Dallioiisan, 9 Wright, 372 ; and Hill vs. A/yers, lo 

Wright, 15. He was married, January 28lh, 1836, to 
Catherine Jameson, youngest daughter of Horatio Gates 
Jameson, Professor of Surgery in the Cincinnati Medical 
College and also in the Washington Medical College at 
Baltimore, Maryland ; she dying May 28th, 1850, he was 
again married in Northbridge, Massachusetts, in Septem- 
ber, 1854, to Mary Sophia Cadwell, who is still living. 



AULKNER, PETER, M. D., Physician, was born 
at Milton, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, Fel^- 
ruary 2lst, 1794. He springs from the same 
root as the eminent Charles J. Faulkner of West 
Virginia, though the connection between them is 
remote. At a very early age he removed with 
his parents to Steuben county. New York, and after receiv- 
ing a good English education, in a private school, entered 
his father's oflfice to study medicine wlien but fifteen years 
old. His father, who was a man of fine parts, a graduate 
of Princeton and a member of the New York Legislature, 
enjoyed a large practice, which enabled him to give his 
son great clinical advantages, so that, besides an unusual 
acquaintance for his years with the diagnosis and pathology 
of disease, the young man had, before the age of twenty- 
one, acquired a perfect theoretical and practical knowledge 
of anatomy, having with the otlrer two students in his 
father's oflice made seven entire dissections, while three is 
about the most students at the medical colleges usually 
perform. To this rigid practical training in anatomy may 
doubtless be ascribed Dr. Faulkner's great success in opera- 
tive surgery. So skilful was his hand, and so rapid, that 
when it became necessary in later years to amputate the 
leg of a son who refused to permit any one else to perform 
the operation, it is related that, having applied the tourniquet 
and given himself an instant to command his nerves, he 




\ 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPyEDIA. 



627 



turned, peiformed the operation and removed the young 
man from the table in the almost incredibly short space of 
four minutes and a half. At the age of twenty-one he 
assumed the entire charge of his father's connection for a 
year, and afterwards proceeded to Danville, Pennsylvania, 
where he remained another year. Later, he removed to 
Tioga county, Pennsylvania, and thence to Dauphin county, 
where he practised four years at the village of Halifax. 
Then he stayed a short time at Erie, subsequently settling 
for twenly-three years in Crawford county. In 1844, he 
removed to the city of Erie, where he has since lived. 
After practising thirty-one years on the allopathic system, 
and acquiring a reputation that gave significance to his 
apostacy, he took up the study of homoeopathy, and after 
testing it quietly for a year, with the best results, renounced 
the allopathic treatment in a public letter to the news- 
papers, which for a time drew down upon him the severest 
animadversions of the school he had deserted. But he has 
lived to see honiceopathy respected and to build up a suc- 
cessful practice. Already past fourscore years, he lives in 
the enjoyment of a clear mind and vigorous health. Im- 
paired sight, however, obliges him to relinquish surgical 
practice. He has been thrice married and is the father of 
three practising physicians. In 1815, he married Rebecca 
Merrick, of Maryland, who lived but three years; in 1825, 
Jane Moody, of Erie, who died in 1S63; and later, Mary 
B. Taggart, also of Erie. 

AZZAM, JOSEPH M., Lawyer and Financier, of 
Pittsburgh, President of the Franklin Savings 
Fund and Safe Deposit Company, was born in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 2d, 1842. 
His grandfather, William Gazzam, was a promi- 
nent English journalist of the Liberal schqol in 
the reign of George III.; and, having earnestly and per- 
sistently opposed the course of treatment adopted in the 
face of the American colonists, was compelled to leave 
England, and coming to this country settled in Pittsburgh. 
His parents were Hon. Edward D. Gazzam and Elizabeth 
Antoinette (Bulen) Gazzam ; the latter, married to the 
former in 1835, was the daughter of Constaiitine Antoine 
Bulen, the son of Baron de Bulen, who was the first Min- 
ister from Austria to this country. His education was 
acquired in the Western University of Pennsylvania, and 
upon the completion of his course of studies in that insti- 
tution he read law with Hon. David Reed. January 4th, 
1864, he wns admitted to the Allegheny county courts; 
in 1866, to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; in 1867, 
to the United States Circuit and District Courts ; and in 
1S70, to the Supreme Court of the United .States. For 
several years he represented the First Ward in the City 
Councils, evincing marked energy and aliility in the faith- 
ful fulfilment of his duties. He is President of the 
Fr.aiiklin Savinj^s Fund and Safe Deposit Company; also 





President of the United States, the American and the In- 
ternational Building and Loan Associations. He is, more- 
over, the Director for Pennsylvania of the United Slates 
Law Association. 



iJ^OWEN, FRANKLIN B., Lawyer and President 
of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, was 
born at Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
February gtli, 1836. Adopting the profession 
of the law, he was admitted to the bar of his 
native city in May, i860, and quickly acquired 
an extensive and lucrative practice, which he retained 
until his acceptance of the Presidency of the Philadelphia 
& Reading Railroad, in 1870. He was for some time 
District Attorney of Schuylkill county. On the appoint- 
ment of the Constitutional Convention, in 1872, he was 
elected as a Democratic Delegate at Large. He dis- 
charged the duties of this position with zeal and assiduity, 
and continued to take part ably in all the debates of the 
convention until May, 1873, when he resigned. While 
in the convention he was Chairman of the Committee on 
Revision and Adjustment, and a member of the Com- 
mittee on County, Township and Borough Officers. His 
speeches, delivered while in this body, were vigorous, 
clear and to the point, and were hardly excelled for their 
effectiveness by any made on that floor. In his capacity 
as chief of one of the most important railroads of the 
State, he has displayed great administrative ability, to 
which is owing, in no small measure, the growing pros- 
perity of that valuable road. 



fJNG, ALEXANDER, Merchant, was born in 
Milford, Donegal county, Ireland, in 1816. 
Attending various local private schools until 
seventeen years of age, he left his home, and 
about the year 1836 came to the United States. 
Landing in Baltimore, he got a situation as a 
cleric in a grocei^ house, remaining for three years. He 
then moved to Pittsburgh, where he joined his brother, 
Robert II. King, a merchant grocer. In two years he 
entered into partnership with John Watts, a resident of the 
town, under the firm-name of Walts & King, and they 
traded as general grocers. This connection lasted for 
three years, when, ujion the dissolution of the firm, he 
prosecuted the business alone, meeting with great success. 
In 1S43, he introduced soda-ash into this country, and 
subsequently furnished it in large quantities to various 
manufacturers of glass; that article he imported from 
England, and, by the exercise of energy and shrewdness 
combined, secured laige returns for his outlay. A few 
vears Inter, he conceived the idea of manufacturing soda- 
ash, and established for that purpose an extensive factory 




62S 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 




in Birmingham, Pittsburgh, associating with him, as part- 
ner, Thomas Graham, under the firm-name of King & 
Graham. Tliat enterprise, however, was not successful, 
as the arlicJe could not be produced here to sell with fair 
profit beside the imported ash, and the business was 
abandoned. Since this time, the partners have continued 
the importing of soda-ash, and their efforts have resulted 
prosperously. Although disinclined to take an active part 
in political movements, A. King is warmly interested in 
the welfare of the Democratic party, and supports its 
measures and nominations. He is one of the Trustees 
of the Gas Works, and is the largest holder in the Fort 
Pitt Bank Company. He has been twice married. 



'EIGES, PROFESSOR S. B., Scholar, Scientist, 
etc., was born at Dillsbur)', Pennsylvania, Feb- 
ruary l6th, 1837. In the local school he was 
scholar and teacher, until his sixteenth year, 
when he was placed in full charge of a school 
in Perry county. In 1S54, the first year of the 
County Superintendency in Pennsylvania, he became a 
teacher in Cumberland county ; and the next year was 
assigned, as Principal, to an academy previously presided 
over by the superintendent of that county. During several 
years, he spent the summer seasons at the Cumberland 
Valley Institute, Mechanicsburg, then in a highly flourish- 
ing condition, and for a few sessions was there engaged in 
the capacity of tutor, availing himself, meanwhile, of the 
opportunity to pursue a course of instruction in natural 
sciences, under the able tuition of Professor Dornbough. 
He was next chosen Professor of Mathematics in the Cum- 
berland County Normal School, and occupied that chair 
during three sessions. In 1861, he removed to York, and 
organized a very flourishing school at Cottage llill College, 
where he remained until commissioned Superintendent of 
the Schools of York county, June 4th, 1S63, to which 
position, three years subsequently, he was unanimously 
re-elected. After retiring he filled the chair of Professor 
of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in the York County 
Academy for three years, and for twelve months held the 
same post in the High School of York. On the com- 
pletion of the York Collegiate Institute, the Professorship 
of the same branches was tendered to, and accepted by 
him ; but the labor of both departments, in so extensive 
an establishment, proving too exacting, he, at the close of 
the first year, resigned the Professorship of Mathematics, 
retaining the chair of Natural Sciences, which he still ably 
fills. Much of his leisure time has been devoted to in- 
vestigations in vegetable and' animal physiology, and his 
wide-spread reputation for deep learning in those branches 
has naturally brought him into prominence among the 
circles interested therein. As a member of numerous 
agricultural and horticultural societie";, his opinion is 



sought, his views adopted, and his word as an authority 
unquestioned. He served for several years as Correspond- 
ing Secretaiy of the York County Agricultural Society 
of Pennsylvania, and is at present the President of the 
Pennsylvania P'ruit-Growers' Society. He has been fre- 
quently called upon to deliver lectures before Teachers' 
Conventions, in various sections of the State, and has held 
the position of Vice-President of the Teachers' Associa- 
tion of the State of Pennsylvania. By numerous scientific 
and literary societies of colleges and Slate normal schools, 
he has been elected and enrolletl in honorary membership. 




/ 



ROWN, DAVID PAUL, Lawyer, was born in 
Philadelphia, September 28th, 1795. His an- 
cestors, who belonged to the Society of Friends, 
came from England with Lord Berkley, upon 
the first settlement of New Jersey, and resided 
at Berkley, in Gloucester county. His father, 
Paul Crown, born in 1767, settled in Philadelphia in 1790, 
and there was married to Rhoda Thackara, a native of 
Salem. He was the only offspring of this union, and until 
1810, the date of his mother's decea.se, was educated under 
the instruction of private tutors ; he was then sent to 
Massachusetts, to the Rev. Dr. Daggett, with whom he 
completed a term of classical studies, ultimately graduating 
with the highest honors. While in his seventeenth year, 
at the suggestion of his father, he began to study under 
Dr. Benjamin Rush. Later, after the death of his precep- 
tor, he took up legal studies under William Rawle; and, 
in September, 1816, was admitted to practice in the Dis- 
trict Court and Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia ; 
and, soon after, in the Supreme Court of the .State, and in 
the District, Circuit, and Supreme Courts of the United 
States. In 1S19, he was appointed by the Washington 
Benevolent Society, Orator, to deliver the annual discourse 
upon the birthday of President Washington. In 1824, he 
was engaged by the Hon. Robert Porter, President Judge 
of the Common Pleas, in his defence upon an impeachment 
before the Senate of Pennsylvania; in 1832, in the cele- 
brated case of Mrs. Chapman, charged with the murder 
of her husband; and, on P'ebruary 22d, 1833, delivered 
the address in the Washington Square, upon the occasion 
of laying the corner-stone for the monument erected to 
the memory of General Washington. In the memorable 
case of William Holmes, tried for the murder of Francis 
Askin, he was of counsel, and his speech delivered on 
that occasion excited great admiration and much comnient 
throughout the State. He was engaged also in the case 
of"Farkin, tried for murder in Philadelphia; and in that 
of Morgan Hinchman, tried in the Supreme Court of 
Pennsylvania, in March, 1844; his able m.anagement of 
both winning him fresh laurels. Constantly occupied in 
his profession, he carried to successful terminations many 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.liDIA. 



629 




cases of the most important and delicate nature. As an 
author, he is widely known as the writer of The Forum; 
Serlorius, or The Roman Patriot, a tragedy ; T/ie Trial, 
and a farce called Love and Honor. He was married, 
Deceml)er 24th,' 1826, to Emmeline Catharine Handy, 
daughter of Sewell Handy, of the United States Navy, 
and granddaughter of James Hutchins, of the Eastern 
Shore of Maryland. He died in Philadelphia. 



'FRANAHAN, PERRY G., Farmer and Real 
Estate Operator, was born at Columbia, Her- 
kimer county. New York, July 12th, 1820. He 
is the son of Gibson J. Deverdorf, a farmer. 
Educated in the common schools of Herkimer 
county, he, in 1841, commenced clerking in dry 
goods at Erie, and, for four years, taught country school 
in Erie and Warren counties during the winters, and 
clerked during the summer. Then he went to farming in 
Erie county, which he still continues. In 185S, he re- 
moved to Union City, then a country " four corners," and 
purchased the well-known Miles' estate, laid it out in town 
lots, built houses, encouraged enterprises, etc., till now, 
the town, with its 3000 population, its railroad connections, 
banks, sliops, business blocks, is a monument to the in- 
dustry, liberality, public spirit, and success of its founder. 
He established the Casement Savings Bank at Union City, 
and is its President. He has been the Democratic candi- 
date for Assembly, but his party being in the minority in 
the county he was not elected. He has been Jury Com- 
missioner. On December 26th, 1S43, ^^ ^'''^^ married to 
Louisa M. Webber, of Columbus, Warren county, and has 
four daugliters, one of whom married a third cousin, E. G. 
Stranahan, and lives at Union. He is one of those men 
who, in an eminent degree, may be called "self-made." 
With no outfit except habits of industry and thrift, the 
only legacy left him by his father, he has become the pos- 
sessor of a large property and the builder of a prosperous 
town. Of genial manners, fine business talents, and great 
personal popularity, he has acquired large influence, and 
has made his mark in the county of Erie. As long as 
Union City remains, his activity in its settlement will be 
remembered. 



EIDELMAN, WILLIAM, Lawyer, Soldier, Edi- 
tor, and Politician, was born in Northampton 
county, Pennsylvania, January 17th, 1840. He 
received a thorough English and classical edu- 
cition at the New York Conference Seminary, 
and enjoyed the benefit of a short course of 
study at the Troy University. Having determined upon 
adopting the legal profession he pursued his studies to that 
end, from i860 to 1862, in which year he graduated from. 




the law department of the LTniversity of Albany. Then 
he enlisted in the service of his country, and was appointed 
Second Lieutenant in one of the companies of the 153d 
Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, which was attached 
to the Eleventh Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He 
followed the fortunes of this regiment for ten months, par- 
ticipating during that time in the battles of Chancellorsville 
and Gettysburg, as well as other engagements, and proving 
himself a gallant soldier and efficient officer. He was 
honorably mustered out of the United States service in 
August, 1863, and was admitted to practice at the bar, in 
Pennsylvania, in November of the same year. After pass- 
ing over two years in a law office in New York city, he 
returned to his native county, and soon received the ap- 
pointment of Deputy Sheriff, holding it until 1867. For 
a short time he occupied the editorial chair of the N'ort/i- 
ampton Democrat, and exhibited marked journalistic 
ability. In i86g, he resumed the practice of law, and 
devoting his entire time and attention to its details quickly 
acquired not only a large and lucrative connection, but 
political prominence which, in 1871, resulted in his elec- 
tion to the office of District Attorney of Northampton 
county, for the term of three years. 



EISE, CAPTAIN FRANK, Merchant, Soldier, 
Lawyer, etc., Prothonotary of the Courts of 
York county, Pennsylvania, was born in Paradise 
township, in that county. May 22d, 1S37. His 
father, George Geise, and mother, Elizabeth 
(Riley), were also both natives of the same 
Receiving his education at the York County 
Academy and the Cumberland Valley Institute, at Me- 
chanicsburg, Pennsylvania, when about eighteen, he re- 
turned to York county, and for two years engaged in 
teaching school. He then removed to Baltimore and 
remained in mercantile life until 1861, when he entered 
as a private the 87th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers, and served with that organization for two and a half 
yea^i-s, earning his promotions and gaining the position, 
upon the non-commissioned staff, of Sergeant-Major. He 
obtained his discharge from that regiment in order to 
accept a commission as Second Lieutenant in the 32d 
United States Colored Troops, and joined his new com- 
mand at Camp William Penn, Philadelphia, being stationed 
there for about six months, serving upon the garrison staff. 
Leaving Philadelphia for active duty in the field, he was 
intercepted by an order detailing him as ProvoLit Marshal 
at Hilton Head and Charleston, South Carolina. In this 
trying position, and as Assistant Provost Marshal General 
of the Department of the South, he served under the 
administrations of Generals Foster, Gilmore, and Sickles, 
until his muster out of service, in 1865, being, in the 
meantime, promoted to First Lieutenant, and transferred 




county. 



6.10 



BIOGRAPHICAL E^XYCLOP.EDIA. 




to the 54lh United States Veteran Volunteers. He was 
also subsequently recommended for promotion to a cap- 
taincy, but never was mustered in that rank, his term of 
service having expired. After leaving the United States 
Army he was appointed to a clerkship in the Interior 
Department, Washington, and while thus employed attended 
law lectures at Columliia College, graduated therefrom 
in 1869, and was admitted to practice in the courts of the 
District of Columbia. Returning to York in the same year, 
he met with much success at the bar until 1872, when he 
was elected to the position of ProthonOtaiy for the county. 

4 ^^^ 

fl AIRD, HON. THOMAS H., was born in Wash- 
ington, Pennsylvania, November 15th, 1787. 
His grandfather, Major John Baird, an officer in 
the British army, served under General Brad- 
dock; was present at the defeat of that brave but 
unfortunate soldier, July gth, 1755; and was 
afterwards engaged under General Forbes in the expedition 
of 1758, against Fort Duquesne, losing his life in the 
ambush that resulted in the capture of General Grant and 
the defeat of his enterprise. Major Baird's son, Dr. Ab- 
salom Baird, was born in Philadelphia, probably; was a 
Surgeon in the Continental Army during the Revolution, 
enjoying the intimate friendship of many of its most dis- 
tinguished officers ; afterwards practised his profession for 
some years at Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, where he 
married Susan Brown ; and removed subsequently to Wash- 
ington, Pennsylvania, where he attained the distinction of 
being the most able physician and surgeon of his time in 
western Pennsylvania. He was eminent also for his classi- 
cal, scientific and litei-ary attainments, his early education 
having been pursued at the famous Log College on the 
Neshamony, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. At the time 
of Dr. Baird's death, his son Thomas, then about eighteen 
years of age, was a student in the classical school of David 
Johnston, in Brooke county, Virginia. The embarrassed 
condition of his father's estate compelled him to leave 
school, and he commenced the study of law in the office of 
Joseph Pentecost, at Washington, where he was admitted to 
the bar in March, iSoS, before completing his twenty-first 
year. His success in the rapid attainment of a large and 
remunerative practice was remarkable at a bar which 
boasted such practitioners as James Ross, Henry Baldwin, 
Parker Campbell, Philip Dodridge and other eminent 
lawyers of that day. In Octffber, 1818, he was appointed, 
by Governor Findlay, President Judge of the newly formed 
District (the Fourteenth) composed of the counties of 
Washington, Fayette, Greene and Somerset — the last was 
taken off in 1824 to form part of the Sixteenth District. In 
December, 1837, he resigned his seat on the bench, which 
he had filled with great honor and rare ability for more 
than nineteen years. Upon resigning his judgeship he 



fenr.oved to Pittsburgh and resumed the practice of the law, 
being admitted to the bar of that city January 2d, 1838. 
After ten or twelve years of continuous professional labors 
he withdrew from active life to the retirement of his farm, 
near Monongahela City, Washington county, Pennsylvania, 
He did not, however, lose his interest in public affairs, and 
was a frequent contributor to the newspapers upon the 
topics that were from time to time agitating the public mind. 
In 1854, he was the candidate of the Native American 
party for Judge of the Supreme Court, Judge Black, the 
Democratic nominee, being his successful competitor. As 
a profound, discriminating, acute and ready lawyer. Judge 
Baird had few equals in the State, and probably no supe- 
rior. His opinions when on the bench always commanded 
the high respect of the Supreme Court, and the reversal of 
any of his decisions was extremely rare. In his judicial 
career perhaps the most prominent event was his striking 
from the roll of the Fayette county bar, in 1835, ^ majority 
of the attorneys. This led to his impeachment before the 
Legislature, by which tribunal he was, upon trial, honorably 
acquitted. The case will be found in the fifth volume of 
J^iizu/^s Reports, and the whole correspondence and pro- 
ceedings are detailed in Hazard^ s Register of Pennsylvania, 
vol. XV, pp. 113, 245. When practising as an attorney, it 
seemed impossible for the most acute practitioner to catch 
him unawares. So thorough and extensive had been his 
reading, so retentive was his memory and-so quick was his 
reasoning faculty, that his conclusions appeared to come 
like intuitions, and were almost invariably correct. Among 
the most able and searching productions of the Presidential 
campaign of 1S27— '28 was a pamphlet address from a 
county meeting to the people of W^ashington county, against 
Jackson, written by him. An argument from his pen against 
Sabbath Mails and Sabbath Desecration in General was 
published in pamphlet form and widely circulated. His 
charges to the Grand Jury were frequently published. His 
series of papers on the slavery question, over the signature 
"Alethes," in the Pittsburgh Commercial Journal, in 1851, 
attracted much attention on account of their marked ability. 
As a friend of internal improvements and commercial enter- 
prise he was among the foremost men of his time, if not 
occasionally in advance of his time. As one of the original 
suggesters and active promoters of the National Road, of 
the Monongahela Navigation Improvement, of the modern 
method of coal transportation by tow-boats and barges, of 
the construction of the Chartiers' Valley Railroad — the fii>t 
survey for which was made largely, if not entirely, at his 
expense — as President of a bank and builder of a mill in 
his native town, and in numerous other ways, he gave con- 
stant evidence of his active and enlightened puljlic spirit. 
Though deprived of the advantages of a thorough academi- 
cal course of instruction in early life, his thirst for knowl- 
edge and his facility in its acquisition soon carried him far 
in advance of the great majority of those who have com- 
pleted the ordinary college curriculum. His attainments 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.tDIA. 



63' 



in classical learning were of a high order; philological 
studies were to hinr a virtual recreation; and the reading 
of the Scriptures in the original tongues was with him a 
life-long habit and one of his greatest enjoyments. One of 
the occupations of his later years was rendering the Psalms 
of David from the original Hebrew into a metrical English 
version, and he advanced as far as the Forty-second Psalm. 
In history and general literature his reading was unusually 
extensive ; his power of memory was remarkable, and his 
taste highly cultivated. In person he was tall, slender and 
slightly stoo]:)ed — always appearing to be in a deep study, 
with his eyes fi.xed on the ground. On this account, when 
walking on the street, he seemed to be unsocial. But on 
meeting friends and acquaintances he was free, easy and 
communicative, possessing a fund of information which he 
freely imparted to others. His friends were glad to visit 
him and enjoy his conversation, because of his fine literary 
tastes and his large attainments in every branch of knowl- 
edge. His sense of right and wrong was very acute, and 
.IS a judge his sole object was the administration of justice. 
He was somewhat impulsive and irascible, which betrayed 
him sometimes into speaking unadvisedly. But when on 
reflection he saw his error, no man was more ready to make 
amends. Being conscious of uprightness in all his conduct, 
he never shunned — nay, even courted — the most rigid 
scrutiny. His bitterest enemies at the bar accorded to him 
integrity and honesty of purpose and an anxious desire to do 
right. He possessed a remarkably kind disposition and 
was liberal even to a fault. His latest professional act was 
the prosecution before the Court of Claims at Washington 
of a claim for compensation for tlie services rendered by his 
father, Dr. Baird, during the Revnlutionaiy War. For the 
manner in which he conducted this case, and for his lucid 
and forcilile argument, he was highly complimented at the 
time by many of the distinguished lawyers then in Wash- 
ington. A decision in his favor was rendered by the court, 
and he was immediately and urgently solicited by a number 
of similar claimants to conduct their cases for them, but his 
impaired health compelled him to decline. He was 
endowed by nature with rare intellectual gifts, and dis- 
tinguished for his profound legal attainments, his diversified 
and highly cultivated literary taste, his kindness of heart 
and his spotless integrity. But his crowning grace was a 
deep, yet simple, and unaffected piety, marked by rare 
humility, tender conscientiousness and childlike faith. For 
some years preceding his death he was a great sufferer, but 
endured the severest pain with a patience that was truly 
remarkable in one of his nervous temperament. His last 
illness, however, was brief; but the summons, though sud- 
den, came to one who had long been wailing for its coming, 
and almost his last whispered utterance was the expression 
of his trust in a present Saviour. He died at the residence 
of his son-in law, Charles McKnight, in Allegheny City, 
November 22d, 1S66, having cnmpleled his seventy-ninth 
year seven days before ; and liis remains were interred, 




November 25th, in the cemetery at Washington, Pennsylva- 
nia, whither they were followed by a large concourse of 
those in thejnidst of whom he had spent his most active 
years, and by whom he had been so long revered and loved. 



UIDEKOPER, GENERAL HENRY S., Soldier 
and Manufacturer, was born in Meadville, Penn- 
sylvania, July 17th, 1S39. His parents were 
both natives of Pennsylvania, his mother being 
the daughter of Judge Shipman, from Lancaster 
county, and his father, born in Meadville, coming 
of ancesti-y originally from Amsterdam, Holland. They 
were fully able to afford him the means of obtaining a 
thorough education, and after completing his preliminary 
studies in the schools of the neighborhood he entered 
Harvard College, at Cambridge, in 1858, and graduated 
from that institution with honor in the year 1862. The 
South w.as then in rebellion against the National Govern- 
ment, and with the patriotism that seems to have been a 
marked, family characteristic he immediately entered the 
army in support of the Union. He enlisted on August 
28th, 1862, and was mustered in at Harrisburg, as Captain 
of 'Company K, in the 150th Regiment of Pennsylvania 
Volunteers. Almost immediately he was selected for the 
position of Lieutenant-Colonel, and served so efficiently 
t!iat upon the occurrence of a vacancy he was immediately 
promoted to a full Colonelcy. He proved his gallantry and 
ability to command on numerous well-fought fields, among 
others in the battles of Pollock's Mill, Chancellorsville and 
Gettysburg ; at the latter place he had the misfortune to lose 
his right arm, and his empty sleeve, as well as history, bear 
testimony to the fact that he was no holiday soldier. At 
Gettysburg, too, while in hospital, he was captured and 
held for a short time as a ]irisoner of war. The autumn 
succeeding that of 1863, unfit for field duty, but slill desiring 
to serve his country in some capacity during its need, he 
applied for assignment to duty. The estimation in which 
his ability was held by the highest authority in the land is 
evidenced in the following note : 

Adjutant- General United States Army: 

Please grant such requests as Colonel Iluidekoper may 
make. Yours truly, A. Lincoln. 

He was finally compelled to resign by reason of prostra- 
tion consequent upon his wounds, and he was honorably 
discharged from the United Slates service on March 6th, 
1864. On his return to his home in Meadville, and after 
his restoration to health, his active h.ibits would not permit 
him to be content with a life of inactivity. He engaged 
with two brothers under the firm-title of H. S. & F. W. 
Huidekoper, in the erection of a factory for the production 
of woollen goods. The enterprise has proved most .suc- 
cessful, the establishment now furnishing employment for 



632 



EIOGRAnilCAL E?^CYCLOP^DIA. 



seventy-five hands and sliipping to the New York market 
goods to the amount of §200,000 per annum. Governor 
Geary, fully appreciating the military cliaracler of Colonel 
Huidekoper, appointed him in 1S71 to the command of the 
Twentieth Division of the Pennsylvania National Guard, 
and in 1874 he was placed, as Acting Major-General, in 
charge of the Seventh Division National Guard of Penn- 
sylvania. Since his return from the army he has held 
entirely aloof from active participation in political move- 
ments, though frequently solicited to accept public position. 
He was married, in 18O4, to Emma G., daughter of I. W. 
Evans, of Philadelphia. 



ATTER.SON, HON. T. H. BAIRD, Lawyer, was 
liorn in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 6tli, 1844. 
His parents were Joseph N. Patterson and Mary 
(Baird) Patterson, daughter of the late Hon. T. 
H. Baird. He is a descendant of Revs. Joseph 
and Robert Patterson, the pioneers of the Bible 
Society and book publishing interests of western Pennsyl- 
vania, After completing the usual course of studies pur- 
sued in Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Penn.sylvania, he 
graduated from that institution in 1864. He then began 
the study of law with his grandfather, Judge Baird, and 
George Shives, Jr., of Pittsburgh, and was admitted to the 
bar of Allegheny county September 7th, 1867. Engaging 
in practice in the above mentioned city, he rapidly acquired 
an extensive and remunerative clientage, which, since that 
lime, has monopolized the major portion of his time and 
attention. During the war of the Rebellion, he served as 
a private soldier in the 204th Regiment of Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, and was favorably noticed for his zeal and 
efficiency. He was elected from the Twenty-third Sena- 
torial District to the Constitutional Convention of 1872— 
'73, and served nbly as a member of the Committees on 
Legislation, and Railroads and Canals; it is a noteworthy 
fact that, although one of the youngest members of this 
convention, he was also one of the most active and influ- 
ential, and participated with unusual earnestness and capa- 
bility in all measures of an important character. 



[JARVEY, HON. EDWARD, Lawyer, was born, 
January 17th, 1844, in Doylestown, Pennsyl- 
vania, where his father, George F. Harvey, 
M. D., was a leading physician. Tiis early 
education was acquired in the private school 
presided over by Rev. S. M. Hamiel, of Law- 
renceville, New Jersey. After due preparation he entered 
the College of New Jersey, in i860, and graduated there- 
from in 1864. Subsequently, he entered upon a course 
of legal studies under the guidance of Hon. George Lee, 
of Doylestown, and was admitted to the bar in September, 





1865. Commencing the active practice of his profession in 
AUentown, Lehigh county, in l866, his well-directed efforts 
were soon crowned with the success which they inerited. 
Entering early into the political arena, he has participated 
prominently in all the prevalent cotemporary movements 
and struggles of the old Democracy in his native State, and 
has been noted as a vigorous and talented leader. Pjo- 
fessionally, he is a shrewd and learned practitioner, and 
while arguing before the court and jury his concise and 
logical reasoning is used with marked effect. In 1872, he 
was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, 
and while acting in that capacity served on the Committees 
on Private Corporations, Foreign and Domestic, other than 
Railroads, Canals, and Religious and Charitable Corpora- 
tions and Societies. 



ROOKS, ED\VARD, Principal of the Slate Nor- 
mal School, Millersville, Pennsylvania, was born 
in the year 1831, at Stony Point, New York. 
His father, John J. Brooks, a mechanic, and his 
mother, Caroline A. (Rose), were both natives 
of the same place. His educational advantages 
were fair, and he profited by them to the utmost, complet- 
ing his scholastic learning at the Liberty Normal School 
of New York. He adopted teaching as his profession 
when but eighteen years of age, and in it has expended the 
energies of his life, seeking by every means to promote the 
advancement of educational systems. He h.as held the 
position of Professor of Mathematics in the University of 
Northern Pennsylvania ; is favorably known as a lecturer 
at teachers' institutes ; is President of the State Teachers' 
Association, and is in fact prominent in every movement 
of an educational nature. He has no aspirations towards 
public position or official .station, and has no connection 
with any corporations, companies or other bodies, except 
with the Board of Trustees of the State Normal School, of 
which he is the honored and highly efficient Piincipal. 
He was married, November 3d, 1855, to Maria, daughter 
of Colonel John W. Dean, who, when a boy, was a private 
in the War of 1812, and who afterwards became a colonel 
of cavaliy and a leading Democratic politician of his sec- 
tion. Professor Brooks has rendered valuable service in 
the cause of public education. 



ODGSON, WILLLVM H., Journalist, was born 
in Doylestown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, Oc- 
tober 15th, 1829. His father, John Hodgson, a 
printer, and his mother's family, the Halls, were 
old and well-known residents of this section of 
the State. His education was acquired in the 
common schools of his native place, and in 1844 he entered 
a printing-office, where he was employed until his father 




lilOGRAril K.'AL ENCVCLOr.'EDlA. 



(>33 



purchased the Jeffersotiian. He then became attached to 
the office of that journal, ami, after mastering all the prac- 
tical details involved in the printing business, was appointed 
Manager. In this capacity he continued to serve with in- 
dustry and ability until 1867, when he became by purchase 
the sole owner of the entire establishment. Under his 
supervision and control (he paper rapidly attained still 
greater prestige and popularity, and within a short space 
of time grew to be one of the best-edited and most influ- 
ential county organs in the State. The Daily Local News 
was originated and established in November, 1S72, and 
since that d.ate has met with great success, having a wide 
circulation and being considered a valuable and enterpris- 
ing journal. While warmly and loyally interested in all 
matters concerning the welfare of his country, he is neither 
an office-holder nor seeker, occupying himself solely in 
seeking to render his papers the vehicles of information 
and culture. 



M. Allison, he originated and established the Altoona 
Tribtine. This journal, the first number appearing January 
1st, 1856, was published as a weekly newspaper, with 
gratifying success. In May, 1S58, William M. Allison' 
disposed of his interest to Henry Clay Dern. In April, 
1873, McCrum & Dern began the publication of a six- 
column daily edition, which they have since continued 
with well-directed energy and signal success. The weekly 
paper has a larger circulation than is possessed by any 
other journal of the same stamp in central Pennsylvania, 
circulating extensively throughout the lumber, coal and 
iron regions. Politically, the Tribtine is independent, al- 
though invariably containing a full and satisfactory rfcume 
of all important political events. The jobbing business of 
the office is very large and lucrative, and is of more real 
importance, financially considered, than the newspaper 
publications. 




?-E\NEDV, BEiN-JAMIN FRANKLIN, Protho- 
notary of tlie District Court and Court of Com- 
mon Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 
was born near Pittsburgh, January 19th, 1841. 
His father, a farmer, sent him to the country 
school-house. During the late war he enlisted 
and served three years in the Pennsylvania Reserves ; was 
lal<en prisoner and confined in Libby Prison for four 
months. At the close of the war he became a clerk in the 
Prothonotary's office at Pittsburgh, and continued in that 
capacity fir about six years, reading law the wdiile with 
Major A. M. Brown. He was admitted to the bar early in 
1S70, practised law for three years, and was elected Protho- 
notary of the District Court and Court of Common Pleas 
of Allegheny County in 1S73, In p.ilitics, he has always 
been a Republican. He takes an active interest in military 
affairs, and is an officer on the stafTof the commandant of 
the Fifth Division, Pennsylvania .Slate Mililia, with the 
rank of Major. 



I cCRUM, EPHRAIM B., Jourmlist, was born in 
Juniata county, Pennsylvania, October 71h, 1833. 
He was educated in his native county, and while 
in his fifteenth year was apprenticed to learn the 
printing business with Hon. A. K. McCIure, pro- 
prietor of the Juniata Seiilinel. He remained 
in the office as journeyman even after the purchase of the 
Sentinel by Colonel John J, Patterson, now United States 
.Senator, in the spring of 1852. In the commencement of 
1S52, he, in conjunction with A. J. Greer, bought the 
journal, and it was published by Greer & McCrum until 
November, 1855, vvhen, disposing of his interest in its 
management to his partner, E. B. McCrum removed to 
Altoona, Pennsylvania. Here, in conjunction with William 
80 





WING, NATHANIEL, Lawyer and Judge, was 
born in P'ayette county, Pennsylvania, July 19th, 
1794- His father, William Ewing, of Cecil 
county, Maryland, was a brother of the Rev. 
John Ewing, D. D., of Philadelphia. His edu- 
cation he received at Washington College, Penn- 
sylvania, where he graduated with first honors in 1812. 
For about a year he taught a classical school in Newark, 
Delaware; then studied law under Thomas McGiffin, of 
Washington, Pennsylvania, and was there admitted to the 
bar in 1S16. In 1817, he settled as a lawyer in Union- 
town, Fayette county, where he spent the remainder of his 
life. From 1S38 to 1S48 he was Judge of the Fourteenth 
Judicial District, composed of Wa.shington, Fayette and 
Greene counties, and was considered by Judges of the 
Supreine Court the best Common Pleas Judge in the State. 
He was for many years an elder in the Presbyterian Church, 
and was several times a member of the General Assembly 
of that denomination. Mainly by his energy and personal 
influence the Fayette County Railroad (from Connellsville 
to Uniontown) w.as built. In 1822, he married Jane, daughter 
of the late Judge Kennedy, of the Supreme Court of Penn- 
sylvania; she died in 1827, and in 1830 he was united to 
Anne, daughter of the Rev. David Denny, of Chambers- 
burg, Pennsylvania. He died of chronic asthma, Februaiy 
8lh, 1S74. 

/ -~ ^ 

OTTHOLD, ISAAC NEWTON, Actor, Author 
and Manager, was born in Richmond, Virgiiii.n, 
February 12th, 1840, and is of German extrac- 
tion. When eleven years of age, he was sent to 
New York city, where he received an ordinaiy 
but useful education. At thirteen, he entered 
mercantile pursuits, and from 1S58 to i86o prosecuted 
business on his own responsibility. In May, 1S61, he 




634 



EIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP/EDIA. 



sively-copied articles on points in the early history of the 
country. A history, entitled Gist Settlements, embracing 
an account of Washington's and Braddock's expedition to 
western Pennsylvania in I753-'S4-'5S, attracted great at- 
tention. He has many valuable manuscripts relating to 
western Pennsylvania and its contiguities, the compilation 
of many years. 



enlisted as a private in the famous Tammany (42d New labors, publishing various valuable, interesting and cxten 

York) Regiment, and, July 22d of the same year, was 

commissioned Captain of Company D, commanding until 

after the actions at Yorktown and West Point, in May, 

1862 ; subsequently, he was greatly enfeebled by ill health, 

and, on the expiring of a sick-leave, was, in the following 

July, appointed Adjutant of the Convalescent Corps on the 

.Staff of Brigadier-General Morris, commanding the post. 

Early in 1862, he resigned and returned to New York city, 

where, in the spring of 1864, he studied for the stage with 

Professor Hoss, the celebrated elocutionist, until the fall. 

He then visited London, England, where he continued his 

studies, and. May 19th, 1865, made his rt'r/.a/ as Romeo on 

the boards of the Drury Lane Theatre. On his return to 

New York, in 1866, he was engaged at the Winter Garden 

Tlieatre, with Edwin Booth, whose chief support he was 

until the destruction of the house by fire, on March 23d, 

1867. He then travelled professionally through the South, 

playing starring engagements; January, 1868, he settled in 

Cincinnati, as leading man at Wood's Theatre, until 1870, 

when he joined the old Opera House in Pittsburgh, in the 

same capacity; in 1872, in connection with John A. Ellsler, 

he became Assistant Manager, and so remains. His early 

inclination for the st.age owed its origin to his attendance at 

the theatre one evening while Forrest was enacting the role 

of Damon, rie has written several original dramas and 

comedies, and skilfully adapted many others from the 

French and German. 





O2. -J 

EECII, JAMES, Lawyer, was born in Fayette 

county, Pennsylvania, September 18th, 1S08. 
His father was a native of the same county; his 
grandfather was one of three brothers who emi- 
grated from Ireland, two settling in the Western 
States. He was educated at Jefferson College, 
graduating therefrom in 1S28; studied law in Uniontown 
under the late Judge James Todd, and was admitted to the 
bar in October, 1831. Locating in Pittsburgh, in 1834,116 
commenced practice, but after four years was obliged lo 
return to F.ayette county, where he combined farming with 
the law until 1862, when he returned to Pittsburgh and 
continued his professional pursuits for ten j'cars. He then 
retired to his farm at Elmsworth, near Allegheny Ci:y, 
where he now lives. He was appointed by Governor Cur- 
tin, at the beginning of the Civil War, Paymaster of the 
Pennsylvania Reserves, and held the position for about 
four months. Nominated for Judge of the Supreme Court 
in 1S57, he was defeated by the Democratic nominees, 
Judges Strong and Thompson. He is an author of con- 
siderable reputation, his work, A History of Mason and 
Dixon'' s Line, gaining him prominence; it evinces great 
labor and research, and has been quoted in argument in 
Supreme Court on account of its accuracy. Since his re- 
tirement from practice he has devoted his time to literary 



!\HNESTOCK, B. L., Manufacturing Druggist, 
was born in Baltimore, Mai-yland, December 
i6lh, 1810. His father, Heniy Fahnestock, and 
his grandfather, Benjamin Fahnestock, were born 
in this State, where the name is familiar; it is 
also known more or less all over the Union. He 
received but little early education, but has been an earnest 
student in the great school of business experience. He is 
in fact one of the self-made men of the State. At nineteen, 
he entered the employ of his cousin, B. A. Fahnestock, 
who was about to engage in the wholesale drug business at 
Pittsburgh, and remained with him as a clerk for about 
five years, when his business qualifications were acknowl- 
edged by his admission into partnership, and the firm-name 
of B. A. Fahnestock & Co. became known to western Penn- 
sylvania. Their establishment was destroyed by fire in 
1847, but their enterprise caused it to be rebuilt almost in 
the same year. Ten years later, the firm of B. A. Fahne- 
stock & Co. was dissolved, and the junior partner bought 
the interest of Fleming Brothers, engaged in the same busi- 
ness. He continued in this for a short time, and then 
admitted his son, Benjamin S. Fahnestock, as a partner. 
Thus the business prospered until, in the spring of 1S67, 
Benjamin F. Vandevort, a son-in-law, was admitted iino 
the firm. They erected the white lead works on Liberty 
street, known as the Iron City White Lead Works, which 
were destroyed by fire May 12th, 1872, and which were 
rebuilt at Dallas Station, on the Pennsylvania Railroad. 
The business is now one of the largest and most prosperous 
of the kind in the country. 



LINE, GEORGE M., Lawyer, was born in the 
city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, October 20th, 
1819. He is the son of J. Peter Kline and his wife 
Susanna (Messersmith), and of German stock on 
both sides. His ancestors were among the early 
settlers of Lancaster. Educated in Lancaster, 
after leaving school he remained for several years in the 
store of his uncles, Kline & McCIure. He then entered 
the law office of the late Reah Frazer, and was admitted 
to practice in the different courts of Lancaster county in 
1S42. During the administration of Governor Shunk, he 
was appomted to prosecute the pleas in the Mayor's Court, 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 



63s 




receiving his several commissions from Attorneys-General 
Hon. John K. Kane and Hon. John M. Read. He has 
held no other public position, preferring to keep strictly 
within the line of his practice, which is very extensive. 
His great abilities, profound knowledge of the law, and 
high character render him a leader at the Lancaster bar. 



ALKER, HON. JOHN H., Lawyer and Senator, 
was born in East Pennsboro' township, Cumber- 
land county, Pennsylvania, February glh, 1800. 
His education was thorough, and after prelimi- 
nary instruction received from the best sources of 
the time and neighborhood, he entered Washing- 
ton College and completing the full coui-se graduated with 
honor in the class of 1S22. He then studied law and was 
admitted to the bar November 5th, 1823, at once com- 
mencing practice and soon acquiring a large connection. 
In politics he early rose into prominence and gained pre- 
ferment. He represented Erie county in the House of 
Representatives of Pennsylvania from 1832 to 1836; and 
was a State Senator from the same district for the sessions 
of i850-'5l and 1852. In 1872, he was elected, .is Repub- 
lican Delegate at Large, to the Constitutional Convention 
of Pennsylvania, held in Philadelphia during 1872-73, and 
was a most useful and influential member of that body, in 
which he was Chairman of the Committee on " Cities and 
City Charters," and also a member of the Committee on 
" Executive Departments." On the death of the President, 
Hon. William M. Meredith, he w.as unanimously chosen 
his successor, at an election held on September 1 6th, 1S73. 




/ 



>ENNY, MAJOR EBENEZER, first Mayor of 
Pittsburgh, was born in Carlisle, Cumberland 
county, Pennsylvania, March I ith, 1761, and was 
the eldest child of William and Agnes (Parker) 
Denny. His father and uncle, Walter Denny, 
removed from Chester county to Cumberland 
county in 1745, the latter settling near Carlisle, where he 
was tlie possessor of a large tract of land; subsequently, he 
raised a company of volunteers for the Revolutionary con- 
flict, and was killed at Crooked Billet; at this place also 
his son was taken prisoner; another son, Rev. David Denny, 
was for many years Pastor of the Presbyterian Church at 
Chambersburg. William Denny resided in Carlisle, and 
was the fiist Coroner west of the Susquehanna, also a Com- 
missary in the Revolutionary Army. His mother, a woman 
of unusual intelligence and energy, was the daughter of 
John Parker, and the granddaughter of Richard Parker, who, 
as early as 1730, owned lands on the Cannadagwinnet, near 
Carlisle, which have remained in the possession of the 
family for three generations; nearly all the male Parkers 



were participants in the struggle against the mother country, 
and throughout its progress were noted for their loyalty and 
heroism. At the age of thirteen, Ebenezer was employed 
as a bearer of despatches to the commandant at Fort Pitt, 
and, though a mere lad, .safely accomplished his journey 
over the AUeghenies, through a wilderness teeming with 
savage foes. He was afterward employed in his father's 
store in Carlisle until he moved to Philadelphia, where he 
shipped as a volunteer in a vessel bearing a letter of 
marque and reprisal and bound for the West Indies. While 
acting in this capacity, for fidelity and valor he was pro- 
moted to the command of the quarter-deck. Being ten- 
dered the position of Supercargo for a second voyage, he 
decided to accept the offer, but, after crossing the Susque- 
hanna en route to Philadelphia, received and accepted a 
commission of Ensign in the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment. 
He participated in the action near Williamsburg, Viiginia, 
where, his Captain and Lieutenant having been disabled at 
the first fire, the command devolved upon him. On the 
night of October 14th, he was in the advance at the siege 
of York, and won such merited distinction that he was se- 
lected to plant the first American flag on the British parapet. 
He afterward served in the Carolinas, under General St. 
Clair, and at Charleston during its investment, and also 
after its evacuation. Later he became Adjutant to Harmer, 
and Aide-de-Camp to St. Clair, and was repeatedly selected 
as the bearer of important despatches where courage, shrewd- 
ness and daring were required. After his resignation, he 
resided in Bedford counLy, which he represented in the 
Convention of 1777, which formed the first constitution 
of Pennsylvania. In 1794, he was commissioned Captain, 
and commanded the expedition to Le Breuf. In i795-'96, 
he resided at his farm and mill near Pittsburgh, and was 
there nominated for the State Legislature and defeated, 
but in the following year, and by an almost unanimous 
vote, was elected Commissioner of the county. In 1803, 
he was Treasurer of Allegheny County, his name appearing 
first on the list of County Treasurers, and again, in 1S08, 
filled that position. In 1804, he was appointed a Director 
of the Branch of the Bank of Pennsylvania, established in 
that year at Pittsburgh, and which was the first institution 
of that nature west of the mountains. When this was 
merged into the oflice of the Bank of the United States he 
retained his Directorship, and was one of the few solvent 
men during the panic of 1819. For several successive 
years he obtained from the War Department the contracts 
for the supply of rations for the troops at Fort Fayette and 
Presque Isle, and filled them satisfactorily while prosecuting 
also his mercantile and commission business in Philadelphia, 
on Market street. During the War of 1812, he successfully 
met the extraordinaiy demands upon him, and was ap- 
pointed to furnish supplies to the North-Western Army in 
addition to his own posts in Pennsylvania. At the close 
of the war he received a complimentary letter from General 
Harrison, in which he was cordially thanked for his valu- 



636 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



able promptness, energy and ability. Whert Pittsburgh was 
incorporated by act of Legislature, March 18th, 1816, he 
was elected the fii-st Mayor, and, at the expiration of his 
first term, declined a re-election. He was Director in the 
Branch of the Bank of the United States, and afterward of 
the Bank of Pittsburgh, in which he was a large stock- 
holder. While visiting Niagara Falls, in the summer of 
1S22, he was attacked by a sudden illness, and with diffi- 
culty reached his home, where he died July 21st, in the 
sixtytirst year of his age. He was married, July 1st, 1793, 
to Nancy Wilkins, daughter of John Wilkins, Sr., formerly 
of Carlisle, who participated as a Captain in the battle of 
the Brandywine, sister of Quartermaster-General John Wil- 
kins, Jr., Charles Wilkins, of Lexington, Kentucky, and 
Hon. William Wilkins, late of Homewood; she died May 
1st, 1S06, leaving three sons, Harmer, William and St. 
Clair, and also two daughters. 



DDISON, WILLIAM, Physician and Lawyer, 
was born at Washington, Pennsylvania, Decem- 
ber 28th, iSoi. After receiving a thorough 
English and classical education in the best 
schools uf the country, he studied law in the town 
of his nativity, and attained to a full knowledge 
of the theory and practice of his profession. He then vis- 
ited Europe, and, while in Paris, pursued a course of 
medical studies under the most celebrated authorities of 
that city. He returned to the United States a highly edu- 
cated Physician as well as a Lawyer of rare ability. He 
died March 26th, 1862. 




■^S. 




||URGWIN, HILL, Lawyer, was born at the Her- 
mitage, the country seat of the Burgvvin family, 
near Wilmington, North Carolina, February 21st, 
1825. The Hermitage was built at a period con- 
siderably anterior to the Revolution, and during 
many generations was the home of the Burgwins. 
His father, George Burgwin, was a Southern planter, and 
the family is of honorable English descent. He received 
his education at the University of North Carolina, but 
through ill health did not graduate from that institution. 
Subsequently, he entered upon a course of legal studies 
under the able guidance of Hon. Thomas S. Ash, Repre 
sentative from his native Slate, and remained with him for 
a period of five years. Later, under the instruction of Hon. 
Frederick Nash, late Chief Justice of North Carolina, he 
finished his studies, and, in 1847, was admitted to the bar 
by the Supreme Court. Having married a lady of Pitts- 
burgh, in 1849, ^^ removed to that city in 1851, and in the 
following year was admitted to practice at its bar. Since 
that date, he has secured a very remunerative clientage, 
and has won an enviable reputation. Although disinclined 




bar in iS't 



to mingle in political warfare, he is warmly interested in 
all public measures touching the welfare of his adopted 
State, and is a valued member of City Councils, having 
been elected as a Conservative from a Republican con- 
stituency. 

-^ "^^^■ 

(^Jl cCaNDLESS, HON. WILSON, Lawyer, Judge, 
was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 19th, 
1810. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, though 
his parents were natives of the United Stales ; 
was educated at the Western University of Penn- 
sylvania ; studied law and was admitted to the 
He gained great reputation and was appointed, 
in 1859, United States Judge for Western Pennsylvania, in 
which position his record has been most honorable and his 
decisions in very important cases have been widely quoted. 
In early life he was a prominent Democrat, and was three 
times a .Senatorial Elector for President and Vice-President 
of the United States ; twice he was President of the Elec- 
toral College of Pennsylvania, and was Chainnan of the 
Pennsylvania Di;legation to the Baltimore Cass and Butler 
Convention of 1S4S ; twice also he was a candidate for Con- 
gress. He received the degree of LL.D. from Union Col- 
lege, New York. He was long President of the Board of 
Inspectors of the Western Penitentiary ; Director of the 
old M. and M. Bank; Trustee of the Gas Works and of 
his a/ma maler, and an officer in numerous ot'ier institutions 
and organizations. He was married, December, 1834, to 
Sarah, daughter of Thomas Collin, of Pittsburgh. 



OWRIE, REV. SAMUEL T., Clergym.an and 
Professor, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 
February 8th, 1835. He is the son of Hon. W. 
H. Lowrie, ex-Chief Justice of Pennsylvania. 
His preliminary education was received at the 
Western University of Pennsylvania, and he 
graduated from Miami University, Ohio, in 1S52. The 
four years following he spent as a student at the Western 
Theological Seminary of Pennsylvania; during 1857, he 
visited Europe and for some time pursued his studies at 
Heidelburg. Upon his return to the United States he was 
ordained as Pastor at Alexandria, Huntingdon county, 
Pennsylvania, and was installed in charge of the Bethany 
Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, where he remained 
until 1869. He then removed to Abington, Montgomery 
county, and officiated as Pastor of the Presbyterian Church 
at that place until 1S74, when he was elected to the posi- 
tion, and accepted the Chair, of Professor of "New Testa- 
ment Exegesis and Liter.itnre" in the Western Theological 
Seminary of Allegheny City. He is a ripe scholar, an 
able minister and a devout man. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENXYCLOP.EDIA. 




637 



e(7^iDDISON, ALEXANDER, Minister, Lawyer, 
Ju<lge, Aulhor, was born in Scotland, and re- 
ceived a thorough English and classical educa- 
tion in the College of Aberdeen, in his native 
land. He first adopted the ministerial profession 
and emigrated to America in 1758, bearing the 
commission of a Preacher in the Presbyterian Church. He 
officiated in that capacity for some time at Washington, 
Pennsylvania, when he turned his attention to the l.aw, and, 
after pursuing the required course of study, commenced 
practice and was eminently successful, attaining to wealth 
and honor. He was the first person to receive an appoint- 
ment as President Law Judge in western Pennsylvania, his 
commission to th.at office dating 1791. He remained in 
this position until 1802, and died in Pittsburgh in 1S07. 
He was the Author of Addisoii's Reports, at one time a 
liigh authority. 



i? 



/ 






(jJ*l|%|OBERTS, HON. ANTHONY E., Merchant, was 
> j^f born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, October 
29lh, 1S03, and is of Welsh and German ex- 
traction. His father, John Roberts, was a hotel 
keeper and extensive farmer of Chester county. 
He received his education in the common 
schools of Lancaster, and at fourteen years of age became 
Clerk and Assistant in a country store, where he remained 
until he had attained his majority, when he purchased an 
interest in the business, and continued in its successful pro- 
secution until 1S50. In 1S39, he was elected Sheriff of 
Lancaster County, and served in that capacity for one term 
of three years. In 1S49, he received from President Z. 
Taylor the appointinent of Marshal of the Eastern District 
of Pennsylvania, and ably discharged the duties of that 
office during the continuance of the administration w'hich 
h.ad commissioned him. In 1854, he w.is elected to Con- 
gress, and, in 1S56, re-elected. For many years he has 
been a member of the Lancaster City Councils, a member 
of the Board of School Directors, and one of the Board of 
Directors for the City Poor. He also occupies the position 
of Director of the Lancaster Bank, and County Fire In- 
surance Company, and for a long period held a similar post 
in the Board of the State Normal School at Millerville, 
Pennsylvania. During the late war his influence and means 
were freely exerted for the preservation of the Union, and 
his eldest son served gallantly in the cavalry in defence 
of the Government. He enjoyed the intimate friendship 
of the late Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, and was named as one 
of his Executors by that eminent statesman. He is an 
active member of the Episcopal Church, and is ever prom- 
inent in all movements tending to the advancement of public 
morality. He was married, June 14th, 1840, to a daughter 
of Andrew Bushong, of Lancaster, and from that union 
sprang twelve children, eleven of whom are now living. 




HICKSTUN, LEWIS W., Journalist, was born 
in Cussewago, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, 
March 24th, 1823. His parents were both na- 
jJoJNK lives of the State of New Jersey. He received 
^J>j an academic education at Kingsville, Ohio, after- 
wards engaged in mercantile pursuits, and subse- 
quently in the oil business. Still later, he was engaged 
by HoUister & Melcalf in the editorial department of the 
Craivford yournal of Meadville, and three years after he 
became the owner of that paper. In January, 1872, he was 
elected Transcribing Clerk of the State Senate, and was 
re-elected to the same ofifice in 1873. .Since leaving Harris- 
burg he has been editorially occupied upon the Daily and 
Weekly Republican of Meadville. Of his political record 
he has reason to be proud, having, in 1S44, been the only 
voter in Cussewago township to deposit a ballot of the 
Liberty party. He has since voted for Van Buren, Hale, 
Fremont, Lincoln and Grant. He married Lizzie Thomas, 
of New Jersey. 

C*'~ — ^ 

'■J^^ERRICKSON, HON. DAVID, Lawyer and Judge, 
was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, August 
28th, 1799. His parents were David and Maiy 
(Wood) Derricl<son. He was educated at Al- 
legheny College and graduated in 1821, one of 
four in his class who received the degree of A. B. 
and A. M. He then engaged in the study of law under 
George Selden and John B. Wallace, and was admitted to 
the bar in November, 1823. He began practice in Mead- 
ville and quickly attained distinction, being appointed 
Deputy Attorney-General for Crawford, Venango and War- 
ren counties within three months after his admission. In 
1856, he was elected additional Law Judge of the Sixth 
District, a position he held for ten years, when he again 
resumed practice. He was a member of a Commission 
appointed to Revise the Statute Laws of the State. He 
married Harriet, daughter of Richard Patch, one of the 
early settlers of Meadville, and twelve children have been 
born to him, eight of whom are still living. 



.M/f>ABERM.\N, PETER, Merchant, was born near 
Nuremberg, in Bavaria, April 1st, 1819. His 
father, Conrad Habernian, was a farmer. After 
gaining a good practical education in the schools 
of his nativeplace, he was engaged in agricultural 
pursuits until he had attained his majority, when 
he was conscripted as a soldier by the King of Bavaria 
and served for three months. Two years later he emigrated 
to this country and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 
5th, 1845. There he was employed as a farm hand for 
one year, at a salary of S84 per annum. Subsequently, 
he entered the service of Joseph Ritter, proprietor of exten- 




6.38 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



sive dairies, and ullimalely, in connection with Joseph 
Kitter, Jr., secured possession of his business, which he 
prosecuted until 1855, when he became sole owner. In 
1S60, he interested himself in the coal business, dealing 
with Keeling. & Bantz, buying coal and floating it to 
Southern markets, 'in l86o, he associated himself with 
Walton, Philip & Co., in the Eagle Coal Company, re- 
maining with it during its existence. In 1863, he formed 
a copartnership with Walton & Keeling, and purchased 
a coal works si.x miles from Pittsburgh, known as Haber- 
man & Co's. In 1865, he entered the firm of Joseph 
Walton & Co., with which he is still associated. He is a 
Director of the German National Bank of Pittsburgh, and 
of the First National Bank of Birmingham ; has ser\'ed 
as a Councilmcn for several years, and also held the posi- 
tion of Treasurer of the Borough of Birmingham for a 
long period. He is a prominent church member, and 
w.as married, June 19th, 1849, to Mary Ann Ritter, of 
Pittsburgh, by whom he has had thirteen children, seven 
of whom are still living. 



y-/^ IBSON, JOHN, Lawyer, was born in Baltimore, 
Maryland, April 17th, 1829. His education, 
which was thoroiigh, was received at tTie York 
County Academy, in York, Pennsylvania. After 
leaving this institution he engaged in the study 
of law, was admitted to the bar of York county, 
Pennsylvania, September 30th, 1851, and has there been 
engaged in the practice of his profession ever since, enjoy- 
ing a high reputation as a citizen and a jurist, and an ex- 
cellent business connection extending to the adjoining 
counties. He was a Democratic Delegate to the Consti- 
tutional Convention of l872-'73, and as a member of that 
body held a position on the Committees on Impeachment 
and Removal from Office, and on Declaration of Rights. 



AVIS, THOMAS W., Collector of Internal Reve- 
nue for the Twenty-second District of Pennsyl- 
vania, was born in Pittsburgh, September 1st, 
1834. His parents were of Welsh extraction, 
and his father was formerly engaged in the 
manufacture of iron. He attended the public 
schools of Zanesville, Ohio, subsequently entering Bartlett's 
Commercial College at Cincinnati, from which institution 
he ultimately graduated in due course. Purposing to in- 
terest himself in the iron business, he served a regular 
apprenticeship in a rolling mill. He then became a clerk 
• in the same business, and afterward, Financial Manager 
of the Lawrence Mills at Ironton, Ohio. Leaving th.at 
situ.ation, he was engaged for three years in the manufac- 
ture of pig-iron in Greenough county, Kentucky. At the 





outbreak of the Rebellion, his Union sentiments being 
obnoxious to the inhabitants of that region, he was forced 
to leave, and returned to Pittsburgh. There he interested 
himself in the oil refining business, which he has since 
continued to prosecute with much success. In 1S69, he 
was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the 
Twenty-second District of Pennsylvania, by President 
Grant. In politics he has always firmly supported the 
Republican party, its principles and its measures. He was 
appointed Bank Assessor of Allegheny county, by Gover- 
nor Geary, in 186S, and fulfilled the duties attached to that 
position with undeviating rectitude and ability. In 1S73, 
he projected and successfully established the }' Wasg, a 
Welsh weekly paper, one of but three newspapers pub- 
lished in the Welsh language in the United States. He is 
Secretary and Treasurer of the Printing Company having 
charge of the publication, and is a conservator of Welsh 
interests in western Pennsylvania. The Y Wasg has met 
with the success which such an enterprise merited, and, 
at the present time, is cited as an authority above all others 
concerning Welsh affairs in this country. 



ES, CHARLES MARTIER, M. D., Physician, 
was born in York, Pennsylvania, June 26th, 
1827. His father. Dr. Henry Nes, also a native 
of York, was member of Congress from this 
district for several years, although at that period 
it was Democratic, while he was a firm supporter 
of the Whig party; his mother was Elizabeth Weiser, of 
York county. He was primarily educated in York County 
Academy, whence he entered Columbia College, Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia, and received his M. D. 
diploma in 1S45. Subsequently, he moved to Y'ork, where 
he engaged in the practice of his profession, and, acquiring 
a wide connection, h.is since remained. He was appointed 
one of the Commissioners to Vienna. Several years since, 
while experimenting in ore, iron, and steel, he discovered, 
near York, Pennsylvania, the steel-making properties of 
large deposits of magnetic silicate of iron ore. He then, 
during three years, and in conjunction with other scientific 
and practical men, tested this ore, and, by using it in com- 
bination with ]iig and scrap-iron, demonstrated its valuable 
steel-making properties. Naming it " .Silicon Steel Ore," 
he secured large tracts of land, and subsequently, the ore 
was tested thoroughly throughout the country, and in every 
form, from a delicate penknife blade to a railroad rail ; and 
it is claimed that the results prove clearly that it makes a 
steel endowed with qualities surpassing those possessed by 
any other manufacture. This product he patented, and 
denominated Silicon Steel; at present the company or- 
ganized to develop this discovery is presided over by E. 
Gulick, of New York city: Hon. A. B. Cornell, Hon. 
Elisha P. Wheeler, and William Halsey, being Vice-Presi- 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP/EDIA. 



r':9 




dents. It is a joint stocl< company, incorporated under 
llic .laws of the State of New Yorli, in 1S72, with a capital 
of SOiOOOjOOOi '" shares of $100 each. 



LMUIX, JOHN AUGUSTUS, Compiler of the 
Legislutive Hand-Book, was born in Harrisburg, 
September 1st, 1832. His father, John Smull, 
and mother, Harriet, daughter of the Rev. Philip 
R. Pauli, were descendants from German ances- 
tors. He received his education at the public 
schools of Ilarrisburg, and, declining an appointment as 
Midshipman, United States Navy, to please his family, 
from his fourteenth to his seventeenth year was apprenticed 
to the printing' trade; but his elder brother, who filled the 
position of Page in the House of Representatives, dying, 
he was appointed to fill the vacancy, and rose from that 
post to Bill Clerk, then to Bill and Petition Clerk, and 
finally to Resident Clerk of the House, which office he 
now holds. He is the author of the Legis/a/ive Hand- 
Book^ a most complete and valuable work. He is an 
active and public-spirited citizen, and is now President of 
the Harrisburg Brick and Tile Company ; one of the 
Board of Prison Inspectors; Vice-President of the Penn- 
sylvania State Agricultural Society ; Manager of the Har- 
risburg Cemetery Association ; a principal Director of the 
Harrisburg Passenger Railroad, and its Secretary from 
organization. He is also a member of the Fort Hunter 
Road Commission, and Director of the Ilarrisburg Land 
and Building Association, and Vice-President of the 
Masonic Hall Association. 




/ 



JlGIIAM, THOMAS JAMES, Lawyer, etc., was 
born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, 
February 12th, 1810, of Irish origin. His 
parents dying during his early youth, he was 
raised and educated by his grandfather, and 
graduated from Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, 
Commencing the study of law, he was admitted 
to the Pittsburgh bar in 1837. In connection with his 
practice he was deeply interested in scientific and literary 
pursuits, and delivered lectures on Geology^ and on the 
Pioneers of Western Pennsylvania, which won him con- 
siderable reputation. Elected Representative in 1845, he 
for twelve years was a member of one of the Houses of 
the State Legislature, generally being upon the Ways and 
Means, Judiciary, and other important Committees. In 
1864, by his personal exertions, the taxation of corpora- 
tions was substituted for that of real estate, for the main- 
tenance of the Government. His present appointment as 
Commissioner of Statistics of the State of Pennsylvania is 
a compliment to his superior ability and attainments, not a 




political reward. His literary efforts have been chiefly 
devoted to matters connected with the early history of his 
native Sta^e, and he has now in contemplation the publi- 
cation of a History of Pennsylvania, from the time of its 
first settlement to the present day. 



^cALLISTER, HUGH NELSON, Lawyer, was 
born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, June 28lh, 
1S09. He received his education at Jefferson 
College, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 
the class of 1833;' taking his degree in the law 
department in 1835. Admitted to the bar in 
November, 1835, he at once began practice. While at the 
bar a commission as President Judge of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas was, on two occasions, tendered him, but was 
declined both times. He was elected a Republican Dele- 
gate at Large to the Constitutional Convention of lS72-'73, 
and was Chairman of the Committee on Suffrage, Election, 
and Representation, on which subjects he was a constant 
and earnest speaker on the floor of the Convention ; he 
served also on the Committee on Railroads and Canals. 
He was some time Captain of Company F, 23d Regiment 
of Pennsylvania Militia; at the close of the war he was 
appointed by Governor Curtin one of the Commissioners 
to investigate and settle the claims of citizens of the border 
counties for losses sustained in the struggle. He was one 
of the projectors and a liberal supporter of the Agricultural 
College of Pennsylvania. He died, M y 5lh, 1S73, '" Phila- 
delphia, while attending the session of the Convention. 



ATTON, WILLIAM W., Merchant, and Opera- 
tor in Real Estate, was born Februaiy 27th, 
1S36, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He 
is the son of Rev. Walter Patton and Sarah 
(Ede) Patton. He received his education at the 
common schools, first, of Upper Merion, and 
afterwards of Camden, New Jersey. On attaining his 
majority he forthwith established himself in business as a 
dealer in paper hangings, in Germantown. After having 
successfully prosecuted this business for some time, he 
found opportunity for embarking in that of real estate, 
and still carries on both. In 1S67, he purchased ten acres 
of land in the neighborhood of Germantown, and estab- 
lished a settlement there under the name of Pulaski Town. 
This was his first operation of the kind in Germantown, 
which he has since followed up by others equally success- 
ful. During the war he served with Captain Biddle's 
Independent Rifle Company, and was present at the battle 
of Antietam. He was married, in 1859, to Annie E., 
daughter of Thomas Baird, a prominent lawyer of Pitts- 
burgh, and whose maternal grandfather was General Para- 
sette, of Lafayette's army. 





lUOGRAl'UK AL l.NCVCLur.l-UlA. 



REEN. ARTHUR N., Lawyer and District Attor- 
ney of York county, Pennsylvania, was bom at 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, December r2th, 1831. 
He is of Irish descent. His father, a farmer, 
afforded him the usual common-school education, 
and he completed his scholastic course at Dickin- 
son College. After leaving his Alma AlaUr he read law 
in the office of Judge Hepburn, of Carlisle, and was 
admitted to the bar of Cumberland county in April. 1S53 
At once starting practice he was more than usually suc- 
cessful, and remained actively employed in his profession, 
in Cumberland county, until June, 1858. Then he re- 
moved to York, Pennsylvania, where, his reputation hav- 
iiig |)receded him, he soon acquired a lucrative connection, 
to the demands of which he has devoted his entire atten- 
tion. Though he has never taken any part in politics, his 
reputation, well-sustained, as a jurist of profound acquire- 
ments, and the integrity of his character have made him 
a prominent man at the bar and in the community ; and, 
in October, 1S72, he was elected District Attorney of York 
county, and has filled the office with great acceptance. 
He was married, on January nth, 1S54, to Fannie A.., 
daughter of John Gray, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 



ViftJt ULLEN, RIGHT REV. TOBIA.S, D. D., Bishop 
of Erie, was born in Clundy, County Tyrone, 
Ireland, March 4lh, 1818. His preparatory edu- 
cation was received at a classical school in 
County Donegal, and his theological instruction 
at Maynooth. Minor orders were conferred 
upon him by Archbishop Murray, of Dublin. He came 
to the United States with Bishop O'Conner, of Pittsburgh, 
in 1843; '"'•'*' W '^i'" ordained September 1st, 1844, and 
officiated at his first mass in St. Philomena's Church, Pitts^ 
burgh, assisted by the Rev. J. N. Neuman, C. S. S. R., who 
was afterwards Bishop of Philadelphia. He was next 
assigned as Assistant to St. Paul's Cathedral, Pittsburgh; 
and, in 1846, was transferred to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 
where he remained until he was placed in charge of St. 
Peter's congregation of Allegheny City, in 1S54. He was 
consecrated Bishop of Erie county, ,\ugust 2d, 1S6S. 

Q|i|cMICHAEL, MORTON, Lawyer and Editor, 
was born in Burlington county. New Jersey, 
October 20th, 1807. He received his education, 
firstly, at the schools of his native place, and 
afterwards at the University of Pennsylvania. 
On leaving the University he studied for the bar, 
to which he was admitted in 1827. For many years sub- 
sequently he served as an Alderman, and, from 1843 to 
J846, was High Sheriff. In iS56, he became the Mayor of 






the City of Philadelphia, and discharged the duties of this 
important office until 1S69. In 1873, he was appointed a 
Delegate at Large to the Fourth Constitutional Convention 
of Pennsylvania, to fill the vacancy caused by the death 
of the Hon. William M. Meredith, and as a member of the 
Convention served on the Committee on Revision and Ad- 
justments. He is the President of the Park Commission, 
and has been ever since its organization, and is also the pro- 
prietor and editor-in-chief of the Korlh American and 
United Stales Gazette. 

/ ■ ~^^^ 

EGLEY, GENERAL JAMES S., Soldier and 
Congressman, is of Swiss descent, and was born 
in East Liberty, December 22d, 1826. His 
family connections were pioneer settlers of the 
valley situated near the old French Fort Du- 
quesne, and were participants in the events con- 
nected with the Seven Years War. He was educated in 
the local common schools, and was also pursuing a col- 
legiate course preparatory to the adoption of a profession. 
When war was declared between Me.\ico and the United 
States, being in his nineteenth year, he enlisted in the 
Dnquesne Grays as a volunteer; his family in\oked the 
aid of the law to detain him as a minor, but, persevering 
in his purpose, he left with his company and participated 
in the siege and capture of Vera Cruz, in the battles of 
Cerro Gordo, La Perote, and Las Vegas, and in the siege 
of Puebla, besides other engagements. While at Puelila, 
he received from the Secretaiy of War an order for his 
honorable discharge; this, however, he indignantly re- 
fused to accept, and remained on duty with his company 
until the termination of the conflict. He then returned 
to his home, and engaged in manufacturing pursuits, which 
he abandoned shortly after, and devoting his attention to 
agriculture and horticulture, soon became noted as one 
of the most -Jvilful horticulturists in the country. Mean- 
while he occupied a portion of his lime in organizing the 
militia of western Pennsylvania, and was chosen Major- 
General of the Eighteenth Division by an unanimous vote. 
About this time he foresaw the approaching Civil War, 
and urged the more efficient organization of the militia 
for national defence. In December, i860, he made a 
formal offer of an organized Brigade to the Governor, 
and April I7lh, l85l, was summoned to Hanisburg, 
where he received the authority upon which he speedily 
recruited and organized more troops than the Government 
would receive. With one Brigade of Infantry, he then 
joined the command of Major-General Robert Patterson, 
accompanying him into Maryland and Virginia, taking a 
prominent part in the various Councils of War. Subse- 
quently, he was placed in command of the Volunteer 
Camp at Harrisburg, and September 1st was ordered, 
with his force, to report to General Rosecranz for duty in 
northern Virginia, whence he joined General Sheiman at 



i>" 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCL0P.*;DIA. 



641 



Louisville, Kentucky. lie p:irticip.ited in the movement 
toward Nashville, and was signally successful in Eastern 
and M.ddle Tennessee, at Santa Fe, Rogersville, and Flor- 
ence, against Morgan's command at Shelbyville, and 
General Adams, at Sneeden's Cove, also in many other 
important actions. In the battle of Stone's River, he 
commanded the Eighth Division, Fourteenth Army Corps, 
and performed heroic and invaluable service throughout 
that memorable conflict, driving Breckenridge from his 
entrenchments, and ensuring final success to the Union 
arms; for distinguished services on this occasion, he was 
promoted to the rank of Major-General. In planning the 
Georgia campaign, his views were adopted ; he was given 
the advance, and drove the enemy from Lookout Mountain, 
accomjflishing, moreover, many other successful operations 
of vital importance to the welfare of the Government forces, i 
He participated prominently in the battle of Chickamauga, 
and, when Rosecranz left for Chattanooga, ably re-organ- 
ized the demoralized troops a; Rossville, thereby forming a 
needed reserve for Thomas, and enabling him to retire in 
good order. Since the close of the war he has occupied a 
prominent position in politics. He was elected to the Forty- 
first Congress from the Twenty-second District of Pennsyl- 
vania; re-elected to the Forty-second and Forty-third, and 
his devotion to his country and to Republican principles has 
just (September 1S74) received recognition in a fourth nomi- 
nation by acclamation. 

<^, J 

i ILDMAN, ELIAS, M. D., D. D. S., Dentist, was 
born near Attleboro, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, 
July 8lh, 181 1, his parents being William Wild- 
man, whose ancestors came from England in 
1690, and Elizabeth (Miller) Wildman. He re- 
ceived his education primarily at a common school 
in Bucks county, and afterwards at a private academy at 
Wilmington, Delaware. When about twenty years of age, 
he commenced a course of medical studies at the Medical 
Department of Rutger's College in New York, and at the 
New York City Hospital. In 1832, he matriculated at the 
University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1834. 
He then practised medicine for a short time in Bucks 
county, after which (in 1835) he studied dentistry in Phila- 
delphia, under Drs. J. and W. Birkey; began practice as a 
dentist in 1836, and has continued therein up to the present 
time (1874). During his long course of practice, he has 
experimented upon and brought to perfection a number of 
appliances more particularly connected with the depart- 
ment of mechanical dentistry. About 1842, he succeeded 
in perfecting the substance known as red gum enamel, 
which had previously been very difficult to manipulate, and 
also produced important improvements in porcelain teeth. 
On the introduction of hard rubber as a base for artificial 
dentures, and while the greatest diversity of opinion ex- 
isted as to its nature, he ascertained, by a series of ana- 
81 





lytical and synthetical experiments, its true composition 
and the best method of working it, which, together with 
many new compounds, were laid before the profession in a 
scries of papers in the Dental Times. In 1862, the hono- 
rary degree of D. D. S. was conferred upon him, and he 
was elected to the chair of Mechanical Dentistry in the 
Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, to which has 
since been added the chair of Metallurgy, which he still 
holds. In 187 1, he became Dean of the Faculty of the 
College. His written productions are not extensive, being 
confined chiefly to articles contributed to the Dental Journals 
and scientific papers, and a monogram called " Instructions 
in Vulcanite." He is, perhaps, the oldest established dentist 
in the city, certainly the first mechanical dentist in the 
United States, and as such and as the veteran of the dental 
profession enjoys its respectful regard. He was married, 
in 1851, to Alice L., daughter of John Wright. 



AZZAM, HON. EDWARD D., Physician, Law- 
yer, and Senator, was born in Pittsburgh, Penn- 
sylvania, May 7th, 1S03. His father was a 
prominent English journalist in the reign of 
George III., who, offending that government by 
his advocacy of the claims of the American colo- 
nists, was forced to emigrate and finally settled in Pitts- 
burgh. The son received a thorough education at the best 
schools of his day, and graduated from the Western Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania. He then studied law under the Hon. 
Richard Biddle, was admitted to the bar, and, for a lime, 
engaged successfully in the practice of his profession. His 
health failing, he relinquished the law and devoted himself 
to the science of medicine, reading with his brother. Dr. T- 
P. Gazzam, and graduating from the Medical University of 
Pennsylvania ; and, entering upon the life of a physician, 
he pursued a long, honorable, and highly remunerative 
career. In social and political life he acquired prominence 
proportionate to his professional success; attaining great in- 
fluence and holding many positions of public trust. Like 
his father, he was most liberal in his views; an original 
Free-soiler, he, in company with Salmon P. Chase and 
others, assembled at Buffalo, New York, in 1848, and there 
planted the seed which germinated into the Republican 
party. He was elected State Senator in 1856, and was 
prominently mentioned, in 1859, as the candidate of the 
Republican party for Governor of the Slate, but withdrew 
from the contest. He was married, in 1835, to Elizabeth 
Antoinette, daughter of Constantine Antoine Bulen, of Pitts- 
burgh, the granddaughter of Rahm de Bulen de Berthoff, 
who came to the United .States about 1783, on a mission 
from Joseph II., of .Austria, and who, locating in this coun- 
try, resided in Pennsvlvania until his death. He removed 
from Pittsburgh in 1866, and has since made his home in 
the city of SJew York. 




BIOGRAPHICAL EXCVCLOP/EDIA. 



j I.ACKMORE, JAMES, Mayor of Pittsburgh, was 
born ill Washington county, Pennsylvania, Feb- 
ruary 2(.l, 1S21. His grandfather was Colonel 
in the Revolutionary Army, and one of the first 
settlers in Maryland. James Blackmore received 
a very limited education, and, excepting a short 
course at the University in Pittsburgh, he is a self-taught man. 
He moved to Pittsburgh in 1832, and went to work for his 
father, who had charge of Brown's Pike, and shortly after 
entered the lumber business, which he carried on for seven- 
teen years. He thei embarked in the coal trade, and has 
continued therein from i860 to the present lime. He early 
took a part in politics ; is a staunch D-mocrat, and has been 
a candidate for several offices. On one occasion he was 
nominated for County Treasurer, and, during the war, ran 
for Sheriff. He was elected, in 1867, Mayor of Pittsburgh 
by 2S96 majority, and was renominated during the Presi- 
dential campaign but was defeated. In 1871, he was re- 
elected Mayor of Pittsburgh, an office he now holds. In 
1869, he was chosen President of the Mechanics' Savings 
Bank, but his official duties obliged him to resign. During 
the war he subscribed about $4000 to help his ward. He 
married, in 1844, Sarah Jane, daughter of Jacob Ewart. 
Starting in life a poor boy, he has worked his own way to 
position and fortune. He suffers from impaired health, but 
attends to the duties of his office conscientiously and ably. 
A thorough man of business, despatching matters with 
promptness and decision, he is yet courteous and easily 
accessible. 



TOWE, HON. EDWIN HENRY, Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas of the city of Pittsburgh, 
was born in January, 1826, in Beaver, Beaver 
county, Pennsylvania. The Stowes were early 
emigrants from the mother country to New Eng- 
land, and, on the maternal side, are lineally de- 
scended from John Hart, of New Jersey, one of the Signers 
of the Declaration of Independence. In 180S, his father 
moved with his family 10 the Western Reserve of Ohio, and, 
during the War of 1812, whil.' a !)oy, carried the United 
States Mail from Pittsburgh to Cleveland. Edwin was 
educated at Washington College, and, after completing the 
usual course of studies, graduated in 1845. In 1846, he 
removed to Pittsburgh and read law in the office of Hon. 
Moses Hampton, then Congressman, and until lately a judge 
in one of the courts of that city. Admitted to the bar in 1849, 
he practised his profession until 1862, when he was elected 
a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1S72, he was 
re elected without opposition, receiving the cordial endorse- 
ment of both parlies. In politics, he was originally a 
Whig, but, since the organization of the Repul>lican party, 
has steadfastly supported its principles. He is popular 
with all classes in Allegheny county, and is esteemed and 
respected for his invariable urbanity, his learrung, and his 





benevolent disposition; while acting officially in the Ciimi- 
nal Court, he has distinguished himself by his zealous 
efforts in endeavoring to encourage and reform those un- 
fortun.ales who, falling into evil courses, sorely need a helj)- 
ing hand to reinstate them in their own respect and in 
that of their fellow-creatures. 



HITMAN, BENJAMIN, Journalist, was born 
in Middletown, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, 
January 2Slh, 1840. His education was limited, 
and was acquired at the common schools of his 
native town. He early became an apprentice in 
the office ol the Harrishurg Telegyaph, and,Tiaving 
learned his trade, taught school in Middletown for a time, 
after which he was connected with newspapers in that 
place, Lancaster and Harrisburg. In 1861, he became 
Associate Editor of the Eiie Observer, and, a year later, 
one of its owners. In April, 1864, he purchased his part- 
ner's interest, has since been sole proprietor of that paper, 
and has succeeded in raising it from the verge of bank- 
ruptcy to an enviable prosperity. Democratic in politics, it 
is yet fair and liberal and has great influence. He has 
frequently been a member of State Committees and Con- 
ventions, but, though prominent in politics and frequently 
solicited, has ever declined to accept office, considering it 
inconsistent with the proper discharge of his editorial duties 
so to do. 



OWARD, REV. WILLIAM D„ was born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 2Slh, 1S14. 
His parents were both natives of the United 
States, and from his early youth devoted him to 
the ministry. He pursued his studies with that 
intention, and, after receiving his education at 
the Manuel Latin Academy of Germantown, and his theo- 
logical training under the Rev. William Neill, he was 
licensed to preach, in Philadelphia, October, 1837, and 
ordained in March, 1838, when he was installed pastor of 
the Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Pennsylvania. In 
1849, he accepted a call from and became pastor of the 
Second Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, where he still 
remains. Was niaile S. T. D. by Washington College, 
Pennsylvania, in 1853, of which he was long a Trustee. 
Is President of the Board of Trustees of the Western Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, and a Director of the Western 
Theological Seminary at Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Is also 
a member of the Board of Foreign and Domestic Missions 
of the Presbyterian Church, and of the General Assembly's 
Committee on Freedmen. His sermons are remarkalile 
for their eloquence and learning, and a number of them 
have, by request, been published. 





EIOGRAPIIICAL ENCVCLOP.liDIA. 



643 



)SS, JAMES, Lawyer, Uniled Slates Senator, etc., 
was 1)1)111 in York county, Pennsylvania, of Scotch- 
Iri:,h parents. His education was conducted by 
the Rev. Dr. McMillan, of Washington county, 
and he was designed by those having him in 
charge for the Presbyterian Church. A change 
in his profession is traditionally ascribed to the fact that one 
day during his course of theological study under the Rev. 
Dr. McMillan, having been instructed to prepare and 
deliver a sermon, he committed, rehearsed it aloud from 
an elevated position on a stump behind a haystack, and 
having delivered it to his own entire satisfaction, jumped 
down from the stump, exclaiming : " There, by G — d ! Old 
McMillan can't beat that ! " " Pra afraid, James," said the 
doctor, who unseen had been an attentive auditor to the 
whole, " that you won't answer for the ministry ; you had 
better study law." He took the advice, went to Philadel- 
phia, studied, and was there admitted to the bar; he was 
also admitted in Washington county and likewise in Pitts- 
burgh on the organization of the Allegheny courts, about 
the year 1788. He soon worked his way into prominence, 
professionally and politically. He was elected to the United 
States Senate ; was famous as the greatest land lawyer in 
western Pennsylvania, and was the recognized leader of the 
Federal party in his section in the early politics of the 
country. In 1799, 1802 and 1805 he was a candidate for 
Governor under the Federal banner, but failed to gain his 
election. He died about 1S42. 



'OLLIER, FREDERICK HILL, Associate Judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny 
county, was born in Lancaster county, February 
25th, 1S26. His father, Rev. William Collier, 
D. D., was an eminent divine of the MethodLst 
Church, distinguished for his learning and 
Christian deportment. His ancestors on the maternal side 
were Pennsylvania Geiman, on the paternal, English and 
French ; and the male ancestors on both sides were active 
participants in the Revolutionary struggle, and in the War 
of 181 2. After a preparatory course at the Brookville Aca- 
demy, situated near Washington, District of Columbia, he 
taught school until means had been saved for college life. 
Then he entered the Columbia College, and, in 1849, 
graduated with high honors. Adopting law as his profes- 
sion, he studied, was examined and admitted to the bar of 
Washington, District of Columbia, Returning to his native 
State he began practice in Piitsburgh, and soon made his 
^mark. In 1856, he was elected District Attorney, and his 
term proved to be one of the most important in the history 
of the State : no less than eighteen homicides having been 
tried, all, with the exception of three, being convicted and 
punished. His administration was distinguished by its 
ability, firmness, integrity and impartiality. In 1862, after 




the second battle of Bull l\un, and when the Confederate 
General Lee was advancing northward through Maryland, 
he, with his friends, raised and organized the 139th Penn- 
sylvania Regiment of Volunteers; of this force he was 
chosen to fill the Colonelcy, and, entering at once into 
active service, he participated in the battle of Antietam. 
He remained in the service of the United States until the 
termination of the conflict, conducting himself bravely 
throughout, and, subsequently, was made Brigadier-General 
by brevet, for " gallant and meritorious services during the 
war." Resuming the practice of his profession, in 1S69, he 
was elected Assistant Judge of the Court of Common Pleas 
of Allegheny county, a position he still fills with recognized 
dignity and capability. He was married, in 1849, to Kate 
King, daughter of William King, one of the oldest and 
most respected citizens of Georgetown, District of Columbia, 
and sister of James King of William, editor of the Evening 
Bulletin of San Francisco, who was killed in the great 
contest to purify the Stale, and to whom a monument was 
erected in Lone Mountain Cemetery by the people of 
California. 



AVER, JOHN L., Lawyer, was born at Shepherds- 
town, Virginia, in August, 1810. His father was 
Rev. Dr. Lewis Mayer, a most talented and 
prominent minister of the Reformed Church. 
His education was conducted with great care ; 
after due preparation he entered Yale College, 
and gi'aduated therefrom with high honors, excelling espe- 
cially as a linguist. Selecting the profession of law imme- 
diately after quilting college, he located for practice in 
York. His success was quickly assured, and an extensive, 
lucrative and influential connection l>ecame his. He was 
neither a politician nor speculator, his heart and m'nd being 
in his professional work, and that on'y. He occupied the 
position of counsel for a large number of banking, raib'oad 
and other corporations in the section in which he resided, 
and his practice extended to and beyond the counties 
adjoining York, w'nile his services were very frequently 
employed in cases pending before the Supreme Court of the 
State. He was married to Julia L. Line, a native of Vir- 
ginia, lie died, August l6lh, 1S74, of disease of the heart. 



INCENT, JOHN P., I'r.-sidcnl Ju.lge of Erie 
county, was born in Walerford, Erie county, 
Pennsylvania, December 2d, 181 7. On the 
paternal side he is of French, and on the mater- 
nal of Scotch-Irish extraction, both parents being 
natives of Pennsylvania. He was educated at 
Waterford Academy, also, in adilition to other branches of 
knowledge, acquired a fair acquaintance with Greek. Latin 
and the higher mathematics. After abandoning school-life 





644 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.^DIA. 




he was engaged for a period of two years in working on a 
farm, and subsequently devoted his attention to a thorough 
course of legal study and research, being admitted to the 
bar in 1841. In 1849, he associated himself in partnership 
with J. C. Marshall, sustaining these relations until 1854. 
In i860, he became the candidate of Erie county for the 
President Judgeship of the Sixth Judicial District, then 
composed of Erie, Crawford and Warren counties. In 
1862, he was elected to the House of Representatives, and 
re-elected in 1S63; in the latter year he was the candidate 
of the Republican party of the Mouse for Speaker, and took 
a leading part in the prevailing legislation. In 1866, he 
was elected additional Law Judge of the Sixth District for 
ten years; and, in 1874, under the provisions of the Con- 
stitution of that year, became President Judge of the Sixth 
District, a position he still fills. lie was married, in 1845, 
to Harriet S. Shadouck, of Erie. 



FORWARD, HON. WALTER, Lawyer and States- 
man, was born in Hartford county, Connecticut, 
al)out 1785; and, while quite young, removed to 
Pittsburgh, where he studied law with Hon. 
^^^ Henry Baldwin. His remarkable native talent 
secured for him a surprisingly rapid j^rogress in 
classical and professional studies, and, according to data 
furnished by the court records, he was admitted to practice 
in Allegheny county, November 12th, 1806. He served 
one or two terms in Congress, and was noted for his strong 
and able advocacy of high tariff measures. He was a 
member of the Constitutional Convention of 1837-38, and 
took a prominent and influential position among his col- 
leagues in that body. He was a member of the congres- 
sional caucus that nominated William H. Crawford for the 
Presidency, but, wishing to show his dislike to the con- 
gressional caucus system, strongly supported Jackson. 
Upon the accession of the Whig party to power in 1 841, 
President Harrison appointed him Secretary of the Treasury. 
After the death of that President, his political views not 
being in accord with those of the administration of Tyler, 
he resigned his office, although his resignation, through the 
advice and persuasion of Daniel Webster, then Secretary 
of State, was delayed for a considerable length of time. In 
1849, he was appointed Minister to Denmark, and, after a 
residence of two years in Copenhagen, resigned in order to 
accept the position of President Judge of the District Court 
of Allegheny county, an office to which he had been elected 
during his absence abroad ; it is noteworthy that he was the 
first President Judge of Allegheny county elected by the 
people, and at this time was in the sixty-seventh year of his 
age. Firm in his devotion to principle, and staunch in his 
advocacy of his conceptions of right, he was nevertheless 
courteous to his opponents and calmly just in his judgments. 
" His eloquence was of that stirring and earnest cast which 




bore down all opposition and convinced the hearer that the 
speaker himself felt the truth of eveiy word he uttered." 
The older members of the bar of Allegheny county unite, 
without a single dissentient voice, in pronouncing him the 
ablest lawyer of his time in western Pennsylvania ; and at 
his decease, November 25th, 1852, a universal regret was 
manifested in that section of the country where he was 
known and admired. 



EAVER, HENRY A., Merchant, was born in 
Freeport, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, April 
1st, 1820. His parents, Benjamin and Nancy 
Weaver, of Dutch and German descent, were 
born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, but I'emoved 
to Allegheny, of which county his father was 
Sheriff from i840-'43. His early education he received at 
the hands of the father of the late Governor Geary, and his 
later at the schools of Pittsburgh. At twenty he eng,aged in 
mercantile pursuits. In January, 1857, he was elected 
Mayor of Pittsburgh for one year, and was re-elected in 
1858, by a large majority, for two years. In 1861, during 
the Civil War, he was appointed Commissary of Subsistence, 
with the rank of Major, a position he held until 1862. He 
was next appointed, by President Lincoln, United States 
Assessor of Internal Revenue for the Twenty-second 
District of Pennsylvania, in which office he served until 
1869, when he engaged in the banking business. He is 
now President of the Monongahela Savings Bank, and 
Director and Manager in a large number of other corpora- 
tions. He was married, in 1843, to Eliza, daughter of 
Colonel William Arthurs, of Minersville, which is now a 
portion of the city of Pittsburgh. 



"p)B 




OYD, STEPHEN G., President of the Peach 
Bottom Railway Company, was born in Peach 
Bottom township, York county, Pennsylvania, 
December 6th, 1830. His father, John C. Boyd, 
was a native of the same place; his mother, 
Martha (Farmer) Boyd, was of English extrac- 
tion. His preliminary education was attained in the neigh- 
boring schools of the county, whence he was transferred to 
the Millersville Normal School, in Lancaster county, Penn- 
sylvania. Falling into possession of his father's farm he 
then interested himself in agricultural pursuits, laboring on 
the farm during the summer months, and teaching school in 
his native township during the winter. He was employed 
in this manner until 1859, when he located in Millersville 
for nearly three years; returning in 1862, he took charge 
of the Wrightsville High School, and acted as its head and 
director for two years and more. In 1866, he moved to 
York, Pennsylvania, and, in connection with Professor 
Heiges, established a normal school. In the fall of 1866, 




BIOGRAPHICAL 

he was elected to the Legislature on the Democratic ticket, 
and served through the winters of 1867 and 1868. In 1869, 
he was elected County Superintendent of Public Schools for 
a term of three years. While serving his constituents in tha 
Legislature he devoted himself assiduously to secure for his 
county extensive and greatly needed internal improvements. 
During his first session he passed a bill incorporating the 
York & Chanceford Turnpike Company, and, upon its 
organization, was elected a Director of the Board. The 
second winter he secured the passage of a bill incorporating 
the Peach Bottom Railway Company, a road e.xtending from 
Oxiord, in Chester county, to York, Pennsylvania, a distance 
exceeding sixty miles ; such a road was greatly needed by 
the inhabitants of the section through which it passed, and, 
in the organization of its company he was elected, and 
still continues, President. 



<|^ING, JOSIAH, Merchant and Newspaper Pro- 
prietor, was born in Waterford, Erie county, 
Pennsylvania, October 3d, 1807. On the paternal 
side he is of English and Irish extraction, on the 
maternal of Scotch and Irish. He was educated 
at Waterford Academy, in his native place, and 
at twelve years of age was apprenticed to a storekeeper for 
seven years. When in his twentieth year he moved to 
Pittsburgh, and was employed in a dry goods jobbing house. 
He was the first agent at Pittsburgh of the first line of cnnal 
freight and passenger boats, and in 1831 became associated 
with John Dalzell in the wholesale grocery and produce 
business. This connection lasted for five years, when the 
firm of King & Holmes, shipping and forwarding merchants, 
was formed, which continued in existence for ten years. 
He then purchased an interest in the Eagle Cotton Works, 
forming the firm of King, Pennock & Co., which was dis- 
solved in 1865. In 1866, he became part owner of the 
Pittsburgh Gazelle, under the firm-name of King, Reid & 
Co., in which business he is at present engaged. The 
Gazelle was established in 1786, by John Scull, and is the 
oldest journal west of the AUeghenies. In 1828, he voted 
for Jackson, and from that date uniformly snppoited the 
Democratic party and its principles in State and convention 
until 1 836-' 38, when, losing confidence in the Van Buren 
administration, he became Whig or Republican. In 1S37, 
he was a member of the Common Councils of Pittsburgh. 
In 1844, he was Chairman of Allegheny County Cl.ay Club, 
and presided at several of the annual nomination conven- 
tions of the Republican party, and in this year also, was 
elected to the Select Councils, a position which he resigned 
in the following year. He has been a School Director, 
Trustee of the Western University, and Manager of the 
Pennsylvania Reform School or House of Refuge; for 
many years he was an active member of the Board of 
Trade. 




ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 645 

/ 
ODGE, REV. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, 

D. D., the eldest son of Dr. Charles Hodge, was 
born at Princeton, New Jersey, in July, 1823. 
He graduated from the College of New Jersey in 
1843, and after acting for one year as Tutor, 
entered the Princeton Theological Seminary ; on 
leaving this institution he was ordained as a Missionary, 
and sailed for India in August, 1847. For two years he 
was stationed at Allahabad, when, in order to save the life 
of his wife, he returned to the United States in May, 1850, 
and the next year accepted the charge of a church at Lower 
West Nottingham, Maryland. In the fall of 1855 he 
resigned from his first charge to accept a call to p'redericks- 
burg, Virginia. While there he composed his Outlines of 
Theology, which were published in i860. On the breaking 
out of the Civil War in 1S61, he returned to the North and 
became the pastor of the church at Wilkesbarre, Pennsyl- 
vania. In May, 1864, he was elected by the General 
Assembly to the chair of Didactic, Historical and Polemical 
Theology in the Western Theological Seminary, and re- 
moved to Allegheny City. In the fall of 1867, he published 
his views on the Atonement, and in 1869 his Commentary 
on the Confession of Faith. In 1862, the College of New 
Jersey conferred on him the degree of D. D. His Outlines 
of Theology has long been a text book in England and 
Scotland, and has been translated into the Welsh and 
Spanish languages, while The Commentary on the Confession 
of Faith, was translated into Hindoostanee. 




%ROSS, HON. A. H., 



M. D., President of Select 
Council for the city of Pittsburgh, was born in 
Germany, January 9th, 1821. In 1831, he came 
with his parents to the United States, and located 
in Pittsburgh with them in 1833. Here he studied 
medicine under Dr. Herman Gross; was a 
matriculate of Jefferson College, in Philadelphia, in 1838, 
and, in 1840, received from Marburg, Germany, the honor- 
ary degree of M. D. In 1841, he commenced the practice 
of his profession in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and 
remained there until 1849, when he removed to East Liberty, 
where he has since been engaged professionally, except 
when interrupted by the calls of official duty. He has been 
twice elected to the Presidency of the Allegheny County 
Medical Association, and is widely known as a skilled 
physician and learned scientist. He early identified him- 
self with the Democratic party, and, in 1861, was elected 
as a Union Democrat to the State Legislature. Subse- 
quently, his industry and ability rendered his services of 
such value to his constituency that the Republican party 
supported him warmly, and he was re-elected until 1864, 
when he declined a re-nomination. When Governor 
Curtin, by authority of the Legislature, organized a corps 
of surgeons for the special relief of the Pennsylvania 



646 



KIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOP/KDIA. 



Volunteers in tlie Army of the Potomac, he was among the 
first to tender his services, and to receive his commission. 
He was assigned to duty under Surgeon-General Smith, 
and rendered valualile service at the battles at Yorktown, 
and Williamsburg. Since the consolidation of East Liberty 
with the city of Pittsburgh he has taken an active interest in 
municipal affairs, and since 1868, has been a member of 
Select Council. During the illness of the late James 
McAuley, his predecessor as President of that body, he was 
frequently called upon to preside, ami when the chair be- 
came vacant, was elected to the position by acclamation. 
Having entered with zest into military affairs in early man- 
hood, he raised in 1837-38, the First German Cavali-y Com- 
pany of Pittsburgh, and also during his residence in Indiana 
county, received from General Porter in 1842 his commission 
as captain, and from Governor Shunk in 1S45, his commis- 
sion as major. When in 1862, General Lee was threatening 
Pennsylvania, his company from East Liberty was the first 
to respond to the call of the Governor, and start for Hagers- 
town, Maryland. 

V 

^WEITZER, GENERAL JACOB BOWMAN, 
Lawyer and Soldier, was born at Brownsville, 
F.iyette county, Pennsylvania, July 4th, 1821. 
His great-grandfather, Ludwig Sweitzer, a native 
of Switzerland, came to the United .States in 1725, 
and settled in Philadelphia, \\here his grandfather 
was born, who, after arriving at maturity, engaged in farm- 
ing at Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and became a Mennonite 
preacher; his father, born in Doylestown, went early to 
liagerstown, Maiyland, and became a clerk for Colonel 
Rochester, until that gentleman removed to western New 
York, where he founded the present city of Rochester. He 
and Mr. Perrine then purchased the business at Hagerstown, 
and prosecuted it for several years. In iSio, they disposed 
of their interest in the establishment, and sl.ortly after, he, 
though under thirty years of age, was elected Sheriff' of 
Washington county, Maryland, by a hitherto unparalleled 
majority ; after the expiration of his official term, he trav- 
elled through the South, with a view to settlement in that 
region, but finding the climate uncongenial, returned to 
Hagerstown, having been during his absence nominated 
and elected to the Maryland Legislature, where he served 
one term. While in this place, he purchased some 3000 or 
4000 acres of land in western Pennsylvania, of the firm of 
Turnbull, Marmie & Company, of which Robert Morris 
was a member, and which had established the first iron 
works west of the Alleghenies, on Jacob's creek, that stream 
forming a portion of the boundary line between Fayette and 
W'estmoreland counties. Jacob Bowman, a native of 
Hagerstown, Maryland, whose ancestors had came from 
Holland, had been trained for business in the store of Col- 
onel William Elliott, and having married the niece of his 
employer, was sent to Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in 17S4, 




to establish a branch store, and was the first person to trans- 
]3ort a wagon-load of store goods over the Alleghenies. 
He established, also a nail manufactt)ry in that place, and 
made the first cut nails west of the mountains. Altera long 
and honorable career, he died in 1849, at the age of eighty- 
four years, having been the first President of the Mononga- 
hela Bank, founded about 1812, at Brownsville, until his 
decease, when he was succeeded by his eldest son, who, at 
his death, was succeeded by another son, who retained the 
Presidency until his decease in 1S73. Henry Sweitzer was 
married to the daughter of Jacob Bowman about 1817, and 
subsequently settled at Brownsville, where he became 
largely interested in the leading manufacturing establish- 
ments of that section of Pennsylvania, also in various 
steamboat enterprises, and in the improvement of river 
navigation; his death occurred in 1852, while in the sev- 
enty-third year of his age. Ann Elliott Sweitzer, second 
child of Jacob Bowman, still lives, at the age of eighty-four 
years, and retains in a remarkable degree her physical and 
intellectual powers. Jacob Bowman Sweitzer graduated 
from Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 
1843, and entered upon the study of the law with lion. T. 
M. T. McKennan, of Washington county, Pennsylvania, 
and, having been admitted to the bar, Noveinber I ith, 1845, 
removed to Pittsburgh in 1846, and engnged in the practice 
of his profession. During the administration of General 
Taylor, he was appointed United States District Attorney 
for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and discharged 
the duties of that office with fidelity and ability. He con- 
tinued his practice until 1861, when he entered the Union 
army a-s Major of the 33d Independent Regiment of Penn- 
sylvania, commanded by Colonel Samuel W. Black, con- 
taining twelve companies, and raised by direct authority of 
the Secretary of War, but later, in November l86i, num- 
bered the 62d Pennsylvania regiment. His major's com- 
mission bore date July 4lh, i85i. Early in August, this 
force proceeded to Harrisburg, whence, after an encamp- 
ment of twelve days, it moved via Baltimore to Washing- 
ton, and shortly after was ordered across the river, and as- 
signed to the defence of Fort Cochran, opposite George- 
town ; it was there placed in the Second Brigade of Fitz 
John Porter's Division, after, the First Division, Fifth 
Corps ; that brigade consisted of the 14th New York, the 
4lh Michigan, the 9th Massachusetts, and the 62d Penn- 
sylvania regiments, and was kept together during their 
whole term of service. November iglh, i86l,he was com- 
missioned Lieutenant-Colonel, and continued with his com- 
mand on the front line until the opening of the spring cam- 
paign, when he participated in all the movements in the 
Peninsula. Having succeeded to the command upon the 
death of Colonel Black at the Seven Days' Fight, he w.as 
taken prisoner June 27th, 1872, and confined in Libby 
Prison until the following August 14th, when he was ex- 
changed, and resumed his command at Harrison's Landing, 
where he found awaiting him his commission as colonel. 



BIOGRAPHIC A I, ENCVCLOP.liDIA. 



647 



heaving date August glli, 1S62, conferred for "gallant and 
meritorious conduct on the tield of battle." His command 
having been transported by water from Newport News to 
Acquia creek, joined the army of Pope at Falmouth, and 
after an active participation in the disastrous campaign 
which followed, Entered with McClellanupon the Maryland 
campaign. When the latter was succeeded by General 
Burnside, at Warrenton, Virginia, various changes and pro- 
motions left a vacancy in the command of his brigade which 
fell to him as senior Colonel, and he continued in command 
until mustered out of service July 13th, 1S64, having parti- 
cipated in the battle and siege of Yorktown, and in the 
actions at Hanover Court House, Mechanicsville, Chicka- 
hominy, Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, Harrison's Landing, 
Second Bull Run, Antietam, Blackford's Ford, Kearnys- 
ville, Fredericksburg — where he won especial distinction 
and was severely wounded — Mud March, Chancellorsville, 
Gettysburg, Frankstown, Rappahannock Station, New Hope 
Church, Mine Run, Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania, 
North Anna, Little River, Sh.ady Grove Church, Bethesda 
Church, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Jerusalem Road, in 
many of which he won flattering recognition of his distin- 
guished gallantry, notably, his brevet commission as Briga- 
dier-General, March 13th, 1S65. After being mustered 
out, he returned to Pittsburgh, and lived in retirement until 
his appointment by General Grant in i86g, as Supervisor 
of Internal Revenue for the Western District of Pennsyl- 
vania, which position he retained until the district was 
consolidated with others in 1873. In November of this 
year, he was appointed Prothonotary of the Supreme Court 
for the Western District of Pennsylvania, an office he still 
fills. He has been a member of Councils, and is now 
President of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Associa- 
tion, also a member of the Board of Guardians of the Poor, 
and Director of Dixmont Hospital, and of the Pennsylvania 
Reform School. He was married June I5lh, 1852, to Mary 
Holmes, daughter of Dr. Hemy Stevenson, and grand- 
daughter of Dr. George Stevenson and John Darragh, old 
and prominent citizens of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 



V 

(IDDLE, HON. RICHARD, Lawyer and Con- 
gressman, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylva- 
nia, March 25th, 1 796. His family have a name 
noted in the history of the United States. His 
education was thorough. At the age of seven- 
teen, he entered the volunteer service during the 
W'ar of 1S12, and remained therein until 1814. At the 
close of the war, he studied law with his elder brother, 
William S. Biddle, and was admitted to the bar in 1817. 
He then removed to Pittsburgh, and commencing practice, 
in spite of several natural drawbacks, quickly won promi- 
nence in his profession. In 1S28, he visited Europe, and 
returning to Pittsburgh in 1832, resumed practice till 1S36, 





when he was elected to Congress as a member of the Whig 
party. In l83S,he was re-elected, but resigned in 1840 on 
account of ill health and distaste for congressional life. 
During his legislative career he made a marked impression 
as a man of unusual force and ablility. June 17th, 1844, 
he was married to Ann Eliza, eldest daughter of John An- 
derson, of Pittsburgh. For some time before his death, his 
health was much broken, but he attended to his professional 
duties with his usual energy and capacity until the last. lie 
died July 6th, 1S47. 



UIDEKOPER, HARM JAN, an early settler of 
Craw ford county, Pennsylvania, and the founder 
of the family in this country, was born at Hoge- 
veen, Holland, April 3d, 1776. His parents 
were devoted strictly to the Mennonite and Cal- 
vinistic doctrine, and he was raised in the atmos- 
phere of severe religion. His education was limited in 
his early days, but afterwards was improved by the kindness 
of an elder brother who also furnished him means to emi- 
grate to America, wdiere he arrived in 1796. He spent a 
year in Cazenovia, New York, and for five years was located 
in Trenton, New Jersey, part of this time occupying a-posi- 
tion in the Holland Land Company. In 1S02, he removed 
to Philadelphia, employed as bookkeeper by the company 
at their office in that city. In Januaiy, 1S05, he became 
agent of the company in northwestern Pennsylvania, aiul 
arrived at Meadville during a lime of great excitement and 
almost open revolt against the title of the company by the 
occupants of the land. His fearlessness, honesty, and sound 
judgment in this time of danger finally conquered the trou- 
ble and reconciled the malcontents. In 1836, the company 
disposing of all its lands in this countiy, he bought the 
tracts under his care. September 1st, 1S06, he married 
Rebecca, daughter of Andrew and Esther (McDowell) Cal- 
houn, who was born October 15th, 1779, and died October 
22d, 1S39, the mother of seven children. Upon his mar- 
riage he established his home in Meadville, where he ever 
after lived, devoting his leisure to literary pursuits, publish- 
ing for two years the Essnvisi^ a paper devoted to liberal 
Christianity. He founded and endowed the Unitarian 
Theological School at Meadville, in which town he died 
May 22d, 1854. 



ILLIAMS, PROF. LORENZO D., Postmaster of 
Meadville, was born at Cazenovia, New York, 
March 7th, 1813. His father was a Methodist min- 
ister, Rev. Benojah Williams, and his mother, Je- 
rusha (Smith). He was educated at the Genesee 
Wesleyan Seminary, Lima, New York, and in 1846 
received the degree of A. M. from Allegheny College. He 
then engaged in teaching, at first in a private school in New- 
York State, and afterwards as principal of Asbury Seminary, 




648 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOl'.liDIA. 




Ohio. About 184J, he established a seminary at Western 
Star, Ohio, where he continued until 1846, when he was 
called to the chair of Natural Science at Allegheny College, 
Meadville, a position he retained until 1861, when he re- 
signed to join the army as Chaplain of the iiith Regiment 
Pennsylvania Volunlcers. In 1S63, he resigned his Chap- 
lainship and returned to Meadville. In 1868, he occupied 
the chair of Professor of Chemistry at the Genesee College, 
New' York, from which post he retired to accept a charge 
on the Cochranton Circuit of the Erie Conference. He 
was appointed as Postmaster at Meadville, Pennsylvania, 
in Januaiy, 1874, a position he now holds. May 4th, 1S37, 
he was married to Olive T. Warren, of Genesee., New 
York, and has four children ; one son. Dr. A. M. Williams, 
graduated at Allegheny College in 1870; a daughter, Mary 
Adille, graduated in 1874 from the same institution; his 
oldest daughter, Louisa, married S. G. Brock, lawyer, of 
Missouri, and his other son, O. L. Williams, is a farmer in 
Crawford county. 



n;VI>r, ROBERT p.. Author and Journalist, was 
born near Strausburgh, Franklin county, Penn- 
sylvania, in 1820. While in his infancy, his 
parents removed to a farm situated within a mile 
of Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he resided until 1832, when he 
went to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he received his rudimen- 
tary education. The following si.K years were passed in 
Niles, Michigan, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 
1839, he commenced a collegiate course at Jefferson Col- 
lege, C.mnonsburg, Pennsylvania, then under the Presidency 
of Rev. Matthew Brown, D. D., graduating in 1842. Not 
feeling disposed to embrace a profession, he entered into 
partnership with his brother, T. H. Nevin, in the drug and 
white lead business, in Pittsburgh. While in business, he 
devoted his leisure hours to writing poems and sketches for 
the newspa|5ers and magazines, some of the most notable 
of the latter being Stephen C. Foster and Negro Minstrelsy, 
published in the Atlantic Mont/i/y of November, 1867 ; also, 
7'oni the Tinker, in Lippincotfs Magazine of October, 
iS58, which excited much comment. His principal literaiy 
proiluction, entitled Black-Robes, or Sketches of Missions 
and Ministers in the Wilderness and on the Border, was 
published by the house of Lippincott & Co., in Philadelphia, 
in 1872, and contains much valuable and interesting matter 
connected with early American history. In 1870, he re- 
tired from the drug and white lead business and purchased 
an interest in the Weekly (Sunday) Leader. Shortly after, 
the Daily Leader was established, and he became con- 
nected with it as part Proprietor and Editor, and still 
occupies that position. He resides in Sewickley Valley, on 
the Ohio river, some thirteen miles from Pillsburgh. on the 
line of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. 



He was married, in 1850, to Elizabeth D. Oliphant, daugh- 
ter of F. U. Oliphant, proprietor of the Fairchance lion 
Works, near Unionlown, Pennsylvania. 



HILLIPS, COLONEL WILLIAM, Manufacturer, 
was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, about 
the year 18:4. His parents were both of Irish 
descent. Being early left fatherless, his educa- 
tion devolved upon his mother, who well per- 
formed her duty. Early in life he entered the 
works of Page & Blakewell, in order to learn the glass 
business. Mastering it fully, he became one of the firm 
of Whitehead, Ihmsen & Phillips, in the same trade, and 
finally started new works, with his brother, under the firm- 
name of R. B. & W. Phillips, which, on his brother's 
retirement, became Phillips & Best. He aLso ventured in 
the iron business, and with J. E. Brown and others built a 
rolling mill at Kittanning, which likewise proved success- 
ful. He retired from active business in 1862, and at that 
time his rent roll in the Second Ward alone was over 
$20,000 per annum. Just after this he accepted the posi- 
tion of President pro tempore of the Allegheny Railroad, 
and soon after became actual President; he succeeded in 
relieving this dcejily involved corporation of its heavy 
debt, extended its lines and made it one of the most suc- 
cessful roads in the country — all this by his personal exer- 
tions and influence. In early life he was a Democrat, but 
during the war gave his services and money cheerfully in 
the cause of the Union. For more than twenty consecutive 
years he represented the Second Ward in the City Councils, 
and at one tim^ was Chairman of nearly all the leading 
standing committees. The amount of direct and indirect 
good he conferred upon his city is incalculable. He was 
at one time a member of the firms of William M. Lyon & 
Co., Nimick & Co., the Prosphor Bronze Company, and a 
glass firm. He was an organizer and director of several 
banks, insurance and deposit companies. He died April 
14th, 1874. 



OMPTON, COLONEL JOHN B., Lawyer, was 
born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, Novem- 
ber 17th, 1835. His family are of Welsh and 
English extraction, one of his ancestors having 
been Bishop of London. Ilis grandfather, David 
Compton, early settled in Meadville, coming 
from Monmouth county. New Jersey. He had seven 
brothers in the Revolutionary War. Colonel David and 
Eliza (Brooks) Compton were the parents of John B. He 
was educated in the public schools of Meadville, and 
graduated from Allegheny College an A. B. and A. M. in 
1861. He had enlisted in the army during his senior year, 
but obtained a furlough to return and graduate. He served 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCL0P.€;DIA. 



649 



in llie SjlI Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers fur about 
two years, and was discharged in Octoljer, 1862, on account 
of wounds received at Gaines' Mill and Malvern Hill. In 
l86j, he commanded a company against the " Morgan 
Raid," and the same year was elected Prothonotary for 
Crawford County. After the expiration of his official term, 
he studied law with Phinney & Douglass, and was admitted 
to the bar in Januaiy, 1S6S. In 1S64, at a State election, 
he was appointed one of the Commissioners to take Soldiers' 
vote in the Army of the Potomac, was made Secretary 
of the delegation and saved the records of the election 
when a conspiracy had been formed to destroy them. In 
1S71, he associated with D. T. McKay in the practice 
of the law ; was Chairman of the Republican County Con- 
vention, in 1S72, and is at present Attorney for the county 
and Solicitor for the Building and Loan Association of the 
city; President of the Board of Trustees of the Odd Fel- 
lows' Home Association of western Pennsylvania, Colonel 
and Aide-de-Camp to Governor Hartranft and the nominee 
of the Republican party for the State Legislature. He was 
married, November 12th, 1S63, to Fannie E. Kingsley, 
of Springfield, Massachusetts; three children have been 
born to them, two of whom are living. 



EXNETT, JAMES L, Iron Manufacturer, was 
born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, in 1822, 
and when he was but two years of age his 
parents removed ta Franklin, Venango county. 
His ancestors were among the first settlers of 
western Pennsylvania, and of the old Presby- 
terian stock. When in his fifteenth year, he was employed 
as a clerk in the store of Robert Lambertson, in Franklin, 
and afterward filled a similar position with the late Myron 
Park. In 1841, through Hon. John Howe, he obtained a 
situation in the grocery store of Myers & Richey, of Pitts- 
burgh, remaining there for nearly three years. In 1S44, 
he entered into partnership as a member of the firm of 
English, Gallagher & Co., in a wholesale and retail grocery 
business. The great fire of April loth, 1845, entirely de- 
stroyed the slock in trade of that establishment, and the 
firm was subsequently dissolved. In the fall of 1845, with 
his partner, William B. English, he started for the seaboard 
to purchase a fresh supply of goods entirely on credit, and 
thus the firm of English & Bennett, general grocers, was 
organized. In this business he continued until 1854, when, 
with other capitalists, he leased the Clinton Rolling Mill, 
and the firm of Bennett, Marshall & Co. was established. 
Subsequently, the firm of Graff, Bennett & Co. was formed 
for the manufacture of merchant bar iron, nails, etc.; the 
house is still in existence and is one of the most extensive 
manufactories in the country, while its members were the 
first to erect a blast furnace in Pittsburgh. In conjunction 
with his partners, he afterward purchased the mill known 
82 




as the Mill Vale Rolling Mill, on the Allegheny river near 
the mouth of Girty's run, which was one of the earliest 
constructed mills in the county. He is interested also in 
the Isabella Furnaces, and is importantly connected with 
various other manufactuiing and industrial interests in this 
section of the State. He is President of the Ewalt Bridge 
Company and a prominent director in many other local 
institutions. He was chairman of the committee recently 
elected by the creditors of the Allegheny Valley Railroad, 
and on that occasion evinced admirable judgment and 
ability. He was connected with the Superior Rail Mill Com- 
pany, and was President of it for a time ; he look an active 
part also in the construction of the Pittsburgh Locomotive 
Works, which has since proved an eminently successful 
enterprise, and in which he is still an influential director. 
His residence is near Superior Station, on the Pittsburgh, 
Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. He is a zealous member 
of the First Methodist Church, in Fifth avenue, Pittsburgh, 
and has been connected with it since 1843. 



rtYjOBINSON, GENERAL WILLIAM, first Mayor 
of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, was the first 
white child born (December 17th, 1785) west 
of the Allegheny river. He early became familiar 
with Indian warfare, and in childhood his home 
was defended by his mother from an attack of the 
red-skins, with whom he had frequent contests until they 
were driven westward ; with those who remained, the 
Cornplanters, he was in friendly intercourse until his 
death. He received a classical education and graduated 
at Princeton, then studied law with Hon. James Ross and 
was admitted to the bar, but never engaged in practice. 
At the death of his father, James Robinson, he became 
owner of an extensive tract of land upon which a portion 
of Allegheny City now stands, and for years was largely 
interested in commercial and manufacturing pursuits. His 
title as general he held by virtue of a commission in the 
State Militia. He was connected with the "Aaron Burr 
conspiracy," in 1S06. His enterprise and personal influ- 
ence were zealously and beneficially e:!erted in many of the 
internal improvements of Pennsylvania, especially in the 
building of canals, to which he devoted lands, and in the 
construction of the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad, upon 
the success of which he ventured his entire fortune. He 
aided in building the first iron mill in Pittsburgh and the 
first suspension bridge over western waters. He was Presi- 
dent of the Exchange Bank of Pittsburgh, member of the 
Pennsylvania Legislature, first Mayor of Allegheny City, 
and built a portion of Allegheny City which he named 
Buena Vista, calling the streets therein after the battles 
of the Mexican War. He was patriotically active in the 
late civil conflict, and his grandson. Captain William 
O'llara Robinson, gave his life in defence of the Union at 



650 



BlOGRAPIIICAl, E.NCVCLOP.EDIA. 




the figlit in the Wilderness. He was married, July 3d, iSio, 
\o Mary, daughter of Captain Alexander Parker, of Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania, who was an officer of the Revolutionary War 
and the founder of Parkersburg, Pennsylvania. lie died 
February 25th, iSCS. 



|eED, JOSEPH A., M. D., was born in Washing- 
ton county, Pennsylvania, December 31st, 1S23. 
His grandparents were early settlers in Pennsyl- 
vania, and, on the paternal side, he is of Scotch 
e,\traction. He was educated at Washington 
College in 1842, and, in 1847, graduated '" medi- 
cine at Jefferson College. In April of that year, he re- 
moved to Allegheny City, and there practised his profes- 
sion for ten years. He was then elected, by the Board of 
Managers, Superintendent and Physician of the Insane 
Department of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, org.in- 
ized by himself at the time of his election. He urged the 
managers to erect a separate hospital for the insane at Dix- 
mont, and induced the Legislature to grant large appropria- 
tions to erect one of the most extensive buildings for the 
insane in the State. Since 1857, he has resided in Dix- 
mont, and has won widespread fame as a skilled physician 
and a philanthropic and enterprising citizen. He h.is been 
appointed on several commissions, by the Legislature of 
the State, in the interests of the insane, and his views and 
opinions concerning the subject of insanity in all its various 
forms are received by the profession with great considera- 
tion. While residing in Allegheny, he was elected Physi- 
cian to the School of Reform, when that institution was 
organized. Of the new hospital at Dixmont, he has still 
entire charge, and is admirably fitted to care for its five 
hundred and more suffering inmates. He has been twice 
married, and from these unions have sprung six children, 
all of whom are living. 



'HRIST, S.AMUEL, Lumber Merchant and Finan- 
cier, was born in the city of Lancaster, Pennsyl- 
vania, June 23d, 1S23. His parents, John and 
Elizabeth (Hoffman) Christ, were natives of the 
same place. He was educated in the common 
schools of Lancaster, and there, at the age of 
twenty-two, engaged in mercantile pursuits. In January, 
1849, he sailed for the Pacific coast in one of the first ves- 
sels that left Philadelphia for California at the outbreak of 
the gold fever. ,\ year later, he returned to Pennsylvania, 
and, in the fall of 1851, settled in Lock Haven. There he 
purchased a large tract of timber land and interested him- 
self in lumbering, in which trade he has since been actively 
and extensively engaged. Subsequently, he became the 
proprietor of a large saw-mill which has at times manufac- 
tured and sent into the market 5,000,000 feet of lumber 
per annum; but this valuable establishment was entirely 




destroyed by fire in 1873. For six years he was a member 
of the Town Council, and, during a portion of that time, its 
President. He was one of the prominent organizers of the 
Gas Works, and is the largest stockholder, also President 
of that company, whose capital stock is $75,000. He has 
been a Director in the First National Bank of Lock Haven 
since its organization in 1S64; and, is President of the 
Great Island Bridge Company, which has a capital stock 
of $25,000; this bridge connects the Great Island with the 
main land, and the island contains four farms, in all, about 
five hundred acres of finely cultivated land. With two 
other capitalists, he bought the Old Academy Lot, in Lock 
Haven, and erected on it a magnificent block of brick 
buildings, which is 160 by 60 feet, and contains commo- 
dious and elegant stores and offices. The Lock Haven 
Boot and Shoe Factory is located in this structure, and is 
an extensive industry with a capital stock of $50,000, em- 
ploying about fifty hands, and manufacturing goods to the 
value of $120,000 per annum; in this enterprise he has a 
very considerable money.ed interest. He was married, in 
January, 1857, to Julia, daughter of Stephen Gould, of 
Williamsport, Pennsylvania. 




^EED, DAVID, Lawyer, District Attorney of the 
/i United States for the W'eslern District of Penn- 



4 



sylvania, was born in Washington county, Penn- 
.sylvania, November 12th, 182 1. Ills ancestors 
foi- two generations were native Pennsylvanians. 
Ha was educated at Washington College and 
graduated from that institution in 1843, and immediately 
commenced the study of law with Hon. T. M. T. McKen- 
nan, concluding his course under the Hon. William Mc- 
Kennan, now Circuit Judge of the United States Courts, 
and gaining admittance to the bar in the fall of 1S46, at 
Washington. He removed to Pittsburgh in the spring of 
1847, and has since remained in that city engaged in a very 
extensive and lucrative practice. He was, for six or seven 
years, a member of the Select and Common Councils of 
the city, and, in 1S74, was appointed by President Grant to 
the position which he now occupies ; he resigned his seat 
in the Select Council upon accepting the appointment. 



AcYEAGH, WAYNE, Lawyer, was born in Chester 
county, Pennsylvania, April 19th, 1S33. He 
graduated at Yale College in the class of 1853, 
and, adopting the profession of the law, was 
admitted to the bar, April 26th, 1856. Having 
entered upon the active practice of the profession, 
he became District Attorney of Chester county, and re- 
mained so for three years. During the Civil War he 
served as captain of militia cavalry in 1862, and as major 




BIOGRArillCAL EN'CVCLOP/EDIA. 



65" 



on the staff of Major General Couch during 1S63. During 
the last named year, he was also Chairman of the Repub- 
lican State Central Committee of Pennsylvania for both the 
Presidential and Gubernatorial campaigns. Under the 
first administration of President Grant he was appointed 
United States Minister to Constantinople. In 1872, he 
was elected as a Republican delegate representing the 
Twelfth Senatorial District, composed of the counties of 
Dauphin and Lebanon, to the Constitutional Convention. 



^S. 




|.\RTON, JOHN, Lawyer, was born in Pittsburgh, 
February 22d, 1 822, his parents having come from 
Ireland in 1S16. His education was confined to 
the common schools of his native city. After 
leaving school he studied law for one year ; then 
followed river engineering for three years and 
became an adept in river navigation. Going back to his 
law studies, he was admitted to-the bar of Pittsburgh in 
May, 1845, since which time he has never been without a 
large clientage. Much of his success is due to his exten- 
sive acquaintance with what are known in western Penn- 
sylvania as the " river men," the confidence and esteem of 
which class he possesses in the highest degree. Being one 
of the ablest lawyers in Pittsburgh, he has, during his prac- 
tice, been retained in many important cases. In the sum- 
mer of 1S74, he was engaged as leading counsel in the 
great oil-pipe line suit agitating the railroad and petroleum 
interests of the State. His son, Edward F. Barton, was 
the projector of the great scheme for carrying the product 
of the oil wells through pipes to the Philadelphia market, 
and, as it came into conflict with the carrying trade of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, litigation as to right of way was 
the result. He himself has been a Republican ever since 
the party existed, but is no politician. 



'OCHRAN, ALEXANDER G., Lawyer, w.as born 
in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, March 20lh, 
1845. His father, John T. Cochran, was for 
many years one of the leading men of the Pitts- 
burgh bar, and subsequently removed to New 
York City, where he continued to practise his 
])rofession with much success until his demise. Alexan- 
der's education was acquired in his native city and at 
Phillip's Academy, in Andover, Massachusetts, presided 
over by Dr. Taylor. Leaving school in 1 861, he removed 
to New York in the following year, and, entering the office 
of his father, became engaged in the study of law until 
1864. At that date he entered Columbia Law School, was 
afterward admitted to the bar, and entitled to practise in 
all the courts of New York State. April i8lh, 1866, he 
relumed to Pittsburgh, whert he has since chiefly resided 




and acquired an extensive and prosperous practice. He 
has never held any public position, and is strongly disin- 
clined to allow himself to be involved in political strife. 
During the Horace Greeley campaign, however, he was 
Chairman of the Committee on Speakers, in Allegheny 
county, and has uniformly sustained the Democratic party, 
its principles and its measures, being regarded by that or- 
ganization as an able and efficient ally. September ist, 
1S74, he was nominated by acclamation by the Democratic 
party for Congress from the Twenty-third District of Penn- 
sylvania. 



ppRANT, BENJAMIN, Lawyer, was born in Erie 
county, Pennsylvania, April 24lh, 1822. His 
father was a farmer. After receiving an educa- 
tion at the Waterford Academy, he studied law 
with Galbraith & Graham, of Erie, and in Octo- 
ber, 1845, was admitted to the bar. He entered 
into law partnership with Judge Thompson, late Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and they 
gained a large practice, especially winning reputation in 
important land and railroad suits. In 1858, he was Demo- 
cratic candidate for the Senate, and changed the Republican 
majority of 2500 in Erie county to a majority for himself 
of 2400, but was defeated by the rest of the district. At the 
commencement of the Civil War he entered the service a 
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Ist Regiment of Volunteers from 
northwestern Pennsylvania. He is an author of repute; 
his three volumes of Pennsylvania legal reports known as 
Grant's Cases are considered a necessity by the profession. 
He is still in practice, his son Frank \V. being associated 
professionally with him. He was twice married, his first 
wife being Sarah Faulkner, of Erie, his second, Maria E. 
Wilder, of Putney, Vermont. 





AHM, AL-VTTHIAS, was born in Lancaster, 
August I7lh, 1789. He was of Swiss-German 
descent and a life-long active and consistent 
member of the Moravian Church ; his grand- 
father, the Right Rev. Michael Zahni, having been a dis- 
tinguished Bishop of that denomination. His father, also 
named Matthias, was a well-known citizen of Lancaster in 
the olden time. Having received as good an education as 
the schools of the time afforded, he learned the trade of a 
gunsmith and followed it for a number of years. On 
August 17th, 1832, he was appointed Court Crier; for ten 
years prior to this date he had served as tipstaff. For 
thirty-six years continuously, he was in the employ of the 
Lancaster School Board as Janitor, the longest continuous 
term of service, it is believed, in the common-school cause 
since the inauguration of the system in the State. For 
thirty years he followed the business of an auctioneer of 



652 



BIOGRAPHICAL EXCVCLOP.EDIA. 




real estate in connection wiih liis official duties. lie was 
marrieJ, January Iglh, 1S12, to Eve Maria Myers, of Lan- 
caster. For forty-two years he was crier of the several 
courts, there having only been three since the organization 
of the court, nearly one hundred years ago. lie was a 
man of genial disposition, great native wit, warm heart and 
general intelligence. He ever recalled with justifiable 
pride the fact that he was the author of the first petition 
ever written in favor of the Married V/onian's Law. lie 
presented the petition written in rhyme, and it excited much 
favorable comment at the time, and was conducive of such 
beneficial results that he might well claim to be the author 
of that most excellent law. He died August 12th, 1S74, 
and the members of the Lancaster Bar, men eminent in 
law, society and politics, and also the School Board, in 
special meetings paid exceptionally high tribute to his 
memory. 



ILL.\RD, J.\MES R., Journalist, was born at 
Madison, Lake county, Ohio, Sept. 24th, 1844. 
He received his preparatory instruction at Olivet 
College, Michigan, and graduated at Dartmouth 



He attended law lectures at the University of 
Michigan in lS67-'6S, and continued his legal studies under 
Judges Worden and Morris of Fort Wayne, Indiana, until 
June, 1S6S, when he became editor and part owner of the 
Fort Wayne Daily Gazette. The following year he pur- 
chased an interest in the Erie (Pennsylvania) Daily Dis- 
patch, with w-hich paper he is now connected. In Febru- 
ary, 1873, he was sent to Copenhagen, as bearer of United 
States dispatches to Denmark. He received the appoint- 
ment of Collector of Customs of the District of Erie in Feb- 
ruary, 1S74, and still holds that office. He was married in 
January-, 1871, to Julia M. Hobart of Union City, Michigan. 



\YS, GENERAL ALEXANDER, Soldier and 
Engineer, was born in Venango county, Penn- 
sylvania, in 1S20. He received a good English 
Y G^\ education, and being appointed in 1839, to West 
& 'S^ Point, graduated in the class of 1S44, with Gene- 
ral Grant and others who subsequently won high 
distinction in military pursuits. July 1st, 1844, he was 
commissioned Brevet Second Lieutenant, 4th United States 
Infantry, and served with this organization until transferred 
to the 8th United States Infantry, June l8th, 1S46, and 
commissioned First Lieutenant for " gallant conduct on the 
fields of Palo .\lto and Resaca de la P.-ilma." Afterward, 
being assigned to recruiting service in western Pennsylvania, 
he raised in a short time a large body of men with which 
he proceeded to Vera Cruz, whence he marched to the 
relief of the garrison at Puebla. He was subsequently 




appointed Assistant Adjutant-General for the expedition 
under General Joe Lane, in its operations against Urrea and 
the guerillas infesting the country contiguous to the City of 
Mexico, and contributed greatly to its ultimate success. 
After the close of the Mexican War he resigned, April I2lh, 
1S4S, and became engaged as a civil engineer upon im- 
portant works in California, and later, in western Pennsyl- 
vania, where the outbreak of the Rebellion found him 
employed in the construction of a bridge for the Allegheny 
Valley Railroad. He was among the fii-st to volunteer, 
and speedily raised a company of three months' men, known 
as the City Guards, and composed mainly of the sons of the 
wealthiest and most prominent citizens of Pittsburgh. It 
was probably the first full company to depart for the seat 
of war, and was mustered in as a part of the 12th Regiment, 
Pennsylvania Volunteers. In the organization of the regi 
ment he was elected Major, with the express stipulation 
that he was not to separate himself from his company, more 
than two-thirds of which afterward entered the three years' 
service with commissions, of which proportion one-half 
became field officers. In the summer of 1S61, he was 
appointed Captain of the l6th United States Infantry, but at 
the expiration of the three months' service returned to Alle- 
gheny county where he recruited the 63d Regiment Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers, with which he reported at Washington 
in the following fall, and was finally assigned to the com- 
mand of General Phil. Kearney, whose notice he soon 
attracted by his heroic conduct, and a close intimacy speedily 
grew up between the two soldiers. He led his command 
at Yorktown, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Fair Oaks, Gaines' 
Hill, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill and Groveton, 
where he was severely wounded. While being borne from 
the field, though suffering excruciating pain, he could not 
repress the exuberant spirit ever animating him, and he 
ordered his negro senant " Pomp" to " bring him a cork 
and stop the hole in his leg or he would bleed to death." 
September agih, 1862, he was commissioned Brigadier- 
General of Volunteers, and appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, 
United States Army. The Third Brigade, Casey's Division, 
Heintzelman's Corps, being in a stale of confusion and 
mutiny. General Heintzelman, recognizing the executive 
abilities of" Sandy H.ays," selected him for that command. 
He summarily quelled all signs of disorder, and, under 
him, the brigade did gallant service in many hard-fought 
struggles. After the action at Chancellorsville, Lee, by a 
daring strategic movement, forced his way into Maryland 
and Pennsylvania, until confronted at Gettysburg, July 1st, 
by the Union forces ; General Hays, in command of the 
Third Division, Second Corps, was, July 3d, opposed by 
the Confederate Coq)s of General A. P. Hill, under whom 
was General George E. Picket, with other classmates and 
comrades; and it was his command that so gallantly hurled 
back the rebel cohorts of Hill in that desperate charge 
which, turning the tide of the battle, ensured a final victor)-. 
The trophies of that day were twentv banners and flags. 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



6S3 




with three thousaml stands of arms, and he killed and 
captured nearly twice the number of his own force. During 
the action he had two horses killed under him, while every 
member of his staff" was unhorsed ; he lost fourteen of his 
twenty mounted orderlies, and all his colonels; lieutenant- 
colonels commanded his brigades, and lieutenants his regi- 
ments. He participated also at Auburn, Bristoe Station, 
Locust Grove, Morton's Ford and the Wilderness, where, 
Thursday, May 5th, 1864, he was slain — the hero of 
thirty-two battles — at the head of his own regiment while 
cheering and sustaining his men against an overwhelming 
and desperate array of enemies. He was married, in April, 
1848, to Anna, daughter of John B. McFadden, an old and 
respected citizen of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 



(ORRIS, JOHN F., Prothonotary for Crawford 
county, Pennsylvania, was born in Meadville, 
August 22d, 1S35, his parents being Levi L., and 
Nancy (McKnight) Morris. His father came 
from England, and his mother from Northampton 
county, Pennsylvania; the former died when J. F. 
Morris was a child. He was educated at a local private 
school. He entered the army August I5lh, 1S61, as cap- 
lain of Company B, 83d Pennsylvania Volunteers; was 
wounded in three places at the battle of Gaines' Mill, 
and was taken prisoner. Exchanged after two months, he 
was discharged September, 1862, on account of wounds 
which rendered him unfit for'service. In 1863, he was 
elected Register and Recorder for Crawford county, declin- 
ing ill consequence an appointment as Lieutenant-Colonel 
in the Invalid Corps; the office he held three years. He 
then engaged in mercantile pursuits till December, 1872, 
when he was elected Prothonotary for Crawford county. 
He holds a commission as major in the State militia. Mar- 
ried to Libbie A. Otterstatter of Meadville, September 15th, 
1S61, he has had six children, three of whom survive. 



"^ EGLEY, DANIEL, Capitalist, Merchant, etc., 
was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April loth, 
1S02. His father Jacob, was a native of Frank- 
fort, Germany, his more remote ancestors having 
been prominent in the Reformation. His educa- 
tion was limited, but he possessed great natural 
intelligence, energy and industry, and having inherited 
large wealth, he from early life, carried on successfully at 
the same time, mercantile business, the manufacture of 
bricks, coal trade, and transportation of goods east and west 
by road-teams, before the days of railroads. The portion 
of Pittsburgh known as East Liberty, (founded by his 
father), in which his life was spent, owes its success mainly 




to his enterprise. Being an extensive landholder, he, about 
1850, laid out a great many building lots which he disposed 
of at moderate rales, thereliy affording the poor and thrifty 
an opportunity to acquire a homestead. He was a staunch 
Whig in politics, and afterwards a Republican, being elected 
by the latter party to the State Legislature in 1858. He 
was active in party politics, but never sought or desired 
office. In religious faith and doctrine he was a Presbyterian 
of the old school. He was unostentatious, conscientious 
and liberal, a friend to the poor and deserving, an honest, 
strong, sensible gentleman. He died at his home, Decem- 
ber 4lh, 1867. 

^ "^'^ 

AGNER, CHARLES V., Manufacturer, was born 
in Philadelphia, January 13th, 1796, being the son 
of Philip Hagner, and the grandson of Frederick 
Hagner, who emigrated to America from Ger- 
many in 1745. Both his father and grandfather 
were prominent citizens of Philadelphia, and 
served as commissioned officers in the Revolutionar}' War. 
Charles V. Hagner received his education at the University 
of Pennsylvania, and commenced life as clerk in a mer- 
chant's office. After about a year spent in this position, he 
entered his father's mill at the Falls of Schuylkill, and re- 
mained there in a subordinate capacity until 1817, in which 
year his father retired, and he assumed the absolute control 
of the business. In 1820, he bought a water power at 
Manayunk, of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, removed 
there, and erected a mill especially adapted to the manu- 
facture of oils and the grinding of drugs. Before this time 
the grinding or powdering of drugs had been done by hand 
exclusively, with pestle and mortar, and lo him belongs the 
distinction of being the founder of the system of powdering 
drugs by machinery. He successfully introduced the im- 
provement, for many years held an entire monopoly of this 
whole trade, and notwithstanding much adverse criticism, 
brought it to a favorable issue. In 1823, he added to his 
works a fulling mill, and caused to be made a number of 
power looms for weaving satinets, which were the first 
power looms ever used in Pennsylvania for weaving woollen 
goods. Thus he was also the pioneer in the introduction 
of looms, and his establishment became the birthplace of 
the vast woollen manufacturing industry, which now sends 
forth its busy hum not only along the banks of the Schuyl- 
kill, but throughout the entire Keystone State. In 1838, 
his factories were burned down, and he then left Manayunk, 
and in the following year removed to Philadelphia, where 
he took, for the purposes of his business, the old Lancas- 
terian School Building, which he fitted with every possible 
appliance for the grinding of heavy drugs. The business 
has been continued with the greatest success to the present 
time (1874), and it is the representative house in this branch 
of trade. In addition to his prominence as an enterprising 
merchant, he became noteworthy for his public spirit, and 



6S4 



LIOGRAI'HICAL 




his exertions for the welfare of the community, lie it was 
who established the first post-office at Manayunk, and kept 
it running for several years by his own individual efforts. 
He was commissioned by Governor Wolfe as a magistrate 
of Manayunk, and it was through him that the first stage 
was run between Manayunk and Philadelphia. In l8j2, 
during the cholera epidemic, he e.xerted himself manfully 
for the sufferers. He has been conspicuous among the 
schools of the State, and done much to increase their effi- 
ciency. He has made his mark in his generation, and in 
common with many successful men attributes no small share 
of that success to the powerful influence for good e.xerted 
upon him in his young days by his mother. He is the author 
of Early Hisloiy of Falls of Sc/iiiyl/iill and Manayunk, an 
interesting record of the men and customs of early times. 



-iifelLFHXAN, HON. CALVIN W., Lawyer and 
Banker, was born in Lawrence county, Pennsyl- 
vania, February 20th, 1832. His father was a 
native of the same county ; his mother, Jane 
(Adams) was a resident of Beaver county. His 
preliminary education was acquired in neighbor- 
ing schools, and while in his twentieth year, he commenced 
a four years course of studies at Westminster College, in 
New Wilmington, Lawrence county, after which he was 
engaged in teaching for about two years. In 1857, he was 
elected County Superintendent of Schools in and for Mercer 
county, continuing to discharge the duties of that office until 
l859,-when he resigned. In the same year he removed to 
Venango county, and commenced the practice of law, hav- 
ing previously perfected himself in the theory of that profes- 
sion. In 1861, he was appointed District Attorney of this 
county, vice Charles E. Taylor, who resigned from that posi- 
tion in order to enter the army, and with whom he eventu- 
ally became associated as a law partner. In 1862, he was 
regularly nominated and elected to the same office, and 
held it for three succeeding years. In 1868, he was elected 
to Congress from the then twentieth district of Pennsylva- 
nia, for the term of two years, by the Republican party. 
In 1870, he was renominated, but owing to local dissen- 
sions, failed to secure an election ; during his term as rep- 
resentative, he was placed on several important committees, 
notably, those on the District of Columbia, and on Pensions. 
He is largely interested in banking, and in real estate opera- 
tions, and is President of the Lamberton Savings Bank of 
Franklin. He was one of the organizers of the Penn Fire 
Insurance Company of Philadelphia, and by his influence 
caused a large subscription, from his locality, to the stock 
of that corporation. In the advancement of all matters of 
public improvement, he is warmly interested, and is 
noted as a generous and earnest worker. He wa.s 
married in 1858, to Lizzie Lamberton of Franklin, 
Pennsylvania. 




ENCVCLOP/EDL\. 

>%y* ETTIS, HON. S. NEWTON, was born at Lenox, 
Ohio, October loth, 1827, the son of Solomon 
and Ruth (House) Pettis. He was educated at 
Farming and Jefferson Academies, Ohio, and, 
after reading law with the Hon. Joshua R. Gid- 
dings, was admitted to the bar, at Meadville, 
Pennsylvania, in 1850. He was appointed counsel for the 
county of Crawford in 1856, 1857, and 1858, and defended 
the county in most important suits. In i860, he was a 
member of the conventions that nominated President Lin- 
coln and Governor Curtin. March 25th, 1S61, he was 
appointed, by President Lincoln, an Associate Judge of the 
United States Supreme Court of Colorado Territory ; his 
resignation thereof was accepted in 1862. He was an 
intimate personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, and the 
eulogy of the President's character delivered before the 
court at Meadville was one of the n.ost able efforts called 
forth by the memorable assassination. In 1864, under 
authority, he recruited, from the rebel prisoners at Rock 
Island, Illinois, eighteen hundred men, and placed them in 
the Union army, crediting them to his own congressional 
district and thus saving the men and money of his section. 
In 1866, he was elected to the Fortieth Congress to fill the 
vacancy caused by the death of Hon. D. A. Finney, and, 
in 1868, he refused a renomination. In 1871, he was ap- 
pointed Attorney for the Atlantic & Great Western Rail- 
road. In 1872, he again refused to be a candidate for con- 
gressional honors, but, in 1874, he yielded to the solicita- 
tions of the Republicans of his district and was duly nomi- 
nated by the Convention of Crawford county. Since his 
admission to the bar he has always enjoyed an extensive 
and lucrative practice. He was married to Emma, daughter 
of John Wightman, of Rosedale, Crawford county, Pennsyl- 
vania, and three children have been born to them : Ger- 
trude W., Herbert Ray, and Rush Huidekoper. 



INEHART, WILLIAM, Merchant, was born in 
Mifflin township, Pennsylvania, October 1st, 1808. 
His mother was a native of Ireland ; his grand- 
father and father (who moved to Pittsburgh in 
1811) were natives of Chester county, Pennsyl- 
vania. From five to ten years of age, he attended 
the common schools, and after that for about nine months 
a night school ; this was all his education. In his tenth 
year with his brother, he went to work for forty-four cents 
per week. He cut wood, worked at the paper-staining 
trade, and learned the tobacco business as a boy. When 
free, he walked from Pittsburgh, through Philadelphia, to 
New York; and returned on foot, in order to see the great 
cities. He then went to work at the tobacco business until 
lSj3, when he was appointed clerk in the post-office where 
he remained three years; next he went as clerk toAltwood 
& Jones in the commission forwarding trade. In October, 



BIOGRAPHICAL FAXVCLOPyEDIA. 



655 



1S34, with four others he visited and located government 
lands in Hardin county, Ohio. In 1S37, Attwood & Jones 
sent liim West to collect money due them, and he travelled 
from St. Louis about 700 miles over the prairie to Illinois, 
on horseback. In 1S3S, he formed a partnership in the 
tobacco trade with his brother David. In 1S49, he was 
elected a member of the .Select Council from the Fourth 
Ward, and in 1868 became a Manager of the House of 
Refuge. He is an active member of the Methodist 
Church. L^avid Rinehart, his brother, was born in the 
same locality, September 23d, iSlo. Except th.at in 1863, 
he went to California to wind up an estate, his life has 
been so thoroughly identified with that of his brother and 
partner, that the record of one answers for the other. 
Tiiey have been partners through life, their earnings, great 
and small, have always belonged equally to both, even 
though the labor of only one acquired the money. They 
present a rare instance of brotherly affection, and success 
earned by steady application and unswerving integrity. 



:RR, REV. DAVID R., D. D., Professor of 
Ecclesiastical History and Church Government 
in the Theological .Seminary of the United Pres- 
byterian Church, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, 
and Editor-in-chief of the Utiiled Presbyterian, 
was born in Pittsburgh, April 1st, 1817. His 
father. Rev. Joseph Kerr, D. D., was born in County Derry, 
Ireland, in 1778, a'ld was the son of an eminent divine 
connected with the Burgher Di\ision of the Associate 
Synod in Ireland ; he graduated from the University of 
Glasgow, Scotland, in 1794; came to the United States m 
iSoi ; and, in 1825, was elected the first Professor of 
Theology of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church 
in the West, in Pittsburgh ; shortly after, he received from 
t'le W^estern University of Pennsylvania the honorary 
degree of D. D. ; he died November 15th, 1829. Rev. 
Joseph Reynolds Kerr was born in St. Clair township, 
Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, January 18th, 1S07, and 
w.as educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania, 
where, at the time of his graduation, in July, 1826, he was 
awarded the highest honors of his class ; after studying 
for the ministry in the Presbyterian Synod, where he had 
tn'ered in 1827, he was licensed to preach the gospel as a 
Probationer, .September 2d, 1829. July 29th, 1830, he 
was ordained, and at once installed as Pastor of the con- 
gregation formerly under the care of his father, then re- 
cently deceased. He w.is married, August 24th, 1835, to 
Harriet Snovvden, daughter of Hon. John M. Snowden, a 
prominent citizen of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; from this 
union sprang three children. His publications are, An 
AilJress before the Alumni Assodalion of the Western Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, on the Responsibility of Literary 
Men; and A Sermon on Diicllin:^, published in 1838; 




about this time the literary degree of M. D. was conferred 
upon him by the last-named institution. His last sermon 
was preached in March, 1843, ^"'^ June 14th, following 
he died in the thirty-seventh year of his age. Rev. Moses 
Kerr, born in St. Clair, Pennsylvania, June 30th, iSll, 
was honorably graduated from the Western University of 
Pennsylvania in 1828, and studied theology in the Theo- 
logical Seminary of Allegheny City, under his father's 
guidance, and later under that of the learned Rev. Mungo 
Dick. April 2Sth, 1831, he was licensed to pieach as a 
Probationer, by the Presbytery of Monongahela, and in 
the same year became the Pastor of the Allegheny Con- 
gregation ; on the 9th of October, he was ordained to the 
office of the ministry. Upon his return from a visit to 
Ireland, he was called to the Pastorship of the Congrega- 
tion of Robinson's Run, near Pittsburgh, and, in October, 

1534, was duly installed as its Pastor; si.\ months later, he 
was attacked by hemorrhage of the lungs, and April 15th, 

1535, demitted his pastoral charge. He then became 
Professor of Languages in the Western University of Penn- 
sylvania, and later, of Biblical Literature and Criticism in 
the Theological Seminary of Allegheny. He then ac- 
cepted a call from the Third Church, Pittsburgh, October 
iSth, 1837, and, in that office, closed his life, January 26th, 
1840. Rev. David R. Kerr, D. D., studied theology in 
the Allegheny Seminary, under Dr. John D. Pressley, who 
had succeeded the Rev. Joseph Kerr, and was licensed 
to preach, April ISth, 1S40; January 21st, 1842, he was 
duly ordained to the office of the ministry, and, for a time, 
preached to the First Associate Reformed Church of Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania. In 1S46, he took charge of the 
weekly paper of the church. The Preacher. In 1851, he 
was elected Professor of Ecclesiastical Histoiy and Church 
Government, in the Associate Reformed Theological Semi- 
naiy, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and still continues to dis- 
charge the onerous duties of that responsible position with 
marked learning and ability. He continues also to act as 
editor-in-chief of The Preacher, now known as The United 
Presbyterian, and recognized as a church organ of superior 
merit, authority, and interest. 



-p;|f|UNTON, ISAAC N., Merchant, was born in 
Pittsburgh, June 28th, 1841, and is the eldest 
son of James Bunton, a steamboat joiner, and 
saw and planing mill operator. He acquired 
his education in the local public schools; and 
subsequently, w.is in the employ, as clerk, of 
F. Richardson until the breaking out of the Re- 
Ile then enlisted for a term of three years in the 
celebrated Sickles' Excelsior Brigade, with which he served 
faithfully during the term of his enlistment. L'pon his 
return he became bookkeeper for J. P. Haigh, coal opera- 
tor, remaining with him until 1868, when he was engaged 




BIOGRAPHICAL E^'CVCLOP.^■.DIA. 




liy Joseph Walton as bookkeeper. In 1870, J. Wallon 
purchased the steamboat " Niagara " and liarj^es, with 
100,000 bushels of coal, and forming a cojiarlnership 
known as the Niagara Coal Company, associated I. N. 
Bunton with him as partner, and manager of the company. 
Upon the reorganization, October 1st, 1872, of the firm 
of Joseph Walton & Co., the two companies were con- 
solidated, and he secured an interest in the general busi- 
ness. Me is an able account.int, and has been repeatedly 
entrusted with the settlement of a number of important 
extension and other settlements of a complicated and deli- 
citc nature, in all of which he has evinced admiralile 
judgment and ability. At the age of twenty-five, he was 
married to Jennie Hendrickson, the eldest daughter of 
Captain D. L. Hendrickson, and is the father of two boys, 
his eldest child, a daughter, being dead. 



i^EYNOLDS, JOHN, Lawyer, was born at Col- 
' Chester, England, June iSth, 1782; and came 
to this country in 1795, to join his parents, set- 
tling at Lansingburg, New York. His grand- 
father inherited a large entailed estate in Wor- 
cestershire, England, and married Sarah Fox, 
of London, England, by whom he had nine children, the 
eldest of whom, John, inherited the estate; William, the 
third son, married Lydia, daughter of John Thomas, a 
Baptist minister, by whom he had seven daughters and 
four sons, the eldest being the first-mentioned John. 'The 
Reynolds family in England, was composed of strict high 
church people, and William's emigration to the United 
States was caused by his separation from the established 
church, also by his sympathy with the Baptists, and the 
French Republican movement of that period. John Rey- 
nolds was educated in Birmingham and Leaminster by 
private tutors; in 1797, he came to Venango county, Penn- 
sylvania, and resided on a tract of land bought from the 
Holland Land Company, at Cherry Tree Run. In 1805, 
he removed to Meadville, and was engaged as assistant 
teacher in the academy of that place. In 1807, he was 
connected with Colonel Merlin in surveying the property 
of the Holland Land Company, and continued thus occu- 
pied for a number of years. Subsequently, he began the 
stuily of law under the direction of CoIoneL Merlin, and 
in iSl2, was admitted to the bar, but devoted little time 
to the practice of his profession, applying himself almost 
exclusively to the real estate business. In 1814, he was 
married to the widow of Dr. Kennedy, by whom he had 
two sons and two daughters; she died, November 27th, 
1845, and his demise occurred July 23d, 1S71. His eldest 
son, John V., born April 12th, 1815, graduated at Jefferson 
College, Pennsylvania, in the class of 1834; at Princeton, 
in Theology, in 1838, and in 1852, received from the for- 
mer institution the degree of V). P. He is a Presbyterian 




clergyman, and for more than thirty years has been Pastor 
of the First Presliyterian Church of Meadville, Pennsyl- 
vania. He was married, in 1S38, to Evelina Gaston, and 
again, in 1851, to Catharine Bell, of Allegheny City. 
William was born in 1820, and was a graduate of 
Allegheny College, in the class of 1S37; he afterward 
studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1841 ; he mar- 
ried Julia Thorp, of New York city. Jane M. was born 
in 1817, and was married to Dr. A. Sergeant, of New 
Jersey. Lydia L., born in 181 8, was married to the Rev. 
Richard Craighead, a native of Cumberland county, who 
has been for thirty years Pastor of the Second Presbyterian 
Church at Meadville, Pennsylvania. 



\IS1I, LEVI, Lawyer, \\'as born in Conewago 
township, 'S'ork county, Pennsylvania, November 
22d, 1S37. His father, David Maish, is now 
deceased: his mother was Salome (Nieman) 
Maish ; his earlier ancestors were among the ori- 
ginal settlers of the county of York, and came from 
Chester county with the Quakers, who were the pioneers 
in the red lands in the northern section of the above-men- 
tioned county. His preliminary education was acquired in 
the common schools of his native place; and when pro- 
perly fitted, he entered upon a course of studies in the 
York County Academy, situated in the borough of the 
same name. Upon abandoning school life, he was ap- 
prenticed, in April, 1855, to learn the trade of machinist, 
but in the summer of 1857, resumed his former studies, 
and attended one session of the York County Normal 
School. During the two following winters he was en- 
gaged in teaching school in Manchester township, York 
county, and during the succeeding winter, in the borough. 
In 1861, he commenced the study of the law under D. J. 
Williams, well known as an able and learned jurist. In 
Jidy, 1862, he raised and organized a company of volun- 
teers for service under the call of the President, to assist 
in strengthening the Union forces. After the failure of 
the Peninsular campaign, his company was consolidated 
with three other companies from York county, and six also 
from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to form the 130th Regiment 
of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. At the organization 
of that force, he was elected Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
August 17th, 1862, was sent to Washington, District of 
Columbia. Sliortly after he was attached to the Army of 
the Potomac, and, after Pope's disaster, participated ac- 
tively in McClellan's pursuit of the Confederate General 
Lee. While taking a prominent part in the action at the 
battle of Antietam, he was severely wounded, receiving 
in the right lung a ball which was never extracted ; a 
second time, during the engagement at Chancellorsville, he 
was dangerously wounded, receiving a Minie ball in the 
right hip. Upon the death of Colonel H. I. Zinn, at the 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



657 



battle of Fiedericksburjj. December I4lh, 1862, he was pro- 
moted to the Colonelcy of his ve>^iment. On May 21st, 
1863, he was mustered out of service at Harrisburg. Sub- 
sequently, resuming the study of the law, he attended 
lectures in the Law Department of the University of Penn- 
sylvania, in 1864, passed his examination, and was admitted 
to the bar. Rapidly attracting favorable notice by his 
energy and talents, he was elected, in October, 1866, to 
represent the county of York in the lower House of the 
Legislature of Pennsylvania, and in 1867 was re-elected. 
During the second term he was a member of the Committee 
of Ways and Means, and that on Local Judiciary; he served 
also on the Special Committee to present the Hancock 
Chair to the city of Philadelphia. As early as 187 1, he 
took an active interest in promoting the Reform movement, 
which ultimately resulted in the adoption of the new Con- 
stitution of Pennsylvania, and in the discussion that Agitated 
the State thereupon bore a prominent and efficient part. 
In August, 1874, he was nominated by the Democratic 
party of the Nineteenth Congressional District as its candi- 
date for Congress, that district being composed of York, 
Cumberland and Adams counties. Prior to this, in March, 
1872, he, in connection with Hon. Thomas E. Cochran and 
C. B. Wallace, had been appointed by the Legislature of 
Pennsylvania to re-audit the accounts of various officers of 
York county, and while acting in that capacity displayed 
admirable judgment and moderation. 



TERRETT, JAMES P., Lawyer, President Judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas of the Fifth 
Judicial District, composed of the county of Alle- 
gheny, Pennsylvania, was born in Tuscarora 
Yalley, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, November 
7th, 1822. His parents were descended from 
Scotch-Irish ancestors, who settled in Lancaster and Cum- 
berland counties at an early day. He received his prelimi- 
nary' education at the Tuscarora Academy, and entered 
Jefferson College in the fall of 1842, graduating from that 
institution in 1S45, ^fter which he was connected with it 
for one year as Principal of the Prejiaratory Department. 
Having read law at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and completed 
his course at the University of Virginia, he was admitted to 
the bar of that State in 184S. In the s]iring of 1849, in 
partnership with the Inte Juilge Baird, he began the practice 
of his profession in Pittsburgh. On the retirement of his 
partner, in 1850, he connected himself with Hon. John P. 
Penney, and remained in partnership with him until ele- 
vated to the bench. In i86r, he was appointed on a 
commission, authorized by the Legislature, to revise the 
Revenue Laws of the Commonwealth, but after acting for 
a short time resigned. January 4th, 1S62, he was appointed 
President Judge of the Court of the Common Pleas, to fill 
the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. William B. 
83 





McClure. In 1862, he was unanimously nominated by the 
Republican party and elected to fill the President Judgeship 
for a term of ten years ; in 1872, he was again unanimously 
nominated, and, receiving the vote of both political parties, 
was re-elected for a term of ten years. He has always 
been prominently identified with educational and progres- 
sive movements, and during the existence of the Whig 
party was one of its ablest supporters ; since its dissolution 
he has espoused the cause of the Republican party. 



ARSHALL, THOMAS MERCER, Lawyer, was 
born in Newtown, County Derry, Ireland, No- 
vember 20th, 1S19. His parents, James Marshall 
and Jean Peebles, were of Scotch extraction. He 
was brought to t^e United States by his parents in 
1821 ; they settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 
until 1S24, when they removed to Butler county, Penn- 
sylvania, where he lived until in his sixth year, when 
he w'as sent to reside with his brother, James Marshall, in 
Pittsburgh. After receiving a fair education in various 
private schools in that city, he became bookkeeper in the 
mercantile house of his brother, and when eighteen years 
of age was admitted to partnership with him, continuing 
thus until he had attained his twenty-third year. He then 
engaged in the study of law under Hon. Charles Shaler, at 
that time a Judge of the District Court of Allegheny county, 
with whom he remained until his admission to the bar, in 
the fall of 1S46. Beginning practice at once, he speedily 
acquired an extensive clientage. Warmly interested in 
politics, he allied himself with the Whig and Republican 
parties, and early became noted as a powerful speaker and 
influential politician. Sternly opposed to slavery, he never 
faltered in expressing aloud and earnestly his views and 
convictions upon that subject. During his absence from 
Pittsburgh, in 1 85 1, he was elected to the City Councils, 
and subsequently acted as a member and also as President 
of that body during four or five years. He aAerward 
repeatedly declined nominations as a Congressional candi- 
date; but, in 186S, hi* friends, notwithstanding his constant 
protests, submitted his name to the consideration of the 
party for the United States .Senate. Immediately a popular 
call was organized, and he was solicited to accept that 
position in the most cordial and enthusiastic terms. In the 
Presidential contest of 1S72, he espoused the cause of Hor- 
ace Greeley, firmly Ijelieving in the advisability of adopting 
a liberal policy toward the South. While the war was in 
progress, however, he advocated extreme and summary 
measures, and it was not until the Rebellion was com- 
pletely extinguished that he pleaded for ample and complete 
forgiveness. He was a warm personal friend of Horace 
Greeley, and agreed entirely with his policy of impartial 
suffrage and universal .amnesty. He was married, in 1S47, 
to Ellen Algoe, who died in 1856; they had two children. 



6s8 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.-EDIA. 




who died before their mother. lie was married again, in 
the summer of 1858, to Mary M. Paiterson, daughter of 
Rody Patterson, Sheriff of Allegheny county, and has a 
family consisting of three boys and one girl. 



RITTINGER, .\D.\.\I, Conveyancer, was born in 
Londonderry township, Lebanon county, Penn- 
sylvania, January 1st, iSoo. His educational 
advantages were limited, for he was compelled 
by adverse circumstances to provide for him- 
self from an early age. After some years' at- 
tendance at the public schools he was apprenticed lo a 
carpenter. An ambitious lad, and eager to acquire knowl- 
edge, he devoted his leisure hours to study; n.aturally 
intelligent and quick, he secured in this ma4ippr..snu(Jj 
solid information. As he grew up he became a school 
teacher, passing a year or two so employed in Hiinimels- 
town. About 1830, he moved to Lebanon, antl for two 
years was engaged in the mercantile business, then return- 
ing to teaching. Some years later he became a conj-eyqpc^r 
and surveyor, and so continued until his death, -securint; a 
large connection and gaining a very higl^ri^tttali'iii in ih. 
profession. Indeed, he is considered *~ ' ■ i- IkuI |, -.v 
equals as a scrivener and convj;)-an. ' ;, iie 1)^1 

not take any active part in politicsj-jrclciruiy^ juii^iif bis 
profession uninterruptedly, but' same, ihiri^'-tiy^ y-iPS mo 
he was elected Clerk of the Or|ihniV5'^.Cj#ur{ Jif iLelianoB 
county, and in the winters of i8'<),7.;j^4^8^he rftpAsiJiittd 
the same county in the Legislature, >ieltl'inu;liy-h«SaIJ*13fy 
and industry no little influence in the Assenib^; ^ArmaJi 
of high integrity and sterling qualities of head and heart, 
he was greatly respected in the community where he re- 
sided. He died September i6th, 1874. 



! PAULDING, JOHN FRAXKLIX, D. D., Bishop 
of Colorado, was born at Belgrade, Maine, iVugust 
25th, 1828. He graduated from Bowdoin College 
in 1853, and, after teaching for a year, entered the 
General Tlfeological Seminary of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, in New York city, and from 
there graduated in 1857. Ordained by Bishop Burgess of 
M.-xine, he became Rector of St. George's Church, Lee, 
Massachusetts, in August, 1859. Appointed Assistant 
Minister of Grace Church, Providence, Rhode Island, in 
November, 1S60, he there remained one year, and after- 
wards officiated for a few months in St. John's Church of 
the same city. April, 1S62, he assumed charge of St. Paul's 
Church, Erie. In October, 1S73, he was unanimously 
elected Bishop of Colorado — to succeed Bishop Randal, de- 
ceased — by the House of Bishops assembled in New York 
city. While in Erie, he was a member of the Board of 





Episcopal Missions, and from 1S65 was Dean of the Erie 
Con\ocation. By his personal zeal and influence he suc- 
ceeded in erecting, in Erie, Trinity Chapel, the Church of 
the Cross and Crown and St. John's Church, besides a new 
edifice for St. Paul's, which is the most creditable specimen 
of architecture in the city. Shortly- after his election as 
Bishop, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on 
him by Trinity College, Hartford. In June, 1864, he w.is 
married to Lavinia Spencer, of Erie, and five children 
are the fruits of their union. 



EGLEY, JACOB, Capitalist, was born in Bucks 
county, Pennsylvania, August 28th, 1766. His 
ancestors were originally from Frankfort, Ger- 
many, his grandfather, Jacob, with Elizabeth his 
wife, emigrating thence in 1739. The father 
died during the voyage, leaving the poor mother 
to complete it with three children, Alexander, Caspar and 
Elizabeth. Safely arrived, they settled in Bucks county; 
andt.'here Alexander, bom 'at Frankfort in 1735, lived to 
rn.iiiliojKV-'and married, in 1762, Mary Ann Berkstresser. 
lii ilii; -pi i)ig ,.f 1778, he migrated to Allegheny county and 
li.t.iU'l a faun on;- the b.inks of the Allegheny river, which 
■;|«ii i, iTovv the site .pf the new ^Vater Works of Pittsburgh. 
Itcjo he dMi,' Noyember 3d, 1809. He was the father of 
:,m:my ^hHdien;.aBiong them Jacob Negley, who remained 
with' his falker until attaining his majority, when he pur- 
chased larg&tl-acts of l.md adjoining the home farm. On a 
joftltin of His property he laid out a town which he named 
East Liberty, but which was popularly known as Negleys- 
town. He married, June 19th, 1795, Barbara Ann Wine- 
biddle, and died March i8th, 1827, leaving a large family 
of children, some of whom are now living, and great wealth, 
the result of his energy, industry and enterprise. 



ATIIFON, GILBERT BROWN, .Soldier and As- 
sistant General Freight Agent of the Pittsburgh 
& Connellsville Railroad Company, Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania, was born in Lancaster, Pennsyl- 
vania, October 23d, 1846. His ancestors were 
Germans. Educated at the public schools of his 
native city, he left the High School Januaiy ist, 1861, and 
entered the employ of Hager & Brothers al a salary of fifty 
dollars per year. At the age of sixteen, he entered the 
army of the Union, as a private in Company E of the 50th 
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and afterwards 
enlisted for two years in Company C, l95-h Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, and was honorably discharged June 27tli, 1S65, 
by reason of the close of the war. August 30th, 1S65, he 
engaged with the Northern Central Railway Company of 
Baltimore, which connection he resigned November 1st, 




i 



4 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



659 




1869, and took service with the Empire Transportation 
Company at Baltimore, wliere lie remained until April 
3o;h, 1S72. May 1st of that year, he entered the office of 
G. R. Blanchard, then General Freight Agent of the Balti- 
more & Ohio Railroad at Baltimore, and on August 1st, 
1872, he was sent to assume the chief clerkship of Locust 
Point Station. September 1st, 1873, ^^ "'^^ appointed to 
the position which he now holds, as Assistant General 
Freight Agent of the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad, 
with his office in Pittsburgh. Politically, he contents him- 
self with a private's position in the ranks of the Republican 
party. 

^ I ALTON, HON. JOSEPH, Merchant and Capital- 
ist, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- 
vania, March 24lh, 1826. His grandfather, 
George Walton, was one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence; his father was a 
millwright and bridge-builder of Philadelphia, 
and built the first bridge over the Allegheny river, also the 
structure known as Hill's Mill, and the two bridges over 
the Tuscarora and Mu-.king«m rivers. When in his four- 
teenth year, he moved to Cincinnati, and, until nineteen 
years of age, worked at the trade of carpenter. He then 
engaged himself as a millwright, and met with much suc- 
cess; subsequently associating himself with a German 
builder, he erected several houses and saw mills, a business 
which he afterward prosecuted successfully in Pittsburgh. 
Later, he abandoned his position as millwright under 
James Wood in Temperanceville, and entered the employ 
of Judge Heath, whose partner he ultimately became, 
taking sole charge of his extensive rolling mill. In 1858, 
he engaged in the coal business, and filled large contracts 
with the Government, securing highly remunerative returns. 
In 1870, he was elected to the Legislature on the Repub- 
lican ticket, and served one term. After returning to 
Pittsburgh, he devoted himself to the coal and lumber 
business, which he has since prosecuted with marked ability 
and success. He has been a member of the School Board 
for seventeen years, and is a prominent member of the 
Masonic order; he is President also of the Keystone Glass 
Company, is a large stockholder in the glass business of 
Stewart, Estep & Co., and was, fur four years, a principal 
member of the firm of Chess, Smythe & Co., rolling mill 
owners, nail and tack nianufircturers. He was one of the ori- 
ginal organizers of the First National Bank of Birmingham, 
and is director of several banks and insurance companies in 
Pittsburgh and Allegheny. He was one of the organizers 
of the Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston Railroad Company, 
and is now one of its directors. At the Centenary Method- 
ism he made a liberal donation to erect a church in Bir- 
mingham, and it was named after him : " The Walton 
Methodist Episcopal Church.'" Almut the year 1856, he 
opened a Sunday-school in Birmingham, taking upon him- 




self the duties of its superintendence. He was married, 
August 8th, 185S, to Annie, daughter of James Fawcett, 
President of the First National Bank of Birmingham, and 
has a family consisting of two boys and three girls. 



INGHAM, GEORGE, General Superintendent of 
the Union Express Company, Pittsburgh, Penn- 
sylvania, was born in the town of Annville, 
Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, September 14th, 
1823. His father, Thomas Bingham, emigrated 
from County Antrim, Ireland, to.Jhe United 
States in 1793; his mother Margaret (daughter of Colin 
Cameron) was of Scotch descent. He was the youngest 
of seven children, six of whom were boys. On his mother's 
death, in 1832, he was placed in the care of his brother 
John, residing with him in Martinsburg, Bedford county. 
In Hollidaysburg, Blair county, he attended school until 
1839. He then received a clerkship in the canal ware- 
house of " Bingham's Line," holding it till 1843, when the 
business at that jjoint was given into his charge. In con- 
nection with his official duties, he engaged in the mining 
and shipping of coal from the Allegheny mountain (bitu- 
minous) region to the Eastern States, and was also largely 
interested in mercantile business, until 185 1, when he left 
Hollidaysburg and removed to Pittsburgh. Here he 
entered into the transportation trade over the State works 
and the steamboat business, forming a partnership with 
his brother William, previously so established. They re- 
mained in these lines, until the purchase of the State canals 
and railroads by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company com- 
pelled them to abandon their enterprises. July 1st, 1858, 
he engaged with the Adams Express Company, as their 
General Agent at Pittsburgh. In March, 1870, he accepted 
the superintendence of the Union Express (Adams and 
American). He has been connected with the Mansfield 
Coal and Coke Company since its organization, and has 
served as a director in the Citizens' Insurance Company 
for fifteen years; is also a director in the Central and the 
Pennsylvania banks. He was married, in 1S56, to a 
daughter of James Mitchell, of Franklin county, Pennsyl- 
vania. 



'3RIGGS, JOSEPH FRANKLIN, Professor of the 
Greek Language and Literature in the Western 
University of Pennsylvania, was born in Sutton, 
Massachusetts, April 24th, 1822. His father, 
John, was a blacksmith, son of Thomas Griggs, 
of the same trade, who was a member of a 
Brookline family. His mother, Mary (Thurston), was the 
great-gran^'.daughter of Rev. John Campbell, the first min- 
ister at Oxford. He was one of eleven children, all of 
whom arrived at maturity. After a sound primary educa- 




66o 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



(ion, lie prepared for collej^c at Leicester Academy, leach- 
ing a public school in Sutton during some of the winters. 
In 1842, he entered the Freshman Class of Yale College, 
and graduated in 1846. From Yale he went to Andover, 
and took up the studies of the Junior Class in the Theolo- 
gical Seminary, but, after one interruption, was forced by 
sickness to discontinue. In 1847, he taught a private 
school in Holden and the mechanics' public school in 
Worcester, and in 1848 a private school in Sutton. In 
1849, he removed to Allegheny by invitation, and for two 
years presided over a private institution for boys; in 1852, 
he entered into partnership with N. Yeeder, in school man- 
agement in Pittsburgh, and the next year formed a new 
connection with W. T. McDonald, removing to a more 
central location. On August 22d, 1855, he was elected to 
his present Professorship, and entered upon his duties Octo- 
ber 6th, 1855. He was married, April i6th, 1863, to 
Eliza, daughter of Dr. Jeremiah Brooks, of Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania, and has had five children. 



fCNEILL, HUGH, Merchant and Capitalist, was 
born in County Antrim, Ireland, September 21st, 
1822. His father, William McNeill, was a farmer 
and lime manufacturer; his grandfather, James 
McNeill, was an extensive manufacturer of linen. 
He w.is educated in Ballycastlc, in his native 
county; became engaged in agricultural pursuits, and later 
in the lime manufacturing establishment owned by his 
father. In 1845, he emb.arked for the United States, and 
settled in New York city, where he secured employment 
in a dry goods store, acting as clerk, bookkeeper and 
salesman. Three successive winters he spent in New 
Orleans, being employed as time-keeper on the wharves. 
Leaving New York in the autumn of 1849, he removed to 
Pittsburgh, where, in the fall of the following year, he 
entered the lumber trade. In 1850, he was employed as 
a clerk in the lumber office of Hon. G. E. Warner, and, in 
1855, became a member of the firm of A. H. Harvey & Co., 
successors of Hon. G. E. Warner. In 1866, the establish- 
ment and its attendant interests were sold by Harvey and 
Warner, and, in connection with John Dean, he organized 
the firm of McNeill & Dean, since which time others have 
received an interest in the enterprise. In lS6i, he inter- 
ested himself in the cpal business, and, until 1868, was 
constantly employed in building barges, and supervising the 
various details connected with that industry. He has been 
extensively interested in many steamboat enterprises ; is the 
Manager of the Allegheny County Workhouse ; Director 
of the (Jerman Savings Bank, and of the Real Estate Bank; 
Director in the .\llegheny Gas Company, and in the Union- 
d.ale Cemetery Company ; and .Secretary of the Northern 
Liberties Bridge Company. In 1S74, he was nominated 
by the Republicans of the Forty-second Senatorial District, 





and during the last ten years has been an able and valued 
member of City Councils. Throughout the last Presiden- 
tial campaign, he was noted for his zealous and efficient 
support of the Republican party and its principles. He 
was married, December 24tli, 1850, to Mary A. Awl, 
daughter of James Awl, of Pittsburgh. 



R.'VIIAM, II. M., Manufacturer, was born in PiUs- 
burgh, Pennsylvania, Februaiy 3d, 1842. His 
parents, Hugh and Mary (Keer),were of Scotch- 
Irish descent. They afforded their son all facili- 
ties for the acquirement of knowledge, and he 
finished his scholastic education at Allegheny 
College, Meadville, Pennsylvania. In 1857, he entered, as 
a clerk, the establishment of Jas. Caldwell in Allegheny 
City, and here remained for three years. In i860, he en- 
gaged in mercantile business on his own account, in Frank- 
lin, Pennsylvania, where for several years he met with the 
success ever attendant upon energy, capability and honesty. 
Removing to Chicago, Illinois, he commenced trade in the 
dry goods business, and was as successful in this as in his 
former commercial ventures. But the manufacture of oils, 
especially those for lubricating purposes, had long claimed 
his attention, and to their jiroper preparation he had gi\'en 
much time and close study. Believing that in the oil trade 
was to be found his means of reaching fortune, he removed 
from Chicago to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1865. Here 
he connected himself with the firm of W. A. Howard & Co., 
and engaged actively in the manufacture of the articles for 
the production of which he seems to possess a peculiar 
capability. Upon January 1st, 1874, he established the fac- 
tory bearing his own name, and has prosecuted the business 
thereof with such energy and ability as to render its pros- 
perity a certainly, and its yearly increase a fixed fact. 



A.MERON, HON. SIMON, United States Senator 
from Pennsylvania, was born in Lancaster county, 
Pennsylvania, March 8th, 1799, his parents dying 
when he was nine years old. Very early in life, 
he began to work as a printer, and while thus 
employed used all the spare time at his disposal 
in self-education. His first ventures on his own account 
were in connection with the press, becoming, while at 
Doylestown, editor and publisher of a paper called the 
Pennsylvania Intelligencer, and subsequently, when about 
twenty-two years of age, editing another newspaper at Har- 
risburg. In 1832, he established the Middletown Bank, 
and also became prominent in the railroad interest of the 
.State. When about thirty years of age. he was appointed 
by Governor Shulze AdjutantGener.al of Pennsylvania, and 
in 1845 w.as elected United States Senator, for four years. 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.-EDIA. 



66 1 



On his retirement in 1S49, lie again devoted his time to 
business pursuits, being also interested in internal improve- 
ments and finance. In 1S57, he was elected for the second 
time to the United States Senate for six years, but resigned 
in 1861 to become Secretary of War under President Lin- 
coln. His views, especially with regard to the enrolment 
of the negroes in the army, being at variance with those of 
the administration, he resigned, and accepted the appoint- 
ment of Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia. While at St. 
Petersburgh, his fears were aroused for the success of the 
Federal arms, and deeming the situation critical, he re- 
signed his office, returned to America, and from thence up 
to the end of the war exerted himself most strenuously in 
the Union cause. In 1867, he was elected for the third 
time to the United Slates Senate, and became a member of 
the Committees on Foreign Relations, Military Affairs, and 
Ordnance, and Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture. 
In 1873 he was re-elected. He was one of the founders 
of the Republican party, and in i860 was a candidate for 
nomination to the Presidency. 



||OODS, GEORGE, LL. D., Chancellor of the 
Western University of Pennsylvania, was born 
January 24th, 1812, in what is now called Yar- 
mouth, on Casco bay, eleven miles from Portland, 
Maine. His father, Joseph Woods, of Scotch 
descent, was an industrious and pious mechanic, 
and possessing a large library, stored his own mind from its 
contents, while stimulating his children to improve their 
literary taste by well-diricted studies and reading; he was 
warmly interested in educational matters, and was one of 
the first contributors to the endowment of the well-known 
North Yarmouth Academy. His mother, Elizabeth Woods, 
was of English extraction, a woman of great beauty, 
marked and estimable characteristics, from whom he re- 
ceived much aid and encouragement in his efforts to obtain 
a thorough education. The public schools then afforded 
but limited educational advantages, and were in session for 
two months only in the year, the major portion of the pupils 
being occupied for the remainder in farm labor. At one 
period, while attending a private school, he was advised to 
pursue a collegiate course, and when in his seventeenth 
year, he became a pupil at the academy situated near his 
home, in the meantime applying himself to work in order to 
pay the expenses attending his course. In 1833, he entered 
Howdoin College, with only twenty dollars to call his own, 
but by labor and teaching, he succeeded in defraying all 
his expenses with the single exception of one hundred dol- 
lars, a debt with which he was encumbered at the date of 
his graduation. A number of gentlemen whose attention 
had been attracted by his extraordinary efforts, learning 
of that debt, voluntarily offered him aid, which he uniformly 




and courteously declined. Having graduated among the 
first of the large class of 1837, he turned to account the 
reputation he had alieady acquired as a teacher, and from 
the many positions tendered him, selected a situation in 
the Gorham Seminary, at that time the most flourishing in- 
stitution of its grade in the Stale. In 1S39, he left Gorham, 
having with him high testimonials from the Board, to acce])t 
the Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Jack- 
son College, at Columbia, Tennessee, under the President 
of which he had fitted himself for college. The financial 
distress of Jackson College caused him to withdraw in 1S41, 
and his healeh having suffered from close application to 
study, he spent the year following at Andover Seminary 
and in attendance upon lectures in Boston. From the date 
of his graduation he had received repeated invitations to 
assume the principalship of the academy in his native town, 
which has risen to a high rank among its kindred institu- 
tions. Liberal offers coupled with his interest in his native 
place induced his acceptance in 1S42, and though still suf- 
fering from impaired health, he entered with great vigor 
upon the discharge of his duties. Students were attracted 
from the various States, also from Cuba and St. Domingo, 
and the academy was speedily acknowledged to be with- 
out a superior in the Stale. lie continued there until 1854, 
and afterwards received invitations from various educational 
institutions, including one under the control of a sect dif- 
fering widely from him in religious belief, but which ten- 
dered him absolute control for ten years of property, in- 
come, and a large endowment to be increased by many 
thousands of dollars. He taught for two years at Auburn, 
Maine, after which one year was spent in business in Port- 
land. In 1859, without his .solicitation, he was unani- 
mously elected Principal of the Western University of 
Pennsylvania, located at Pittsburgh. This institution had 
suffered from two disastrous fires, and mismanagement, hav- 
ing been suspended from 1849 'o 1856. He took charge 
with the prejudices of the community against it, with but 
thirty-five pupils, two full teachers, and two instructors in 
the modern languages ; the whole properly of the University 
was not worlh over $50,000, and it had no classes in the 
collegiate course. Under his able administration it has 
steadily grown, until it now numbers sixteen professors and 
over 200 students in the preparatory, collegiate, engineer- 
ing and scientific departments and has a property worlh 
j!350,ooo. In 1863, he received the degree of LL. D. from 
Jefferson College. He excels in executive ability, and 
clearness in imparting instruction. As a lecturer his 
powers are frequently called into requisition, and, in addi- 
tion to the many public addresses which have been pub- 
lished, he has contributed largely to various journals. His 
writings evince deep and earnest thought, and are received 
with great avidity by numerous admirers. He was mar- 
ried in 1843, ^f^ f™"" 'li's fi'"st marriage sprang five 
children, three of whom are living; he was again n.ir- 
-ried in 1S64, and by this relation has three children. 



662 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOr/EDIA. 





LUMF.R, W. II., BanUer, is one of the inominent 
residents of AUentown, Pennsylvania. He is 
largely the architect of his own fortunes, and, 
while attending energetically to the promotion 
of his own interests, has always labored for the 
material and moral advancement of the commu- 
nity in which he dwells. No public work has been pro- 
jected that has not found in him an earnest and generous 
helper, and no scheme of practical benevolence has failed 
to obtain his support. As a banker, he has enjoyed many 
opportunities to aid in the development of the resources of 
the district, and these he has always availed himself of as 
becomes a public-spirited citizen. He is a man of firm and 
decided character, of unquestioned integrity and honor, of 
enlightened and progressive ideas, and is held in high 
estimation in a wide circle. 



JITNER, C. AUGUSTUS, Merchant, was born 
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Januaiy 14th, 1830, 
his father, an American citizen of German 
descent, having been a greatly respected resident 
of the place for many years. He was educated 
in the private schools of his native city^ anfl'^t 
an early day obtained employment upon the line of th'e Penn- 
sylvania Railroad. Noting the necessity for tiettei^ and 
more complete facilities for transporting, pro'diice and su])- 
plies to and from Lancaster and its* iiei'ghborhsod, he 
started a market car, and even at the.ofltset met with great 
success. In 1848, he became associated -hi' partnership 
with his brother, John R. Bitner, in the same eWei^rise, 
and the business was prosecuted with marked energy and 
prosperity for many years. He has large monied intefests 
in numerous different manufacturing enterprises, among 
which are the Lancaster Manufacturing Company and 
the Lancaster Bolt Works, in both of which corporations 
he is a Director. He is also a Director in the Board of 
Management of the Lancaster & Millersville Railroad, and 
the Lancaster & Qiiarryville Railroad. He is one of the 
Board of Directors of the Northern Market House Com- 
pany, and of the Lancaster Hotel Company. For several 
years he was a member of the City Councils, and is now 
Chairman of the Board of Street Commissioners, He is 
extensively engaged in real estate transactions, and has 
done much to beautify and to advance the material interests 
of his native city, by the erection of numerous handsome 
and substantial buildings. He has, moreover, a large 
amount of capital embarked in the coal trade, in which 
his business is vei-y extensive, his sales amounting to up- 
ward of 20,000 tons per annum. He is noted for his 
liberality in all commendable measures brought to his 
notice, and donated the ground upon which the works of 
the Adams & I'erry Watch Company arc to be erected, 
and, in addition to that munificent gift, subscribed largely 




to the stock of the corporation. He w.as married, in 1S51, 
to a daughter of the late William Iback, a well-known 
citizen of Lancaster, and has a family consisting of four 
children. 



PRECHER, GUSTAVUS ADOLPIIUS, M. D., 
Physician, was born in Chambersburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, August 4th, 1844. He is the son of Rev. 
l)r. S. Sprecher, President of Wittenburg Col- 
lege, Springfield, Ohio; nephew of the l.ate Rev. 
Dr. S. Schmucher, Principal of the Theological 
Seminary of Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, and brother of Rev. S. P. Sprecher, of Utica, New 
York, an eminent Presbyterian divine. He graduated at 
Wittenburg College, and began immediately the study of 
medicine. During his course he suffered greatly from 
acute rheumatism, and after using, in vain, the usual 
remedies, accidentally began the use of electricity, with 
which he effected an immediate cure. This led him to 
investigate the electric method as a curative agent, and 
upon the completion of his medical course he applied him- 
self to the study of this new branch, and thoroughly mas- 
tering its, dt^ails and application he determined to make 
a spjiciWizal'ion of its practice. He engaged actively in 
iJie'liiWftecurtoif pf .his professional line, and in a veiy short 
.llme.jicqiure«l'J.,most extensive and lucrative connection, 
in which he is still engaged. During the war, he served 
in- the Lfnjou army, for three years, as Hospital Steward 
©f the 17th Ohio Volunteer Battery. He is Vice-President 
of the Ixical Land Improvement Company of his city, and 
a Past Officer in a number of secret societies. 



V 

OWE, HON. THOMAS M., Merchant, Banker, 
and Statesman, was born in Williamstown, 
Orange county, Vermont, April 20th, 1S08. His 
father, Thomas "Howe, was a native of West- 
moreland,' New Hampshire, who removed to 
Vermont about 1800; his mother, Clarissa (How- 
ard), I)orn in Windham county," Connecticut, was mar- 
ried, at Williamstown, Vermont, January 1st, rSo6, to 
Thomas Howe, who, removing in 1817 to Bloomfield, 
Ohio, was repeatedly elected a member of the State Legis- 
lature. Thomas M. received a classical education at the 
Warren Academy, and after serving for a few years as a 
store clerk, settled, in March, 1829, in Pittsburgh. Here 
he engaged himself as clerk in a wholesale dry goods 
house at a salary of $350 per annum. In 1833, he com- 
menced business for himself, prosecuting it with success 
until 1839, when he accepted the Cashiership of the Ex- 
change Bank, now the Exchange National Bank, of Pitts- 
burgh. As Cashier and President, he remained with this 
institution for over twenty years, and to his management 



Q). 





■//■\ y/Tf^/L 



////'/ 




^^ A ^^^A^^..^, 



BIOGRAPHICAL ENCVCLOP.EDIA. 



663 



is universally ascribed ils subsequent great success. He 
has recently been extensively engaged in mining and 
manufacturing operations, and early appreciated the value 
of the mineral section of the southern shore of Lake 
Superior, and, with six others, sunk the first regular shaft 
there in 1844, near the present Light House at Copper 
Harbor. For over tvifenty-five years he was a Director 
and Treasurer of the prosperous Pittsburgh & Boston Min- 
ing Company. He was an original proprietor of the Penn 
Cotton Mill, and, after the development of copper on Lake 
Superior, he, with Rev. Charles Avery and Dr. C. G. 
Hussey, under the firm-name of C. G. Ilussey & Co., 
commenced, and still continues, the manufacture of copper. 
With Ur. Hussey, he also projected the large steel manu- 
facturing establishment now operated by IIuss^, Wells 
& Co. ; and, associated with General J. K. Moorhead and 
his brother, Joel B., and other prominent men, perfected 
the Monongahela Slack Water Improvement to Browns- 
ville. In 1850, he was elected to Congress, and r&electe.d 
in 1852. In i860, he was a member of the Electoral 
College, which cast Pennsylvania's Presidential voter for 
Abraham Lincoln. During the war, as Chairman of the 
Allegheny County Committee to Promote the ReCviritirig for 
the Union Army, he evinced sterling loyalty an(t gelicrous 
energy in aiding the Government in various efricieiit ways. " 



jFARLAND, col. GEORGIi E., Teacher, E<Ii 
tor. Soldier, etc., was born in Swatara township, 
Pennsylvania, April 2Sth, 1834. His parents, 
John McFarland, for aliout eighteen years a 
teacher, and Elizabeth (Fisher), were both of 
Scotch descent. His limited education he ac- 
quired at the common schools during the intervals of farm 
labor. He profited so well by his instruction that, at the 
age of sixteen, he became the teacher of a nelect school, 
where he remained for several years. When nineteen years 
old, he employed part of his earnings to pay for eighteen 
months attendance at the Freeburg Academy. For a year 
and a half after, he was employed as a ticket agent at 
Lewistown, Pennsylvania. On March 20th, 1856, he mar- 
ried Addie D. Griesemer, of Berks county, and commenced 
wedded life with a capital of fifty-three dollars. His repu- 
tation was such, however, that the Trustees of the Freeburg 
Academy, of which he assumed chaige, leased the school 
to him for four years, upon his personal security. The 
undertaking, though heavy, he bravely sustained, for he was 
used to responsibility and struggles, having from the age 
of fourteen been obliged to earn his own living and to assist 
his family ; when fifteen years old he ran a canal boat, and 
his first book was purchased with the proceeds of the sale 
of a load of chips. He remained in Freeburg until Decem- 
ber, 1858, making a success of his Institute, and saving 
sufficient money to purchase the McAIIisterville Academy, 




in Juniata county. He continued teaching until the break- 
ing out of the Civil War, when he recruited a company from 
his pupils, other students and fellow-teachers, and entered 
the 151st Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, of which 
he was elected Lieutenant-Colonel. His militai-y record 
and the deeds of his command have earned an enviable 
place in history. In many well-fought battles he led his 
men and proved his valor and ability. At Gettysburg, 466 
men and 21 officers of his regiment went into action, and 
only 113 men and 7 officers lived to answer roll-call at the 
close of the day; he himself was severely wounded, being 
shot in both legs ; the bones of the loft were shattered, and 
ampiitation of the right limb below the knee was necessary. 
For^Jeven months he was confined to his bed, but a good 
constitution, the result of a perfectly temperate life, enabled 
him to Regain health, and he continued his avocation of 
teacher-even when prostrated, his pupils coming to the 
bedside to recite. In April, 1S64, he was appointed Clerk, 
in the State Statistical Department, his helpful wife going 
ta Hnrrtsburg for reports which he compiled in bed and 
published.- He continued thus employed until the organi- 
zation of the Soldiers' Orphans' Schools. October 7th, 
.iS6<t,-'he changed his institute into such a school, being the 
first tp-jnaugurate the noble system in this State. Indeed, 
temayfee called- the originator of the benevolence. He 
lirepaffcd the act airttjorizing, them, which was passed almost 
without aiaelidnient, and gave his time, labor, money and 
inllueneetlS^i^fect the system; to him it was a work of 
pat) iotisnv^and- self-sacrificing love, nobly and thoroughly 
performed.^ 'He is ever active with pen and voice in behalf 
of education, temperance, and morality, every moment of 
his time that can be spared from his liusiness — he owns 
an extensive nursery and florist est.ablishment — being de- 
voted to the public good. He has delivered many ad- 
dresses; his oration at Gettysburg, July 31st, 1866, being 
an especially able and eloquent effort. As editor of the 
Temperance Vindicator, he has built up its circulation from 
300 to 5000. He never wearies in doing good and is ably 
assisted by his family, consisting of his wife, two sons, and 
two daughters. 



,y,. OHNSON, HON. SAMUEL PORTER, Lawyer 
and Judge, waS born in Venango county, Penn- 
sylvania, Janu'afy 31st, 1809. He is the second 
son of the Rev. Robert Johnson, who was one 
of the pioneer Presbyterian preachers in north- 
western Pennsylvania, commencing in 1801, and 
officiating as pastor for more than fifty years. He received 
a liberal education, and finally graduated at Jefferson Col- 
lege, in 1830. Shortly after, he took charge of an academy 
at New Berlin, Union county, Pennsylvania, and, a year 
later, became Principal of the Academy at Danville, then 
Columbia, now Montour county, which institution he con- 
ducted successfully until the summer of 1S33. In the 




664 



BIOGRArillCAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



meantime, lie studied law under lion. Robert C. Oiier, late 
Judge of the United States Supreme Court, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar at Sunhury, Northumberland county, 
Pennsylvania, November 3d, 1S33. Returning to Venango, 
Franklin county, he commenced his professional career and 
met with merited success. In September, 1834, he removed 
to Warren, Pennsylvania, and associated himself. in practice 
with Thomas Struther.-.. He soon extended his connection 
into all of the surrounding counties, and attended the 
various courts punctually for nearly a quarter of a century. 
In 1S40, he or.;anized the new firm of Johnson & Brown, 
and continued in extensive practice until he was elected, in 
i860, to the President Judgeship of the Sixth Judicial Dis- 
trict of Pennsylvania, composed of Erie, Crawford, Warren, 
and, later, Elk counties. In 1870, he declined a renomina- 
tion and resumed his labors at the bar, his practice extend- 
ing ultimately over six cpunties and into the United States 
courts, in which he is still actively engaged, and distinguished 
for his talents and abilities. lie has been a member of the 
Presbyterian Church for several years past, and is a gene- 
rous contributor to all religious, charitable, and educational 
enterprises. He was a member of the Whig party during 
its existence, and, since its dissolution, has been attached to 
the Republican organiz.ation. In 1S37, he was married to 
the daughter of Dr. I.aben Ilazeltine, of Jamestown, New 
York ; she, dying in 1S5S, left four children ; in 1S59, he was 
again married to a sister of his partner (Mr. Brown), then 
a widow with one son, who is now a practising lawyer in 
the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. 



|ELAM.\TER, HON. GEORGE B., Lawyer, was 
born in Wliiiehall, New York, January 14th, 
1S21. llis family is of French Huguenot ex- 
traction, antl his ancestors came to this country 
from Holland, alrout 1656. Originally the name 
was De I.e Maitre, and the founder of the family 
in America was Israel De Le Maitre, who settled in Ulster 
county, New Y'ork, and whose life, with a notice of his 
progeny, was published in the Ifhioiical Xew England 
Genealogical Register, vol. xiv., issued in 1S60. His 
father, Thomas Delamater, was an early settler of Craw- 
ford county; his mother, Martha Day, was a resident of 
Granville, New Yorl<. He was educated irregularly at an 
academic institution in Waterfurd, and in the preparatory de- 
partment of Oberlin College. After leaving the latter 
institution, he continued his stuilies under Dr. Barker, 
President of the Allegheny College at Meadville, and, at 
a later date, commenced the study of the law with Hon. 
John Furnalley, but without purposing definitely to become 
an active practitioner. In 1S47, he was admitted to the 
Crawford county bar, and practised his profession in Mead- 
ville for almost two years. Interesting himself in politics, 
he became one of the organizers in Crawford county of the 




' old Anti-Slavery party, and was a Delegate to the Buffalo 
I Convention that nominated Martin Van Buren as a candi- 
' date for the Presidency. In 1850, he was induced to 
assume the editorship of the Youngsville Express, in War- 
ren county, continuing at the same time his professional 
labors. yVtthe end of two years that journal was consoli- 
dated with the Warren Mail, and being interested in pro- 
perty in Lawnville, Crawford county, he removed thither, 
and engaged in a general country mercantile business. 
Later, connected with Orange Noble, he engaged in the 
extensive manufacture of dressed hogshead staves for the 
West India market. Upon the development of petroleum 
in the adjoining county of Venango, in 1859, the firm of 
Noble & Delamater began to operate as oil merchants, 
sinking several wells, and in May, 1863, striking the re- 
nowned Noble Well, the largest ever struck in the Penn- 
sylvania Oil Region. Rapidly accumulating a large for- 
tune in this enterprise, the latter partner withdrew almost 
entirely from the oil business, and, purchasing a superb 
home in Meadville, devoted himself to the education of 
his children. In 1870, he received the Republican nomi- 
nation of the Twenty-ninth District for the State Senate, 
and was elected over J. Ross Thompson, of Erie county. 
Declining a renomination, he returned to the enjoyment of 
the tranquil life which it has ever been his desire to lead. 
He has been engaged in many of the most extensive and 
useful branches of industry in northwestern Pennsylvania; 
is a quarter owner of the Erie Blast Furnace; is interested 
in the Erie Rolling Mill, and importantly identified with 
several banking enterprises. He is interested also in the 
mining of coal and of iron ore in the Superior Region. 
He was one of the projectors of the .Shenango & Allegheny 
Railroad, is one of the principal ov.Miers of its securities, 
and is among the largest of the holders of real estate in 
Meadville. At the present time he is Acting President 
of the Board of Directors of Allegheny College, and a 
Trustee of Oberlin College, Ohio. He was married, March 
24th, 1847, to .Susan C, daughter of No.ah Town, of Towns- 
ville, Crawford county, by whom he has had four children 
— ihree sons and one daughter. 



MITH, JOHN COLEV, A. M., Principal of the 
Iron City Business College, Pittsburgh, Penn- 
sylvania, was born in Mariaville, Schenectady 
county, New York, September 2gth, 1S23. His 
education was received at Hamilton College, of 
which institution he is a graduate. He considers 
himself a self-educated man, however. After leaving col- 
lege he taught common school at Sharon, Schoharie county. 
New York, and left there to become Principal of the Union 
Schools of a town in Montgomery county ; was afterwards 
Principal of the Union Schools at R<ime, Oneida county ; 
Professor of English Literature in Carlisle Seminary, Scho- 




BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



665 



harie county, and Professor of Mathematics in Fairfield 
Seminary, Herkimer county, all in his native State. In 
1857, he came to Pittsburgh to take charge of the book- 
keeping department of the Iron City Business College, 
which had then been in existence three years. Three years 
later, he became a partner in and associate principal of the 
college. It had, to that time, been a financial failure, but 
the new management brought liberal patronage from all 
parts of the country. Eighteen thousand young men have 
graduated from it during the twenty years of its existence, 
two thousand of whom are engaged in various callings in 
the city of Pittsburgh alone, many of them being successful 
merchants, bankers, railroad officials, etc. In 1870, Pro- 
fessor Smith became the sole proprietor and principal of the 
college. 

/' ~^'^^ 

> ACOBUS, MELANCTIION WILLIAMS, D. D., 
LL. D., was born at Newark, New Jersey, Sep- 
tember 19th, 1816. He was the eldest son of 
Peter and Phcebe (Williams) Jacobus. In his 
fifteenth year, he entered Princeton College, 
Sophomore class, and three years later graduated 
with first honors from that institution. One year later, he 
matriculated at the Theological Seminary at Princeton, and 
on completing his course was appointed Assistant Professor 
in the Hebrew Department. Here he remained a year, 
when, in answer to a unanimous call, he assumed charge 
of the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, New York. 
He was installed in 1839, and to him this church owes its 
perpetuity and success. In 1850, his health failing, he 
visited Europe, and, with his wife, went into Egypt, Pales- 
tine and Syria, returning home by way of Constantinople 
and Greece. During his absence he was elected Professor 
of Oriental and Biblical Literature in the Theological Semi- 
nary at Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Resigning his ministerial 
work, he assumed the duties of his chair in 1852, and con- 
tinued actively engaged therein until ill health obliged him, 
in 1866, to make a second tour in Europe. He is the 
author of many and valuable works upon theological sub- 
jects; in 1848, he published a volimie of Notes on the 
New Testament, entitled Matthnu with the Harmony ; sub- 
sequently. The Catechetical Question Book, Mark and Luke, 
a Coimnentary on St. jtohn's Gospels, and The Acts of the 
Apostles. In i864-'65, two volumes on Genesis were issued 
by him, and, in 1873, the first volume on Exodus, entitled 
Ef^'pt to Sinai. These, with many other works and pam- 
phlets, are now accepted as among the standard theological 
literature of the day. In 1852, the degree of D. D. was 
conferred upon him by Jefl^erson College, Pennsylvania, 
and in 1867 he was created an LL. D. by his alma mater. 
At the General Assembly of the Old School Presbyterian 
Church, in New York, May, 1869, he was chosen Modera- 
tor, and he also occupied a most important position in the 
Assembly of 1870. He now fills the position of Secretary 

H 




of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and 
by his conscientious and skilful management, as well as by 
the personal influence he exerts as a man of superior 
abilities and an author of numerous works of deep learning 
and great value, he greatly benefits the whole denomination 
which he represents. January, 1840, he married the eldest 
daughter of Samuel Hayes, M. D., of Newark, New Jersey. 



ARNER, HON. HENRY, Controller of Alle- 
gheny County, Pennsylvania, was born in Alle- 
gheny City, Pennsylvania, May 30th, 1 838. His 
parents, Henry and Mary R. Warner, were of 
Irish nationality. He received his education at 
the common schools of his native city, and early 
began his business life in the humble position of " printer's 
devil"; was next errand-boy in a book store, then book- 
keeper in a manufacturing establishment, and finally at- 
tained'an interest in a saw mill at Sewickleyville, Penn- 
sylvania. From this place he enlisted, in the war for the 
Union, as a private in Battery G, Independent Pennsylvania 
Artillery; was promoted to Duty .Sergeant, August 22d, 
1862; to Quartermaster Sergeant, Decemlier 9th, 1862; to 
First Sergeant, April 1st, 1863 ; to Second Lieutenant, Sep- 
tember 1st, 1863; to Post Adjutant of Fori Delaware, De- 
cember 1st, 1S63 ; to command of Reedy Point fortifications 
in January, 1864, and was honorably discharged, June 20th, 
1864, by reason of " expiration of term of service." In 1867, 
he was elected a member of the Common Councils of Alle- 
gheny City, from the Sixth Ward ; was re-elected in 1868 
and 1869, in the latter year being President of that body. 
In 1870, he was elected to represent his city in the State 
Legislature, and in 1871 was chosen Controller of Alle- 
gheny County. 



ARR, HON. JAMES P., Editor in Chief of the 
Pittsbtirj^h Post, Delegate at Large to the Con- 
stitutional Convention of i872-'73, to which body 
he was chosen to supply the vacancy made by 
the resignation of Hon. Judge Black, was born 
in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on September 4th, 
1822. His father, Daniel H. Barr, emigrated to this 
country from Ireland at an early age; served with dis- 
tinction in the War of 1812, and during his life held 
several positions of honor and trust under the Federal and 
State Governments. James P. Barr found his congenial 
occupation when, in 1841, he entered the office of the 
American Ma?nifacturer, a Democratic paper printed in 
Pittsburgh, to learn the " Art preservative of arts " — the art 
of printing. After doing faithful duty in that business, in 
1844 he went into the post-office in Pittsburgh as a clerk, 
and served with large responsibilities but little reward until 
1849, when he bought the Pittsburj^h Chronicle establish- 




666 



BIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOP.EDIA. 



ment, and conducted that newspaper for several years with 
decided success. In 1857, he became sole Editor of the 
Post, which he still manages as principal Editor and pro- 
prietor. In 1S62, he was elected Surveyoi-General of 
Pennsylvania, in which office he served the legal term of 
three years, the State during that lime being invaded by 
the rebel forces. The important documents confided to his 
care were saved from the possibility of capture by his ener- 
getic action, and he retired from the office at the end of his 
official term with much credit and honor. His reports, 
while Surveyor-General, were more complete and satisfac- 
tory than any that his predecessors had made for years. 
He has I)een prominent in the politics of his State as a 
Democratic leader, and has filled various offices of trust and 
great responsibility. He has always taken a leading part 
in public charities, and at his suggestion the fii-st Home for 
the orphans of soldiers killed in the late war was chartered 
by the State. It was assisted by large private subscriptions, 
obtained chiefly by his eflbrts, and was successfully con- 
ducted until its close under his personal supervision. Other 
charit.able objects and societies have received much of his 
care and attention. For several years he was an Inspector 
in the Western Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, to the duties 
of which office he gave earnest and benevolent care. He 
has long been an active member of the State and National 
Committees of the Democratic party, and has taken a 
prominent part in all that party's affairs. In 1S73, he suc- 
ceeded Judge Black in the Constitutional Convention, and 
during its sessions and the canvass for the adoption of the 
new Constitution he took the deepest interest in its success. 



»AMBR1GIIT, HENRY AUGUSTUS, Major and 
Brevet Colonel United States Army, Colonel and 
Brevet Brigadier-General United States Volun- 
teers, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 
24th, iSig. He is a grandson of a soldier of the 
Revolution, and a son of Frederick Hambright, 
who served in 1812, and died in April, 1872. He attended 
the schools of his native city until fifteen years of age, and 
a year later was employed under his father as Superintend- 
ent of Grading on the Germantown & Norristown Railroad. 
Contracting for large improvements then became his busi- 
ness for a time, and he assisted in constructing the Tide- 
water Canal from Wrightsville, the Delaware Division of 
the Pennsylvania Canal, etc. When war was declared 
with Mexico, he aided in recruiting at Lancaster, and was 
made First Sergeant of the Cameron Guards, Company G, 
2d Pennsylvania Volunteers, J. W. Geary, Lieutenant- 
Colonel, Colonel Roberts commanding. He participated 
in the battles of Cerro Gordo and Plan del Rea, where he 
w.ns promoted First Lieutenant in Company H. He was 
also in the actions of Contreras, Chnpultepec, and at Garita 
Helen, where he was wounded in the head, and took part 




finally in the capture of the city of Mexico, September 13th 
and I4;h, 1847. His regiment then brigaded under Gen- 
eral C. Cushing, and remained in garrison at San Angel 
until peace was declared. The command was mustered 
out at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in July, 1848, and from 
that date he was engaged on various public works until the 
commencement of the late Civil War, at which time he was 
General Superintendent of the Eastern Division of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad. In March, 1861, he was tendered 
by the Secretary of War a commission as Second Lieutenant 
in the 6th United States Infantry, but declined the appoint- 
ment. When active hostilities began, however, he assumed 
command of a company of volunteers attached to the 1st 
Pennsylvania Regiment, and served under Patterson in the 
Shenandoah Valley until July 26th, 1861. May 14th of 
the same year he was appointed by Secretary Cameron to a 
captaincy in the nth United States Infintry, but was placed 
upon volunteer duly, and detailed to organize a regiment 
of rifles for three years service, of w^hich he was commis- 
sioned Colonel, and which was mustered in as the 79lh 
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He afterward partici- 
pated in the actions at Green River, Kentucky, Perryville, 
Stone River, Champion Hills, and in all the battles and 
marches from Nashville to Atlanta. He was brevetted 
Major United States Army at Stone River, Tennessee, Sep- 
tember 20th, 1863 ; at Chickamau^a, Tennessee, Lieutenant- 
Colonel United States Army ; and for gall.antry at Jonesboro, 
Georgia, and in the Atlanta campaign of 1864, Colonel 
United States Army. The brevet of Brigadier-General of 
Volunteers he received for distinguished services during 
the war, and as such was mustered out with his command, 
July 20th, 1S65. He was then placed upon garrison duty 
in Virginia until September, 1866, when his command was 
transferred with the battalion to the 29th United States In- 
fantry. January 27th, 1869, he became Major, and was 
attached to the 32d Infantry, and upon its consolidation 
with the 19th Infantry in March, 1S69, assumed a similar 
rank in that command, with which he has since served effi- 
ciently at frontier and other posts. 

-/ " 

cKNIGHT, CHARLES, Journalist and Author, 
was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Septemlier 
4th, 1826. He is of Scotch-Irish extraction, and 
his father, William McKnight, was one of the 
most extensive and prominent diy goods mer- 
chants in Pittsburgh. He was educated at Prince- 
ton College, New Jersey, and upon the completion of his 
studies graduated from that institution. He then became 
engaged for a short lime in the study of law, travelled in 
Europe for a period of two years, and returning became 
editor and proprietor of the E-rninjr Chronicle. This en- 
terprise he brought to a very flourishing condition, and at 
the date of the capture of Richmond disposed of his inter- 




BICXJRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



667 



fit in its mannycnicnl. For more than four years he ha< 
|iul>li>hc<l the lllmli-.ilcJ r,-i>/<les Monlhfy. Old Foil 
DitijUiSn,-, written for that journal, ami puhlished in I.873, 
aitractol con^iilcralile attention liolh in this country and 
across the i«:ean ; in July, 1S74, it wis lirought out by 
Uernharil Tauclinilz, the famous publisher of Ixi|>sic, and 
ill the followinj; September was republished by the well- 
known firm of Wafne & Co., in London, En);l.ind. At 
the present time he is enj;ai;ed in completing a historical 
romance, entitled Simon Cirly. 1 le was married to Jeanie 
Baird, the youngest d.iUKhter of Hon. Judge B.iird, and 
from this union have sprung four children, all of whom are 

living. 

•♦* 

EGLEY, WILLIAM B.. LL. B., Uwyer, was 
Ixim in East Lilierty District, now the Nineteenth 
Ward of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June Sih, 
1828. His father, Daniel Negley, whose great 
wealth enabled him to greatly assist in building 
up Pittsburgh, afforded him every means for ob- 
taining a thorough education, and after full preliminary in- 
struction in the best schools he was, in 1846, examined and 
admitted to the Junior cla,ss of Jefferson College. He then 
returned home an<l entered upon a course of medical read- 
ing, intending to adopt that profession, an idea which he 
suddenly ab.-indoncil. and at once engaged in the stmlv of 
law. He pursued his legal course under the tuition of 
Judge Mcllon,ofriitshurgh, until 1848, when he joined the 
law department of Princeton College, and graduated thence 
in June, 1849, receiving the degree of LL. B. Reluming 
to Pittsburgh, he was, on October I2th, 1849, admitted to 
the bar, and has since then been actively engaged in an 
extensive professional practice. He has formed several 
p.irtnershi|K during his business life : in 1850, with John H. 
McFadden ; in 1 85 1, with Thomas Mellon ; in 1855, with 
Andrew McM.iMcr, and Novemlier lllh, 1857, with David 
Bruce, his brother-in-law, under the firm-title of Bruce & 
Negley, which connection still continues, the firm having a 
business and practice secoml to none in Pittsburgh. At the 
commencement of the late Civil War, he was ap|ininted 
Chief Aid and Brigade Inspector, with the rank of Major, 
on the staff of General James S. Negley, but owing to the ill 
health of his wife he resigned after a few months' ser>ice. 
In August, 1862, he wxs commissioned by the War Depart- 
ment to superintend the draft in Allegheny county. In 
1866, he was a delegate to the .St.ite convention which 
nominated A. G. Curtin for a second term. He was also a 
memlwr of the Baltimore convention in June, 1864, which 
renominatetl Abraham Lincoln for President, He is an 
ardent Republican, ami has served the parly in many posi- 
tions of importance and honor. He has represented his 
ward for many years in the Common Councils of the city, 
and for the last two years has presi<le<I over that liody. In 
l87l,he was the leading lawyer in ihe employ of iFie Tem- 




perance party, which prosecuted two county commissioners 
for bribery and corruption, and he succee<le<l in h.iving 
them declared guilty. In faith and practice he is • I'res- 
bytcrian of the old school, holding the office of ruling elder 
in his church. .May 17th, 1853, he was marric<l to Joanna 
W., daughter of the late Rev. Rol>ert Bruce, D. D.,of Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania. 



II.KINS, IIO.V. WILLIAM, I-iwyer and Judge, 
was Jiorn in Carlisle, Cuml>erland county, Penn^ 
sylvaiiia, in 1779; his father, John Wilkins, 
having l>een a resident of that place. He was 
etiuc.ited at Dickinson College, and studied law 
under the direction of Juilge Watts, with whom 
he continued until his admission to ihe bar in Carlisle. 
Settling in Pittsburgh, l8oo-'6. he practivrd successfully as 
an attorney, and was appointed Judge by Governor Findlay. 
He was 1 General of the militia, also an influeniial member 
of the Legislature; he wis elccte<l to Congress upon two 
occasions, and for several years ably dischargeil the duties 
of United States Senator. During the administration of 
General Jackson, he was appointed li)- him Minister to 
Russia, and, under the Presidency of Tyler, became Secie- 
tary of War. Sulisequently, although firmly attached 10 
the Democratic party, he strenuously supported the Govern- 
ment during the war. While in his eightieth year, when 
the Home Guards were organized, he was mounle<l through- 
out the day. and took his position on [>aradc. During a 
period extending to more than sixty years, he was the most 
[>rominent man in western Pennsylvania, wis well known 
throughout the country, and wis eminently influential as a 
popuL-tr chief and leader. As a lawyer, he won high and 
widespread distinction, and particip.ilcd importantly in pub- 
lic affairs, t.iking especial interest in the cause of education. 
He WIS twice marrie<l — to Catherine Holmes, of Baltimore, 
Maryland, and to Matilda Dallis, daughter of Alexander 
James D.->llis, formerly Secretary of the Treisury. He 
died in June, l86j, in his eighty -sixth year, leaving as 
sunivors four daughters. 



cKNIGHT, HON. ROBERT, Uwyer, w.is bom 
in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, January 27th. 1820. 
His father, William McKnight. was one of the 
earliest resident merchants in Ihe alxive men- 
tioned city, and an esteemeil and influential citi- 
zen. Under the tuition of Ihe Re». Hugh Mc- 
Millan, in Xcnli. Ohio, the lad received Ihe preliminary 
training which fitle<l him to enter Princeton College, 
whence he gradu.ited in 1830. He then entered upon a 
course of legal studies in the office of Hon. Richard Bidule, 
an eminent jurist of Pittsburgh, upon Ihe completion 
of the coarse passed ibe examination, and in 1843 was 




668 I5IOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOl'.tUIA. 

ailmilted to the bar. He then entered ujwn the active prac- change the statue on the dome of the Capitol. He is a 

tice of bis proression in his native ciiy, and as.suciatcd him- prominent mcmlier of the I'rcsliyterian Church, and has 

self in p.irtner<4hipwiih I lenr^-S. Majjraw; in this connection l)cen a Ruling lildcr for many years, invariably taking a 

he has since, except »hcn prevented by oHicial duties, con- ^ prominent yan in all their public as-cmblages and im|H>rl- 

linucd to care fur the intercsis of a hirgc and remunerative ant muvcnicnis. At the i>resent time he is engaged in the 

clientage. Kur two years he was I'residcnt of Common man.igtmcnl of the vast iJenny interests and eslati-s, and 

Councils, .ind also for three years .icled as a mendK:r of lo that rc>|>onsible employment devotes the major jiortion 

that body, lie w.is elected to Congress, in 1858, by the Re- of his lime and atlcnlion. lie is a vigorous and elixjuent 

publican party, and was reelected in 1S60. While serving campaign s|)eaker, and [nissesses in a high degree those 

his lirsl term he was ap|)ointed a mcnil)er of the Election ijualitications necessary to secure attention and respect. 

Committee; and during the second ser%-ed on the Commit- lie w.ts married to a daughter of the Hon. Harmer Denny, 

tees on Foreign .Affairs anil Capitol Ituildings and Grounds; ' of I'iltsburgh, who was also the granddaughter of James 

as a meml>er of the latter, he introduced a resolution to U'llara. 



\ 



INDEX 



Abhcy.Wm M.ixwcll ^ 

Al>1><»tt. U'llli.uii ll^wkin^ 617 

A'litis-m, Alcx.ii)tkT 6j7 

A*l>liM»n, William 6^6 

Ai:iuw. I> Hayc". 3*4 

Aiiicy. William H 170 

AlWight. Ch.ulc* 4'* 

Allirifiht, Ji^rpli J 4&8 

Alt-orn, S.tmucI 188 

Alrx.iii<lcr, l'>hii 444 

Ak-xundcr. Iviitton 4KJ 

AlUll. (lOTRC. 2f*J 

Allen, iK-orgc W 398 

Allen. Il-irrioon 1 >> 

Ailtrn, Harrison jS? 

All'-n. Henry Killer i-f6 

Allen. OrrinC 399 

Allen, Samiitl I' 479 

AlK-n, Willi.tni Henry 3<>4 

Alli% .n. J..hii 5S8 

A'li^i'n, j ■st-ph 6^5 

Atlis'n, William C (4t 

Alrirk\, HAmition. 15^ 

Aiiim>)n, K"l»eri A<1am^ 536 

Anilcrv'-n, < ;c'>n{c K 6.*t 

An<irew>, Alcxamlcr J 178 

AntlrcwN, Sil.i<i Millon joi 

Arctilx'ld, Samuel 3^'> 

ArmMron^;, William H 372 

AsUmcail. *»c<>r»ie 1 8?' 

A'>hmca<l, Iv.t.ic iS' 

AOiuicad, John K 138 

Ailiin^, t'h.irlcs Miner a 12 

Altec, ji»hn l.ii:ht 354 

Atloe, \\'.islunnt')n K ij 

Atk-e, Willi.im Augustus 468 

Itahbiit, F.lijah 5<>» 

K-iIkt, duties 174 

It. ...lie, Akxaniler Dallas 166 

)'>.!• he. t'r.inkltn 3^^ 

IU< he, Hartman 372 

llaiU-y,».h.irleH I »<8 

it.iilcy. Kilward 2':»J 

liailcy, lleurgc 375 

Hailey. I>el 1 34© 

llailcy, I •>eph T 57 

Itaillv, JoNCph Alexi* 3^9 

liiirJ, Tht.m.is H 6io 

llaird, William 185 

Itakcr. Charles Henry 48 

Haker. (ieofRC iU 

It.tkcr. William l»c;il y.' 

It.iMwm. Manhi.14 W 34 j 

It.My, iVur 47-f 

r».init.«n. Iknjamin 14.^ 

Har.r.d. Siacy It 8. 

lUrkcr. (ic-trjje R fo* 

lk»rnes. Jt»stph K 4 ;3 

lt.,rr, Ms. P 66j 

^ Harr, Mailhrw R"hin<on 573 

jtartholonicw . Henry Laizcme. jSi 

|tartli"loincw, l.in 161 

Ikirtol. Henr>' Wclchin.»n. . . . \ji 

Itarion, tknj.imin Smich 705 

Marlon, (io'fjce W.ishiniiion.. 447 

l:art<>n. J 'hn 651 

It.irtram, William 3^7 

lUunig.trincr, 1 hi>mas 574 

Ititi-'inrin. Hi-iij.imm £13 

Kausnian, J.i< fli ^i/ 

Itaylcy, William C'owcll. . . \\s 



' n.iynr,Thom.-i* McKee 514 

Ikale. K.dward Klirifvmld .. . (»>7 

' Itcaril, (ic-TRc I'etrie .'M 

Ikath, k-'livri Itiirns 373 

Ik-aumuni, Andrew 314 

' Iteatimont. J«>hn C'oll 5"7 

I Itcchul, < )liver Pcrrj- vj^ 

j IWik, Paul. Jr i.l 

, llctlcll. (ifetf TV 'ruwn!^IHl-. . 452 

; Itcebe, Manly C 1 24 

Itcidctman, Wilhnm 6/9 

llcll, Janie^ Martin 6u3 

j llcll, Martin 353 

I Ikment, WilUam Itames 12 

llcnneit. James I 649 

|il.'ll^<•^. .\Iex.-\ndcr 3"7 

I ltd/. J.ihn F fA 

I Hiiklcy, M.riimer H U<* 

ni<ldlc. Charles John i.>8 

, Itiddle. (rt^■^Bc W 566 

I lliddle, Nicholas 199 

, BitMlc, Richard 647 

Biefy, James S 485 

, Ki^ham, Thomas J 639 

' Itiukr, William ist 

MiUmcycr. Philip 170 

Hiri^liani. (rtiorge 659 

ltiii>;ham, Henry H 

Itlnkerd, Adam I) 168 

' litnitey, Horace, Jr 134 

I Hirncy, Oaniel Bell 3^1 

Hispham. S.imuet 192 

■ Hiiner, C .\ 662 

Kiincr, I'lhn R 484 

'. Black, Jeremiah S 5('7 

Blackford. J -hn 616 

Black in>'rc, J.imes 643 

I Blair, James 4^7 

I iJl.tkely. William 5=4 

Bl<>d|:et, Lorin 78 

I lUiimer. W H 66j 

liuardmaii, (ieorjce I>ana 379 

Boardman, Henry AugU'-lus.. 449 

; Bukcr, (i.:..r);c H 37*1 

B«>lt'm. Willi.im Jordan u^ 

[ H<>m)icr(^er. Jacob C ^88 

Borda. t-ugenc 210 

Bofcman, Arthur Ingraham.. 437 

; Burhck, J.imes T 344 

! Boric, Ad..|ph K 357 

ItiKulitiiii. Kli.is ii/S 

, Boudin-tt. Klias Louis 174 

Boyd, James 1*5 

Ikiyd, S <; f'44 

B ycr, IViijamtn Markley- . . . 613 

Boyer. /a.ciir P 184 

BradfonI, Vincent l»ocker* 

' maiw. ». 3»7 

Brandc*. I'.iH 17s 

Bnin»<m, l>avid 580 

Brewer. Franti* B 561 

Brewster. Iknjamin Harris... )6 
ltrc»-^ter, Frederick LanoU.. . 369 

Brice. William 115 

Brick. Samuel Reeve ?49 

Bridficns. R. R 556 

Brinckmann, Michael ^%4 

Brishin. J.imt-s Sank* «7 

Hr.Hkie, Wdliam 77 

Brtukway, Charie* B 397 

' Brmlhead. Charles 146 

Bromley. John.. . 349 



' Brooke, Hugh Junes 39s 

Brooks, K 632 

! Br.>omall. John M 4^8 

Brown, A M 56S 

Uruwn, Charles Bn<kdca.... lt>8 

Brown, I lavid Paul f>j& 

Bnwn, Frederick tbj 

Brown. J "hn A 175 

Brown, Rassdas $yi 

Browne, Nathaniel B 355 

Brj'den, Andrew 560 

Buchanan. James 384 

Bui her. Joseph C. 171 

Buckakw. Lharles Rollin... 17^ 
Buckingham, lliomos Lea... 561 

' Budd, Henry 77 

^ Bulhtt, John C 113 

Bullock, l^eorrc 36 

Bmiixn, l-aac >' 655 

Burvos, Jxhn ChaiKUer 454 

Bur^win. Hill 636 

Burns. Rnlicrt 436 

BurrouKhs. Horatio NcU«>n.. . 58 

Bushon^;. Henr>' 43 

Bushing, larob 3*5 

Bushon^, Philip yjC 

Butcher, Washingti>n i8» 

: Caldcr. WiUi.im 3<* 

I Caldwell. Rol»crt Benton 553 

I Calvin, Samuel 4*9 

' CamaC, William jtH 

'< Cameron, Simon 660 

- (. ampliell, Andrew 1. 3^6 

1 Canipbell. James Hepburn... 373 

Campbell, J.-hn H 118 

[ Carey, Henry C 33 

I'amahan, Robert B 579 

' Car^K-nter. Henry 548 

Carrit;an. Charle* Wesley. ... 583 

I Ciscy, Joseph 471 

I Cash, John C 435 

' Cx^sati, Alexander Johnson. . 7s 

Cxssidy, la;wis Cochran 71 

*.essna. J-hn 518 

Chain. Iknjamin F.vans 343 

' Chaml»ers. .\ndrew R ix> 

I'hambcrs, J.ihn 41 

■ Chandler. J- -vcph R 17 

Chapm.m, Nathaniel 378 

Chapm.m, William 460 

Chidstv. KusscM Smith 458 

Ch;ids.'Cret>r>:e W ^ 

I'hri-t, Samuel 650 

l hri-iy, Butler Case 513 

t.hun:h. Pcarvrtn I09 

1 ta;:hoTn. James {..awrencc . . 34 

Clark, FJ»ard 53* 

I'lark. (;id»-.in jo? 

CUrk.John M 47* 

Clark. Tboma.s..v Hfl 

Clarke. R(>l«rt I>unlap 47^ 

ilaxlon, Powell 4*1 

Clement. Ira T 164 

Clymer. Hri-iier 37^ 

Coaics, Creorge Morrison t^ 

Co*hran. Alexander li 651 

Co*"1iran, John 391 

I'ofTey.lteorjie Alexander. .. ■ 44> 

ColTey, Titian I 44' 

t.Mff.n. Jam.s ll.-nry 4^^ 

Coleman, t*. hawsoo 159 



I Collier, n.^riel l>ewis 69 

(.olhcr, Iredenck Hill 64J 

Mollis. Charles H T 139 

CoImcII, Slefdicn 415 

Comly. J.«shua W 148 

Conily.Seth 1 14$ 

Com|>t"n, Ji'hn B 648 

C'-nrad. R'.bert 1 17J 

, i'onyriKham, J<<hii Ncftbill. . . . 535 

C<Joke, Jav 319 

C»oiier,<. harie* W 153 

I < Kilter. RcdmotM) 94 

Co..prT, 1 honias V ybb 

Cope. Ih- mas Pym I3i 

C'opjwT, Henry 33^ 

C'ois..n. iieoigc Norman i<« 

1. oV'itlc. lohn 50* 

t rii*:, .\lfen A 597 

(.>ai^. Hui;h ^ 

. ( re.tse, 4 >rtarKlo. 87 

t renshaw. l-alniund Auscin- . . 517 

Cress- .n, James 104 

Crew. J IxTWis.- 614 

CrL>skcy. Henry 160 

' Cro/er, J.hn Pn.e t^ 

< ummins. I >anicl B 38 

Curry.J WiU..n 491 

; Ctinin. Andrew ( irccK &ij 

Curti«,i'aTltim H ste 

\ Cutler. <>eor):e H 398 

' Cuykr, Theodore jbl 

'naO»sia. IaC"bM 9 

I »ahlgrcn . J ohn A 5a> 

llak, l.-UardC 934 

|>ale. James W 4^1 

l»ak.KKhard an 

l>all.is. Akxar.kr JanK» 189 

l»alias.('C>rKr .Mifflin 37s 

Itanicl.ChailiS B l(>6 

l>.>rilngt«'n. Kdward 436 

l>ariing|nn, llri-r> Tovmcnd 1=3 

l>.ir1in£lon, R:> )...rd 383 

I»arlinRi.'n. Wii: .,ra 4*' 

l>arl'nt;t n. Wi ham 54) 

l>arr.^ih. Ct>rnclMi% fll9 

l»avi«, Fdward M 44 

l»avis. Vlisha W 389 

Ilavis, C.reenkaf Pace 534 

llavis. 1 h mas W 6j8 

I'avis, \\ dham. |r 61 1 

|t.ivi» n. I.i.ke B. 534 

|iaws..n, Mordnai Lewi* ... 510 

l»c Frame. Robert M.. 446 

I >elamater. ( *eun:e B. - 6A4 

Denny. Fl-cncier 635 

I Knui s. C harU-s 49S 

I»crb>*hirc. Alex.vi(Scr J. 59 

I »em. He nf > i lav J09 

l>rr»ii kscn, I>a\id 617 

l*c Srhwiinilf. falmund . . . 4n4 
l>e Sch«tinitf. Ix'Wis l>avid- 1)3 

I>et»der.>oI»m.»nS 633 

I»esrnnix. John 8a 

Itcwitt. Wilium Radclilfe 516 

I hrkeson. William l.W ... 4*9 

t»ickey.(>liv<:r J 4<'$ 

|»ickins<)n, Mahl^m Hall a89 

Pickinsm, SaiMlfortI 5I3 

liickson. J"hn 497 

I >i. kM<n. J homas t. ./ 

. thll. Andfvw H 4 ^1 



I 
I 



f 



670 



iM)i:\. 



Pi«ion. HcnrA' m • 

l> I|.h. EJ«^rd i>4 

Du.TICIUC. M. 614 

ri.n.ilJ. II. Willi tm 14, 

I» Taii.l.* rph Mi h...l 7; 

M Kicr, Witii.tm Knnl • 4^^ 

n 'ii^l, l.im •I's.. 4^,, 

lMu<hcnv. I>aiiicl. ^76 

H •ujjhcrty, |am--N t 7 

l> •iitfl.is*.. j >hn \Vatkin«<in. .. 44R 

not^l*lus. I<»shtia 177 

I* iWfiinK. koli.n W '^^ 

l>r.ike, l>hn. 4^; 

I>rcw, J»hii Ffcilcri- k .■41 

l»-c)(cl. Fr.inti* Miriin .-4 

Orvsdalc. Th'inMi^ .\| :.| 

l>iatiir. W'illi.im J (^ 

Ihii. htt. Ilc'iry Willi. im 41; 

l»uflr. J.imo Kn.x P.lk s63 

liiiflTcr. W.-ishini^iitn Joseph.. 1 i8 

ft.ihring, I.oiils A. 1"^, 

l> mean, CM ^f^ 

l^tncan, Willi. im s,-,^ 

Oiindin-, Frn I'^lin igi 

I) inglison. K >M-Tir 141 

l» inninc. Ahrun B ... ^44 

l>iipjn< cm, I'cicr Stephen. . . 194 

I iiroiii. Wt'liam 1 547 

Dywrt, Jjme* H yyj 

E rp. Th-mas, Jr jfiy 

F.berhin. I iilVn L .61, 

l-V.J.,,: bRuplcy.: ;,,'( 

K'-kcrt, Henry S 2.^ 

Kckcrt, Isaac ^-3 

K.lgc, jac'.b ^,'", 

f'lije, John PcnncH 4,^ I 

Kilwanis, Mai(h<rw ^^ 

K IwanU. Samuel *j5 | 

KtHe. William Hcnr>'. ...... . yy> 

K'linv. WiUiam I.ukcns 2ct 

K'Lt. Ch.rl^.Jr Ja 

Kill. ,ti. William *^ 

F(li<, Charles ^j i 

F'l's. Iame< i33 

F.llt^. Lcwi< Nathaniel .\l,. . . . j|^ 

K'li*. Richard ,,.. *»g 

F.'lis. 'rh"nia». S 3, 

Fly. Thc..|..rc- N ^l 

Fm.-rs »n, (*,.>iivcmeiir. 27 

F.mjr«')ni Jami** ¥....: ^7^ 

FllinK. If -njamin ^^ | 

FlliiiR. F.lwird J.. Jr too ' 

F.vans. I>.ivid y,^ • 

F.vaiw, Miller I) 1^6 

Evan*. Oliver ,^-> 

Kvvrhan, jam?* B iwen 401 i 

Fverhart, Wil'iim ^,^ \ 

Ewing, Valhaiilcl fi,^ 

F.wiofE. Th tin.K 5., 

f'^""- it-'n "•' 'V*^ ^77 

Kyrc. William, Jr 178 

Fthnc^t'tck, B-.*niamin A 101 

Fahnt^iick. B 1 6.4 I 

Fihnesiock, Oeoru*- WulflT,. . . i^j ' 

F.iirman. f'icnrKe W . ^i-^ I 

F il<r*. CJcorgc j^e 1 

F.ilcs. Saniiul Bradf )rd 36* 

F.inuim, J 'hn. jr^ , 

Faulkner. Peter 6.,(S 

Fau^t, l»ivid ftjj 

F--an>n. Jiiseph (>8 

I- ell <w\, Itwcph 'I'urvey 54/; 

F-it"n. Samuel K 100 ■ 

F-Jr^iison. Nathaniel. jiq I 

Fcrti?. J ihn 6^ . 

Fc>*i.-ndcn, lime\ M ........ 57-j 

Fcticrman. N. P j^jg 

FtVr. t '^eor^e 4^0 

Kinlclter. Th >m.-i* Knight... . s8» 

F-nncy. A«ahc] Clark -tji 

Fi.h. Av»l ij: 

FKher. RrtHcrt J fi,^ 

Flanders, Henry 31 

F!':ming, Oavia. -^^ 

F1(-iniiig. I.-im'-<i ^l■J^ 

Flcminc lame* Paiirnon 371) 

F -Ii7. J>n.nth.in M 40^ 

Ford, 1'homa< C4A 

Fumun. George V 616 ' 



' Forney, Pani.l Carpenter. . 

F-riHry, J.-hn W 

, Furwant. Wa!tcr , . . 

Fur* .«l, Joiuithaii l..trkin. 

* F«>Mt;r. Israel . 

' Fu«, l».,iii*.l M 

I France, k -l>ert Ixre 

' Franklin, ^uhii. 

Franklin. 1 honias K , 

' Fra/cr. I.ilm Frie^ 

J Frazer. Pcrs-ifor, Jr 

' Frcas. Philip Kapin.. 

I '■"•'>■• Ja»:..h ; 

1 Er>-. r»scph Kecsc - 

1 Fry,S i;r.ss 

Fiili'-n. kntjcrt 

Fumes*, WiUi.tm Hcnr)'.... 
I Fnihcy, J'.hn .Smith 

* Jancewcr. .Mien Matter 

tiar.i, Isaai B. . . . 

^ (larreisi.n, Janicx Kimund. . 

I Harri* in, Ahraham 

I C.arscd. KichanI 

I Ciartsidc. Amo* 

('..irtvidc. IWnjamin 

' Cite*. Jalwr 

( far rnicr, William H 

Ciar/am, F. I» 

C.a//am. J seph M 

deary, l-ilm W 

(icisc. Fr.iiik 

ikist.J M. W 

flcoTjc, Ics^e 

(ivruc.) P 

< let/. Henry Styles 

'•'•*'. J I-inrcnce 

(*ibsun. J .hn 

(Jihson. I hn 

(iilKttn, l->hn Bannuttr 

flilfillan.C- W 

(•illmorc. f •eoree F 

(•ilpin. Henry D 

Cirinl. Steihcn 

fitisson, Oliver S , 

(1 'rd"n. <icorj;c F 

t; irdon. Isiiac Crrantham 

<» innan, Ch.irlc* R 

rWitth.td. I. N 

r.ould. J hn Henry 

C.«mcn. Franklin B , 

iff. Fred. rick 

Crah..m. H. M 

(•raham, J.imes Hutchison.... 

(irahan). Jamc* I , 

Grant, Benjamin , 

Gray, I ihn , 

Gray. iMsiph H ' 

Gray. William C , 

GreWe, Kdwin , 

Grcblc.J..hnT 

flrecn, Arthur N 

Green. Henr%* 

(•rcenniiKh. F.beneler , 

GreKB. I shiia Z 

("irier, Ri)l>ert Cooper 

Griffen. 1 .hn 

( iriflin, Henry 

G'fieK^. J. F 

Gri<iw..M,Gc>ree W 

Gritiing'jr, Adam 

Gros^. A. H 

Gro**. S.imuel F> 

fmihb. Ci.nirni K 

i "itifticr. Henry (iotllich. ... 
(ruilford, Simeon 



Haherman, Peter.. 

Hat'enman. Ii-remi.ih. .. . 

Has; K-r. Charles V 

HaMenian, Isaac 

H.ill.Orri< 

Hals V. J-.h F.»<ier 

Hanihright, H. A 

Hamilton. Jamc!^ 

Hammond. |nhn W 

Hampt'>n. John Henry 

?'inipt'>n, Mosc* 

HanC'tck. Samuel P 

Hanrock, Winfield Scott.. 

Hand, fame* C 

Hand, Thomas C 



. . 485 [ Handy, tdw.Tpl Smith 

.. jj j Harding, (...rriLk .Malterj 

. . 644 H..rviiii^, I KtriLv 

.. »ij , ll..r.Iint:, Williuia \i' 

. . jftj Hari-, Rultert 

.. Ill ll.4rlcy, Henry 

. - 4.>6 ilarnian," Hcitr)- .M 

■ • 5J9 Harmcr, Al red C 

, . 45i Har|H.r. Allwrt .Metcilf 

. 271 Haqter, l^e-T^c K, 

. »7i Harris, Alexander 

. 347 Harrison, t;eur>:e l,cib 

. n>8 Harri^son. J tseph. Jr 

. 285 H.irtranft, John Frederick... 

. 127 Haris'iornc, C harl.s , 

. 183 Han>h 'rnc, Falward 

. 361 Hartshnme, Henry... , 

. 197 Hart»honte, Joseph 

Harvey, Falward 

. 442 Har\'cy, Fllwoml 

. 5461 Harvey, (kor^c T 

. tq6 Harvey, Samuel 

. 56^ Hastings, Fulton \V 

. 3o8 Hay. Alexander 

. 215 Hay, .MaL -Im 

. 221 H.iycs, Al-xander L 

■ 507 Hays, Alexander...., 

. 67 llaywcMxl, Bci'j.imin 

. 641 Meat"n, AugUNtus 

. 6.*7 Heige*, ( Icnrgc W 

. I S3 H. i :es. S. B 

. 6-*g I Hijintzclm.m, .S;imucl P 

. 466 Heistcr. I ,iac Falmakcr 

. av) Hcister, Wil'iam 

. 587 I Ifcister, Wi'liam Muhlenberg. 

. 58a ! Mcllin^s. N.ithan 

. 481 Henry. Morton P 

. T-j Uenry, Samuel 

. 638 Henry, Th mas Charlton 

. :i59 Hens/ey. A. WiUon 

, 6:4 Hcring. Conxtaniinc 

. 562 Hcrr, Martin I 

58 Ilcvcrin. James Henry 

, l8o Hewitt, Benjamin L 

1:2 HiblK-rd. J .hn. 

, 38} Hickman, I. dm 

, 36-, Hicki.k, Wi'liam Orville 

557 Hi'drup. Willi.im 1'homas 

. 613 flill. V»eort:e Washington .... 

, 8i Hill.^, Nathan 

. 627 ■ Hillcs. Wi'liam 

. 311 Hinchman. Howard 

. 66> Hirst, William L 

,412 Hudge, A. .\ 

yO* H'-due, H. lx:nox 

651 H <Iee, Hugh I 

43^ Hodff^on, W. H 

. 516 Hoffman, Christian I 

. 341 Hollcnb.ack, George "Slatstm.. 

191 Hnltenback, Matthias 

47 H>'Itisier. H >race 

. 640 H')..per, Wtlli.im H 

463 Hopkins, James Hcrron 

, 46'^ Hopkinson, Joseph 

, 97 H"rt->n. C.corgc Firman 

, 3€6 Hostctter, I».ivid...: 

. 348 Houston, George Porter 

, 482 Hi ward, Thomas 

. 6-9 Howard. W. T) 

. Ill Howe, .Mark A. Dc Wulfc... 

. 6^8 Howe.T, M 

. 645 Howell, Charles Miller 

. 2^"; Howell, Simiicl Bcdcll 

, 604 Hid.WII, Wm. Wheeler 

47 ITiii'lckopcr. Harm Jan 

. 40a l!ui<lekoper, H. S 

Hiilick, I>erTick 

. 6»7 Hulm^. John 

, 222 Humphrey-t, Andrew A 

. 6s t Humphre>-%. Miles S 

. 416 Huvlton,W. S 

, SOS HiKion. Andrew C 

, ?R7 Hyatt, Theodore 

, 666 

, 463 Imbric. Oc T^rma 

Jwgcrsoll, Chrtrle^ Jared 



, s66 
'316 
37' 

436 



4S 

5i« 

■ i7t 

• 51 

. 196 

5«8 
S-tJ 
3«5 
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405 
J«^ 
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6;3 
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477 
3'» 
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226 
C.6 
61 3 
6z8 
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367 
86 

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^82 
'88 
394 
283 
527 
190 
5>4 
3-6 
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:^84 
3 '4 
259 

9< 
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503 

99 
64s 
178 
187 
632 

35 
610 

57" 
510 

85 
619 

>93 



01 .in 
ft^^nncer^oli; Joseph 6eed. 



Incham, Samuel DcliMenna.. . 
Irving, Jame4 



Jack, I..oiiiK , 

Jackson, Samuel.. 



618 
541 

105 
643 
5 
662 
5W 
81 

647 
631 

4-8 
369 
443 
394 

S23 

i8i 
389 

46 
498 
290 
231 
343 

590 

263 



Jacobus. M. W 

JrfiiK:>. Bu.hril W 

J..i..i».m, J Miles 

"eiiks. Mieli..^l Huichin^un. 

eiiiiiii^, William W 

.Jtusuu, S. I' 

i.<ihns..n, William N 
uhns|..i), Thomas S 
one*. 1 lavid .M 
■ n<.-s, |sa.ic , 

Jurdan, Alcx.indcr 

Ji'rd.in, Francis 

Jordan, J huma\ R 

Kaler, Levi R 

Kamerlv.C. Fment 

Kane. Klisha Kent 

Kauffin.iii, C'lristian S , 

Kaulman. Willi.mi M 

Kcariis, William I)iLl.ey 

Keim. (Ic r^e Ik Ilcnnevjilc. 

K.i.im,<i orge .May 

Keim, Jcihn 

Keim. Nieh las 

Ktim. Willi.iin Hii;h. 

Kel'.cr. Rudolph Frederick... 

Kelly, William Darrah 

Kennedy, B. Fninl.lin 

Kennedy, Joseph C. Griffith. . 

Ktnnedy. riL.>nias B 

Kerns, Jamts N 

Kerr, l»avid R . .- 

Kilgore, Samuel 

King, .Alexander 

KtiK-, James 

King, J siah 

King. Henry 

Kingsbury-. I. . A 

Kint/iiig. tiravensiine 

Kint/ing, Tench C 

Kirkbride, Tlmmas Stoiy.... 

Kirkham, William 

Kline, George M 

Knahb, Jacob 

Kncass, Strickland 

Knijjjii. Kdward C 

Knimcr, Samuil 

Kunkel. John C 



I^coe, Ralph Dupuy 

I^tiidcll, (Jcorge 

l-iiuk iib-rger, Martin 

I.andretli, Ila\id. , 

I.aiiKfiti , William J 

Lardncr, James 1 

larkin, John, Jr 

l-a Roche, Charles Percy. . , . 

I -a Kuche, Reni- • 

Ijilia.J.mes W 

Laudcn^-Lger, Jacub 

letter. Frederick 

I..aw, William 

Lawrence, Ge Tgc V 

I^a, Henry Charles 

!.car, (ieorgc 

Lcdward, James 

I.eet, Jonathan 1) 

Ixiidy, Joseph. 

l^nifiaH. John 

Lcrch, John 

U Van. J.din P 

larvis, Richard J 

I^wis, Abraham Jarrett 

Lewis, Kllis 

I.ewis, John 

I..ewi*i, John T 

Lewis, William D 

I*x, Charles E 

Lilly. William 

I.inderman, C:arrcit B 

Lindcrman, Henry Richard.. 

LinL-, Jesse M 

Linton, John L 

I.ippe, Adolphus 

Lippincott, Jcnihua B 

Little, Am- -s R 

Liitle, R. R 

Littleton, William F. 

Livingston, John H 

Logan. George 

I -one, Henry G 

Long, James 



.. «s 

. ".i* 
.. yA 
.. 16, 

■ «5l 
Mj 

• 454 

• »J 

■ 'M 

• S40 

• "i? 
•'S-« 

• 5*3 

. 9%0 
. >S« 
. Mb 

■ 'M 
. 40J 

5" 

348 
33' 
3J3 
355 

347 

»65 

«3» 
510 

'■3 

«35 

59» 
6,7 
54> 

(45 

'7 
4>4 
561 
610 
3.'9 
.*< 
«34 
"3 
140 

10 
"4 
366 

484 
37i> 
■47 
3"7 
5" 

406 
337 

»43 

304 

577 
■49 

'3 
JOS 
189 
478 
>35 
5'7 
1 40 
481 
368 
372 

38 
3«4 

65 

18 

48 
'57 
45* 
43« 
'3" 
'94 
345 

395 
»74 
353 , 
193 - 
.15" 
99 



r 

i 



INDEX. 



C71 



I*«ng, Jac-'b R 547 

1.^111;. /a^ hari^h H iji 

|.'i(M.r. Kklurd y 93 

l.^tiihiliriil|*c. J 'ho Alexander. 46^ 

l./iwri<:, S 1 6j6 

l..*)wric. W.tlttrr H lu^ 

L-iwiy, M'trrow U. ..,'. 559 

Liicis, Ji'hn iB ■ 

LiK'Lcnbjt. h, Charles Augu^tii^ 32^ 

l.u<tl'm-. JamL^ k 53 

Lu l»ig, rlm.inticl Albert 6l>i 

l.udwi^, Wiriam C 206 

l.^itbcr. M.irtin ^07 

Lyon, (icorse Arfn'^irong 5S3 

Lyon. tici»n:c .Armsir-ing, Jr.. 585 

Lyun. Pjtrick 196 

Macalcsler, Ch.ir1es 548 

M.i(:;inhur, John 66 

M.iukcnzif, K. Shcltun 114 

M..Uy. L. A 557 

M.ukcy, Kobtrl W 377 

M.ttWaiili. Wayne 650 

.Ma.IJ.s. \Villi:.m A. T i.>a 

.M.i);.iri;c. Chark-> j>9 

M.tiiLC. (..'hrii.rupln:r 5H4 

M.ilion. Tha.Uciis .McLay.. . i;6 

Al.iischjotm M 74 

Mii^^h.Lcvi ....■ 6->6 

Mjiconi , H >wanl 7^ 

Nl.tnlcy. (.'lurlc^ l>c Haven... 47-1 

Mann. Wiltijin IJ joo 

M.l^^hAll, 1 hotnai M-rccr 6>7 

Martin, lUriun It 584 

Ma-ssty. Wilhum 3O6 

Maury, Francis K, 80 

M.ixuv:ll. Henry 1) 474 

M.iycr.J.'hn I 643 

Mctdc, t ^<>r<c (*ord >n 229 

Mcj;.irKce, Svlvcsicr Jacob... 298 

Meivin.S H 33 

.Merc<lt(h. William .Morris* 117 

McrnticM, William 473 

Mtllgrr. J.iltn J 15*^ 

MiL^. Ihivid 5«» 

Milc^. k-.lK-n 5^ 

Miller. («: TMC F Jiw 

Milkr. KeulHin. Jr 6f 

Millikcii. J.»m:.^ F 476 

Miln.-^. J..hn »7 

Minor. >aniiicl i6j 

Mini/^T. William 207 

.Minizcr. William .M siy 

.Mitchell. I .hi> H 48-' 

M >CNcr, Henry 477 

Minl^oincrj . John B 4'^ 

Montotith. Kdward A S^ 

M >orc. J >^ph 295 

M . -re. Wi.l.am Hill 6. 

.\|ii irhcii'l, J itnes Kennedy... 57^ 
M » irhead. Win. tlarraway.. . 356 

Al<'r,;an. J.tc'b B 236 

M 'r^.tn, J »hrt . 250 

M..rnv. foUn F 633 

M .rri>. R.bcrt 27* 

Morris, Kibcrt i9i 

Morriv, R .IktI I>esha 251 

.M >rt.Mi. llcnry Jack>on 137 

.\|>)n»n, John S .;3<» 

M >rlon, Sjiiiuel (ieorgc i>^ 

M '11, Henry SjHjerii ■ 1 'S 

Miihtcnbcrg, Hti>ter T{ 249 

M.ililenhorii, Henry .\ 277 

Miihlciiberc. Hcniy .Augustus. 310 

Mullen, T -hi-i-i 640 

.Mullv-n. Willi. im James 399 

M'linmj, I'.tvid 314 

Muqi'iy, I.imcs 5S6 

Murphy. William F »o 

\liirr.«y. Lindlvy 194 

Mus);r.ivc. tie irg; W 15 

.\| i-s.Iinan, N. C 80 

Miiss-r. William 8s 

My^r. E keed 489 

.Mycr^. l..con.iril V* 

ML.VliiMcr. H. N 6v) 

M. I, ;im..nl. Joel H 581 

.M. l:inilles)i, Wil'iam 6;,6 

Mct^.irtiicy. Wa-hin"l'«n. ... 459 
Mcl_":uilcy. Jamrs Andrew... . 416 

Mrt;iellan, llvoTje 334 

McCldlan, Gcurge B 32a 



, McOintock. Andrew T<>dd... 

I McChiu..tL,John 

I .McCiiniocI^. Joius R 

I MiClurc, A1cx..ndcr Kelly .. 

.Mi.tUisk\, A L 

.Met nkv>. David 

.\KC' •rniick. Henry H 

Mt-Crcjry. J -hri U.. 

! McCrvdy. Bernird 

. Mct'redy, Thoma* 

I McC'runi, F.phraim B 

' Mct'ucn, Alex.tntter 

\ M^ Ucvitl. I».»nii 1 

MctaiUnd. David .McCunkcy. 

I .McFanaiid, tie<yrge F 

I McHusc, Isaac 

.Xkllv.iin, William 

j Mrlunkin, Klnrnexcr 

' McKc.m. Thoma* 

I McKnight. (_'harles 

I Mcknight. Robert 

: .McM.inu«. John 

.Mv:\ii<.haet. Mortotl 

.McNair. Ilir.iro S 

McNeill. Huuh. 



Mctjuiilen. I hn Hugh- 
McSherrj', William 



Xcafie. J.irob G 

Ncaglc. John 

Negley, l>aniel 

N.glcy. Elward C 

Negley, Felix C 

Ncglcv, l.icub. 

Nciil-y, James S 

Negley. W B 

NcidKard. Ch.irle« 

Ne«. Charle* M 

Nevin, Robert P 

Newell. James 

Newell. William 

N^wkirk. Maithew 

Newkuntel. John 

Newlin, James W M. 
Newmycr. John C - . . ■ 

Newton, Richard 

Noble, Orange .., 

Noblit. Hell. Jf 

Xorris, |>a:(C 

Niith. Hugh M 

Noyes, Amos C 

Nutting, Lyman 



Oilenhrimcr, William Henry.. 

(>n»e. J.imes 

Orr. kobcn 

(»nh,t;,Kll.reS 

Oltiiiger, Onisl.w* 

( >tu>, Charles Wiunan 



553 I 

498 

690 

m 
)"> 

•7» 
•73 I 
613 
6.11 I 
»5 
4'3 
66j 
aij 

»M 
411 

190 
666 

667 

32/ 
64U 
6/1 

6&> 

3J8 

4«, 

■ 3'3 

148 

-I 

640! 

667 

197 
638 
648 
6.7 
9i 
35 
121 
181 
5»4 

452 

594 

53 

. 62 

. 619 

575 

499 

517 
«94 

537 
4^7 
582 
5'9 



Fcrkin*. Samuel C 50 

Peters. Ruhard 302 

Pcter>on, I . B I4V 

PetHs, S Newluti — . 654 

Phel(*>, Ikl.. I» S7« 

PhiUiM. Wilham 648 

PhycKk, I hi.11> Synj 202 

Pilcatrn, Hugh 521 

Pilcairn, RoUrt 556 

Plca>anton. Augti<^tus Jmoks. 332 

Ple.-tsants, Henry 177 

Pollock. Jam -i 150 

P.imeroy. John M. 343 

y. J -epi 
Poncr. I»a\id l> 

Porter, l>a\id Riitenhou*c. . . 40 

porter, lamt-s Madifton y>3 

P«)lt, Aliraham 237' 

Potlcr. I liomas 350 1 

pott*. U.tvid, Jr 593! 

Potl>, Henry »ao 

I'uuUon. /.ichariah »3i { 

PrctJ, Christian i$o ; 

Pri»e, Kli Kirk 109 

price, J^'hn Sergeant 119 

Price, RuhariV joa i 

Prince. Samuel F *^\ 

Prirer. Knos ^93 I 

Pugh. Junalh.in H 312 ' 

Purviancc. Ji>hn N 348 

Purviaiiec. Samuel Anderson.^ 168 

Quay, Matthew Stanley 385 

Quicr, Levi 909 

Ralston, lame* Oricr iSo 

Ramey. Andrew 403 1 

Randall. S.imuel J 412 j 

RathCn. (^ill^eri Brown 658 I 

Rawle. Henry 590 j 

R.iwie. Wdii.tm 913 | 

Rawle. Witli.*m Henry 4*9 

Read. John R 437 

kced.Charlex M 599 

Reed.fharU* M 600 

Reed. Havid 6^0 

Reed, (*«.origc K 4*^ 

Recti. John K 46J 

Reed, Joseph A 6v' 

Reert, Rufus Scth '88 

Reed, Sflh 586 I 



P.icker. Asa 144 



Page. Jamc^ 
Pafincr, tii-* 



dcon W 

Palmer. RoWrt M 

Pancoa^t. Charles Siacey. 

Panco.tsi. J'>s'-i>h 

I\inc >asi . William H 

Parke. J hn ti 

Parktr. T. S 

Parker. Willi.im 

ParLhurst. J -tl ., , 

Parri>h, I'h.irles 

P.'irrish. Clemmon*. 

Parrish, K-lw.rd.. 

Parrish, U.iac 

Parrish. Joseph 

Parr>-, KdMard Owen 

Pallerson. Biird.. 



Paiierson. John f>can. 

"kohcrt.. 



Patterson, 
Patterson. T H B. 

Patton. W. W 

Paul. Pavid B 

Pe.-*?^*^!. Jnhn H.irpcr... 

Pearson, .Mfred I 

Pearsivn. RoW-rt WV-st. . 
I'easc, A\ mm Per See.. . 
Pcircc. Cyrus NVwIm... 

Pcirte. \\ itliam S 

Pcmler. Thomn- .\ .... 
PennyiKirkcr, F.lijah F. . 
Pepper, William 



54 

163 

»72 

37* 
3 '7 
. 4>o 
■ 5*' 
419 
131 
5.1- 
20Q 
»96 
61 
61 
425 
41) 
374 
42 

6-) 
6i 
470 
S-H 
3^1 
337 
512 
1^1 
377 
217 
520 



Reeder. .Antlrew H 433 

kecsc. M, Metier 123 

keppl*er. Charles Anthony... 14 

keynoUK, John 6^6 . 

keynold-. John Fulton 602 

kcvrolds, *samuct H 33^ 

kryn.-lds, Willi.nm F. . 421! 

Rice. F.lliott Warner s?8 1 

kichanls. Ifcnjan.in W 88 j 

kithards. K.li..* Jones 924] 

kichanls. Or. r^e aoi 

kichardson. J'rt-^ph O 179 

k-.rhmond, Hiram 1 424 

kiddle. Samuel .. 573 

kitUway. .1 hn l.,Jr 31 

kidgway. Th -mas 4** 

kiland. Wi'Iiim « 179 

kinehart. W ilUam , 6^4 • 

Rohcns. A K 637 

Roberts. Howard 331 

Roberta, So*, mon While 431 , 

Ri. liens. W.ilter Bnntks oia , 

«ob.n-on. Wiliim 649! 

RockcMlr. William M if8 

Ropers, Kvins 936 ' 

Rofcers. Fairman 313 

Rogers, Oeorce W 956 i 

R'»cer>i. Henry C 44> 

RoKcrs. William l> l<.'3 j 

Rohrcr. IV-nj.imin 515' 

Rollins. l>>)ward A. »<^ \ 

, 319 I 
•77 

^ . 
643 
247 
475 
244 ' 



Romig. lohn. 
R«*oke, la:vi , 



RitSS, f'rCO'^V 

R1W.S. Henr)' Pawling. 

R.vs*. Inmcs 

Ross, "John 

R.r.s. Slie^ki 

Ross, Thomas 

Rothermel. Pcirr F 23 

Kowe. David Watsoi} 1 19J 



Rowe, John 419 

k-'wUnJ. Joseph 433 

Rush, Ikniamm ^9 

Ru'kh. l^njamia 1B6 

Ru-h. J .\lurr-y 509 

Rush. Rivh..rd Ji 

Rush, kit-hard Henrv 310 

Rutan. Jamu Sinilli 43a 

Sallade. Jacob 344 

hander^on, Ocorge 5^ 

Sanfurd, Ode* ^77 

Sank, J. Rioal.lo '16 

Sargeiil, kufuk 113 

Saunders, \V illum 4bo 

Sayrr. Robert Hc)*ham 7 

Schall, F-d»in 1S3 

Schtundcskcr, Maibcw 6j4 

Schomackcr. J H 171 

Schriver. l-^Juiund 439 

Scoficht. (ileum W 505 

S;oficld.Sc%.ll j6< 

Scott, John 451 

Scott, J homas Alcxamkr-... ico 

Scrantcn, t^irge W 5^ 

Selfridgc. J. -roes L »57 

hcmple. John ...%.. 593 

Sencr.txxtlicb 5.6 

Shaffer, 'l'hoina» . aSo 

ShanAfcJi. Aniircw FuHcr .... 145' 

Sharp, Alexander 9H 

Sharplcss, IV'Witscnd ., jvi 

Shaii-Wixl, Ooifgc a«6 

Shcafer. Peter Urnricl a^S 

Shenk. kud'lph WaHel 4^3 

ShcpparJ, Furman it8 

Sheppard, l'>aac A 116 

Sherrerd. \N dham !• 28 

Shilii.gford. Hei.iy H 6j 

Shippcn, \\i.Ii.im ,,. 4,7 

Shira^k, Alexander Eakin ^oi 

Shock, Saniml 567 

Shoemaker. |<'hn L 313 

Shoemaker, [...laius IVniion. 4^4 

Shortridgc, N.ithan PaiLer... 8 

Shurli»cK, William Ch.tries... . I7» 

Sill, Ihumxs H 394 

Sillyman. Samuel 189 

Simpson, J hn Alexander ... IC14 

Simpson. Al.ttihcw 923 

Simt, Heiir) Aupikim 81 

Sinnott. Ji'seph rr.incik y^ 

Sitcr, Ji.nn yjt 

SLck, Jame^ R 330 

Slemmer. .\dam Jacoby sS? 

Slifcr. Fli 324 

Sloan, Hannibal K 621 

Smith. Fraiicik Oumey.. 48 

^tmith, Hcnr>' H jo 

Smith, J C <64 

Smith. 1 Wheaton 8 

Smith, rcrsifur frarer. 4S3 

Smith, Richard S 79 

Smith, 'Ihcnus J 39a 

Smith, William Henry 329 

SmuU, J A (39 

Snodgrass. William T lui 

Snowden, fr iN-i.t/tr H..i:.>rd.. 3.7 

Snowdcn, jitmcs k« »s 36 

v-.i.- ._, W„%l.ingt"ii.. 17s 

W =83 

^ '• Franklin- . . . 6s8 

S(.<<.. ....... Mtll..n 4^1 

Spcilman, Jacob ^6a 

.Spcnc r, t. Tiarlcs (65 

Spencer. John 159 

Spencer. S Sltcldon . 542 

Speriiig. Nathan. ... ^4 

Sprecbcr. t otstavu* A.. i6j 

Stanton. I-Utwin M K95 

Sunton. M Hall ai6 

Stai.fler. WJo^m l» 358 

Steel, l-dw..rd 1 597 

Stel'wa^i n. I'aitiel s jjo 

Stellwagen, Henry S. jjO 

Sicllwagen. lhnma» C«K>k .. . 53? 

Sterrtlt, lan.rs P. . 637 

Slrt«on, I ». S 30 

Strvens. 'I'haddeitft $19 

Stevens, William llacon tgi 

Stewart, Charles 511 

Stewart, J amck L (^ 



fl 



67J 



INDEX. 



StkhttT. JfMcph Lybrand. ... 174 
StilW. Chjrics Jancway 364 

■VooUMin,.. 



es AJcxandc 
ry G. 






lbs 
6o« 
■95 
M3 
'53 
■■3 
479 
»4> 
. 646 



Tansn. [>avi«l i6> 

T^^ii^ '.V 



-.per.. 



... »14 
... J& 

>nin L 133 

!;._ .11 Ki»<dl 373 

Thidmun, Lcwi« W 637 



Amos RunkII. 



TBikM. Amos 



1 ,„, 



946 
411 
338 
•M 
II 
358 

733 

3" 

■35 

4y 

97 



I Todd, J»niM j88 

I Todd. f*imi«) 4' 7 

I ...i.i \^ V 34; 

McxamJcr. j ' 

sr 

: cnry CUy 134 

■wwi B I?! 

.i-hin^on 400 

347 

^ 513 

— — ^-- b ail 

Inpp, In 557 

^ TruUcr. Nftiban 304 

I Vandergrift, Jacob J 609 

Vandenlicc, liihn. 341 

I \.,„ K,.,,l Henry 331 

■ n) 16. 

6,, 

I ....,.;mP 64; 

Waddell. WiUum B 473 

Wi,l..„r,h CluHa >6o 

1 < 101 

H 635 

l'»in A 7$ 

Uam M S5I 

"«S 315 

f^ »53 

pn 959 

id D 137 

oi 309 

■'ry «65 

lAincs Hontio... 467 

r?e W I3S 

'1 FanDJng 46a 

. K 601 



Warn. David... 
; Walts, Frederick. 



Jr.. 



llaU.. 



'A'caklcy. tonics M 

1 Weaver. Henry A 

^ We^Mier, Kciijamio Crunptun 

1 Welislcr. I»jvid 

1 Wei^^, CKarlcs 

Wello.. I harles K 

i Wclle>, Charles F., Jr 

Welsh, Jnhn H 

W'esl IVr.,..mir. 

I Wet ^lacuinb 

Wf 

w, 



. .1.^ D 

Hubert 

rharlcs Moore. .. . 

.Alexander 

, \^ hilalter, William 

I Whiull, John .Mickic 

IWhite, (ieorge R 
While, Harry 
While, Samuel Stockton 

] While. Williara... 

1 Whitman, Benjamin 

Witrkcrtiham. James Pyle ... 

Wicsiling, riCiirve Bcnyhill.. 

Wilbur, Llisha Packer 

Wildman, F.tiai 

Wiler, William 

I Wilhclm, Artemuft 

Wilkint, Harve)' Lorenzo. .. . 

I Wilkint, W 

! Willard, Jame« R 

I Williamv Fielding L ;«... 

I WiUtami, George 



WilliafM.L D «47 

Williamson, I'assmnrc 71 

\\,U n ( l...rl.s H 4..3 

W " R s»' 

\^ ^ ll;intiltoi).. . 30 

W . ' ■-••> W 49, 

\V i'^ttcr, KcttftMrliicr J 491 

Wisier, WillisLin 41ft 

WiMcr, William Rouh 4ju 

I Wiiliruw, John Liodkay jj 

Wt>Ue, Auguiittu 4B9 

Wulle, Silvc%(cr 134 

W.<inr;iih, Krcdcrick. K 95 

WoikI. k. a 5L 

W o.i l.r,...-, H 391 

' rcderic 4''* 

I> 49 

218 

\s Willi* Wylie.. 4?7 

W h »i7 

\\ 661 

W 581 

N*- ->. Carrington. 519 

\^ ! R 78 

N^ '• ilmer 414 

W 1. 'inidley.... 535 

, \S i.„..,, irdikun L 440 

' Yerkd, Harman 392 

Vini^i, John H 409 

YotmE, An<lrcw B 4114 

' YoiinK. CVk: K . 488 

, YiHing, Samuel L 308 

7ahm, F.d«'nnl J $65 

Z^hm, Matthias /. . 631 

Zeielcr, (fcnrKc K 33 

/ctgt..r, Jacob 346 

' Zcrn, Peter 543 



I 



THE END. 



■ naaa 



409 91 



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HECK^''^N 

BINDH' iNC. 

^. OCT 91 

N. MANCHESltK, 
^;' INDIANA 46962 



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^. .^"^ y^fm^'.-f^ .A*^' -i^^i-o *>. .-e. 



